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Vol Calls: Hunter Ensley offers to run through wall for Josh Heupel, Tennessee football

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Vol Calls: Hunter Ensley offers to run through wall for Josh Heupel, Tennessee football


Hunter Ensley, one of the heroes of Tennessee baseball’s national title run, made an intriguing offer to Vols football coach Josh Heupel.

“If you have room on special teams, I have another year of eligibility left,” Ensley joked during “Vol Calls” on Wednesday night.

“I played a little (defensive back) in high school – free safety. I think I’d be pretty good at kickoff (coverage) too.”

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Ensley was in the crowd at Calhoun’s on the River for “Vol Calls” the weekly statewide coaches call-in radio show on Vol Network. He posed a fan question to Heupel. But it was more of a proposal, which Heupel jokingly pondered.

“We’ll run you down on kickoff cover,” Heupel said. “If you do a good job there, we’ll find a way to get you the pill too on offense. Alright?”

Bob Kesling, the Voice of the Vols, interjected with the perfect line about Ensley’s fitness to be a special teams player.

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“He’ll crash into a wall for you,” Kesling quipped.

Of course, Ensley cemented his place in Tennessee baseball lore during the College World Series when he ran full speed into the left-center field wall to make a jaw-dropping catch in a win over North Carolina.

He left a mark on the wall and left the game with an injury. But he played through the pain the reminder of UT’s run to the national championship and scored the winning run in the 6-5 title-clinching victory.

On July 9, Ensley announced that he’s returning to Vols baseball for the 2025 season.

“I’d be good on outside contain too,” Ensley told Heupel, making his pitch to play defense for the Vols.

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Ensley will stick to baseball. But he’s more qualified to play college football than just about any athlete playing another sport at UT.

Ensley was a two-time all-state football player at Huntingdon High. He led the Mustangs to a 13-1 record and an appearance in the Class A state semifinals as a senior.

And in 2019, Ensley was a finalist for the Tennessee Class A Mr. Football and Mr. Baseball awards.

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.

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Watch Reese Chapman’s unbelievable catch for Tennessee baseball vs LSU

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Watch Reese Chapman’s unbelievable catch for Tennessee baseball vs LSU


Tennessee baseball right fielder Reese Chapman made one of the most unbelievable catches of the season to rob LSU of a home run.

In the top of the fifth inning, LSU’s Steven Milam smoked a 1-1 pitch from Landon Mack to deep right field. Chapman sprinted toward the wall.

The ball was headed out of the ballpark when Chapman leaped, caught the ball and slammed into the wall. He held on to end the inning, triggering a wild celebration by Mack and the UT dugout.

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It was a critical play for the Vols midway through Game 1 of their LSU series on April 3 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

“I don’t know if we’re going to see a better one than that, boys,” said ESPN analyst Chris Burke, a former Tennessee baseball player. “It’s not just the play that he made.. It’s the complete disregard for your own body.”

Chapman almost single-handedly put Tennessee in the driver’s seat. He not only robbed LSU of a home run in the fifth, he also hit a home run to put the Vols ahead.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Blake Grimmer blooped a single to left-center. Then Chapman pulled a 0-1 pitch over the right-field wall for a two-run homer. It was his third home run of the season, putting Tennessee ahead 3-1.

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Adam Sparks is the Tennessee beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.





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Americans would be ‘up at night worrying’ if they knew the truth about alien life, Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett says

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Americans would be ‘up at night worrying’ if they knew the truth about alien life, Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett says


Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said the American people would be “up at night worrying” if they knew what he’s been briefed on about extraterrestrial life.

“I’ve been briefed by just about every alphabet agency there is. And, I’ll just say this, if they were to release the things that I’ve seen, you’d be up at night, worrying about, thinking about this stuff,” Burchett told Newsmax host Rob Finnerty on Wednesday.

Burchett — a member of the House Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets — recalled that he was briefed two weeks ago “on an issue” about extraterrestrial life that “would have set the Earth” on fire and “unglued” the country if released.

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) revealed that the American people would be “up at night” if they knew what he’s been briefed on about extraterrestrial life. Anadolu via Getty Images

“They would demand answers,” Burchett said without going into further detail.

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When Finnerty played a clip of former Rep. Matt Gaetz alleging knowledge of alien-human hybrid breeding programs, Burchett stopped short of directly addressing the explosive claims.

“I’m still a member of Congress, so I can’t really comment too much on what Matt said,” Burchett told Finnerty.

“Wait, seriously?” Finnerty slightly pushed back.

“I’m being 100% serious,” Burchett replied.

A video screenshot shows an unexplained aerial object observed by US military personnel. AP

Burchett said that he has advocated for “full disclosure” despite the potential impact the truth could have on the public.

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“The public has a right to know, dadgummit, it’s your tax dollars. Let’s get it out there,” he said.

Burchett also said that the people handling these sensitive matters are at the heart of the issue.

“When I’m in a meeting, in a closed-door meeting, and I ask about the president’s points on these. And then I’m told by some arrogant, unelected bureaucrat that the president is on a need-to-know basis. I think that says everything it needs to be said about what’s going on,” he told Finnerty.

The Pentagon released a video of a UFO flying over an active conflict zone in the Middle East in 2022. FOX News
A formation of “flying objects” photographed by a US Coast Guard cameraman at Salem, Massachusetts, in July 1952. Bettmann Archive

The congressman said he’s described the handling of sensitive information to President Trump as “layers of the onion,” with each peeled away revealing “another one underneath.”

“When I sit in a meeting, and some little punk with a man bun is sort of running the show, and you have decorated officer military officers in the meeting there that are basically unallowed to say anything, and you can read their faces,” he shared.

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Burchett also weighed in on the alarming string of disappearances and deaths among the country’s top researchers in the field — including the mysterious disappearance of retired Air Force Gen. William McCasland in February and his former colleague, rocket scientist Monica Reza, eight months earlier.

Burchett speaks at an Organization of Iranian American Communities meeting on Capitol Hill on March 26, 2026, in Washington, DC. Getty Images

“There are no coincidences in this town. These folks have disappeared or died mysteriously,” he said. “I think overall, I think there is a connection there. People just do not disappear … not in this day and age.”

“For the record, I’m not suicidal, and I don’t take risks,” he added.

Burchett’s remarks follow President Trump’s vow in February to direct the Pentagon and other agencies to release files on UFOs and “alien and extraterrestrial life” to the public.

“Based on the tremendous interest shown,” the president wrote, “I will be directing the Secretary of War, and other relevant Departments and Agencies, to begin the process of identifying and releasing Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters.”

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Since the president’s statement, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has registered the domains aliens.gov and alien.gov, according to People.



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East Tennessee Foundation celebrates 40 years of service

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East Tennessee Foundation celebrates 40 years of service


The East Tennessee Foundation celebrated 40 years of service across the region at Bristol Motor Speedway today.

The nonprofit community foundation led the way in long term recovery efforts in the wake of Helene’s destruction, creating and funding positions across Northeast Tennessee.

President & CEO Keith Barber says the organization is moving forward with the hopes to expand their philanthropy.

“The past 18 months have propelled us forward but so have the past 40 years,” he said. “As we look forward we take those experiences that we had – whether it’s the past 18 months or the past 40 years – and build upon them so that we’re better tomorrow than we were today.

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The East Tennessee Foundation was also able to gift a $2,500 donation to the Speedway Children’s Charities.



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