Okay, here’s the summary of former Tennessee players taken in the 2006 NFL draft:

• Defensive back Jason Allen was the only player to be taken in the first round, at the 16th overall pick. He’ll play for the Miami Dolphins.
• There were three 5th round picks: defensive end Parys Haralson (No. 140 to the San Francisco 49ers); linebacker Omar Gaither (No. 168 to the Philadelphia Eagles); and defensive tackle Jesse Mahelona (No. 169 to the Tennessee Titans).
• Linebacker Kevin Simon went in the 7th round (No. 250) to the Washington Redskins.
• Guard Cody Douglas, wide receiver Chris Hannon, running back Gerald Riggs, guard Rob Smith, and offensive tackle Albert Toeaina did not get drafted.

Initial thoughts:

Breathe a sigh of relief that Allen playing another year for the Vols didn’t cost him his career. How high would he have been had he not gotten injured? Maybe the Texans would have picked him first.

Mahelona should have gone a lot higher. He was double-teamed all last year and was still a force. He’s a class kid and a steal for the Titans at the 169nth pick. And speaking of the Titans, wow. Vince Young. Lendale White. Mahelona. Cool.

Gaither was always sort of in Simon’s shadow, but no more. He’s a solid player, and it’s nice to see him get credit for it. Of course, who needs credit when you have cash?

Especially sorry for Toeaina, Riggs, and Hannon. They should have been drafted, but they should get a shot with some team somewhere. Smith, we knew could have used another year.

The draft really brings to light Tennessee’s losses on defense. Two starting linemen, two starting ‘backers, and a cornerback were drafted.

Good for them.

Bad for us.

SportsTalk’s Jimmy Hyams and John Wilkerson chatted with former Tennessee defensive tackle Jesse Mahelona on the radio this afternoon. Mahelona, who is projected to be a second- or third-round pick in the upcoming NFL draft, is cooking three pigs (one in an underground oven, one on a spit over an open fire, and one in a smoker . . . mmmm), a cow (I’d like to see a cow on a spit), and a bunch of fish to commemorate the event. Nothing says party like roast hog.

Audio is courtesy of Sportsanimal99.com, which has more excellent interviews, including those of defensive end Parys Haralson and offensive linemen Rob Smith, Cody Douglas, and Albert Toeaina.

Here’s a list of former Volunteers and where they’re projected to fall in this weekend’s draft:

• First Round. Cornerback/safety Jason Allen. I’ve been getting a lot of hits from NFL fans looking for information on Allen. He’ll be a solid player at the next level, and although there have been rumors that he’s failed some physicals, all of the hard information I’ve seen is that his injury wasn’t as severe as feared and that he has made a full recovery. Check out the Jason Allen category for more.
• Third Round. Defensive end Parys Haralson and defensive tackle Jesse Mahelona.
• Rounds Four and/or Five. Linebacker Omar Gaither, defensive tackle Tony McDaniel, offensive lineman Rob Smith, and running back Gerald Riggs.
• Others. Offensive linemen Albert Toeaina and Cody Douglas, wide receivers Chris Hannon and C.J. Fayton, linebackers Kevin Simon and Jason Mitchell, and defensive end Jason Hall.

Tennessee Volunteer running back Arian Foster and offensive lineman Ramon Foster have been selected by SEC coaches for the all-freshman team.

Arian got his first start on October 29, 2005 after Gerald Riggs’ injury and gained 879 yards over the Vols’ final five games. Despite not getting much playing time until then, he finished the season with the fifth-best total in Tennessee freshman history, averaging 148 yards per game.

Ramon Foster won Tennessee’s Harvey Robinson Award for most-improved offensive performer during spring drills. As a freshman, Ramon played in seven games, starting at left guard against UAB and starting at right tackle at Kentucky.

First, the Tennessee Volunteers lost six games.

Now they’ve lost a total of five running backs:

Freshman LaMarcus Coker underwent shoulder surgery on Thursday and became the fifth Vols running back to hit the operating table since early October.

* * * *

Coker joined Gerald Riggs Jr., Montario Hardesty, Ja’Kouri Williams and Arian Foster on the list of UT backs needing surgery in the past two months.

* * * *

Hardesty, a freshman from New Bern, N.C., was the first casualty when he suffered a season-ending knee injury against Ole Miss on Oct. 1.

Listed as second-team tailback prior to the injury, Hardesty won’t be available for spring practice.

Riggs came next as his senior season ended with an ankle injury suffered Oct. 22 at Alabama. He finished with 556 yards rushing and three touchdowns in six games.

Williams, a redshirt freshman who saw most of his playing time on special teams, underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in mid-November.

Then came Foster and Coker this week. Team orthopedic surgeons Dr. Greg Mathien and Dr. Russell Betcher performed both surgeries.

It’s Senior Day at Neyland Stadium as 27 Tennessee Volunteer football seniors will run through the T for the final time.

Here they are:

Starters on Defense

• Jason Allen
  • Pictures from the Georgia game
  • Thoughts and Prayers for Jason Allen
  • Optimistic News Regarding Allen’s Hip Injury
  • Allen Talks About His Injury
  • Allen Continues to Lead After Injury
  • Allen On Not Playing Against Alabama
• Jesse Mahelona
  • Go Big Orange Flyin’ Hawaiin Style
  • Must See Picture of Mahelona
• Kevin Simon
  • Simon Re-Lives the 2003 Victory Over the Crimson Tide
  • Simon Says Vols Won’t Slip to 3-3
• Parys Haralson
• Jason Hall
• Jason Mitchell
• Omar Gaither

Starters on Offense

• Rick Clausen
  • Erik Ainge Named Starting Quarterback
  • John Pennington on the Volunteer Quarterbacks
  • Clausen Leads the Volunteers to Dramatic Rally in the Valley
  • Pop Quiz. Do These Quotes Describe David Greene, Alex Smith, or . . . Rick Clausen?
  • Friction Between Clausen and the Knoxville Media
  • Clausen’s Rant on the Resignation of Randy Sanders
  • Clausen, Receivers, Special Teams Save the Day Against the Memphis Tigers
  • Mark Burgess on the Career of Rick Clausen
  • Mike Griffith Admits He was Wrong about Clausen
• Gerald Riggs Jr.
  • Gerald Riggs’ Tennessee Career Over
  • Update on Riggs’ Season-Ending Injury
  • Season-Ending Tackle on Riggs Illegal in the NFL
• C.J. Fayton
• Richie Gandy
• Jake Finlayson
• Albert Toeaina
• Cody Douglas

Other Seniors

• Jon Catanzano
• Peter Chang
• Ryan Fusco
• Bill Martin
• Adam Miles
• Jon Poe
• Lester Ransom
• Justin Reed
• Kevin Shipley
• Sam Wantland
• Robert Williams
• Nick Wilson

Tennessee Volunteer senior linebacker Jason Mitchell has 31 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble this season. So what, you say?

He did it with a torn ACL and MCL.

Mitchell’s injury occurred during the Vols’ first game against Alabama-Birmingham, but he didn’t know the extent of it until an MRI in early October showed that the ligaments were torn.

Even then, though, the player that Defensive Coordinator and linebacker coach John Chavis has often referred to as the most talented linebacker he has coached in 26 years chose to continue playing for the struggling 2005 Volunteers, consciously risking his future in the NFL. Mitchell explains:

“The NFL is not guaranteed at all. To play a game at this level and live your dream out is something that you can’t get back. I chose to play this game and play as long as I can.

* * * *

I didn’t want to leave on somebody else’s terms. I wanted to leave when I felt I was ready. Even though it could hurt me in the long run. My love for the game and my love for the teammates and my love for the university kept me going. I just played through it.

As teammate Jason Hall said, “It just shows what kind of person he is and the respect he has for this program.”

Fickle Tennessee fans would do well to remember Mitchell the next time they think about booing or throwing things at the players. You never know the whole story.

Fans will get a chance to show their appreciation for Mitchell, Jason Allen, Gerald Riggs, (Allen and Riggs have both, like Mitchell, had season-ending injuries this year that may impact their draft status), and the other seniors on Saturday’s senior day when the Vols host Vanderbilt.

UPDATE: John Pennington concurs:

Wanted to throw in one note as a salute to Jason Mitchell. Eight games. That’s how many games UT’s linebacker has played since tearing the ACL and MCL in his knee.

Why? Because he loves college football. He loves putting on the orange and white.

The crowd at Neyland Stadium may not be spectacular on Saturday, but that’s a kid that deserves a standing ovation from a sold-out crowd.

If you’re thinking about not going to the game, I would suggest you re-think it. Jason Mitchell deserves all the applause you can give him.

GoVolsXtra coverage (subscription required) of last night’s game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Steve Spurrier’s South Carolina Gamecocks:

Mike Strange’s game recap begins:

How low can it go?

Alabama. South Carolina. Who’s next?

Tennessee’s disappointing football season took another hit Saturday night and nobody saw this one coming.

South Carolina ended a 12-year losing streak to the Vols with a stunning 16-15 upset at Neyland Stadium.

. . . and ends with this interesting tidbit:

“We’ll make whatever tough decisions need to be made,’’ Fulmer said. “We will get this back on track.’’

In his post-game post, Spring Forward, FALL BACK… to the Pack, blogger John Pennington says there will be coaching staff changes:

One coach is as good as gone now. Another, who uncharacteristically insulted a reporter to his face a couple of weeks ago, will probably be leaving on his own. And if things continue to go South (can they?), a third coach might leave or be re-assigned.

Pennington had this to say about the Volunteer offense:

(Insert sound of crickets here.) What offense?

* * * *

So what happened vs USC? ZERO playmakers. And terrible gaffes at the worst times.

UT left 2 sure touchdowns out on the turf (which would have meant a sure win). Arian Foster, who looks to have an “I can make you miss” quality that Gerald Riggs lacked, once again fumbled (as he did vs Alabama). This week, it was HIS turn to fumble into the end zone. If he doesn’t drop the ball at the goal line, Sanders’ offense gets the TD.

Then there’s Chris Hannon. I believed Hannon to be the best receiver on the team going into the season. So much for that belief. I was disappointed to see him shake his head and show up Erik Ainge after an incompletion early in the game. How funny, then, that Hannon dropped a SURE touchdown on a perfectly thrown ball later in the game? Perhaps Ainge should have shook his head and shown up Hannon.

Either way, that’s 2 TDs that were ABSOLUTELY there if UT’s “playmakers” could actually make plays.

On attendance for the game:

Tennessee fans call themselves “die hard.” Well, judging from the thousands of empty seats around Neyland Stadium (and the mass exodus at halftime), there are apparently a lot of folks around here that are already dead.

Drew Edwards has the Best and Worst feature and the article Spurrier Leads Gamecocks Over Huge Hump.

Mike Griffith does the impossible and finds the silver lining: special teams improvement, and his Report Card gives the first failing grade I remember seeing: an F for the coaching. Overall, he gave the team a D, and summarized the effort this way:

Tennessee had more talent, more opportunities, and a fired-up home crowd. Phillip Fulmer was the first to admit his team failed, calling the performance “unacceptable.’’ Coaching changes appear imminent, some at the hand of Fulmer, others possibly leaving on their own accord.

Mark Burgess says the Volunteer quarterbacks looked dazed, glassy-eyed, and exasperated, and he quotes quarterback Erik Ainge:

“I heard some of our student section start chanting ‘Fire (offensive coordinator Randy) Sanders’ after the game,” Ainge said. “Coach Sanders didn’t throw an interception, or drop a ball in the end zone, or miss two open receivers on third down like I did.

“It’s not play calling. Guys are open and we put that on us. It’s Rick and I and the offense in general.”

Dave Hooker writes on the Vols’ running back and fumbling woes.

And John Adams has a must-read column on the extent of the Vols’ offensive futility. Just one excerpt:

You can’t comprehend the magnitude of the loss unless you know a little something about the winners.

South Carolina lost by 23 points to Alabama and by 41 to Auburn. It ranks 111th in the country in rushing and 85th in rushing defense.

There’s more.

The Gamecocks start two walk-ons on offense. They lost arguably their best player, wide receiver/quarterback/running back Syvelle Newton, to a season-ending injury last week.

Their injury situation only got worse against the Vols. They lost two more wide receivers — Carlos Thomas and Noah Whiteside — to game-ending injuries in the first half.

With all that stacked against them, the Gamecocks would have to play a mistake-free game to have a chance, right?

Not hardly. They lost two fumbles and threw an interception in the first half. They were penalized 10 times.

It doesn’t get much worse.

Does it?

Dave Hooker has a nice introductory piece on Tennessee Volunteer running back Arian Foster, who will get his first start in place of injured back Gerald Riggs tomorrow night against the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Randy Sanders couldn’t believe what he saw.

Tennessee’s offensive coordinator was in San Diego to recruit quarterback Richard Kovalcheck. The Vols were in desperate need for a quarterback in the 2003 class.

The field was loaded with talent. Kovalcheck’s teammate was tailback Reggie Bush, who is a Heisman candidate this year with Southern Cal.

Sanders, however, couldn’t take his eyes off the junior tailback on the opposing team from Mission Bay High School.

“I had no clue that there were any other prospects on the field,” Sanders said. “The way Arian played and the way he ran that night, it was pretty obvious that he was a good football player.”

On the one hand, it’s a bit disturbing to hear that Sanders had no clue that Reggie Bush was a prospect (he probably didn’t mean that), but on the other hand, it sure is encouraging to think that Foster might have the same potential as Bush.

College Football News’ breaks down Saturday’s game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the South Carolina Gamecocks. Just Sort of like old times, Phil Fulmer and Steve Spurrier are tied in the SEC East, with each of their teams 2-3.

Asked and answered are:

• Why South Carolina Might Win (the Vol offense unlikely to encounter the suspicious powdery substance);
• Why Tennessee Might Win (the Vol defense);
• Who to Watch (running back replacements for injured Gerald Riggs, Arian Foster, and perhaps LaMarcus Coker, who was going to be red-shirted)
• What Will Happen (”This isn’t going to be pretty. South Carolina’s offense will sputter ‘n’ cough, but the Tennessee attack won’t do enough to make it a blowout until late.”)

CFN likes Tennessee, 27-13.

Update to the earlier Update on Gerald Riggs’ Season-Ending Injury.

The tackle that caused Tennessee Volunteer Gerald Riggs’ season-ending injury is apparently illegal in the NFL, but still legal in college:

Riggs suffered ligament damage to his ankle and a broken fibula when Alabama defensive back Simeon Castille tackled him near the goal line in UT’s 6-3 loss to the Tide.

“The guy fell on me and basically horse-collared me,” Riggs said. “He came down on the back of my ankle trying to tackle me.

“All his weight came down on it. There was nothing I could do.”

Such a tackle is illegal in the NFL. It is commonly referred to as the “Roy Williams Rule” after the Dallas Cowboys’ safety popularized the move, which consists of grabbing a ball carrier’s shoulder pads from behind and rolling up on him.

The NFL deemed the tackle illegal before the 2005 season. The play is still legal in college.

Riggs does not believe the tackle was made with the intent to injure.