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.

It’s official: Offensive tackle Arron Sears, fullback Cory Anderson, and defensive tackles Turk McBride, Tony McDaniel, and Justin Harrell are returning for their senior seasons. Only offensive guard Rob Smith is declaring for the NFL.

Tennessee Volunteer offensive lineman Rob Smith is treating this Saturday’s game at Kentucky as more of a bowl game than the last day of class:

UT offensive guard Rob Smith may be the only Vol treating Saturday’s game at Kentucky like a bowl game. Smith is from Fort Thomas, Ky., which is less than 90 miles from Lexington.

“If we lose, I can’t go home,” Smith said with a chuckle. “We’re not in a bowl this year so I’ll be home for awhile. Everybody in my town are big Kentucky supporters.

“I’ll be driving around with Tennessee stuff all over my truck. It would be bad if we lost to them. Usually I can beep and wave at them. This time they’ll be waving at me with big smiles on their face if we lose.”

Go Vol!

GoVolsXtra’s Mike Griffith captures the misery of the Vols’ game-losing drive:

“First-and-goal inside the 5, and it was going good,” UT left tackle Arron Sears said. “We definitely could have got it in.”

On first down at the 3, tight end Justin Reed raised out of his stance early. The penalty led to a spot at the 9, still first down.

Arian Foster was dropped a yard behind the line of scrimmage on the next play, setting up a second-and-goal.

Rick Clausen, scrambling right, appeared to have enough room to run close to the end zone, if not in it. Instead, Clausen chose to throw the ball away – from beyond the line of scrimmage – and UT was penalized another 5 yards and a loss of down.

Facing third-and-goal at the 15, offensive coordinator Randy Sanders called for a screen to fullback Cory Anderson. Anderson sprinted hard for the end zone, but Alabama linebacker Roman Harper got his helmet on the ball. Anderson fell forward as the ball squirted out of his hands and out of the back of the end zone, giving the Tide the ball back at the 20.

Meanwhile, left guard Rob Smith lay writhing on the ground with a rib contusion. The severity of the injury is not known.

“It was like a series of bad dreams,” Sears said.

SPOILER WARNING TO EAST TENNESSE EX-PATS: GAME RESULTS BELOW:

Okay, we can talk about the quarterbacks tomorrow. And the rest of next week. Heck, we may end up talking about them for years.

But this game came down to a decision or failure (which is it?) to hammer UT’s biggest advantage: its running game. UT’s big offensive line greatly outweighed an undersized Gator defensive line, and running back Gerald Riggs enjoyed great success running behind fullback Corey Anderson through holes created by Aaron Sears and Rob Smith on the left side of the line. The Vols, however, only went to this well a few times.

Instead, the Vols attempted pass after pass to receivers who were covered by a good secondary. This, despite the well-published fact that the team who rushes for the most yards in this contest always wins (with the sole exception being the “Gaffney game”). The rule held true tonight, with Florida gaining a paltry 120 yards on the ground, and UT doing even worse with a total of 103.

So we can talk about the decision to rotate the quarterbacks and to stick with Ainge. We can talk about the fact that the difference in points at the end of the game (Florida 16, Tennessee 7) was directly attributable to three field goals that came about as a result of three special teams errors.

But the game came down to UT’s choice not to exploit its greatest advantage.

And there’s not much room for discussion about that.

UPDATE: The rushing yards I mentioned above are gross yards, the net yards were even worse. Tennessee netted only 66 yards, and the Gators had 68. Riggs rushed for a net of 86 compared to Wynn’s net of 58.

UPDATE, II: Countertop Chronicles agrees, and and says poor decision-making is systemic with Coach Fulmer. (Warning: NetNanny Alert!) Countertop makes a good case, and it’s a good post, but I think firing Fulmer would be a gross overreaction. Regrettable decisions are common in life and in football, and in big games there’s little or no margin for error. And Fulmer certainly knows a lot more about football than I do, so it’s quite possible that the decision-making was sound, but just didn’t work.

Anyway, as I say in my most recent post, the season is not over.

UPDATE, III: On that note, GoVolsXtra quotes Coach Fulmer as saying that “Florida had adjusted to UT’s success running behind the left side of its line (Rob Smith, Arron Sears) and thus the Vols tried to go the other way on the third-and-3 that was stopped.” So there’s the explanation. The question wasn’t as simple as (1) do we run to the left where we have great success; or (2) do we run to the right where we don’t have as much success? It was more like (1) do we run to the left where the defense has sent more players; or (2) do we run to the right where there are now fewer defenders?

John Pennington is having waffles for breakfast this morning, vascillating on the results of the upcoming match between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Florida Gators. It appears that his pick is still Florida, assuming UT plays two quarterbacks, but he’s thinking now that it will all come down to the match up between the Vol offensive line and the Gator defensive line.

From what I know about John so far, I think he’s probably right, and it’s key that Rob Smith will be returning to his favored left guard spot. Gerald Riggs should have success running through the holes created by Smith and Aaron Sears.