Tennessee Defensive Coordinator Bob Shoop With Some Strong Talk

Let the word games begin.  The actual game isn't for a few months, but Tennessee D.C. Bob Shoop is leading the field in preseason bulletin board material.  Saturdaydownsouth.com is an S.E.C. site that put up a great story surrounding Shoops comments on Monday night.  You can see the full article here. The comments in question were given to Jimmy Hyams of the Sports Animal in Knoxville.  Hyams relayed the comments on his twitter account. It's normal for coaches to be confident, Shoop's comments went beyond confident, and went straight to cocky.

Shoop: `We’re very committed. We’re going to stop the run. Nobody will run the FB on the Orange Swarm. Nobody will run the FB on Tennessee.’

— Jimmy Hyams (@JimmyHyams) May 3, 2016

I have a hard time believing Virginia Tech offensive line coach Vance Vice will let these comments go.  The Hokies don't need much more motivation, but the challenge has been thrown down.  Virginia Tech had a 1,000 back last year in Travon McMillian, and ran the ball fairly consistently.  The backfield for the Hokies should be deeper this year, and given the enormity of the game against the Vols, expect the Hokies running game to be in high gear.  Shai McKenzie should be a big part of the running game year, and fan favorite Sam Rogers will contribute as well.