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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — They all could have left. No one would have blamed them. Instead, they Volunteered.

On a gorgeous autumn day in Knoxville stands the Tennessee Trio who make up the heart of the suddenly vaunted Big Orange defense. They are leaning against a railing that overlooks the Vol Navy, fielding shouts of encouragement from the orange-clad, well-imbibed folks docked along the banks of the Tennessee River.

“Thank you, guys!” a woman bellows from a houseboat adorned with a giant inflatable Smokey hound that, wait, is it also holding a drink? “Thank you for finishing the job!”

“You’re welcome!” responds senior defensive lineman Tyler Baron, Nashville-raised, but a graduate of nearby Knoxville Catholic.

He will make his 38th appearance in a Tennessee uniform this weekend at Alabama. Standing to his right is the man who also lines up with him on that “Trench Mob” line, fellow senior Omari Thomas, a Memphis native poised to play in his 37th game for UT.

Off Baron’s left shoulder is linebacker Aaron Beasley, a fifth-year senior, preparing for his 38th contest. His first appearance came in this very game, at Alabama on Oct. 19. 2019, a whopping 1,463 days before this weekend’s 105th edition of the series known as the Third Saturday in October. He recorded his first career tackle in that first appearance. He has added 206 more since, with a total of 11 over his first four Bama games, including a crucial pair of strikes during last year’s SEC sea-changing 52-49 victory over the third-ranked Tide, a win that ended a 15-year losing streak to Alabama and was the pillar of 2022’s long-sought comeback season for a long-suffering historic program. That 11-2 group from last year is now referred to as the “Revi-Vols” and is looking for more at 5-1 and ranked No. 17 heading into a showdown with the Crimson Tide.

“It’s real humbling for me,” Beasley says of the gratitude he and his veteran teammates now receive on a daily basis, riverside and elsewhere. “We’ve been through a lot and to come out the way we have, it’s bittersweet almost. Because this is my last year, my last couple months here. So, to finish how we are about to finish, it feels good for sure. We’ve come a long way.”

A long way, as in an orange-clad Sisyphus pushing a boulder up Rocky Top.

This is the Class of COVID. All three arrived in Knoxville just before the coronavirus crashed into our lives. They spent an entire season playing games in front of either no one or reduced crowds, with the rest of their time spent quarantined in their apartments and meeting rooms. Then Jeremy Pruitt, the head coach who recruited them, was fired under the shadow of an investigation concerning how they were recruited in the first place. The same coach who led them to only three since-vacated victories, and that was only three seasons ago.

The transfer portal had also just been kicked into overdrive, opening an exit door that was taken by a seemingly endless number of teammates. They could have followed them and no one would have thought less of them for doing it. In fact, such a move would have seemed pretty smart considering their new coach, Air Raid maestro Josh Heupel, had long been criticized for placing too much stress on his defenses at UCF.

They could have found better NIL deals elsewhere among more stable college football grounds. They could have tried to get a jump on the NFL, which looms just over the horizon for all three.

They did none of the above. Because, despite what we all read during the infancy stages of this new college football universe, a place of transiency where loyalty gets obliterated by delusions of playing time and paycheck grandeur, there are still those who believe in building something.

Especially this trio.

“I just go back to when me and O were being recruited,” Baron said of the fall of 2019. “That was the biggest thing we were preaching, was just wanting to get Tennessee back to what everybody knew it to be. Back to what it should be and is.”

“When we came in, we wanted to be a change, we wanted to be something, we wanted to be a part of change, all of us,” Thomas said, nodding as he talks about himself, Baron, and the other 10 members of that class — seven on defense — who chose to stay in Knoxville. “We had so many opportunities where we could go join programs that were already solidified. But we wanted to be something. We wanted to be the face of the program. We wanted to be the face of the change. All three of us, I know we are happy and blessed to be a part of the change here.”

Change, as in winning only three games three years ago and then backing that up with records of 7-6, 11-2 and now 5-1. Change, as in winning that game against Alabama one year ago, a game in which these three were a combined 0-10, to create recruiting momentum that has yet to slow down. And, oh yeah, change where those critics of Heupel never expected to see it.

In 2022, Tennessee’s defense allowed nearly 24 points and 400 yards per game. This year it has slashed those numbers to 17 and 303, respectively. During the entirety of last season, Tennessee registered 27 sacks. Barely past the halfway point of 2023, the Vols have 24.

Those improvements have been crucial for a team whose quarterback, Joe Milton III, has struggled mightily to reconnect with the downfield passing game that was the Vols’ bread and butter in 2022. See: Only 20 points against Texas A&M, the first time in six years as a head coach at UCF and Tennessee that Heupel won a game when scoring fewer than 30 points. Prior to that he was 0-9.

“I think it is easy to look at our team and really the history of Tennessee football and become distracted by offense,” Heupel said. “Whether it be Peyton Manning or Hendon [Hooker] or even back in the day, all of the great wide receivers and running backs. But this is also the school of Eric Berry, Reggie White and Al Wilson. When we make the Vol Walk to Neyland Stadium we march right by the banners of those guys, and Doug Atkins. So, there is a lot of pride on that side of the ball. And leadership. There always has been, and that’s what our seniors provide now.”

It’s no coincidence that those legends of the past have started hanging around Knoxville a lot more over the past three seasons. They have been invited by Heupel and many have come back to be honored in front of 102,000 at Neyland, as Berry was last weekend. But they have also been returning of their own volition, eager to experience the rediscovered Big Orange confidence. The legends of the 1990s packed the stadium luxury boxes one year ago, eager to help cheer their alma mater to do what so many of them had done years ago, beat Alabama.

They also pay frequent visits to the Tennessee practice fields to visit today’s leaders, to thank them for what they have done, and to remind them that their responsibilities won’t end when they take their final snaps at Vols this winter.

“The guys we have now, the young guys that we have come in, they make it easy for us,” Beasley said of the influx of five-stars and Power 5 transfers who have flooded the locker room over the past two springs and falls, the newcomers he and fellow seniors are charged with coaching up on this new old-school Tennessee culture. “They’re very mature for their age, very detailed oriented, very talented …”

“They expect to win,” Thomas said.

“Yeah, they do,” Baron added. “And they expect to do it the right way.”

“Leave this place better than you found it,” Beasley continues as all three nod in unison. “That’s what Tennessee challenged us to do. That’s our challenge for those who come here next.”

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Astros’ Altuve set for spring training debut in LF

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Astros' Altuve set for spring training debut in LF

Houston Astros star Jose Altuve will make his spring training debut Friday — and he’ll do it in left field, manager Joe Espada told reporters Wednesday.

Following the offseason trade of All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs, the Astros have an opening in left field — and Altuve, a career second baseman, has said he will play anywhere on the field that he’s needed.

Altuve, who turns 35 in May, has played 1,766 games at second base and two at shortstop, never manning the outfield during his 14 seasons in the majors. A nine-time All-Star and former American League MVP, he won the Gold Glove at second base in 2015.

Altuve’s defensive stats at second base have slipped in recent seasons, however. In the past three seasons, he has registered a minus-15 defensive runs saved and two campaigns of minus-13.

The seven-time Silver Slugger hasn’t dropped off offensively, though. The three-time AL batting champion has averages of .300, .311 and .295 during that span.

Espada told reporters Tuesday that Altuve is doing well in his transition to left field.

“He’s actually been pretty good out there,” Espada said. “One thing, it’s practice and we can control the environment and the volume, but once the game starts he’ll be tested and we’ll get a better read of where he’s at. Right now, the attitude is exactly what we’re expecting and the work has been pretty good.”

Mauricio Dubon currently sits atop the depth chart at second base, but he is being challenged by Brendan Rodgers and Luis Guillorme.

The Astros will face the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Field Level Media contributed to this report.

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Ohtani to make spring training debut vs. Angels

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Ohtani to make spring training debut vs. Angels

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani will make his first spring training appearance of the year Friday night against his old team, the Angels.

Ohtani, 30, will be the designated hitter. Roberts has not given a timetable for Ohtani’s return to the pitcher’s mound other than to say he hopes it would be “sooner than later.” Roberts has ruled Ohtani out for the March 18-19 season-opening series in Tokyo against the Chicago Cubs.

Ohtani injured his left shoulder sliding into second base during the World Series, when the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in five games. He did not pitch last season, his first with the Dodgers, while recovering from surgery to repair a ligament in his throwing elbow.

Playing exclusively as a batter, he hit 54 home runs with 59 stolen bases — the first person in the major league 50/50 club — and won his third unanimous MVP award.

As a pitcher, Ohtani is 38-19 with a 3.01 ERA, including a 10-5 record and 3.14 ERA in 2023 before he was injured that August.

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Sooners hire ex-Senior Bowl leader Nagy as GM

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Sooners hire ex-Senior Bowl leader Nagy as GM

Oklahoma has hired Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy to be its football general manager.

Since 2018, Nagy had run the Senior Bowl, the annual postseason college all-star game in Mobile, Alabama. He will now lead the Sooners’ roster building, player evaluation, recruiting and compensations operations alongside coach Brent Venables.

“This is a new era in intercollegiate athletics at one of the greatest college football programs in the country,” Nagy said in a statement. “The legacy of excellence that precedes my arrival is a testament to the leadership at OU and the university’s commitment to execute at a championship level. I am honored to bring my experience and work ethic to this program and am confident that through collaboration and effort, we can achieve excellent results.”

In December, the New York Jets interviewed Nagy for their vacant general manager job before hiring Darren Mougey.

Prior to the Senior Bowl, Nagy worked as an NFL scout for almost two decades for the Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots and Washington Commanders.

Nagy replaces former OU linebacker Curtis Lofton, who stepped down as the Sooners’ general manager last month.

“Nagy’s high-caliber, extensive experience in scouting, recruiting, and retaining top talent will pay dividends across our roster and ultimately on the field,” Venables said.

The Sooners are entering their fourth season under Venables and second as a member of the SEC.

OU finished 6-7, including 2-6 in the conference, in its first year in the SEC.

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