Tennessee Volunteers Football: The General Is Rolling in His Grave!

Right now, we are at a crossroads in Tennessee football history.

Not just in the way we play, recruit or coach. It is the type of team we want to be viewed as.

Surely every Vols fan has been paying close attention to the Da'Rick Rogers saga. It's been a roller-coaster of drama that has been ticking off every Tennessee fan, player and coach.

But before that, it was the DeAnthony Arnett story. With it came more bad press from the media, as if it were our fault. It was the wrong thing at the wrong time.

Of course, when is that wrong time? Was it this year? What about the last one? Tennessee has been struggling at rebuilding for quite some time now. If we do bad this year, it will spell trouble. 

It's years like these that make you want to look back at those old films and games and remember times of dominance. The years where we were a close-knit team. It was quite glorious when you really start to look back on it.

Leadership is essential to a football team's survival. It is what pushes good teams to great teams. It is someone the team can rally around. The guy that really knows what he is doing. With a leader in the huddle, a team can feed off his talent and leadership.

In the past, leaders were players like Peyton Manning, Reggie White, Al Wilson, Eric Berry, Doug Atkins, Bowden Wyatt, Jack Reynolds, Leonard Little...sorry, did I get sidetracked? Clearly we have had capable leaders in the past.

All of those players above also had one defining trait that Vols fans loved: Devotion. Each and every one of them was fully committed to Tennessee and truly did give their all for Tennessee each and every game. They loved the team.

Perhaps the person that best exemplified these traits was the one, the only, Robert Neyland. Otherwise known as General Neyland or just The General. 

Neyland simply was the greatest Vol. He loved Tennessee and built the program. He loved Volunteers football so much that he was known to cry after especially tough losses. Of course, he didn't lose very much at all. In fact, his biggest rival Bear Bryant said that he learned everything from Neyland. 

You know you are one of the greatest when your arch-rival admits that he looked up to you.

Of course, I am relishing in the past now. What I am trying to get across is that leadership and love are the two things that have always made Tennessee football successful.

And guess what two traits we are missing now.

Honestly, I don't think that guys like Rogers would still be on the team if guys like Neyland were around. General Neyland simply would not tolerate his drama-fueled career. He would not allow a guy with limited dedication on the team.

Then again, he would probably kick out the entire team! 

Yes, I make jokes too.

But honestly, Neyland would have some serious changes to do. Neither an offensive nor defensive leader has emerged on this squad. That worries me.

This Tennessee squad has a ton of talent. Everybody knows that. But it has no heart it seems like. Guys give up way too early and some look like they have no desire to win. Look no further than last year's Kentucky game.

However, I could see why they may be disheartened. They haven't had much luck in the way of winning games lately. Tough losses like LSU last year and Alabama in '09 have really damaged this team mentally. 

But the fact is that they should have the mental maturity to toughen up. Instead of making the same mistakes, they should have learned from them. Neyland certainly did. 

If you're looking for a reason for this rant, it's this: I am making a plea, a speech, for somebody on this Volunteers squad to step up. I don't care who it is. It could be Tyler Bray, Prentiss Waggner, Coach Dooley, I don't care. We just need someone to step up and be the leader.

That being said, I still love the Vols. How could I not? They have always been with me, and I will always be with them. Fans and players just need to show that they still love Tennessee. If Tennessee loses and I see that they gave their all, I wouldn't care. Because we would all know that they gave 100 percent.

It's what The General would have wanted.

It's what the fans currently want.

It's time for this squad to pull together and show us that they can be what we always wanted them to be.

Winners.