News from the Knoxville Quarterback Club                                        November 16, 2020

Dear Quarterbacker,

On Monday we will welcome 1998 National Championship quarterback, Tee Martin, as our speaker. Martin was a Vol from 1996-1999. Martin was the starting quarterback in 1998 and 1999 and led the Vols to two BCS bowls. The 1998 team went 13-0 and won the National Championship. After his time at Tennessee, he was drafted in the 5th round by the Pittsburg Steelers. After four years, he left the NFL and went into collegiate coaching.  In 2010, Martin joined the Kentucky coaching staff as a wide receivers coach. After two seasons, he left Kentucky and went to University of Southern California. He has served as the wide receiver coach, passing game coordinator, and offensive coordinator. Last year he came back to Tennessee and is currently serving as the Assistant Head Coach, Passing Game Coordinator, and wide receivers coach.  We look forward to hearing from Tee Martin.

16 November:

Speaker: Tee Martin

Yesterday’s Hero: John Bruhin

Go Vols!

Jonathan Johnson

News from the Knoxville Quarterback Club                                        November 09, 2020

Dear Quarterbacker,

We look forward to seeing you on Monday as we hear from former University of Georgia All-American offensive lineman, Matt Stinchcomb. Stinchcomb played from 1995-1998 and earned All-American honors in both the 1997 and 1998 seasons. He also earned the Draddy Award as well as the Jacobs Blocking Trophy. He was selected to be in Georgia’s “Circle of Honor” as well as the 2009 class of “SEC Legends”. The Oakland Raiders selected him with the 18th pick in the 1999 NFL draft. Stinchcomb played 7 seasons in the NFL. In addition to the Oakland Raiders, he also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Stinchcomb battled injuries throughout his career and had to retire because of them.Stinchomb currently works for ESPN and the SEC Network. He also is in the insurance business with former Georgia Quarterback, David Greene.

9 November:

Speaker: Matt Stinchcomb

Yesterday’s Hero: Riley Lovingood

Next Week:

16 November:

Speaker: Tee Martin

Yesterday’s Hero: John Bruhin

 

Go Vols!

Jonathan Johnson

News from the Knoxville Quarterback Club                                        November 02, 2020

Dear Quarterbacker,

Sixth year UT basketball coach, Rick Barnes, will be our featured speaker this week. The Vols have a dynamic freshman class that will complement the returning veteran players. This should be an exciting season for the Vols. Barnes was awarded the Naismith Coach of the Year for the 2018-2019 season. That year, the Vols tied a school record for wins with a record of 31-6 and held the number 1 ranking for a time during the regular season. Barnes previously coached at Texas from 1998-2015. While at Texas, Barnes led the Longhorns to 17 NCAA tournament appearances and a final four. He has a career coaching record of 692-364 and is responsible for energizing the Texas basketball program. Come hear from our basketball coach and learn about this year’s team and players.

2 November:

Speaker: Rick Barnes

Yesterday’s Hero: Phil Stuart

Next Week:

9 November:

Speaker: Matt Stinchcomb

Yesterday’s Hero: Riley Lovingood

Go Vols!

Jonathan Johnson

 

News from the Knoxville Quarterback Club                                        October 26, 2020

Dear Quarterbacker,

We apologize on the mix-up last week, but John Chavis will be speaking this week and not last. Former University of Tennessee player and defensive coordinator, John Chavis will be our speaker on Monday. Chavis began his career at the University of Tennessee as a walk-on and eventually played himself into a scholarship and a starting position at defensive tackle. After his playing career, Chavis pursued coaching and was a graduate assistant at Tennessee, then was the defensive coordinator at Alabama A&M, before he returned to coach at Tennessee.  While at Tennessee, he served as a defensive line and linebackers coach before being elevated to the defensive coordinator role. After the 2006 season, Chavis was named the Assistant Football Coach of the Year. Following the 2008 season, Chavis became LSU’s defensive coordinator. LSU had some of the best defenses in the country and in 2011 Chavis was named the Broyles Award for the best assistant coach in the country. In 2015 he left and became Texas A&M’s defensive coordinator and then most recently went to Arkansas. Chavis now enjoys helping coach a middle school team at West.

26 October:

Speaker: John Chavis and Special Guest

Yesterday’s Hero: John Cook

Next Week:

2 November:

Speaker: Rick Barnes

Yesterday’s Hero: Phil Stuart

Go Vols!

Jonathan Johnson

News from the Knoxville Quarterback Club                                        October 19, 2020

Dear Quarterbacker,

Former University of Tennessee player and defensive coordinator, John Chavis will be our speaker on Monday. Chavis began his career at the University of Tennessee as a walk-on and eventually played himself into a scholarship and a starting position at defensive tackle. After his playing career, Chavis pursued coaching and was a graduate assistant at Tennessee, then was the defensive coordinator at Alabama A&M, before he returned to coach at Tennessee. While at Tennessee, he served as a defensive line and linebackers coach before being elevated to the defensive coordinator role. After the 2006 season, Chavis was named the Assistant Football Coach of the Year. Following the 2008 season, Chavis became LSU’s defensive coordinator. LSU had some of the best defenses in the country and in 2011 Chavis was named the Broyles Award for the best assistant coach in the country. In 2015 he left and became Texas A&M’s defensive coordinator and then most recently went to Arkansas. Chavis now enjoys coaching a middle school team at West.

19 October:

Speaker: John Chavis

Yesterday’s Hero: Riley Lovingood

Next Week:

26 October:

Speaker: Coach Pruitt

Yesterday’s Hero: John Cook

Go Vols!

Jonathan Johnson

 

News from the Knoxville Quarterback Club                                        October 12, 2020

Dear Quarterbacker,

ESPN co-host, Chris Doering, will be our speaker on Monday. Doering starred as a wide receiver at the University of Florida from 1991-1995. Doering was a walk-on player in 1991 and redshirted his first year. He went on to earn a scholarship and enjoy great success. His receptions are sixth best in Florida history, his receiving yards are 10th best and his touchdowns were an SEC best. He earned first team All-SEC and second-team All-American honors. In the 1996 draft, Doering was selected in the sixth round by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was traded to the Colts before the start of the season. He went on to play for the Bengals, Broncos, Steelers and Redskins. He finished his NFL career with 42 receptions for 476 yards and three touchdowns.

12 October:

Speaker: Chris Doering

Yesterday’s Hero: George Silvey

Next Week:

19 October:

Speaker: John Chavis

Yesterday’s Hero: Riley Lovingood

Go Vols!

Jonathan Johnson

 

News from the Knoxville Quarterback Club                                        October 05, 2020

Dear Quarterbacker,

We welcome former University of Georgia and University of Miami head coach, Mark Richt as our speaker. Richt was primarily a back-up quarterback at the University of Miami. He played behind future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelley as well as future Heisman quarterback Vinny Testaverde and Bernie Kosar. He spent a brief time with the Denver Broncos and played behind John Elway.  After his playing days, Richt was hired by Bobby Bowden at Florida State. During his time at Florida State, he coached six future NFL quarterbacks. In 2001, Richt became head coach at Georgia. During his career at Georgia, he won two SEC championships, six Eastern Division championships, and went to three Bowl Championship bowl games. He amassed a 145 win and 51 loss record at Georgia.In 2015 he became head coach at the University of Miami. He was the coach during the 2016-2018 seasons and led them to their first ACC Coastal title during that time. He was named the ACC coach of the year as well.

 

5 October:

Speaker: Mark Richt

Yesterday’s Hero: Jayson Swain

Next Week:

12 October:

Speaker: Chris Doering

Yesterday’s Hero: George Silvey

Go Vols!

Jonathan Johnson

News from the Knoxville Quarterback Club                                        September 28, 2020

Dear Quarterbacker,

We look forward to hearing live and in-person from former University of Tennessee All-American Quarterback, Heath Shuler. Shuler played from 1990-1993 and held most of Tennessee’s all-time passing records until Peyton Manning broke those. In 1993, Shuler came in second in the Heisman voting.

After being selected in the 1994 NFL draft with the third overall pick by the Washington Redskins, Shuler held out of training camp. He would play three seasons with the redskins before he was traded. Shuler played for three different teams before retiring with a foot injury.

After his playing days, Shuler started his real estate company. He then announced his plans to run for Congress in 2005. He had a hard fought campaign and won in. Shuler served in the House from 2007-2013. Shuler did not seek re-election to a fourth term.

Shuler and a few other special guests will also reflect on their time with Johnny Majors.

28 September:

Speaker: Heath Shuler (in-person) and Special Guests honoring Johnny Majors

Yesterday’s Hero: Brent Watson

Menu:

Smoked Turkey Brest

Gravy

Ham

Spinach Maria

Mashed Potatoes

Chocolate Chip Cookies

5 October:

Speaker: Mark Richt

Yesterday’s Hero: Jayson Swain

Go Vols!

Jonathan Johnson

News from the Knoxville Quarterback Club                                        September 21, 2020

The first week went really well with all things considering and the club appreciates your flexibility. We have received several questions over the week and I wanted to address some of those here.

1. Are the speakers in person? Some of the speakers this season will be in person, but some will be via Zoom and shown on the big projection screen.
2. Are the meetings available via zoom? No. Some of the speakers might appear via zoom, but they will be shown to the in-person crowd.
3. What are the safety protocols? We are following the same guidelines for social distancing, masks, etc that the county has recommended. The serving line is a buffet, but the Calhoun’s staff serve instead of you serving yourself.
4. Are temperature checks performed? No, but Jed Dance said he would give rectal thermometer readings to anyone interested.

This week we will have Jim Chaney and Derrick Ansley who are the Offensive and Defensive Coordinators for Tennessee.

21 September:

Speaker: Jim Chaney/Derrick Ansley:   Offensive/Defensive Coordinators

Yesterday’s Hero: Jason Layman

28 September:

Speaker: Heath Shuler

Yesterday’s Hero: Brent Watson

Go Vols!

Jonathan Johnson

News from the Knoxville Quarterback Club                                        September 14, 2020

Welcome back to football season! This is a reminder that the 69th year of the Knoxville Quarterback Club will be kicking off its first meeting on Monday, September the 14th at Calhoun’s on the River. Things will be a little different this year, but the club is excited as we honor a yesterday’s hero, a high school athlete of the week, and an outstanding official of the week. Jeff Hagood has done an excellent job again this year of booking some outstanding speakers. This job has been particularly hard this year with so much uncertainty and an ever changing landscape so we are still locking down commitments and dates, but the current list is below. The assistant coaches will be joining via Zoom at the meeeting as well.
The list of speakers will be posted on www.knoxqbclub.com. Your membership application can be accessed on the website, you can get one at the door, and one has been mailed as well. There is a printable version that you can print off and mail or bring in to the first meeting as well. You can also follow the club on Facebook and Twitter.
Third year coach, Jeremy Pruitt, will be our speaker on Monday.

14 September:
Speaker: Jeremy Pruitt
Yesterday’s Hero: Honoring the Deceased Vols
21 Sept: Jim Chaney/Derrick Ansley (Offensive and Defensive Coordinators)
28 Sept: Heath Shuler

We also will hear from Mark Richt, Chris Doering, Tee Martin, John Chavis, and Matt Stitchcomb throughout the season.

Go Vols!

Jonathan Johnson

News from the Knoxville Quarterback Club                                        September 09, 2020