Latest / The Mike Keith Show / The Mike Keith Show | JAYSON SWAIN, TERRENCE HILL JR., JADA EADS (9.22.26)

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The Mike Keith Show | JAYSON SWAIN, TERRENCE HILL JR., JADA EADS (9.22.26) · The Mike Keith Show

0:00
SPEAKER_09: From the peaks of the smokies to the banks of the Mississippi.
0:06
SPEAKER_09: This is your call for the University of Tennessee.
0:21
SPEAKER_09: It's the fall network.
0:26
SPEAKER_09: Inside act test, I'd say from Rocky Top, direct from the Goku, Tight from the Flyers, Inside Track.
0:36
SPEAKER_09: My Teeth starts now.
0:40
SPEAKER_11: Welcome to the show.
0:41
SPEAKER_11: Excited to introduce you to one of the newest Lady Ball basketball players, Jaden Meath.
0:47
SPEAKER_11: Ball fans will be proud to learn that due to a partnership with the United Way of Greater Knoxville and the University of Tennessee, leftover food at Nealand Stadium does not go to waste.
0:57
SPEAKER_11: Our Alexi Cowan followed the post-game process after the season opener, and she'll show us the amazing work that's done.
1:05
SPEAKER_11: A new Tennessee basketball player, Terrence Hill, is excited about the upcoming season and excited to take his dad to the football game on Saturday.
1:15
SPEAKER_11: You know who else is excited to be there?
1:18
SPEAKER_11: Jason Swain.
1:19
SPEAKER_11: The former Tennessee wide receiver is settling right in as the New Vol Network color analyst, and his reviews are amazing.
1:27
SPEAKER_11: People love Jason Swain.
1:29
SPEAKER_11: He's a VFL in the deepest sense, maybe because he always had to fight so hard for it.
1:36
SPEAKER_11: In this week's part one of Inside the Orange, our Andy Brock gets Jason Swain's backstory.
1:43
SPEAKER_11: It's presented by Google Gemini, official gen AI partner of Tennessee Athletics.
1:50
SPEAKER_14: Inside the Orange, presented by Google, the official generative AI partner of Tennessee Athletics.
1:59
SPEAKER_14: So you're cool when people think Jason Swain, it's it's all Tennessee.
2:03
SPEAKER_18: Absolutely.
2:04
SPEAKER_18: That's what I want people to think, especially when I leave the state, I go travel somewhere else.
2:08
SPEAKER_18: Like, hey man, that's that's the guy from Tennessee.
2:10
SPEAKER_18: That's a Tennessee guy.
2:11
SPEAKER_18: I met my wife here, I raised my family here, some of my best friends I met here.
2:16
SPEAKER_18: Uh I grew as a as a human being, as a man here.
2:20
SPEAKER_18: Like, man, I love I love this school, I love uh Tennessee, I love our fans.
2:26
SPEAKER_18: Man, this is a dream come true.
2:28
SPEAKER_14: You you were talking, you know, off camera here, just the response from fans, from people you knew congratulating you, seeing response on Twitter.
2:37
SPEAKER_14: What was that like?
2:38
SPEAKER_14: Just the sheer amount of volume that of love that you received.
2:41
SPEAKER_18: It was unbelievable.
2:42
SPEAKER_18: Uh really hard to put into words.
2:44
SPEAKER_18: You know, every year I get a ton of birthday texts, birthday messages on on Facebook and Twitter, X, and you know, other platforms.
2:53
SPEAKER_18: This was this was 100 times more than that.
2:56
SPEAKER_18: It took me a couple days to go through and tell everyone thank you.
2:59
SPEAKER_18: And tell everyone, hey, I appreciate you reaching out, I appreciate you being on this journey, I appreciate you supporting me.
3:04
SPEAKER_18: And uh I'm gonna do my best for you guys because it was like we made it.
3:08
SPEAKER_18: It wasn't just me, it was it was a us thing.
3:11
SPEAKER_18: And so I went through and let everyone know that you know I really appreciate their support.
3:15
SPEAKER_14: Now you were on the Vol Network team with Mike last season, but this was not just something that you walked into.
3:21
SPEAKER_14: You had to earn it, and you had to go through a series of auditions and and working with Mike, and he took it very seriously to figure out who was going to be the next color analyst.
3:30
SPEAKER_14: What what was that like earning this role?
3:33
SPEAKER_18: It felt like being a freshman all over again.
3:35
SPEAKER_18: You know, coming from Huntsville, Alabama, uh, you know, being highly rated, but still having to go in and earn your stripes and prove that you can perform at this level.
3:44
SPEAKER_14: Let's go back just to get to know Jason Swain a little bit more.
3:47
SPEAKER_14: You were you were born in Chicago, Illinois?
3:49
SPEAKER_18: Yeah, I was born somewhere around Chicago, about an hour south, in Kenki Key, Illinois.
3:54
SPEAKER_18: And then you ended up in Huntsville, Alabama.
3:56
SPEAKER_18: Ended up in Huntsville, Alabama.
3:57
SPEAKER_18: My great uncle um raised me.
4:00
SPEAKER_18: Um my mother had my brother.
4:04
SPEAKER_18: We were two years apart, and when my mother had my brother, my grand uncle said, Hey, I will watch him for you while you get on your feet and get used to having two baby boys.
4:15
SPEAKER_18: Well, a little time turned into 18 years.
4:18
SPEAKER_18: And uh I lived in Huntsville, and um he's the one who brought me here to Tennessee and helped me move in my dorm room uh as a freshman in 2003, and then the rest is history.
4:28
SPEAKER_18: But my great uncle didn't let me play football.
4:31
SPEAKER_18: He was like, all right, football's enough, because I broke my wrist in middle school, I had these injuries.
4:36
SPEAKER_18: He was like, football, this is middle school.
4:38
SPEAKER_18: We're not gonna play ball in high school.
4:40
SPEAKER_18: But I was so good at it.
4:42
SPEAKER_18: And I went out, even as an eighth grader, I practiced with the varsity team during the spring, and I was dominant.
4:49
SPEAKER_18: And so they were like, we gotta get this guy on the football team.
4:52
SPEAKER_18: So the coach went to my house, was basically begging my uncle to let me play, let me play.
4:58
SPEAKER_18: My high school coach set me down and said, Listen, you got an opportunity to do something special.
5:05
SPEAKER_18: You got an opportunity to play on Sundays, play big time college football.
5:09
SPEAKER_18: And when he had that conversation with me, it opened my eyes wide open.
5:13
SPEAKER_18: I understood how to work.
5:15
SPEAKER_18: I understood that it wasn't just about being the best in Huntsville, because I mean Huntsville is is big, but it's not that big.
5:23
SPEAKER_18: It was about having a goal and a vision and a roadmap to be the best in the country.
5:29
SPEAKER_18: So my high school coach set me down.
5:31
SPEAKER_18: He said, alright, your freshman year, I want you to be the best in the area.
5:34
SPEAKER_18: And then sophomore, we're gonna be the best in the state.
5:37
SPEAKER_18: And then junior senior year, we're looking to be the best receiver in the country.
5:41
SPEAKER_18: And then he finally, you know, let me play.
5:43
SPEAKER_18: And um I was I didn't understand what the power I had.
5:48
SPEAKER_18: You know, I played because I was good at it, and um, I played because they wanted me to play.
5:52
SPEAKER_14: So Jason Swain is in Huntsville, Alabama, and you end up picking Tennessee.
5:57
SPEAKER_14: I imagine you got some offers or at least attention from Auburn, Alabama, schools in that area.
6:04
SPEAKER_14: What what made you decide Tennessee?
6:06
SPEAKER_14: And did you get any backlash for that?
6:09
SPEAKER_18: I got a lot of backlash.
6:11
SPEAKER_18: My after my freshman year, I started to get a lot of attention from a lot of schools and Alabama Auburn.
6:18
SPEAKER_18: Usually the in-state schools are the ones that uh get on to you first, and um it is no different in this case.
6:26
SPEAKER_18: Uh Alabama Auburn, Auburn had.
6:29
SPEAKER_18: Tommy Toberville, who's the head coach, uh, had some good players.
6:33
SPEAKER_18: Um Alabama had some some turnover, had French home.
6:38
SPEAKER_18: Um then he leaves, goes to AM, and then they have some other stuff going on.
6:43
SPEAKER_18: I just never was really drawn to Alabama and Auburn because everybody was where I was from.
6:49
SPEAKER_18: So on Fridays, they had the school pizza and you had the Jell-O, right?
6:54
SPEAKER_18: Well, Iron Bowl Week, you either pick the red jello or the orange jello, and you picked the orange for Auburn, and you picked the red jello for Alabama, and whatever one you pick, that's that's who you root for.
7:04
SPEAKER_18: And I was like, I'm picking the Jell-O because I want Jell-O, not because of either one of these teams.
7:10
SPEAKER_18: I don't really care about either team.
7:12
SPEAKER_18: I was more of a bandwagon kid fan, like a bandwagon sports fan as a kid.
7:17
SPEAKER_18: So I like the teams that were good.
7:19
SPEAKER_18: So I like Tennessee in '98.
7:21
SPEAKER_18: I liked Alabama, I liked I never like Alabama, I liked Florida State when they were good, Peter Warwick, I liked Florida, I liked uh Miami, like I loved just good ball.
7:33
SPEAKER_18: So I never was a fan of a team, which really made it easy for me to pick Tennessee.
7:38
SPEAKER_18: Because it was really about which school was the best for me as a wide receiver, which school had the things I was looking for.
7:44
SPEAKER_18: And on my visit, Tennessee was the place that for me that had everything that I needed.
7:51
SPEAKER_18: Um it was in my heart.
7:53
SPEAKER_18: I had a good relationship with my position coach, my recruiter at the time, Coach Former.
7:58
SPEAKER_18: And uh when I hung out with all the players on the team on my visit, I felt at home and it made the decision that much easier.
8:04
SPEAKER_14: And wide receivers such a historic position at Tennessee.
8:08
SPEAKER_14: Did that play any part to being a part of the family and over VFL is such a big thing we talk about?
8:14
SPEAKER_14: Is that such a big reason for why you came to this place?
8:17
SPEAKER_18: I had a goal of playing at the next level.
8:20
SPEAKER_18: I knew understood that injuries was a part of that, and I it could stop me from doing that, but I wanted to go to a place that had a past history of putting receivers in the NFL and a team that threw the ball.
8:34
SPEAKER_18: And I went through, I looked at the runs, the pass, I made a chart of the run-pass ratios.
8:41
SPEAKER_18: I had my top ten schools, and so when coaches would tell us or tell me, hey, we throw the ball here, I would go, Well, coach, this season you threw the ball about 68% of the time.
8:51
SPEAKER_18: And it checked out.
8:52
SPEAKER_18: Or, coach, you threw it about 48% of the time.
8:55
SPEAKER_18: So I did I did that.
8:56
SPEAKER_18: In Tennessee, it was very balanced.
8:58
SPEAKER_18: I understood the importance of having a good running game because that meant one-on-one opportunities on the outside.
9:03
SPEAKER_18: And so I'd really treat my recruitment like a like a business.
9:07
SPEAKER_18: I mean, it was a spreadsheet, all that stuff.
9:10
SPEAKER_18: And um, I went with the you know, the emotions of following my heart, but I had a lot of data to back it up too.
9:17
SPEAKER_14: A lot of people make their decision just, you know, based on maybe one look or a couple of different things, but you were very calculated that this was the place that might fit.
9:25
SPEAKER_18: After my freshman year, we came to camp.
9:29
SPEAKER_18: My high school coach brought me to a camp up here.
9:32
SPEAKER_18: And the position coach at the time, Pat Washington, told my high school coach, I didn't know he was a freshman.
9:40
SPEAKER_18: I thought he was a junior.
9:42
SPEAKER_18: I would offer him right now if he was a junior.
9:44
SPEAKER_18: So that was kind of my offer for Tennessee as a freshman right there, and that just always resonated with me.
9:50
SPEAKER_14: You were a team captain here as well.
9:52
SPEAKER_14: Would you say that that maturity and and being so detailed in your reasoning for being here helped you buy in quicker and then earn a captainship here?
10:02
SPEAKER_18: Andy, we had lost the f the previous year.
10:05
SPEAKER_18: We were so bad.
10:07
SPEAKER_18: And one of the worst things about playing football at Tennessee is when you lose.
10:13
SPEAKER_18: Because of all the tradition and you understand like the standard and all the players before you.
10:18
SPEAKER_18: When you lose, y you feel like you've let so many people down, not just yourself and the people in the locker room, but like everybody that played before you and all the fans.
10:28
SPEAKER_18: And so 05 was a really tough season.
10:31
SPEAKER_18: And we had like leadership.
10:33
SPEAKER_18: And I had a conversation with one of our coaches who told me, you gotta be one of the leaders.
10:39
SPEAKER_18: Like, you gotta step forward.
10:40
SPEAKER_18: And that really wasn't my personality.
10:42
SPEAKER_18: I was a guy that handled my business and didn't really call other people out, didn't hold other guys accountable.
10:49
SPEAKER_18: I just wasn't worried about myself and I'm just cut my own grass.
10:53
SPEAKER_18: And he said, if you wanna change this and you wanna win some games, then you gotta be the reason for the change.
10:59
SPEAKER_18: And it was my senior year.
11:02
SPEAKER_18: I wasn't going to sit by and just let what happened in 05 happen again in 06.
11:07
SPEAKER_18: So I made a decision to be different, to have some different results, and I started to challenge my teammates.
11:14
SPEAKER_18: I made sure that I was doing exactly what I was asking them to do, and I think it made me a better player, and it's definitely made me a better person, and I think it prepared me for a life when it was time to start a family.
11:28
SPEAKER_11: More inside the orange with Jason Swain later in the Mike Keith show, as Jason will share his 16-year broadcast journey.
11:36
SPEAKER_11: But before we break, I want to remind fans the beef sweepstakes are back.
11:42
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11:49
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12:03
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12:06
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12:10
SPEAKER_11: Contest ends October the 11th.
12:12
SPEAKER_11: More Mike Keith Show, right after this.
12:15
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12:17
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12:20
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12:25
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13:54
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14:00
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14:07
SPEAKER_15: It was probably the most serious heart attack that you could have.
14:11
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16:24
SPEAKER_11: Terrence Hill had not seen a college football game until he came to the University of Tennessee.
16:30
SPEAKER_11: Now the Portland, Oregon native is hooked.
16:34
SPEAKER_11: Terrence is enjoying all of the football that he can right now because he's about to be incredibly busy.
16:40
SPEAKER_11: Terrence Hill is a guard for Rick Barnes Tennessee basketball team, and he figures to play a big role for the 26-27 Vols.
16:49
SPEAKER_11: I have to admit that I love visiting with Terrence Hill as he can talk hoops, football, and seemingly anything else.
16:58
SPEAKER_11: So for you, coming into this whole atmosphere of big time college athletics where, I mean, you know, Rick Barnes is your coach, one of the greatest coaches of all time, and there's a Pat Summit statue, and there's a General Nealan statue, and the baseball team just won the national championship, the volleyball team, softball, soccer.
17:18
SPEAKER_11: What's what's that part of it like for you to be part of an athletic department that takes everything so seriously?
17:27
SPEAKER_16: Um, I think it's amazing, to be honest, just to see all the different sports succeed in their different ways.
17:33
SPEAKER_16: Um, like you said, when I came on my visit, my mom really pointed out the past summit statue.
17:38
SPEAKER_16: She had to kind of give me some history about that.
17:40
SPEAKER_16: But just seeing all the legends that came from Tennessee, um, especially our coach Rick Barnes, he's a legendary coach.
17:46
SPEAKER_16: Um just being able to play under him and just see the success success he had and want to just kind of make my own way through the Tennessee way and just kind of expand my brand as well.
17:57
SPEAKER_11: What impresses you about this basketball team?
18:00
SPEAKER_16: Uh, I would say the versatility.
18:02
SPEAKER_16: Um, we have a lot of different guys that can do a lot of special things on the offensive side.
18:07
SPEAKER_16: Um, I think our connection and our bond has really surprised me since we have a lot of new transfers, as everyone knows.
18:13
SPEAKER_16: Um, just everybody putting their ego aside to kind of mesh for a team goal.
18:17
SPEAKER_16: Um, obviously the national champions is what we want to do.
18:20
SPEAKER_16: So just seeing everybody come together in a short period of time already with the chemistry and stuff like that has been amazing.
18:26
SPEAKER_11: Terrence, what have you guys been doing to get to know one another?
18:30
SPEAKER_16: Um, I would say spending spending time with each other off the court.
18:36
SPEAKER_16: Um, just, you know, going to going to each other's houses, hanging out, talking about whether that's sports or just life or our past experiences with stuff like that, or even just sitting in the locker room after a tough Rick Barnes practice, just soaking it all in, um, talking about what we could do better, what we see, um, stuff like that, I think is is a big thing that we started in the summer, and especially with our new addition, Jalen Washington, kind of just trying to bring him in to our culture and what we what we've gone through so far, just so we could bond together more.
19:05
SPEAKER_11: Were there connections among some players beforehand that allowed at least the bonds to start more quickly or or more naturally?
19:15
SPEAKER_16: Uh I would say yeah.
19:16
SPEAKER_16: Our returners, Dwayne Brown, Troy Anderson, um, they kind of set the standard of what Tennessee was and try to let us know like it's kind of gonna be the hardest thing you ever done in your life.
19:27
SPEAKER_16: So kind of they set the tone with getting us prepared for coach and just practice how things are ran.
19:33
SPEAKER_16: And then obviously me and Christian Furman had a relationship before coming here at VCU.
19:38
SPEAKER_16: Um, but yeah, I think we're all just guys that play basketball and love the game.
19:42
SPEAKER_16: So we know our friendships and all the chemistry that we need to go down the stretch is gonna be a big thing for us.
19:49
SPEAKER_11: I'm intrigued by Christian Furman.
19:51
SPEAKER_11: Tell me if if you're if you're describing to somebody who doesn't know much about his size and the way he plays, what he brings, and and why Tennessee fans should be excited about him.
20:03
SPEAKER_16: Um he's a guy that's gonna play his heart out on every single possession, um, whether that's him making a mistake or being successful.
20:11
SPEAKER_16: I think he's gonna play hard no matter what.
20:13
SPEAKER_16: Um I think he's a great rim protector, a great lob threat as well, and he's just gonna he's gonna give the Tennessee crowd a lot of energy when he gets in there.
20:23
SPEAKER_16: So he's a he's a big guy, so when he comes out there, you're gonna you're gonna notice him as well.
20:28
SPEAKER_16: Um but he just plays with a lot of energy, and I think the Tennessee fans will love him.
20:32
SPEAKER_11: We may or may not have talked about this, but I I'm kind of dumbfounded in reviewing stuff again today to talk to you.
20:39
SPEAKER_11: You've only started two games in college.
20:41
SPEAKER_11: Yeah.
20:42
SPEAKER_11: Is that right?
20:42
SPEAKER_16: Yes.
20:43
SPEAKER_11: I I mean I mean you you seem like a starter.
20:46
SPEAKER_11: You it feels like does it really matter to you?
20:50
SPEAKER_16: Nah, I don't think it matters.
20:51
SPEAKER_16: Um playing startup minutes, whether you start or come off the bench, because last year I would I would check in two minutes into the game, one minute into the game.
21:00
SPEAKER_16: So it really doesn't matter as long as um I know what the coaches want out of me and I know what I'm gonna get out of them.
21:06
SPEAKER_16: Um just do anything for the team that's gonna allow us to win, whether that'd me start or come off the bench, as long as I'm playing, I'm I'm happy.
21:13
SPEAKER_11: Some guys have to start.
21:15
SPEAKER_16: Yeah.
21:15
SPEAKER_11: And then some guys do absolutely don't want to start.
21:18
SPEAKER_16: Yeah.
21:19
SPEAKER_11: You don't care.
21:20
SPEAKER_16: I don't care.
21:21
SPEAKER_16: I mean, I prefer to start.
21:23
SPEAKER_16: Sure.
21:23
SPEAKER_16: I be, I think every basketball player does, but whether I think starting a game is or ending the game is better than starting the game.
21:31
SPEAKER_11: Yeah.
21:32
SPEAKER_11: Well, and and your minutes are certain, as you said it, your minutes are certainly starter minutes, but I just couldn't believe that.
21:37
SPEAKER_11: And it just kind of reinforced something to me about you and some of the other guys.
21:43
SPEAKER_11: It it feels like regardless of your stats and your accolades, you're checking that stuff at the door on this team.
21:49
SPEAKER_16: Yeah.
21:50
SPEAKER_11: Is that easier said than done?
21:51
SPEAKER_16: I think it's yeah, easier said than done, because every, of course, every person in the world wants to wants their own accolades, wants to achieve whatever they want.
22:00
SPEAKER_16: But I think for me, um, with those accolades and stuff like that, I think it's the biggest part is how much does your team win.
22:07
SPEAKER_16: I think that's what the the higher guys look at when it's coming down to who's the sixth man of the year, who's the best player in the league.
22:14
SPEAKER_16: I think overall record and team stats is bigger than individual stats.
22:20
SPEAKER_11: Are you going to the Texas football game?
22:21
SPEAKER_16: Oh, yeah, for sure.
22:22
SPEAKER_16: I got my dad flying out here.
22:24
SPEAKER_16: No kidding.
22:24
SPEAKER_16: He's a he's a big he's a big football guy, so he's gonna be excited to see that game for sure.
22:29
SPEAKER_11: How did you convince him?
22:30
SPEAKER_16: Or was it hard?
22:31
SPEAKER_16: He convinced me.
22:32
SPEAKER_16: He's that I gotta either go to the Texas game or the Alabama game.
22:35
SPEAKER_16: And so he his worst schedule worked out for him to come to the Texas game, so that's what we planned for.
22:40
SPEAKER_11: That's fantastic.
22:41
SPEAKER_11: Yeah.
22:41
SPEAKER_11: All right, you got him good tickets?
22:42
SPEAKER_16: Yeah, I got him good tickets.
22:43
SPEAKER_16: All right, I got him good tickets.
22:45
SPEAKER_11: Carrot Hill, great to see you again.
22:46
SPEAKER_11: Good to see you.
22:47
SPEAKER_11: Thank you.
22:47
SPEAKER_11: Thank you.
22:47
SPEAKER_11: Oh, by the way, before you leave, I gotta ask you this.
22:50
SPEAKER_11: Yeah.
22:50
SPEAKER_11: So Pilot is the official travel partner of the Vols.
22:54
SPEAKER_11: You go to Pilot.
22:55
SPEAKER_16: Yeah.
22:55
SPEAKER_11: What are your game day snacks?
22:58
SPEAKER_16: Ah, game day snacks.
23:00
SPEAKER_16: What do you gotta have?
23:01
SPEAKER_16: I'm gonna go uh Arctic Blitz Gatorade.
23:06
SPEAKER_16: Okay.
23:06
SPEAKER_16: That's the turquoise Gatorade.
23:07
SPEAKER_11: Turquoise Gatorade.
23:09
SPEAKER_16: That is good.
23:09
SPEAKER_16: I'ma go um the sour lifesaver gummies.
23:14
SPEAKER_16: Oh I'm gonna go those.
23:16
SPEAKER_16: With the Gatorade.
23:17
SPEAKER_16: With the Gatorade.
23:18
SPEAKER_16: And then if I'm feeling good, I'm gonna go sour cream and shadow ruffles.
23:24
SPEAKER_11: You're very specific.
23:25
SPEAKER_16: Yeah.
23:25
SPEAKER_11: I like it.
23:26
SPEAKER_16: That's my game.
23:27
SPEAKER_11: Well done, show.
23:29
SPEAKER_11: We've got more with Jason Swain later in this edition of the Mike Keith Show.
23:33
SPEAKER_11: But up next, Alexi Cowan joins the show to tell us how the United Way of Greater Knoxville and the University of Tennessee make sure that Neeland Stadium leftovers don't go to waste.
23:47
SPEAKER_09: This is your home for coaches and players.
23:50
SPEAKER_09: One-on-one from Rocky Top.
23:53
SPEAKER_09: This is your Ball Network.
23:59
SPEAKER_11: Joining me on set is Alexi Cowan right here.
24:03
SPEAKER_20: Hello, how are you?
24:04
SPEAKER_11: I'm well.
24:04
SPEAKER_11: Thank you for taking time.
24:06
SPEAKER_11: We're glad you're here.
24:07
SPEAKER_11: Um, she's got a good story to tell.
24:09
SPEAKER_11: Now, listen to this.
24:11
SPEAKER_11: Last year, the United Way of Greater Knoxville, a couple weeks before the first game, receives a phone call.
24:18
SPEAKER_11: The University of Tennessee is willing to donate excess food from football games at Nealand Stadium.
24:28
SPEAKER_11: But it's up to the United Way to figure out how do they distribute that food to agencies that need it.
24:34
SPEAKER_11: So the United Way reacted quickly, they got a lot of help, and last season, amazingly, they donated 7,000 meals at a cost of roughly$10,000.
24:49
SPEAKER_11: That is less than$1.50 a meal.
24:53
SPEAKER_11: We wondered how do they do that?
24:56
SPEAKER_11: How do they do it after the game?
24:57
SPEAKER_11: So we sent Alexi Cowan right here to see for herself.
25:02
SPEAKER_11: Alexi, what did you find?
25:04
SPEAKER_20: Well, one thing I didn't know was each game, there's about 16,000 pounds of recycling, each game that goes into this.
25:11
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
25:12
SPEAKER_20: It blew my mind.
25:13
SPEAKER_20: And the Office of Sustainability here at UT, they have to take care of all that, whether it's food, plastic, any sort of recycling.
25:20
SPEAKER_20: So I went over there to find out how it works, and I found a lot out.
25:24
SPEAKER_20: Take a look.
25:29
SPEAKER_20: After the clock expires at Tennessee Football Season Opener, fans leave, the stadium clears, staff heads home.
25:38
SPEAKER_20: But this night is far from over.
25:41
SPEAKER_20: It's just beginning for a select group of people, the Waste Warriors.
25:58
SPEAKER_20: With sellout after sellout crowds, the leftover food became too much to handle for UT's Office of Sustainability.
26:06
SPEAKER_20: Not knowing what to do, they contacted the United Way of Greater Knoxville.
26:11
SPEAKER_04: And United Way helped kind of facilitate all those conversations and get everybody kind of at the table.
26:17
SPEAKER_20: And that's when everything started taking motion.
26:29
SPEAKER_20: The whole process starts with the original volunteers, the students, working dusk till dawn chips.
26:37
SPEAKER_20: For example, with the 745 kickoff game like last week.
26:42
SPEAKER_04: Food recovery won't start until like midnight, and food recovery will go well into 1, 2, 3 a.m.
26:49
SPEAKER_20: Brad Motes, UT's recycling supervisor, coordinates this process every week.
26:54
SPEAKER_20: And he let me tag along for the process.
26:57
SPEAKER_04: Volunteers meet us at the stadium.
26:59
SPEAKER_04: We get them checked in.
27:01
SPEAKER_04: We get them in most of the time, either aprons, gloves, anything that's been opened or anything that we can see that was even slightly used, we'll compost it so that way we are always confident in the food that we're sending back out to folks.
27:14
SPEAKER_04: Depending on how much food we have, that continues for several hours until we get all of that material sorted and organized, proteins, veggies, all that stuff, and categorized ultimately on the vehicle.
27:27
SPEAKER_20: Three hours later, the transport truck rolls in with moats behind the wheel, and it's time to load everything up.
27:34
SPEAKER_04: Again, it's permanent.
27:35
SPEAKER_04: It was a little over 4,000 pounds of food that was recovered.
27:38
SPEAKER_04: So it was an entire uh 26-foot box truck and that was recovered of food and was redistributed through uh fish pantry.
27:47
SPEAKER_20: Then an hour and a half later, everything is loaded and headed to the fish pantry where they meet Stephen Dale, the warehouse manager.
27:56
SPEAKER_20: I got back on Wednesday evening.
27:59
SPEAKER_08: Yeah.
28:00
SPEAKER_08: Yeah, we you know start at 5 a.m.
28:02
SPEAKER_08: and and uh on Saturday morning and and then whatever time they get here Saturday night.
28:07
SPEAKER_08: It's you know four and a half, five hours, sometimes six hours after the game, you have to meet them here.
28:13
SPEAKER_08: So it can be anywhere from eight o'clock at night to three thirty in the morning.
28:18
SPEAKER_20: Brad, Steven, and the student volunteers all unload the food and sort it into categories.
28:26
SPEAKER_08: Believe me, actually you've turned over a few pallets in this free and learning to use the food.
28:30
SPEAKER_20: By about 12:30, everything is unloaded and done for the night.
28:34
SPEAKER_20: The hard part is over, but the reward comes Monday morning.
28:40
SPEAKER_08: They come by on Monday morning then.
28:42
SPEAKER_08: They set a time like 9.30 and they come by and they go through it and they split it up and they take uh what each of them can use the best.
28:50
SPEAKER_08: CEC got here at 9 o'clock and they went through and got seven rollers, and then Carm came about 9.30 and they picked up about the other seven rollers.
29:00
SPEAKER_20: You've heard that vol is a verb.
29:02
SPEAKER_20: And with the help of the United Way, these volunteers are able to put that into action every home football game day.
29:10
SPEAKER_04: Volunteers kind of see the need and feel the need.
29:13
SPEAKER_04: We don't shy away from the hard work.
29:15
SPEAKER_04: We tend to kind of roll our sleeves up when it's the hardest work that's in front of us.
29:19
SPEAKER_04: We do the work until it's done.
29:21
SPEAKER_04: It's not because someone asked you to do it, it's not because you were paid to do it, it's because you saw the need.
29:27
SPEAKER_08: The more we can spread out and the more we can get into the community, the less, less hunger there will be, hopefully.
29:34
SPEAKER_20: United Way Greater Knoxville wants fans to know that game days are just the start.
29:40
SPEAKER_20: To feed even more of our neighbors and expand food recovery beyond Neeland Stadium, make a gift to United Way at uwgk.org.
29:52
SPEAKER_20: Now, these leftover meals aren't just used in kitchens and shelters, but also schools around Knox County, and they can be used for several months.
30:02
SPEAKER_11: They do an amazing job.
30:03
SPEAKER_11: Alexa Kelly, great job.
30:04
SPEAKER_20: Thank you.
30:05
SPEAKER_11: Well done.
30:06
SPEAKER_11: And congratulations to the United Way of Greater Knoxville and their member agencies for what they are able to do in concert with the University of Tennessee to take the food from Dealin Stadium and put it to good use.
30:19
SPEAKER_11: When we come back on the Mike Keith Show, Jason Swain's journey from his broadcasting start to becoming the Vol Radio Network's sixth game day analyst.
30:30
SPEAKER_11: That's next.
30:31
SPEAKER_11: Stay tuned for more of the Mike Keith Show.
30:33
SPEAKER_01: You're one-on-one with Mike Keith, sponsored by Food City, the official supermarket of the Tennessee volunteers.
30:40
SPEAKER_01: By Farm Bureau Insurance, the official insurance of the vault.
30:44
SPEAKER_01: Tennessee insurance for Tennessee Life.
30:47
SPEAKER_01: By First Horizon, Big Bank Muscle, Small Bank Hustle.
30:52
SPEAKER_01: By Pilot, official travel stop of the vault.
30:55
SPEAKER_01: See you out here.
30:56
SPEAKER_01: By Rackley Roofing, let us fix your lead, the proud official roofer of the Big Orange.
31:02
SPEAKER_01: And by UT Medical, the official healthcare provider of the vault.
31:06
SPEAKER_07: In Big Orange Country, we live for big moments, but we know there are surprises along the way.
31:12
SPEAKER_07: When you need help with auto, some peace of mind for your home.
31:34
SPEAKER_11: Not funny, guys! Saturdays are all about the big art.
31:39
SPEAKER_11: From the roar of Neeland Stadium to the energy of the tailgate, one thing belongs on every game day menu.
31:46
SPEAKER_11: Calhoun! Whether you're dining in one of Calhoun's nine-area restaurant locations, taking the feast to your tailgate, or grabbing a bike from one of Calhoun's locations inside Neiland Stadium, Calhoun makes it easy so you can focus on curing the balls to victory.
32:03
SPEAKER_11: Calhoun!
32:09
SPEAKER_07: Ask Coach Hypo! Hello, and welcome to Ask Coach Hypel.
32:13
SPEAKER_07: I'm your host, Josh Hypel.
32:15
SPEAKER_07: Jim asks, Coach Hypel, got any tailgating tips?
32:19
SPEAKER_07: Boy do I.
32:22
SPEAKER_07: Jim, did you know Food City's gourmet burgers are handmade in store by a certified butcher?
32:28
SPEAKER_07: Saturday is almost here.
32:29
SPEAKER_07: Are you game day ready?
32:32
SPEAKER_07: This has been at Coach Hypel with me.
32:35
SPEAKER_07: Coach Hypel.
33:02
SPEAKER_07: Sort aluminum, sort plastic, keep landfills clean.
33:06
SPEAKER_07: And when you see green compost bins on campus, use them because the future is zero.
33:12
SPEAKER_05: And we're just getting started.
33:14
SPEAKER_05: Sponsored by Eastman, Waste Connections, UT Sustainability, and Food City.
33:21
SPEAKER_03: Valvoleen Instant Oil Change Technicians train hard.
33:26
SPEAKER_03: As a proud sponsor of the Tennessee Volunteer, we gave this walk-up a jump, owning their speed, accuracy, and efficiency.
33:36
SPEAKER_03: To be a champion, you have to train like one.
33:46
SPEAKER_03: Valvoleen Instant Oil Change.
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33:55
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34:05
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34:07
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34:10
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34:12
SPEAKER_13: Cleaner technology, greater efficiency, and smarter ways to meet the energy demands of a growing state.
34:20
SPEAKER_13: That's the power of natural gas, helping deliver reliable, efficient energy across Tennessee every day.
34:27
SPEAKER_13: Because progress should move communities forward while helping protect the places we call home.
34:33
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34:39
SPEAKER_11: Jason Swain has been a part of the Vall Radio Network crew for six years.
34:44
SPEAKER_11: He started on the sidelines, moved up to the booth, and now he describes game action as the color analyst for Tennessee football games.
34:52
SPEAKER_11: But he put in 10 years even before he started with the Vol Network, and he's built a reputation for his preparation, his professionalism, and his consistency.
35:04
SPEAKER_11: Jason Swain is good at what he does, and it's no accident.
35:08
SPEAKER_11: In part two of Inside the Orange, Antie Brock takes us deeper.
35:13
SPEAKER_11: It's presented by Google Gemini, official Gen AI partner of Tennessee Athletics.
35:20
SPEAKER_14: Inside the Orange, presented by Google, the official generative AI partner of Tennessee Athletics.
35:28
SPEAKER_14: Jason Swain, you are the sixth color analyst of the historical Vol Network.
35:34
SPEAKER_14: Does that still sound crazy to you?
35:36
SPEAKER_18: It does.
35:38
SPEAKER_18: I have to pinch myself.
35:39
SPEAKER_18: It feels like every single day when I get up or someone reminds me, hey, you are the new color analyst.
35:45
SPEAKER_18: So I'm extremely excited, extremely blessed, looking forward to uh continuing to do uh my best for Vol Nations.
35:52
SPEAKER_14: So so what about radio?
35:54
SPEAKER_14: What about media stuck out to you?
35:56
SPEAKER_14: What what made you interested in pursuing this round?
36:00
SPEAKER_18: A lot of people were talking for the players.
36:02
SPEAKER_18: They didn't understand what was going on in the locker room and in a huddle.
36:06
SPEAKER_18: That was before players had the power to speak for themselves now on social media.
36:12
SPEAKER_18: But I felt like it was my responsibility to represent the guys in the locker room the right way and let people know, hey man, this is this is what it's like to be a student athlete.
36:22
SPEAKER_18: Um this is what they're going up against.
36:25
SPEAKER_18: This is what they're um experiencing.
36:27
SPEAKER_18: And just to kind of share the story of the athlete, that was really the purpose of doing it initially.
36:32
SPEAKER_18: Um now it's bigger than that.
36:35
SPEAKER_14: Okay, so you're you're part of a daily show, Josh and Swain, sports animal, 12 to 3.
36:40
SPEAKER_14: Mike Keith Barge is in there at the top of the first hour.
36:42
SPEAKER_14: You had no idea, correct?
36:44
SPEAKER_18: No idea until I saw him.
36:46
SPEAKER_18: When I saw him come in, I was like, okay, this is this is happening.
36:50
SPEAKER_18: But I had no idea up until that point.
36:52
SPEAKER_18: There was some evidence, kind of, uh, some questions that was that was asked by one of the ball network members the night before.
37:00
SPEAKER_18: And then I noticed something on the floor that was a little different.
37:03
SPEAKER_18: Normally, uh there's a headset mic that we only have when there's a third person.
37:09
SPEAKER_18: Usually Josh lets me know that we're gonna have a guest.
37:11
SPEAKER_18: Well, he didn't let me know that day.
37:12
SPEAKER_18: So looking back on it, uh, I missed those clues, but I was definitely surprised.
37:17
SPEAKER_14: Mike Keith says your X's and O's last year was a a game changer for the broadcast.
37:22
SPEAKER_14: What makes you so strong in terms of being able to dissect the game?
37:25
SPEAKER_14: I know when you see it from up there, you kind of see it play out in a in a in a really cool way, but what gives you that eye for seeing it like that?
37:33
SPEAKER_18: Because, I mean, you watch so much fam as a player, and you analyze it the way your coaches analyze it as a player, and like you do it now, and it just becomes second nature.
37:45
SPEAKER_18: You watch film the same way, so you pick up on tendencies.
37:48
SPEAKER_18: Um, football at the end of the day is football.
37:50
SPEAKER_18: People may have different terminologies for different things, but at the end of the day, curl flat is curl flat, smash, route, steal smash, it's still the same.
37:58
SPEAKER_18: It just it maybe comes out of different formation.
38:01
SPEAKER_18: Um, but just man, just loving this game and loving um how it's played and how people um strategize to find different ways to win.
38:11
SPEAKER_18: I think it's awesome.
38:12
SPEAKER_14: What's your top moment of being on the field as a sideline reporter when you started the ball network?
38:18
SPEAKER_18: Uh 2024, of course, right?
38:22
SPEAKER_18: We we beat Bama.
38:23
SPEAKER_18: I'm over here, I look over to the stands, and I started to see people making their way to the field.
38:29
SPEAKER_18: And I was like, don't do it.
38:30
SPEAKER_18: Don't do it.
38:31
SPEAKER_18: We don't rush the field for beating anybody.
38:33
SPEAKER_18: This is Tennessee.
38:34
SPEAKER_18: Like, we we're supposed to beat people.
38:36
SPEAKER_18: But like I saw it happen in real time, and by the time that everyone's down here, I was like, you know what?
38:42
SPEAKER_18: It's pretty cool.
38:43
SPEAKER_18: I looked over and my wife and kid was on the field too.
38:47
SPEAKER_18: I was like, get out of here.
38:49
SPEAKER_18: But as a sideline reporter, that was really cool.
38:52
SPEAKER_18: My first assignment was the Kentucky game.
38:55
SPEAKER_18: So we had the black uniforms, and Kentucky had no shot.
38:58
SPEAKER_18: Like it was it was touchdowns, it was turnovers, it was Tennessee's night that night.
39:04
SPEAKER_14: You more than most, you know the significance of this place, what the Vall Network means, having been on the crew for a few years now.
39:12
SPEAKER_14: What what does it mean, just knowing the history, knowing, you know, how game days run, being a Vall Network crew member, what does it mean to you?
39:20
SPEAKER_18: Everything.
39:21
SPEAKER_18: Uh getting a chance to especially after my playing days, getting a chance to talk to our fans and understand why they became Tennessee fans.
39:30
SPEAKER_18: And the thing I get so much that touches me is the moment they became Tennessee fans.
39:37
SPEAKER_18: It was when they were younger and they were kids and they went to the games with their dad or their granddad or their grandparent or listening because they didn't have a TV to watch the games, or the games were not on TV at the time.
39:53
SPEAKER_18: So Vaughn Network were their eyes and ears.
39:58
SPEAKER_18: And so just hearing that story um makes me understand even more how big of an opportunity uh this is and how important Vall Network is to our fans.
40:06
SPEAKER_14: CFL again is such a strong moniker here that even after you're playing days, you're you were welcomed back here, you're embraced.
40:13
SPEAKER_14: And a lot of players leave this place loving Tennessee more than when they were a player.
40:17
SPEAKER_14: Why is that?
40:18
SPEAKER_14: Why why do players feel that desire to come back to this program and still be a part of things?
40:23
SPEAKER_18: Because you realize like that feeling that you had for four years, you're never you're not gonna experience that again.
40:30
SPEAKER_18: You're just not.
40:31
SPEAKER_18: Like you're gonna have a family, and it's a different dynamic, it's a different love.
40:36
SPEAKER_18: This is this is totally different.
40:38
SPEAKER_18: Like this is you come here as an 18-year-old, and you are maybe at a certain weight or certain level of your game, and then you leave here and you look back and you see all the the the room of where you've grown.
40:55
SPEAKER_18: You see the development, you understand the relationships that you've built.
41:00
SPEAKER_18: Um these are the same people that are in your weddings, same people that show up to your daughter's graduation uh from high school, things like that.
41:08
SPEAKER_18: Like major moments in your life, these are the people who are there celebrating with you.
41:13
SPEAKER_18: And it's just it's just different.
41:15
SPEAKER_18: I mean, it's just is it's different.
41:17
SPEAKER_18: Then you are in the city and you feel the love and support when you go outside of campus.
41:23
SPEAKER_18: You understand the love that people here have for Tennessee football, how passionate they are, and they're on your team.
41:31
SPEAKER_18: It's just man, it's just I can't describe it, man.
41:34
SPEAKER_18: I ain't done like this place.
41:36
SPEAKER_14: You're able to build a pretty significant brand with the Swain Event, which is a show that you started with your name on it.
41:42
SPEAKER_14: How are you able to to build that up from scratch, not having done this before?
41:47
SPEAKER_14: Obviously, in this community people know you, but did you ever intend to make a brand the way you did?
41:53
SPEAKER_18: How?
41:54
SPEAKER_18: So how is the same way I became a captain at Tennessee, the same way I became uh a reliable and dependable teammate at Tennessee, that's hard work.
42:04
SPEAKER_18: That's that's being honest, that's being fair, um, that's grinding each and every day, and waking up like you know, someone's trying to take your position.
42:14
SPEAKER_18: And that was the same kind of mentality I had when I started the Swain event.
42:18
SPEAKER_14: It it's a very unique position to be in now because in your position, you have to be critical in some ways, but also you know what it's like, you've been in the athlete's shoes, you you can't be, you know, overly critical.
42:29
SPEAKER_14: You know family's watching.
42:30
SPEAKER_14: They're, you know, 18-year-old kids oftentimes.
42:33
SPEAKER_14: How how do you balance doing your job, being critical of what you're seeing, but being real while also understanding athletes?
42:42
SPEAKER_18: I lead with love and I treat the players like they are my brother.
42:47
SPEAKER_18: So how would I talk about my brother?
42:51
SPEAKER_18: I would prefer someone tell me the truth and be honest with me, but at the same time, um, you know, do it in a loving way.
43:00
SPEAKER_18: And that's how I do it, that's how I try to do it, and uh, it's worked for me.
43:06
SPEAKER_14: How unique is it that you made so many memories on this field as a player, and you still at this time get to make memories in this stadium on game days get to be a part of it.
43:16
SPEAKER_18: Man, it's it's cool.
43:18
SPEAKER_18: Uh there's gonna be a lot of kids that will will grow up and say, Man, I d my dad, my dad listened to to Jason Swain on the radio, and during the games you listen to him on the radio, and you know, Jason Swain's a part of my my Tennessee football childhood.
43:34
SPEAKER_18: Like that's that's so cool.
43:36
SPEAKER_18: Because I got a chance to learn from our fans.
43:41
SPEAKER_18: That's how they became a fan.
43:43
SPEAKER_18: Listening to the radio with their grandpa, or listening to the radio with their with their fathers, uh, watching the game, you know, with their mom.
43:51
SPEAKER_18: And um I'm excited to be a part of the next big time ball fans childhood.
44:00
SPEAKER_18: When I was announced as the color analyst, the followers were more excited than me because they felt like we made it.
44:10
SPEAKER_18: And um, that's what's really special because they saw the journey.
44:14
SPEAKER_18: They saw when I first started this Wayne event, they saw me load a bunch of remote equipment to go to a remote, a business that I had to talk into.
44:24
SPEAKER_18: Hey, I'm new, I'm just starting, I'm not on this big station, but this is what you're gonna get, this is what I can do for you.
44:30
SPEAKER_18: Like they saw all of that and they experienced all that.
44:33
SPEAKER_18: The signing day parties that we would do, like they showed up and we packed out buildings.
44:39
SPEAKER_18: Um so they saw all that stuff, and it's just it's just really cool to you know be able to celebrate uh with them, but um a lot of ideas that you just kind of do it.
44:50
SPEAKER_18: You know, when you're starting a business and you're doing it by yourself, you don't have to try to get it clear by anybody, you just do it.
44:57
SPEAKER_18: And then if it fails, it fails, and then you just go to the next one.
45:00
SPEAKER_18: So a lot of things that we're doing now um that no one else was doing before, it was like, hey man, let's let's let's just try it, see what happens.
45:08
SPEAKER_18: And it's it's worked out so far.
45:10
SPEAKER_18: So it's been it's been cool.
45:11
SPEAKER_18: Uh I know uh how big this is, how important our jobs uh are, and uh I'm looking forward to it each and every week.
45:18
SPEAKER_18: It's like a vacation uh on Saturdays.
45:21
SPEAKER_14: Inside the Orange, presented by Google, the official generative AI partner of Tennessee Athletics.
45:29
SPEAKER_11: Great job on the piece by Andy Brock and a freshman here at the University of Tennessee, Ari Patel.
45:36
SPEAKER_11: Well done, Ari.
45:37
SPEAKER_11: When the Mike Keith Show returns, you'll meet new Ladyball basketball player, Jada Eads.
45:44
SPEAKER_11: Jada figures to be a big part of Kim Caldwell's new look team.
45:48
SPEAKER_11: See why for yourself right after this.
45:57
SPEAKER_09: This is your ball network.
46:02
SPEAKER_11: The Mike Keith Show delivered by Uber Eats continues.
46:05
SPEAKER_11: This is Tennessee basketball player Jada Eads.
46:09
SPEAKER_11: Welcome.
46:09
SPEAKER_12: It's nice to be here.
46:10
SPEAKER_12: Thank you for having me.
46:11
SPEAKER_11: All right, let's establish.
46:12
SPEAKER_11: I know who you are, but I I've got some questions that the audience may want to know.
46:16
SPEAKER_11: Okay.
46:17
SPEAKER_11: What number are you wearing?
46:18
SPEAKER_12: 10.
46:19
SPEAKER_11: 10.
46:19
SPEAKER_12: Yep.
46:19
SPEAKER_11: All right.
46:20
SPEAKER_11: Height?
46:22
SPEAKER_12: Uh around five, five, five, six.
46:23
SPEAKER_11: Five, six.
46:24
SPEAKER_12: Yep.
46:24
SPEAKER_11: Point guard.
46:25
SPEAKER_12: Yep.
46:26
SPEAKER_11: All right.
46:26
SPEAKER_11: Hometown.
46:27
SPEAKER_12: Orlando, Florida.
46:28
SPEAKER_11: Best theme park in Orlando.
46:30
SPEAKER_12: Gotta be Disney.
46:31
SPEAKER_11: Really?
46:32
SPEAKER_12: I say well, like, or maybe like Volcano Bay.
46:34
SPEAKER_12: I like order parks.
46:35
SPEAKER_12: So Volcano Bay is nice.
46:37
SPEAKER_11: Volcano Bay?
46:38
SPEAKER_11: Yep.
46:39
SPEAKER_11: Okay.
46:39
SPEAKER_11: All right.
46:40
SPEAKER_11: That's a good tip.
46:41
SPEAKER_11: You're transferring to Tennessee from Seton Hall.
46:44
SPEAKER_11: Okay.
46:44
SPEAKER_11: How did you initially end up at Seton Hall?
46:46
SPEAKER_11: That's a long way from Orlando, Florida.
46:48
SPEAKER_12: Yeah, it is.
46:49
SPEAKER_12: I mean, it felt like the perfect fit coming out of high school.
46:51
SPEAKER_12: Um, I felt really comfortable comfortable there.
46:53
SPEAKER_12: And um, they gave me the keys to the car, and I mean I ran it um for freshman year.
46:57
SPEAKER_12: I came in, I did pretty good.
46:59
SPEAKER_12: Um, I had like a lot of responsibility leading the team and especially coming into sophomore year too.
47:04
SPEAKER_12: So um, you know, I was leading, I was leading the way and leading the team, and then I got injured, and I ended up here, and I loved I love Tennessee so much.
47:11
SPEAKER_12: Like the environment, the legacy behind it, and the support, I pretty much love it when I when I committed, I seen the support happen so fast.
47:18
SPEAKER_12: And I mean, I love it here to be honest.
47:20
SPEAKER_11: So what was Kim Caldwell's pitch to you?
47:23
SPEAKER_12: Um, it was gonna be hard, and she she wants to win too, so it's like they're gonna get me better in every aspect, whether it's on or off the court, and I wanted to develop and be a better person here.
47:32
SPEAKER_12: So, I mean, when she told me it was gonna be hard and the amount of um success and achievements they wanted, I wanted it too as well.
47:39
SPEAKER_12: So I wanted to put on a big platform and play here for Coach Car on Kim Kawa.
47:43
SPEAKER_11: Okay, so I I heard you're like sitting across from her at a table, yeah, having this discussion, and you basically excused yourself with your mother and then just came back and committed.
47:54
SPEAKER_12: Yep.
47:55
SPEAKER_11: Is that exactly how it happened?
47:56
SPEAKER_12: Yeah, but it's exactly how it happened.
47:58
SPEAKER_12: Like I when I came on my visit, everything seemed nice, everything was nice.
48:01
SPEAKER_12: Um, when I came here, I spoke to her and all the coaches' staff.
48:05
SPEAKER_12: I already knew Coach Lexi.
48:06
SPEAKER_12: Um, she was recruiting me at JMU.
48:08
SPEAKER_12: And um it was like it was like a no-brainer.
48:12
SPEAKER_12: Like I knew what I wanted.
48:14
SPEAKER_12: Um, I talked to my my parents in the hotel room before we went to dinner, and it was like, yeah, like I had to on the spot.
48:21
SPEAKER_12: So it was like, why wait?
48:22
SPEAKER_12: Just tell them now.
48:23
SPEAKER_12: And the that day I told them I committed.
48:25
SPEAKER_11: Here's the thing that interests me you have the knee injury, which is significant, and yet you're still highly recruited, you're highly thought of.
48:34
SPEAKER_11: What did that mean to you in terms of your confidence that even knowing that you were gonna have to overcome that, places like Tennessee still wanted you to come be somebody who helps lead the program?
48:46
SPEAKER_12: That was like kind of one of the biggest things when I got in the transport.
48:49
SPEAKER_12: It was like not knowing who would still want me while I'm injured.
48:52
SPEAKER_12: And when I got in there, it was like a no-brainer, like a lot of coaches were reaching out.
48:56
SPEAKER_12: And um, when I talked to Tennessee, they had a plan for me, and that was one of the biggest aspects I seen when I came here.
49:02
SPEAKER_12: Nolan, Cassie, and JD had a plan for me.
49:04
SPEAKER_12: So it was like, you know, I'm gonna get better here.
49:07
SPEAKER_12: So I wanted to trust in the process and you know, put that work in, and now it's paying off.
49:11
SPEAKER_12: So honestly, it's kind of like a blessing um to be in this position and have like a lot of resources and technology here to be able to go out on our own court and and be a hundred percent and be better than what I was before.
49:23
SPEAKER_12: So I think it was truly like a a blessing disguise to have Kim Caldwell like be um, I don't know, believe in me, come out of the quarter while being injured.
49:32
SPEAKER_11: So Jada, a lot of people use that rehab time to not only work on what they had surgery on, but to get stronger or faster in other areas or to work on specific skills toward their game.
49:44
SPEAKER_11: Did you did you look at that as a bonus time to do either or both for your physical or for your basketball?
49:51
SPEAKER_12: Yes, absolutely.
49:52
SPEAKER_12: Like um, when I got hurt, I wanted to touch up on like my my strength, like body-wise, get way stronger.
49:59
SPEAKER_12: And I've been reaching those points and even maxing out my PRs than what I was before when I got here.
50:03
SPEAKER_12: Um, and I wanted to touch up on my shooting percentages and be consistent with that, and that's been looking really good, putting in the work to, you know, get that shot right.
50:11
SPEAKER_11: So what does Jada Eads add to Lady Ball basketball?
50:15
SPEAKER_12: I would say pace, energetic, um, control, uh, getting a lot of the teammates involved and putting them in the right positions to be able to score.
50:24
SPEAKER_12: So I would say like organization, just overall point guard and being a leader.
50:28
SPEAKER_11: Being a lady ball is a big deal.
50:30
SPEAKER_12: Yeah.
50:31
SPEAKER_11: Especially in basketball.
50:32
SPEAKER_12: Yeah.
50:33
SPEAKER_11: Is there pressure?
50:34
SPEAKER_11: Do you feel pressure in a in a good way?
50:36
SPEAKER_12: I don't feel pressure, but I feel like I've had support behind me, whether it's like my coaches or like you know the Lady Ball community and the supporters behind it.
50:44
SPEAKER_12: So I mean, I don't feel pressure, but I'm very excited to be able to play in front of those supporters and to play in the arena.
50:50
SPEAKER_12: So I mean, I'm excited.
50:52
SPEAKER_11: Well, it's coming.
50:53
SPEAKER_11: It's coming fast, and you've worked hard to get back, and people are excited to see you.
50:57
SPEAKER_11: It's a pretty big week around here.
50:58
SPEAKER_11: Are you going to the game Saturday?
51:00
SPEAKER_12: Yeah.
51:01
SPEAKER_12: I mean, I want to I want to make it to the game.
51:02
SPEAKER_12: I mean, my mom might go and go to the game.
51:04
SPEAKER_12: She's like, so I know it's gonna be packing very hot.
51:08
SPEAKER_11: So well, it's not this Saturday.
51:10
SPEAKER_11: Really?
51:10
SPEAKER_11: It's gonna be much nicer.
51:12
SPEAKER_12: I love it.
51:13
SPEAKER_12: I love the game.
51:13
SPEAKER_12: I I want to see the game, so that's great.
51:15
SPEAKER_11: It's gonna be a great game.
51:16
SPEAKER_11: The feeling being part of an athletic department like this where there's so many things that are a big deal.
51:23
SPEAKER_12: Yeah.
51:23
SPEAKER_12: What's that like?
51:24
SPEAKER_12: It's it's changing.
51:26
SPEAKER_12: Like it's it's crazy.
51:27
SPEAKER_12: Uh honestly, like Cedon Hall didn't have a lot of this stuff.
51:29
SPEAKER_12: So it's like when I came here, football games are like big, it's a lot of kids' classes are bigger.
51:35
SPEAKER_12: So like I'm just adjusting to it, honestly.
51:37
SPEAKER_12: Um, coming from like a small school.
51:39
SPEAKER_12: So I mean, it's it's great.
51:40
SPEAKER_12: It's like it lights up the um, it lights up the campus, honestly, to see a lot of people enjoying things and doing like a lot of campus um environment things.
51:49
SPEAKER_12: So it looks great.
51:50
SPEAKER_12: I mean, I love it.
51:51
SPEAKER_11: So you're just enjoying going to school here.
51:53
SPEAKER_11: Yeah, honestly.
51:53
SPEAKER_11: Along with we can't wait to watch you play.
51:56
SPEAKER_11: Thank you for taking time.
51:57
SPEAKER_12: Thank you so much.
51:58
SPEAKER_11: All right, that's Jada Eats, lady of all basketball player, number 10 from Orlando, Florida.
52:03
SPEAKER_11: I'm Mike Keith, no number, originally from Franklin, Tennessee.
52:06
SPEAKER_11: But that's gonna do it for the Mike Keith show, delivered by Uber Eats.
52:12
SPEAKER_11: Thanks for joining us, and we'll see you next time.
52:17
SPEAKER_09: All week long to the latest from the Tennessee campus, the Mike Keith Show, online, delivered by Uber Eats.
52:24
SPEAKER_09: Sports.com, the fall network.