Vols' feel-good summer suffers rough week

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker and Patrick Brown convened via the magic of Al Gore’s Internets to discuss a week with a trifecta of rough news for a Tennessee program that had previously enjoyed a feel-good summer.Rough news began in the middle of the week, when it was revealed that multiple Tennessee student-athletes in multiple sports — including football — had tested positive for COVID-19. None of the 91 Tennessee football players on campus had tested positive in the first round of tests last month, but the tests after the July 4 holiday weekend revealed a different story. Specific numbers weren’t given, either, which on the surface sounded a bit ominous. Conversations with people in the program have revealed that it’s not a horrible situation at this point, though, so the first segment of this episode is focused on putting that news in perspective.The second segment of this episode is focused on the fallout from this week’s news that Tennessee senior starting tight end Austin Pope has had another back surgery and senior defensive lineman Emmit Gooden has been dismissed from the program following an arrest for his alleged actions in a troubling off-the-field incident.The next GoVols247 Podcast episode will be released Monday, unless major breaking news occurs before that point.