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Thursday, October 29, 2026Oct 29

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Cobbservations: Vols have some players ‘changing the narrative’

Tennessee's Micah Abernathy (22) tackles UMass's Andy Isabella (23).  The University of Massachusetts Minutemen visited the University of Tennessee Volunteers in NCAA football action in Knoxville on September 23, 2017.
Tennessee's Micah Abernathy (22) tackles UMass's Andy Isabella (23). The University of Massachusetts Minutemen visited the University of Tennessee Volunteers in NCAA football action in Knoxville on September 23, 2017. Tennessee's Micah Abernathy (22) tackles UMass's Andy Isabella (23). The University of Massachusetts Minutemen visited the University of Tennessee Volunteers in NCAA football action in Knoxville on September 23, 2017.

KNOXVILLE – Between the Urban Meyer saga at Ohio State and the D.J. Durkin saga at Maryland, college football feels a little icky these days.

No place is immune. Tennessee dismissed a player last month. There is bad in the sport, yes.

There is also plenty of good.

Recently, first-year Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt brought in Rachel Baribeau, founder of “Changing the Narrative,” to speak with the team. She travels around the country talking to college football players about “taking back the headlines for good – showing them that they have the power to change the narrative and to find their purpose in life outside of their sport.”

There are a number of players on their 2018 roster with impressive resumes in the classroom and community.