Ed Orgeron was known to rip a few shirts off during his Ole Miss days. It was his way of whipping his players into a frenzy, not to mention a favorite recruiting ploy of his.
It's a trick that's made its way to Tennessee.
The Vols hosted "Junior Day" last weekend, as more than 100 top prospects visited the Tennessee campus unofficially. What they got, according to several of those players, was a virtuoso, bare-chested performance by several of the Tennessee coaches after they split from their parents.
Defensive lineman Denzel McCoy of Atlanta told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that several of the Tennessee players, including All-American safety Eric Berry, got into the act and they were all jumping around and yelling, "UT Wild Boys," while some of the coaches banged on the doors.
Nobody saw Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin with his shirt off. But by all accounts, he seemed to be enjoying the festivities.
The whole wild scene is reminiscent of Orgeron's legendary first meeting with his Ole Miss players when he took the head job there prior to the 2005 season. The story's been repeated over and over and no doubt embellished a bit.
But in short, he glared at his players in the meeting room, and after leaving briefly, came back in bare-chested and with a few choice words invited anybody in the room to come whip his you-know-what if they had the guts.
Pretty soon, every player on the team had his shirt off, and half the room was chanting "Ole Miss" and the other half "Wild Boys."
Obviously, shirtless is in at Tennessee, too.
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