KNOXVILLE—Welcome to our weekly column, “The State of the Vols.” Here we summarize and analyze the previous week’s action while looking forward to the coming week for Vol football, basketball, and Lady Vol basketball. Check back next Monday for volume 10.

Football: The Vols wrapped up a wonderful week on Rocky Top with the commitment of 4-star safety (and legacy recruit) Todd Kelly Jr. While he holds offers from numerous top programs, most thought his recruitment would be a close competition between the Crimson Tide and the Vols. He has family ties to both schools. His father starred at defensive end for the Vols before being selected in the first round of the 1993 NFL Draft and his sister is a cheerleader at Alabama. He took to Twitter Sunday evening to proclaim his intentions.

I have officially committed to play football at the University of Tennessee #VFL

— Todd Kelly (T.K.) (@ToddKellyJr6) March 10, 2013

Kelly is the type of player who will find a way to get on the field early, and will challenge for playing time the moment he steps on campus. He also gives the Vols momentum in this class, and he’s proclaimed his intentions to help lure other top talents to Knoxville. Rated as the No. 2 player in Tennessee, Kelly will turn his recruiting eye toward the No. 1 player in the state, Jalen Hurd. Landing a player of Kelly’s caliber early in the recruiting process will be huge for this class moving forward.

Tennessee picked up another commitment this weekend from offensive lineman Coleman Thomas, who attended practice Saturday. Rated as a 3-star prospect by 247Sports and Rivals, Thomas can play every position on the offensive line. The 6-6, 300 pound prospect meets a clear need in this class, and his versatility could help him see the field early in 2014.

We’ve added Kelly, Coleman, and Wharton to our just published “2014 Vol Commitments” page, and you can find more info on each of them there.

The Vols opened spring practice Saturday morning, and it was by all accounts a success. Multiple lettermen were in attendance, and there was a palpable energy on the field. Jones and his staff injected new life into the program, and the players repeatedly emphasized how anxious they were to prove that their recent struggles were an exception, not the norm. Here are a few of our favorites quotes from the first official practice of the Butch Jones era.

“There is so much animosity that is built up in this team and I am sure you will see it throughout the spring.”—Senior defensive end Jacques Smith

“There was a lot more anticipation and more energy out here. Coach Jones is bringing a lot of energy to the Tennessee program. Everybody around the country is excited and looking forward to it, and it’s giving us an energy boost to know that everybody is behind us and looking forward to seeing how team 117 is going to look this year.”—Senior defensive back Byron Moore

“Practice is a lot more intense, more high energy.”—Junior receiver Jacob Carter

“I thought our players were eager. I thought you could feel the energy. But we have a lot of work to do. It has been 105 days since Tennessee has played football and I think it showed a little bit.”—Butch Jones

“Everything is a competition now and we love it.”—Senior linebacker Brent Brewer

“We are hungry for real. Last year, we had the worst defense in Tennessee history. We have a lot of guys that are eager and very hungry, we are just going to be level headed and work all through spring ball, summer workouts and get ready to compete for the fall.”—Senior defensive lineman Mo Couch

At practice, coaches “clicked” improper technique, routes, drills, etc. We asked receiver Jacob Carter what the clicks meant.

“Coach Z (receiver coach Zach Azzanni) has had this clicker since 2006…it’s got tape and it’s all rusted out. Anything, bad stance, bad body language—that’s what we worry about a lot, not showing the defense we’re tired—bad ball security, bad route running, anything. He’s a stickler and the first day is always rough. But anytime he sees anything like that he clicks it, and he might click it three times, at the end of practice we have that many push ups (to do) just to remind us of the things we need to work on (as a unit). It will make us a lot better in the end.”—Junior receiver Jacob Carter

If you missed it, you can check out our first report from practice No. 1 for more quotes and notes.

The Vols have three practices scheduled this week (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday), and we’ll make sure to bring you updates from each. Thursday will be the first time Tennessee will practice in full pads, and Saturday they’ll scrimmage for the first time.

Basketball: The Vols took care of business at Auburn Wednesday evening behind 21 points from both Trae Golden and Jordan McRae. Tennessee returned home to play NCAA Tournament bound Missouri. The Tigers led by eight with 10 minutes to play, but the Vols proved to be the tougher team down the stretch and bolstered their tournament resume with a 64-62 win.

Cuonzo Martin said after the game, “I think we’re an NCAA Tournament team. There are 68 teams and I think we’re one of them. I think the job is done and now the next phase for us is to compete in the tough SEC tournament in Nashville. I think that the work is done for the NCAA. You look at resumes of teams of the work they’ve done and the work we’ve done, (we’ve) put ourselves in the position now.”

Tennessee’s RPI stands at 55, and they’ll likely need two wins in Nashville to secure a certain NCAA Tournament bid. The Vols play at 3:30 p.m. ET Thursday against the winner of the South Carolina/Mississippi State game. If Tennessee advances, they’ll play Alabama Friday at 3:30 p.m. We’ll be live from Nashville this week bringing you coverage of Tennessee’s SEC Tournament run.

Lady Vols: Things didn’t go as planned in the SEC Tournament for Tennessee as they were bounced in the semifinals by Texas A&M. Without Isabelle Harrison (who is out with an MCL strain in her right knee), UT lacked the size needed to stave off the Aggies. Getting Harrison healthy before the NCAA Tournament will be a priority. With Harrison, this is a dangerous team which can make a run deep into March; without her, they could get sent home in the early rounds. The bracket for the NCAA Tournament will be announced March 18th at 7 p.m. (TV: ESPN)