Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray will leave the Vols and enter his name into the upcoming NFL Draft, according to a source reports Bruce Feldman of CBSSports.com.

Bray suffered through an up-and-down junior season starting for the 5-7 Vols, completing 268-of-451 (59.4%) for 3,612 yards, 34 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a 146.3 rating. A low point of Bray’s season was his benching in the second quarter of the Vols’ 41-18 loss to Vanderbilt.

His NFL projections have ranged as high as the fourth-best quarterback after Matt Barkley (USC), Geno Smith (West Virginia) and Tyler Wilson (Arkansas), or as low as the ninth-best prospect likely to go no higher than the fourth round.

Other draft analysts have encouraged Bray to return to Tennessee for his senior year under new head coach Butch Jones.

QB Tyler Bray is leaving Tennessee to put his name into April's NFL Draft, a source tells CBS.—
Bruce Feldman (@BFeldmanCBS) December 20, 2012

The Tennessee Vols have reportedly offered the coaching job to Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy, reports Bruce Feldman:

Tennessee has offered the Vols head coaching job to Mike Gundy, a source told CBS this morning.

—
Bruce Feldman (@BFeldmanCBS) December 05, 2012

The Vols fired Derek Dooley last month after he went 4-7 this season and 1-14 in SEC play for the past two seasons. There has been speculation for the past few days that the coaching job was narrowed down to Louisville’s Charlie Strong or Gundy, with some reports putting Strong above Gundy on Tennessee’s list.

Now it’s a waiting game to see whether Gundy accepts, and if he doesn’t, will Strong?

Strong or Gundy would both be great hires. My concern is if Gundy passes, then Strong does over being #2. Then what? Fedora?

—
Clay Travis (@ClayTravisBGID) December 05, 2012

Is Jon Gruden mulling over an offer to coach at Tennessee? Or has he already passed without receiving an offer?

Gruden’s flirtation with Tennessee is done according to a report by Jimmy Hyams of WNML AM/FM in Knoxville, Tenn.

Jon Gruden is out as UT candidate. Informed UT recently after phone talks last week. UT never offered contract, source said.—
Jimmy Hyams (@JimmyHyams) November 30, 2012

Hyams’ report contradicts a Friday morning report from the Chattanooga Times Free Press that Gruden is indeed considering an offer from the school.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press has learned from sources close to the process that Super Bowl-winning coach Jon Gruden has been extended an offer to succeed Derek Dooley.

Sources confirmed that while details are still being negotiated, the university’s offer is very lucrative and there is no firm deadline on a decision.

Gruden’s decision likely will hinge on the money the school is willing to pay for his potential staff, the sources say.

According to the Times Free Press, rumors began to surface late Wednesday afternoon that talks had broken down and that Gruden was no longer a candidate for the job.

However, according to Times Free Press sources, that is not the case. As of Thursday evening, Gruden had weighed an offer but countered that more money would be needed for the staff he is assembling.

On Wednesday, Gruden denied rumors that Tennessee’s offer included an ownership share in the Cleveland Browns, courtesy of new Browns owner Jimmy Haslam – brother of Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, whose father, Jim Haslam, played on Tennessee’s 1951 national championship team and has donated millions of dollars to the university.

Gruden has long been considered a top candidate, even prior to Tennessee’s firing of coach Derek Dooley on Nov. 20.

Lane Kiffin’s tenure at Tennessee has resulted in additional penalties. (Mike Zarrilli, Getty Images)

The University of Tennessee’s football program has been hit with another setback, albeit a relatively minor one.

The university and the NCAA announced Friday that the football program will receive additional penalties relating to recruiting violations when Lane Kiffin was head coach. Tennessee’s probation will be extended for two years, and the coaching staff will have 47 official recruiting visits allowed, down from 51 before the penalties. Tennessee is also forbidden from providing recruits free tickets to their first two SEC games next season.

The penalties stem from the actions of former assistant coach Mack Garza, according to a USA Today report. Garza funded a recruits visit to campus and then lied to the NCAA authorities during the course of the investigation.

Derek Dooley is reportedly out as Tennessee’s head football coach. (Scott Cunningham, Getty Images)

Derek Dooley will be fired as the head football coach at the University of Tennessee after this season, according to a report on Tennessee-focused Rivals site volquest.com.

Dooley has been under increasing scrutiny throughout this season, his third in charge of the Volunteer football program. His team is winless in the Southeastern conference and owns a 4-6 record overall. The team’s last loss to SEC newcomer Missouri was especially bad – Tennessee held a two touchdown lead, but allowed the Tigers to rally back. Missouri won the game 51-48 after four overtimes.

The Volunteers have a 15-20 record in three seasons with Dooley at the helm, with a 4-18 mark against SEC competition.

Tennessee coach Derek Dooley underwent hip surgery on Tuesday and will coach his team from the press box on Saturday. (John Sommers II/Getty Images)

Tennessee head football coach Derek Dooley underwent hip surgery Tuesday and will coach from the team from the press box Saturday when his team plays at Mississippi State, reports ESPN.com.

Dooley had noticed the injury several weeks ago, but thought it was a muscular issue.  Last Friday, he went in for an MRI, and yesterday doctors quickly arranged the surgery to repair a fracture in his left hip, reports WBIR.com.

Surgeons inserted a pin into Dooley’s left hip, according to Volquest.com and that Dooley’s only other option was a full hip replacement.

Dooley will not attend Wednesday morning’s practice, but intends to be at practice Thursday.

Dooley is in his third season with the Volunteers with an overall record of 14-16, including 3-2 this season. Dooley has won only four of his team’s 18 conference games in that stretch.

UT Chancellor Jimmy Cheek said the school would continue its pregame prayers at Neyland Stadium. (John Sommers II/Getty Images)

Jimmy Cheek, chancellor of the University of Tennessee, said on Wednesday that the school would still allow nonsectarian prayers prior to football games, according to knoxnews.com. The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based atheist group, issued a complaint letter saying the school’s prayer practices were unconstitutional.

The pre-game invocation violated a 1997 U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decision — Chaudhuri vs. State of Tennessee — that struck down sectarian prayers at public universities, the foundation argued.

Before the Vols’ 37-20 loss against the Gators on Saturday night, a campus minister from the Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship led a prayer. UT has also scheduled Protestant, Catholic and Jewish leaders to give the invocation before upcoming home games.

Cheek met with the school’s counsel and responded to the foundation, saying,

“I appreciate your concern about this issue, and I want to assure you that I have given this issue careful consideration….At this time, however, the university will continue to allow prayers before university events.”

Top-20 recruit Robert Hubbs committed to Cuonzo Martin. (Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

A source told CBSSports.com Monday morning that top-20 Class of 2013 basketball recruit Robert Hubbs has committed to Tennessee.

Gary Parrish reports Hubbs, a 6-foot-4 guard from Dyer County, Tenn. ranked 18th nationally by CBSSports.com, visited Knoxville this weekend.

Hubbs committed to the Vols after considering offers from Duke, Florida, Missouri, Memphis and most SEC schools. Those offers accumulated on the heels of eye-catching performances this spring and summer. Hubbs wasn’t a nationally ranked recruit until he followed up a solid junior season with outstanding showings at summer showcases.

In early August, he told CBSSports.com’s Jeff Borzello that Tennessee was making the hardest push.

Hubbs is the second highly rated commit for Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin. Jarnell Stokes enrolled at Tennessee in January.

“[This is] clearly a huge pickup for Cuonzo Martin,” said CBSSports.com recruiting analyst Jeff Borzello. “Hubbs is a big-time scorer, and he continues to get better.”

The University of Tennessee’s athletics department operated at a nearly $4 million deficit during the last fiscal year, reports Jimmy Hyams of The Sports Animal radio station.

The athletics department had $106,485,376 in revenue and $110,466,652 in expenses, Hyams reports, based on documents The Sports Animal acquired through a Freedom of Information Act request.

As a result, the department’s “reserve fund” has shrunk to less than $2 million, far less than other schools in the SEC have accumulated.

Some of Tennessee’s expenses will be off the books this year or soon after, but the school is looking to reshape its financial model, Hyams reports.

Bruce Pearl, the former basketball coach, received a $950,000 buyout, just one of many the school was paying. Hyams reports “two football coaches, three basketball coaches, two athletic directors and two baseball coaches” were on the books last year because of a series of personnel changes.

Tennessee Vols’ football coach is in contact with players from Penn State’s football program about transferring schools. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Members of Penn State’s football team have been in contact with University of Tennessee’s head coach Derek Dooley about transferring schools in the wake of Monday’s sanctions levied on the Nittany Lions, according to John Adams of The Knoxville News Sentinel:

“We’ve analyzed (Penn State’s) roster,” said Dooley, who was the featured speaker at the Downtown Rotary Club. “We’ve had some communication with some of the players,”

Dooley would not confirm which players have spoken with him. Per the NCAA, players from Penn State can transfer and become eligible to play immediately.

It’s likely that Dooley is most interested in the Nittany Lions’ running back, Silas Redd, who rushed for 1,241 yards last season as a sophomore. According to the report, Redd’s father told the Harrisburg Patriot-News on Tuesday that his son is still undecided on where he’ll play in the fall.

Penn State was notified by the NCAA on Monday that it would receive a $60 million fine, four-year post-season ban and a cut in its scholarships. The NCAA also erased 14 years of wins from the schools football program, which effectively removes former head coach Joe Paterno as the owner of college football’s record for most wins. The University had Paterno’s statue removed from the campus as well.