Austin: Hello everybody and welcome in for another episode of Vol Club Confidential. I'm your host Austin Price of VoQWest.com. An exciting show tonight Tennessee baseball player Jared Dickey will join us. He has got a fascinating story and we're excited to hear it. But before he joins us, we're going to talk to Spyre Co-Founder and CEO James Clawson. James, when you see where this basketball season is at, is we wrap up the month of February, head towards the month of March. What does the volunteer club have in store for its members? James: Yeah, so we're excited about the basketball tournament in Nashville in our home stage. We have a presence in Nashville. Depending on what day-sense he plays, just check your emails for updates on that. But we will follow the Vols as far as they go in the SEC and NCAA tournaments. Austin: Do you think that the fact that you've had these watch parties and you've had some key members like Kenny Clayton host watch parties, that the community has grown of Vol fans, that even if they're not able to make it to the game, to the arena or whatever, we can still get together. Almost like an alumni group of the volunteer club and watch these games. James: Yeah, and a big shout out to Kenny Clayton because he's been an elite member and just an awesome friend. Can’t say enough good things about him, but yes, I think people have found this as a community in a way to get together and everybody shares a common bond because we all love the Vols. That's been cool to see something we didn't expect but has been almost a rallying cry for people that want to join because they want to be part of the events and the things that we're doing around games. Austin: All right, in the coming weeks we will preview the big tailgate before the spring game. We'll talk about Spyre and the Volunteer Club's role at Tennessee baseball this spring, all that coming up in the weeks ahead. But speaking of Tennessee baseball, let's get to our main attraction, Jared Dickey. Austin: Jared, you're from Mount Juliet. Tennessee guy all the way, growing up or is this some of those things where you fell in love with Orange the older you got? Dickey: I fell in love with Orange the older I got. I was a Bama fan my entire life just simply because my dad had a relationship with Coach Saban whenever he was recruiting a few players from the school that he was at. So, a Bama fan my whole life. Austin: So, to recap, we've got Camden Sewell who was a Florida fan growing up and Jared Dickey who was an Alabama fan growing up. But you morphed and what have you learned and learned to appreciate about Knoxville and Rocky Top the more you've been here? Dickey: Yeah, I mean there's really not one specific thing that you can just put a dot on. But I mean the fanbase is probably the number one thing. They're always going to be really supportive of you even when you're not doing the best. They're still going to be there supporting you doing stuff like that. But I think one of the biggest things is just like the culture around the entire university and how all the student-athletes have each other's backs. It's pretty cool. Austin: When you look at this year's baseball team, you've got a lot of the similar faces with Beam and Burns and Dollander and Camden Sewell and people like that on the pitching staff. But the hitters, you know, few recognizable names, but a lot of new names for fans. Do you kind of like that because everybody's feeling like, oh there's going to be a big fall off with the production as far as, you know, RBIs and home runs and stuff like that. You kind of feel like you're all kind of laying low under the radar a little bit? Dickey: Yeah, I definitely think so. That's actually that's a question that somebody asked me the other day like, oh, there's no way you'll have the production that you had last year. But little do people know that people have been swinging it recently. So I'm really excited to see what they can do this year. But yeah, I think it's definitely being slept on at the moment. Austin: The season's just now getting started. Tennessee coming back off of that, you know, trip out to Arizona last week and back home for a lengthy home stand. You like playing at home or do you like that road atmosphere where it's kind of us against the world. Dickey: Yeah, no, I mean, I think the road atmosphere is definitely something special because like especially last year at Ole Miss. That was a really special trip. So yeah, the road's really fun, but you know, being around a Vol nation and having the Vol fans and stadium, it's a special thing. Austin: How would you describe your game? For fans that, you know, maybe you've watched you a little bit, but haven't watched you a ton and it'll see you so much more this year. How would you describe how you play? Dickey: Yeah, I'd like to think I'm a hard-nosed guy and I'm just going to go out there and compete every single day. Other than that, you know, at the plate, I'm not going to strike out much. I'm going to go up there and I'm going to get my job done every time I can. So that's how I describe it. Austin: I feel like you're always going opposite field. And I don't know, is that something you're always intentionally trying to do, or is that just kind of how the swing path? I mean, what is that always been the case? Because you know, and maybe I'm crazy, but it just feels like you just go like, you know, between, you know, you're in an opposite-filled double all the time. Dickey: Oh, yeah, definitely. It's a lot of it has to do with my approach at the plate. I just try to hit everything up the middle. And honestly, I just let it get deep and a lot of them end up doing it on an opposite field. So Austin: When you look at this team, everybody's going to say, well, they're going to miss the, you know, the emotion of Drew Gilbert. Who brings that this year? Who's that? Who's going to be that emotional catalyst? Dickey: You know, to be honest with you, I don't think there's going to be one specific guy because yeah, like you said, Drew, he brought up a lot of emotion. So I don't think we're going to be able to match like what he brought to the table, but I honestly do not think that's a bad thing. I think we're going to have a lot of level-headed guys, and there will be a few guys that bring that emotion just not to the level that he did. Austin: But you still have to deal with the fact that everybody wants to kind of put one on Tennessee because, you know, that last year's group was such a bunch of, you know, they were emotional. They talked trash. They backed it up. Even if this group doesn't talk as much trash, you're dealing with kind of the repercussions of last year. So is that something that you feel like this team is suited for though because it's never too high and never too low? Dickey: I completely think so. A lot of the teams are going to have a red X by our name whenever we're walking in their stadium or they're walking in to ours. So I think, you know, just knowing that people are going to want to beat us more than they want to be anybody else. They're always going to throw their best punch at us. Austin: Take me to the play in center field this year. Dickey: Man, it's actually something I'd done before if my freshman summer in North Carolina. I played it for, I want to say, it was about 45 games that we played out there. And it's kind of, you know, just easy to me now. I don't want to say, I don't want to say easy, but I mean, it's come easy. Austin: Evan, you know, moved transition into that catcher role last year so easily. And everybody thought that was going to be kind of the path you took at one of the last season ended. Charlie is really, you know, kind of growing a lot in the off-season, which is afforded you to be able to go to center field. If he has to miss, are you the natural in line to go with a catcher? Dickey: Yeah, no, I definitely think it's a possibility, but then you've got a guy like Cal Stark and Ryan Miller, who also worked their butts off. So just having so many options back there, that's another room that's been slept on as the catcher's room. And putting in the work every single day with Coach Elander and just the things that they do and what they go through, I think it's definitely a position that people are sleeping on right now. Austin: You look at this team, you got Kyle Booker and some players that have a lot of potential but haven't been in the starting lineup. Trey Lipscomb was that guy a year ago and then all of a sudden, you know, next thing you know, he's getting drafted really high and having, you know, SEC player of the year type season. Who's that guy this year? Is it Booker? Is it somebody else? I mean, who kind of comes out of nowhere for fans? Dickey: Yeah, I think in my personal opinion, there are three different guys. It could be Booker, it could be Hunter Ensley or it could be Logan Chambers. They've all been swinging the stick really well. And I think they've got a lot of potential to, you know, just have great years. They're all just putting the bat on the ball and making the most of the opportunities that they get. Austin: So what do you enjoy most about the game? Dickey: You know, it's just, it's always been something that takes my head just completely out of the world. So anytime I'm on the field, I just feel like it's, you know, it's just my safe space. Austin: I know you're one that has kind of battled, you know, you know, some demons. How much have you grown through all that? As you kind of worked your way back and as far as the mental headspace? Dickey: Yeah, now I think I've grown more than I could have ever imagined. It's definitely, definitely a rough patch of life there for a little bit, but having the coaching staff there and really one of the biggest people that was there for me was Q and having him back and being able to talk to him anytime about anything going on. They've really helped me just grow to be the man that I am today. Austin: What do you like most about this year's team? Dickey: Wow. The chemistry in the locker room, it's pretty good. I know a lot of people are saying, oh, there's all these new faces. They're not going to really bond that well. No, we're bonding really well. The chemistry in the locker room and then we go out on the field and everybody wants to, you know, be there for everybody else. I think the guys on the bench have the guys on the field's backs. So it's something really special. Austin: If there's one pitcher on this staff that you wouldn't want to face, who is that? I mean, I know you get a little piece going through scrimmages and stuff, but I mean, who is a nightmare for you when you go to the plate in practice? Dickey: It's Andrew Lindsey. And I really don't even think it's a question because I hope Beam and Burns and Dollander watch this, but I kind of have their number right now. But yeah, Andrew Lindsay, he's got some of the best stuff that I've ever seen. Austin: Toughest pitch for you to hit is what? Dickey: I don't know if I'm supposed to say that you know. Austin: That's true. You don't want to give your secrets away. That's a good point. One thing you've not done at Tennessee that you want to accomplish, whether it be as a team or an individual. Dickey: My freshman year was my redshirt year, so I didn't get to travel with the team. So something that I want to do personally is go to Omaha. I want to make that trip. And not only do I want to make that trip, I want to come back home with the hardware. So I think ever since we lost to Notre Dame, that's been my motivation. Austin: How tough was that last year? I mean, you went through the whole season, basically, number one and all of a sudden, a rough weekend and they're hot. You know, I mean, tournament baseball is just like tournament basketball. I mean, it doesn't matter what, you know, Rick and the basketball team's playing like an early February. If they're playing right in March, that's what matters. Same thing for you guys. Dickey: Yeah, no it was really tough. Like you said, Notre Dame came in and they were hot. They had a lot of older guys on the team. They were well coached, so credit to them for that. But yeah, they came in at the right time and we kind of got a tough draw. But yeah, they came in and did what they had to do and moved on. So we, I think we learned a lot from it and we're going to take that into this year. Austin: Everybody talks about Frank and what he means to the pitching staff. What's Elander mean to the hitters? Dickey: I can't say enough good things about Coach E. Yeah, I don't even really know where to start because to be honest, he lets us have our own approach at the plate unless we're going through some stuff struggling. But he's always in the cages. So he'll stay in there as long as he possibly could until his arm blows out. So yeah, he's really special to our program and Coach Bonfield as well. They're doing the most to help develop us into the best hitters and young men that we can be. Austin: Do you ever get on YouTube and watch old baseball clips? Do you know what I mean? 80s, 90s, 70s. I mean, if I'm talking, you know, Willie Stargell and Cecil Fielder and people like that, is that something that resonates with you or you're like, it's just not something I've watched? Dickey: Yeah, I'm probably not even supposed to say this, but a lot of the time during classes, I find myself on YouTube watching that. So yeah, I know exactly what you're saying for sure. Austin: What players from previous generations did you really enjoy watching clips on? Dickey: Man, the person that he's not even that, he's not even that old. But Chipper Jones has been my guy ever since I've seen him play. I've kind of tried to model my swing exactly after him with the toe tap and everything. So just watching him play and the fire that he played with, it's something that has always stuck with me. Austin: You a Braves fan growing up then? Dickey: Oh yeah, I was. Austin: Still Braves fan? Dickey: Still Braves fan. Austin: One of the world's greatest couple of years ago, what was it about Chipper's hitting approach? Because I mean, he was a switch guy, you know, that stood out to you besides the toe tap. Dickey: Every single time I watched him, he went up to the plate aggressive and he actually made a video talking about his approach at the plate and how he would go up and sit certain pitches. And I kind of learned a lot from, you know, just what he was looking at at the pitcher. And the charts that they had are obviously very advanced. But like I said, just going up there, sitting certain pitches, and then being aggressive early in the count. Austin: What do you feel like you've got to continue to improve? Where does Jared Dickey's game have to get better at? Dickey: Yeah, I think I'm in a really good spot right now, but obviously, I'd say the thing that I could improve on right now is just staying consistent behind the plate and making sure that I'll be able to get the low pitches behind the plate. And then in center field, just making sure that I'm getting the best reads that I can possibly get. Like we've had a few days recently where the sky has just been completely clear. So just trying to get better reads out there and yeah. Austin: Kind of take the people at home through that because I think, you know, everybody thinks oh, you just go catch the ball. But I mean, you've got gray days or it's real cloudy. You've got bright sunny days. You've got bright blue days and understanding how the ball comes off the face of an aluminum bat, you know, and kind of, you know, if it's a little more of a line drive, more of a pop-up, you know, the ball carries at Lindsey Nelson anyway. I mean, how difficult is that? Dickey: Yeah, at Lindsey Nelson, it's extremely difficult. So there will be certain days when there are no clouds in the sky at all and you have no depth perception at all. And then there will be days when it's cloudy, those are the easy days. And then whenever the sun goes down and the lights are on, there will be like a 35-minute time period where if the ball is hit above the lights, you have no idea where it's at. So there will be people screaming from right field, people screaming from the infield trying to tell you where it's at. But yeah, it's really tough. And then having to read it off the bat, luckily Coach V has made it very, very easy for us because he's always screaming at the top of his lungs and whenever it's hit off the cap and whenever it's hit off the barrel, he's screaming back. Austin: Your number, is that one just given to you, or is that one that has a little meaning behind it? Dickey: It's got a lot of meaning behind it. So 17 was the number that my dad wore when he was in high school and whenever he started coaching, he'd wear that number. And then my sister actually wore that number throughout high school and then was fortunate enough to wear it one of her years in college. So it was something that I wanted to take over. Austin: So a lot of family traditions there. Better player, you were your sister. Dickey: Me, it's not close. She might have me on the speed. I'm not a lie. She was one of the fastest people that I have ever seen. So credit to her on that. Austin: If you love to watch softball, it's a faster pace game than baseball. You know, those games go fast, so much faster than baseball. Baseball's always throwing it first base and there's always some kind of review anymore. I mean, those games seem like they can just kind of come to a halt. How much did you enjoy watching softball? And were you able to pick anything up that you could use in your game? Dickey: Yeah, I mean, I really enjoyed watching it, especially whenever she got to the college level because it was a lot more competitive than high school. But yeah, they do a lot of different things. Like obviously they have all the chances and stuff, so those get annoying every once in a while. But yeah, I think the thing that I watched my sister do is just give her all every day. And she, like she was really good at getting reads in the outfield as well. So I took some pointers from her on that whenever I was younger. So I'd say that's the one thing that I learned the most. Austin: Yeah, you go to LSU, and you go to Arkansas this year. Those are the two biggest road games or road weekends that you're looking forward to. Dickey: Yeah, definitely. Um, I've kind of had to circle on my calendar just simply because of all the hype around LSU. I really want to go in there and just show them what this team is about. Austin: Do you think this team is going to win more with singles, doubles, and triples or they're still going to win with the long ball offensively? Dickey: I think I think you're going to get more of a combination of both of those this year. We're still going to hit plenty of long balls, but I think you're also going to get a lot of doubles and you're going to get a lot of triples. There's a lot of speed on the bases as well. Austin: And when you when the call comes in the still a base, is that that exciting to you or you make you nervous? You know, kind of taking me through that for you. Dickey: I don't know whenever whenever Coach Elander gives a sign, it's it kind of lights you up. So you get you get you kind of get those butterflies in your stomach, but yeah, I mean we've practiced it so many times and it just kind of comes naturally. Austin: What's most what's something most people don't know about Jared Dickey? Dickey: Yeah, I know. I know Coach V tells us not to really look at Twitter that much, but I happen to get on Twitter after a game that we played and people are just talking about Jared Dickey doesn't have the wheels for center. So just those people out there, I promise I've got the wheels and I'll show them off soon enough. Austin: Oh, I can he's motivated. What you know, you kind of like that having a chip on your shoulder? Is that something you kind of you almost want the doubters? Dickey: Oh, yeah, I love em. I love it so much. It's it's always been something that's motivated me whenever people doubt me. I just always prove it wrong. Austin: But you're not a big trash talker. It doesn't seem like. Dickey: Oh, no, I'll never talk that. Austin: Or do you do it or kind of quietly where nobody really sees it? Dickey: No, I'll never talk trash with somebody just because I know the people on the other side have put in a lot of work as well. So credit to them. And if they want to talk to me and trash talk me then good for them, but I'm going to prove them wrong every single time. Austin: What one picture in the league? Do you kind of relish the chance to go up against? You know, not like I'm ready to you know, you'll get to hit off that guy. I just be like, this is a good, this is a good challenge to test where I'm at. Dickey: Yeah, I'd say just reading stuff on Twitter and how he's been doing so far. Paul Schienz from LSU. I think that's the guy that I'm craving to get in the box against. Austin: All right let's take a kind of a rapid fire approach here. What's in the, the old Ipa or Ipa? Ipa what's in the playlist? Oh, sure. Dickey: So many good songs in there. One that I always listen to before games, it's called As the World Caves in. And I just like a slower song to get to just get everything to neutral. And then while I'm doing mobility, there'll be like a lot of EDM songs just trying to get me, get me hyped up a little bit, get the blood flowing. Austin: You big chocolate guy? Dickey: No, I'm not. Austin: what your jam for snack then? Dickey: Wow, we've got these, we've got these little bars at the field. They're called Z bars. Yeah, we know the bars. Yeah, they're so good. Austin: What's favorite flavor? Dickey: Chocolate chip. Austin: Chocolate chip. So, you're not a chocolate guy with chocolate chip. Dickey: Yeah, I didn't really think about that too much. Austin: Favorite flavor of ice cream? Dickey: Vanilla. Austin: Vanilla. Dinner with three people dead or alive, who would it be? Dickey: Chipper Jones, Rihanna, and Kate Upton. Austin: Thoughts on her performance at the Super Bowl. Dickey: I thought it was electric. I was locked in the entire time. I think she had a really good presence as well. Austin: Pretty neat how they had her suspended like 150 feet above the ground too. Dickey: That was crazy. I could see her shaking a little bit, but good for her. Austin: I think everybody, I think everybody was shaking. Favorite sport besides baseball? Dickey: I'm going to have to go football. Austin: Favorite team? Dickey: Titans. Austin: Has that always been that way? Dickey: It's always been that way. It's been rough some years, but yeah, I'll always stick with them. Austin: Favorite Titan of all time? Dickey: Honestly, I met Kevin Byard one time and he was one of the best dudes I've ever met, so I'm going to go with him. Austin: He left an impact on you. You have a chance to leave an impact on kids, sign autographs, stuff like baseball games, going to read schools for Dr. Seuss, Read Across America Day, that type of thing. Is that something your kind of like doing because you have a chance to leave an impact too? Dickey: Yeah, definitely. Because you see all the kids on the side, the fence after we play our games, and I just think to myself that was me one day. I always go over there and make sure I sign their stuff and just make sure they have a smile on their face. Austin: Favorite uniform? Dickey: That's smokey greys. Austin: Smokey greys. No Sunday creams? Dickey: No, not at all. The Sunday creams, they do not fit me well. I think I don't know if it was Pav or who wore a 17 before Pav, but it is huge. Austin: That's fantastic. Best atmosphere as a student. Is it basketball? Is it football? Dickey: This might be biased, but I'd say baseball. Austin: No, no, no, no, as a student. You're a student. But you just get to go as a fan to these other ones. Dickey: Yeah, I'd say definitely football, especially that Alabama game being everybody's right here on top of you. That was a pretty special moment. Austin: Would you get down the field? Dickey: No, I actually didn't. I stayed down, field side for about three quarters and then went up to the box to watch the last quarter of it. Austin: Coach, Vitello was out here a few weeks ago when we talked about the team and where this program has been, where it's headed and stuff. He just seems like he instills so much confidence in you all, and lets you all be. You talked about Elander letting you do your thing at the point. Each individual is a different individual. Kinda feel that way about Coach Vitello? Dickey: Yeah, definitely. Like I said, about Coach Elander, there's just not enough good things to say about Coach V. He's always going to have your back on the field, off the field. It could be two o'clock at night. If you call him, he'll answer and he'll be there for you. That's just one thing about him that gives us a little extra confidence in everything that he does. Obviously, sometimes there will be times in your head where you're like, I don't know if I like what he's doing, but he's always got a thought process behind what he does. Austin: Can you talk about him being there for you? You could count on him. I know you can count on more than one, but who's that one guy in a pinch? If I make the call, he'll make it happen for me. Dickey: Yeah, I think I think I'm going to have to go Griffin Merritt. Austin: But he's new. Dickey: He’s a newbie, but he's also my roommate, but he hasn't failed me yet. So knock on wood. It'll always be him. Austin: All right. Well, Griffin Merritt will join us in just a couple of weeks here on Vol Club Confidential. It's a little bit more than usual as we get into the month of March. Tennessee baseball is underway, home stand underway. And this guy would love to see you out there at Lindsay Nelson watching the baseball Vols of the spring. I'd appreciate you, my man. Dickey: Thank you very much.