While many have put Tennessee Coach Phillip Fulmer on the hot seat, he said he continues to receive support.
“Whether it’s administrative support or friends that are in crucial positions, I appreciate how everyone has handled this and has been supportive,”
Fulmer said Tuesday. “That’s been a real positive for us. I look forward to rewarding that support.”
Fulmer added that all of UT’s 19 commitments for the 2009 recruiting class remain firm.
Warren’s issues: Offensive coordinator Dave Clawson believes he has done a “disservice” to tight end Brandon Warren and could have “hurt his development”
through six games.
Because of injuries to other tight ends, Warren has been asked to do too much since coming to UT in the offseason after transferring from Florida State and sitting out a year, Clawson said.
“In a lot of ways, I don’t think we’ve been fair to him,”
he said.
With depth returning to the tight end position, Warren will be able to do what he does best, which includes making catches and stretching the field.
Hot start: UT used first-team tailback Arian Foster during the first series at Georgia, No. 2 tailback Montario Hardesty in the second series, and No. 3 tailback Lennon Creer in the third series. The purpose was to find out early who was hot. But UT had a difficult time determining that on Saturday when it attempted only 11 true runs.
“I’m going to continue to do that with the intention that we won’t have limited snaps,”
running backs Coach Stan Drayton said. “I am looking for a hot foot. I’m going to find out who is hot.”
Changing it up: Fulmer tweaked his practice routine on Tuesday and changed one period to allow more contact. Previously, there was no contact during that particular period, but players are now allowed to ‘thud,’
or lightly hit each other, but not so hard that they are taken to the ground. The reason, Fulmer said, was to have more game-type speed.
Streak of misery: A loss to Mississippi State would push Tennessee’s SEC losing streak to five games, dating back a the loss to LSU in the 2007 league championship game. The only other five-game SEC losing streak endured by the Vols in the last 45 seasons was in 1977.
That year — Johnny Majors’ first as UT head coach — the Vols lost consecutive SEC games to Auburn, Alabama, Florida, Ole Miss and Kentucky before beating Vanderbilt in the season finale.
Coaching numbers: Saturday’s contest marks Fulmer’s 199th game as head coach at Tennessee. Fulmer (149-49) trails only Gen. Robert R. Neyland (173) in career wins at Tennessee. Fulmer’s 150th coaching victory will put Tennessee alongside Michigan as the only schools with two different coaches with 150-plus victories.
Bo Schembechler (194) and Fielding Yost (165) both topped the 150-win mark for the Wolverines during their tenures.
Poor third and short: Defensive coordinator John Chavis revealed a disturbing stat on Tuesday. He said UT’s defense is 1 of 14 this season when trying to stop an opponent on third-and-two or shorter. That equates to a 7 percent success rate.
“That’s killing us right now,”
Chavis said, adding that some of previous defenses had success rates of around 50 percent.
Extra points: Larry Slade, UT’s defensive backs coach, was not at practice on Tuesday due to the death of his father. Fulmer said Slade is expected to be back at practice Wednesday...Defensive tackle Walter Fisher, a former Hillsboro High School standout, is still battling a toe injury suffered against Georgia but UT coaches said they are hopeful he can play this weekend against Mississippi State.
