Tennessee surprisingly reached the Southeastern Conference championship game last season. This season, the Vols are ready for the next step: Win the title.
Even if no one else outside of the Vols themselves agree.
Most analysts and preseason polls predict Tennessee to finish third in the SEC East behind Florida and Georgia. But Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer argues his Vols are knocking on the door.
“We just came from the SEC championship. We played the stew out of the national champions. We won 10 (games). We’ve got to get over the hump,”
Fulmer said.
The Vols went 10-4 last season, lost to LSU in the SEC championship but beat Wisconsin at the Outback Bowl, their first bowl win since 2004. They have reached the SEC title game four times in the past decade, winning only in 1998 en route to a national championship.
Fulmer has eight starters back on offense and six on defense joining a number of younger players who earned valuable playing time in 2007. He also has new offensive coordinator Dave Clawson and a new starting quarterback in Jonathan Crompton, helping Tennessee freshen up its offense.
The dour predictions for the defending SEC East champ may have something to do with a rough schedule, which opens on Labor Day night at UCLA.
The Vols host Florida on Sept. 20 and Alabama on Oct. 25, and travel to Auburn Sept. 27 and Georgia on Oct. 11. Four opponents — Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Kentucky — all have open dates before playing Tennessee.
Clawson likes to put the ball into the hands of his best playmakers, and he’s spending fall camp finding those players.
“I don’t care if we throw the ball for 300 yards a game or rush it for 300 yards a game, I just want to be productive and help the program win games,”
he said.
Crompton takes over for Erik Ainge, who finished third on the Vols’ career passing list with 8,700 yards and signed with the New York Jets. Crompton’s best experience was limited to playing nearly two full games for an injured Ainge in 2006. The high school Parade All-American threw two long TD passes in each of those games and showed his versatility with the run.
He showed off his arm and legs during spring practice, but also committed mental errors and forced plays that resulted in turnovers.
With 2,394 career yards rushing, senior Arian Foster needs 685 to pass Tennessee’s all-time career rusher Travis Henry and is looking forward to a big year. He will have help from junior Montario Hardesty, finally healthy after a recurring ankle injury last season, sophomore Lennon Creer and freshman Tauren Poole.
The Vols also are bringing back the fullback, a questionable move with senior David Holbert suffering a season-ending knee injury during spring practice.
Tennessee has no shortage of wide receivers. Returning starters include junior Austin Rogers and seniors Josh Briscoe and Lucas Taylor, who led the pack with 1,000 yards receiving. Challenging for playing time are junior Quintin Hancock and sophomores Denarius Moore and Gerald Jones, who also will take some snaps under center to keep defenses guessing.
Led by senior Anthony Parker, the Vols return an offensive line that allowed a nation-low four sacks last season on 534 pass attempts. Under Clawson’s offense, linemen will switch sides of the ball based on offensive formations.
The defense is led by the safety tandem of junior Demetrice Morley and sophomore Eric Berry.
Morley returns after spending a year getting his grades in shape, and has been a standout in the team’s spring and fall scrimmages with several picks. Berry, who led the Vols last season with five interceptions and set a school record with 222 interception return yards, returns at strong safety.
The challenge will be replacing last year’s leading tackler Jerod Mayo, the 10th pick in this year’s NFL draft by the New England Patriots.
Junior Rico McCoy, who finished second with 106 tackles will anchor the linebacker corps with senior Ellix Wilson taking over Mayo’s middle spot.
The defensive line only recorded 24 sacks last season but is expected to be stronger and faster, led by senior end Robert Ayres. Senior Demonte Bolden and junior Dan Williams will line up at tackle, while junior Wes Brown joins Ayres at end.
Depth at defensive tackle took a shot with Chase Nelson’s season-ending injury, but Walter Fisher returns with plenty of playing experience. Donald Langley and Victor Thomas have shown promise during fall practice. Ben Martin and Chris Walker should play at ends as well.
Sophomore Daniel Lincoln, who set a single-season kicking record last year with 115 points, returns to handle field goal duties. He will compete for kickoff duties with sophomore Chad Cunningham, who will start at punter for at least the first five games while senior Britton Colquitt serves a suspension for an offseason drunk driving arrest.
