SB Nation - Lennon Creer

Opening Our Files: Roundup on Tennessee Previews & Other Volunteer Notes

Nestor — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 10:00:26 -0000

So let's officially open up our collective notebooks on Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols under first year head coach Lane Kiffin is coming off a picture perfect opener against newly minted D-1 Western Kentucky. The numbers the Volunteers piled up against the Hilltoppers were pretty sick. From the Tennessee team report posted over at Yahoo! Sports:

Western Kentucky turned Jonathan Crompton into Peyton Manning Lite, as the senior quarterback tossed five touchdown passes Saturday in a season-opening 63-7 annihilation at Neyland Stadium.

"To see Jonathan throw for five touchdowns today, more than he threw for all of last year, was really good for him," Kiffin said. "This is a quarterback and an offensive line that has been torn apart for a while now."

Crompton and the O-line did the tearing in front of a sun-drenched crowd of 98,761. Tennessee finished with 657 yards and 34 first downs, numbers that would have required three games to amass last year when the team went 5-7 and cost Phillip Fulmer his job.

Tailbacks Montario Hardesty and Bryce Brown each rushed for more than 100 yards and scored a touchdown. Hardesty rolled up 160 and Brown, a highly touted freshman, ended with 104.

Monte Kiffin’s defense had the Hilltoppers in minus numbers during the third quarter and allowed only 83 yards in 46 snaps. Western Kentucky picked up just six first downs.

The Volunteers piled up video game numbers on both sides of the ball, racking up 657 total yards and 34 first downs on offense, while limiting the Hiltoppers to 6 first downs (apparently their only first down in first half came via a penalty).

Yeah, I know it's kind of easy to dismiss those crazy numbers because they were taking on a hapless Hilltoppers bunch that was apparently playing their first D-1 game. However, I am not going to discount this kind of performance in their opening game under new coach, because it (at least on paper) shows that they are trying to put together a team with lethal killer instincts.

Bruins will have a puncher's chance though (even though at this point I am not seeing how we can pull out this win with a freshman QB and a completely revamped OL). The Tennessee team we are going to play this season is going to be a bit different than the one we shocked at the Rose Bowl. I have gathered some of the pre-season notes on their personnel from around the web with the latest update from our colleagues at Rocky Top Talk (RTT), after the jump.

So Kiffin (or should I say the Kiffins?) will be waiting for the Bruins with a team that returns 12 starters (7 on offense and 5 on defense) from last year's team. Paul Meyerberg from the New York Times has the following lowdown on the key losses from last year's team:

Key losses: Tennessee’s losses on offense are most felt at receiver, where the team lost two 2008 starters to graduation and another pair of potential 2009 starters to injuries. Lucas Taylor was one of Tennessee’s more dependable targets last fall, making 26 grabs for a team-leading 332 yards. The Vols also lost the part-time starter Josh Briscoe, who made 14 receptions for 176 yards and a score. Making matters worse, U.T. lost the senior Austin Rogers (14 for 180) for the season in the spring because of an A.C.L. tear, and may also be without the junior Denarius Moore for much of 2009. Moore, who made 11 receptions for 271 yards (a team-best 24.6 yards per reception), broke his left foot two weeks ago and may miss as much as three or four months. The team also faces a gap on the right side of its offensive line, where it lost guard Anthony Parker and tackle Ramon Foster (27 career starts). In the backfield, running back Arian Foster (570 yards, 1 touchdown) might have had a disappointing senior season, but he still departs as the team’s second-leading career rusher (2,964 yards). As a junior, Foster earned all-SEC honors after rushing for 1,193 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also added 83 career receptions, 19 as a senior. The would-be junior Lennon Creer, the team’s second-leading rusher last fall with 388 yards, opted to leave the program in April.

On defense, Tennessee lost a pair of starters at each level: the line, linebackers and secondary. The biggest is most likely end Robert Ayers, who earned all-SEC honors as a senior. He seemed to put it all together in his final season, making 49 tackles, a team-best 15.5 for loss, and 3 sacks. At tackle, the 21-game starter Demonté Bolden had 35 stops (6 for loss) as a senior. Middle linebacker Ellix Wilson led the team with 89 tackles, and added a sack and an interception; a fine season for the first-year starter and team leader. Rounding out the losses at linebacker are Nevin McKenzie (53 tackles, 10 for loss, a team-best 5 sacks) and Adam Myers-White. The U.T. defense must also replace cornerback DeAngelo Willingham and safety Demetrice Morley. Willingham, a two-year starter, finished second on the team with three interceptions. The would-be senior Morley added 42 tackles and 2 interceptions, but was kicked off the squad after violating team rules. That’s the second time Morley has been kicked off the team in three years; he won’t get a third shot.

Now don't get lulled into a false sense of comfort after reading those grafs. ~~First of all not sure where NYT got their info on Lucas Taylor because I still see him listed in Tennessee's depth chart this season. So that's a mistake~~. As for their losses at WRs, they have plenty of youngsters sprinkled through their depth chart (PDF) (HT hooper at RTT via Chattanooga Times Free Press).

Also, despite the loss of Paker and Foster at the OL, the Voluntees will have a powerful, huge veteran OL ready for the Bruin front-7 this weekend in Knoxville. If I read their correctly everyone except their center is over 300lbs and all of their starter are upper classmen (except for Jarrod Shaw, the 6-4, 332 Jr. who is listed as "Co-No-1" with Aaron Douglas, 6-6 282 red shirt freshman) From Athlon Sports' pre-season capsule on the Tennessee OL:

Chaney (OC John Cheney, who who Kiffin pried away from the St. Louis Rams, - BN Ed.) has brought with him a zone blocking scheme that has enabled the Vols’ linemen to play with more aggression. The interior line is strong with fourth-year starter Josh McNeil at center flanked by fellow seniors Jacques McClendon and Vladimir Richard. Senior Chris Scott has a hold on left tackle duties, while Jarrod Shaw and converted tight end Aaron Douglas are battling for the starting job at right tackle. "Last season was rough," Richard says. "But Coach (Kiffin) is a competitor. He loves smacking people in the mouth." After years of defensive dominance in practice drills, the UT offensive line stepped up and proved it could hold its own in the spring.

On other key returnees let's go back to that capsule from the NYT:

Players to watch: He’s undoubtedly the best defensive player in the F.B.S. But in my mind, the strong safety Eric Berry is the best player in the country – regardless of position. Yeah, there’s that quarterback down in Gainesville, so maybe Berry’s coming in second. That shouldn’t detract from what we’re all seeing from the talented junior: he’s the best defender U.T. has developed since Reggie White, and in my mind, if Tennessee shocks the SEC and wins 9 or 10 games, Berry should receive very heavy consideration for the Heisman. Through two seasons, Berry stands second in the N.C.A.A. with an SEC-record 487 interception return yards, a total coming off of 12 interceptions. His single-season outputs in this category rank first (265 yards last fall) and third (222 in 2007) in SEC history. Last fall, Berry tallied 73 tackles (8.5 for loss), 3 sacks and 7 interceptions, two of which he returned for scores. (He may have been Tennessee’s best offensive weapon.) For his efforts, Berry was a unanimous all-American – U.T.’s first since 1990 – and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. The only college safety I’ve seen match Berry’s combination of speed, ferocity and ball skills was the late, great Sean Taylor. So, as you see, he’s the king of the U.T. defense. Who will help carry the load? The Vols return the junior Dennis Rogan at one cornerback spot, as well as the 2007 starter Brent Vinson. Also competing for a starting spot at corner are the sophomores Art Evans and C.J. Fleming, though I wouldn’t be surprised if one of Tennessee’s heralded incoming freshmen make a push for playing time. U.T. will look toward the freshmen Prentiss Wagner and Rod Wilks or the sophomore Stephaun Raines at free safety. The senior Rico McCoy (87 tackles and a sack last fall) is the lone returning starter at linebacker. Making the push to join him in the starting lineup are the juniors Nick Reveiz (middle) and LaMarcus Thompson (strongside), each of whom played important roles on special teams a season ago. Besides McCoy, U.T. is very young and untested at linebacker. The situation is a little clearer on the line, where the juniors Ben Martin (18 tackles, 1 sack) and Chris Walker (15 tackles, 3 sacks) have secured their places as the starters at end. You’ll likely find the senior Dan Williams (48 stops, 8.5 for loss) on the nose, while the senior Wes Brown (37 tackles, 2.5 sacks) finds himself in competition with the freshman Montori Hughes for the second starting spot on the interior.

On offense, the senior Jonathan Crompton will again be the starter at quarterback. Let’s ignore the fact that his starting job has come by default. Quite simply, Crompton must be better in 2009 than he was a season ago. It shouldn’t be too difficult, as he did not play up to his potential last fall: 86 of 167 (51.5 percent) for 889 yards, with four touchdowns against five interceptions. He can – and should – be better, but some aspects of Crompton’s game must improve. His touch, for example. Crompton lacked it last fall, when he seemed to throw every pass as hard as he could. His decision-making must also improve. His only competition for the starting job is the junior Nick Stephens, who has missed most of the last five months while recuperating from a hand injury. Stephens started six games last fall, putting up numbers similar to Crompton’s (840 yards, 4 touchdowns, 3 picks). The senior Montario Hardesty ascends to the top spot in the backfield after rushing for 271 yards a season ago. That total leads all returning Volunteers. He may be the lead back, but the Vols will also give carries to the sophomore Tauren Poole and the true freshman Bryce Brown, the nation’s No. 1 recruit in the 2009 cycle. Brown chose U.T. in part because of the potential for immediate playing time, so expect to see his number called early and often. Three starters return up front, led by the potential all-conference center Josh McNeil. The senior enters his final season with 35 career starts, the most of any active Volunteer. McNeil was a freshman all-American in 2006 and an honorable mention all-SEC selection in 2007. He’s joined up front by the senior left tackle Chris Scott and the senior left guard Vladimir Richard. I’m intrigued by the potential of the redshirt freshman Aaron Douglas, a former tight end who is in the hunt to start at right tackle. Given his experience and lack of prototypical size (he’s only 282 pounds, my word), can Douglas be the presence required of the right tackle in the run game?

Well as mentioned above looks like Douglas impressed the coaches sufficiently enough that he earned a spot on the depth chart as "co number 1" (whatever that means) with Jarrod Shaw. In some ways, Douglas sounds like he is the same situation as Nate Chandler found himself last year (when we were hurting for bodies at OL) as the coaches are doing whatever they can to incorporate his size and athleticism into the lineup.

Now in terms of what to expect next week, my bet is that Kiffin and Cheney will devise a plan on offense in which they will rely on a power running game. Again from Pete Fiutak's preview at Scout.com:

What to watch for on offense: Power running. The coaching staff will try to pound the ball, rely on the tremendous defense, and try to control the game and the clock. The passing game will try to push the ball deep a little more to stretch things out, but the offense will spend most of its time using its humongous, veteran line to pave the way for a fantastic group of backs. The backfield was good enough to get by, and then came the recruiting class with Toney Williams, David Oku, and the No. 1 prospect in America according to CFN, Bryce Brown, all ready to make a huge impact and upgrade the stalled ground attack.

What to watch for on defense: A ton of interceptions. All the pieces are there for the secondary to come up with a phenomenal year. Not only is there track star speed across the board, but there’s all-everything safety Eric Berry as the sheriff in the Tampa 2 scheme, but the pass rush should be better. Even with Robert Ayers off to the NFL, the Vol defensive front should be more active with Ben Martin and Chris Walker two speedsters on the ends who should be camped out in opposing backfields.

Going back to their offense, I am still shocked at how the Tennessee coaching staff from last year forgot to run the ball down our throats last season at the Rose Bowl. They had piled up around 180 yards rushing and 2 TDs running the ball against our defense last year yet for some inexplicable reasons they decided to go away from that and depend on Crompton's arm. I just don't think Kiffin is going to make the same mistake. I fully expect them to come after our front-7 all evening long with their powerful OL, and do what they can to wear us down on their home turf. This is going to be a huge challenge for our defense.

I think the key for us on Saturday is going to be somehow get on the board early. If they we can get on the board early and then force them to go away from the game plan of running the ball down our throats, we will have a shot.Needless to say special teams is going to be a huge factor. We are going to need our kickers to give us good field position as much as possible forcing the Volunteers to go long drives. Otherwise if we fall behind early and make early mistakes on offense, the situation has the potential to snowball out of control like last year in BYU.

It will take supreme concentration and focus on our part to hang in there early against the Volunteer emotion, and then somehow put ourselves in position to steal the game in second half. My head tells me that we are simply too young and inexperienced (on offense) to pull this off. My heart is pulling for our guys to make me eat crow on Saturday night. So that's what I have for initial notes on the Volunteers to get the scouting started for this week. I will throw it back to you start filling up the info. folders on Tennessee (either via comment thread here or in the FanPosts).

GO BRUINS.

Toney Williams, RTT#21 in 2009

Joel — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:30:21 -0000

Somewhat lost in the hoopla of Bryce Brown and David Oku, Williams enrolled early, and success during his first spring was likely a factor in Lennon Creer leaving the program. He and Montario Hardesty and Tauren Poole combined for 2201 yards on 42 carries for a 4.8 yard average in the Orange and White Game.

Keeping Williams ranked this low in the Class of 2009 is the fact that his offer list includes only Kentucky, North Carolina State, Georgia Tech, and Indiana. But he committed early, and that often has the effect of limiting additional offers. The bad news is that Williams tore his ACL during the offseason and will miss 2009.

2008 retrospective: Tennessee 13, Northern Illinois 9

Joel — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:03:56 -0000

A final look back at the 2008 season, quick-like, because pain should be fast.

Up today: More scapegoats, please.

With the team now 1-3, Vol fans were engaging in some fairly serious introspection. Some were seeking solace in numbers. Some were looking for the company misery likes to keep. And some were trying to find meaning and motivation in the scatalogical.

The team itself had decided to give Jonathan Crompton a rest and Nick Stephens a shot, and fans were scrambling to find out more about the guy who might save the program. With Northern Illinois up next and a new quarterback under center, things were at last looking up. Shoot, even the weekly haiku wrote itself. That had to be a postive omen, right?

Eh. Sort of:

Full Screen Version

So we beat the Northern Illinios Huskies at home 13-9, scoring a single touchdown and two field goals. Woo. Stephens played well, and the game provided us with what became the 8th best play of 2008:

Despite that, however, something was still very, very wrong with the offense:

I think we're gonna need a bigger scapegoat. All the folks on Rocky Top were blaming quarterback Jonathan Crompton for the Vols' miserable 1-3 start to the season. And why not? The guy was 64 of 123 and had twice as many interceptions as touchdowns. He'd both fumbled and thrown away scoring opportunities on Florida's one-yard line. He'd given away six points by fumbling on his own one-yard line against Auburn. Add to that a bizarre mix of inconsistency and inaccuracy and one could not argue with the coaches' eventual decision to put the teams' collective sins on his head and send him into the wilderness.

Enter Nick Stephens, who actually did quite well Saturday night against Northern Illinois. Yeah, I know, it was NIU or UNI or whatever, but Stephens was not only 10-17 for 156 yards and one TD, he looked like a quarterback. He was accurate. He was quick. He hit a deep receiver in stride, and he threw no interceptions.

And yet the Tennessee offense scored only 13 points against the Huskies.

. . . .

So yeah, maybe the QB position was a problem, but was that the only problem? Anybody got any more goats? Look, I love my team, but I've got questions.

. . . .

How about that nasty "ball security problem" of a certain tailback's? Remember South Carolina in 2005? A fumble within a blade of fescue of the goal line lost the game. How about Penn State? Mmm-hmm. Florida last year? Blame it on Ainge if you want, but yeah. How about South Carolina last year? Near miss, that. Learn? No. UCLA this year. Florida this year, blame it on Crompton, but yeah. Auburn this year. Apparently, we need another catastrophe in that department as well before we'll do anything about it.

To change, we need to experience disaster after disaster even though college football season leaves no time for such hard lessons to do their work. We do not learn from near misses.

. . . .

Good is the enemy of great. One of the team's biggest problems is that we have good players doing good work. How is that a problem? It too often keeps great players on the bench. Arian Foster is a really good running back. He's averaging 5.2 yards per carry. He's on pace to become Tennessee's most productive running back in its history. Cool. I'm glad. Makes me happy. Really. But Montario Hardesty is averaging 4.0 yards per carry and is not allergic to the red zone. He covers the ball with both hands when a defender is near. Third-stringer Lennon Creer is averaging 8.9 yards per carry, and did not even get on the field in a game against Northern Illinois.

. . . .

Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made. Or not, as the case may be. I've said this before, and I'll keep saying it until it makes sense to stop: if the old adage that having two quarterbacks means you have none is true, Tennessee has negative sixteen special teams coaches. It shows. Against the Huskies, Daniel Lincoln missed another field goal -- this one from 32 yards -- putting him at 5 of 9 for the season. Anyone care to bet that we're done with the spread punt formation or that we won't get another punt blocked or returned for a touchdown this season? We do have Dennis Rogan and Gerald Jones running back kicks and punts, so there's that.

. . . .

Seriously, I love coach Fulmer, and I have confidence in him and the coaching staff. They can and do make tough decisions. They made one such decision this week concerning the quarterback position. The problem is that they often wait too long. They wait until catastrophe mandates a change rather than suggesting it.

Yesterday's game against Northern Illinois gave this coaching staff one last chance to learn from near misses in several areas. If they take the scare to heart and learn from it, they may be okay.

But if they wait for disaster to strike, it almost certainly will, and when that time comes, 2008 could very well be the last time they wait too long.

Turns out, it was already too late.

Up next: Georgia.

Best Plays of 2008: the third cut

Joel — Sat, 30 May 2009 11:29:22 -0000

There goes There Goes Lennon Creer, as it was eliminated as one of the candidates for the Best Play of 2008.

So which one's next? Will it be Brent Vinson's Pick Six Poop Out, yesterday's runner up? Or with There Goes Lennon Creer gone, will something else charge into the unlead?

DO NOT VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE PLAY -- VOTE FOR THE ONE YOU WANT TO SEE ELIMINATED. The play with the most votes gets cut from the competition.

The remaining candidates:

Joel: Oh, the drama! The intrigue! I may just pick something unusual just to be contrary. And so . . . drumroll . . . okay, yeah. It's Vinson. He was completely and utterly burned on the play from the snap, with the receiver blowing by him off the line of scrimmage. Safety (Dennis Rogan, I think) to the rescue! Rogan jarred the ball loose, and the ball magically appeared in Vinson's gut only because he was playing from behind. Demetrice Morley then outran him (okay, fine, maybe he was "setting up his block"), and Vinson was the beneficiary of an excellent block by Morley. After that, Vinson was almost caught from behind by a rather hefty Vandy No. 22 (I think) and a host of other 'Dores, but rather than suffer that humiliation, he came up lame and ran out of bounds. I may be being too hard on the guy; maybe his shoulder popped out of its socket again -- and if that's the case, or if he suffered any type of injury during the play, then I take it all back -- but still. Beaten, lucky interception, wimping out. So there. Who says I'm more Paula Abdul than Simon Cowell? Must be the white t-shirt I'm wearing. OH AND ADD TO THAT THE FACT THAT SOME IDIOT NAMED THIS THING INCORRECTLY!!! INCOMPETENCY COUPONS FOR EVERYONE!!!!

Will: My vote today goes to Brent Vinson as well, but I think it gets much more difficult from here on out. Vinson's pick is similar to Creer's run against UAB - a fine play in a game that was (sort of) already decided against a weaker opponent (even though Vanderbilt was bowl eligible), that in any other year would've never made this list. I don't think you can say that about any of the other plays that are still standing. By the way, that "I'm tired so I'm running out of bounds" thing? Deon Grant did it in the 4th quarter of a two point game against Florida in 1999. I didn't understand it then and I don't like it now. And there's your historical Vol fact for the day.

hooper: Yeah, this one's easy. For me, though, it's not so much that he ran out of bounds on it that it just wasn't as exciting of a play as some of the other interceptions on the board. Perhaps that's a bit unfair, as a Berry INT has that added excitement just because it's Berry, but oh well. While I'm firmly in the "run for every yard" camp, I have a little more sympathy for an interception returnee going out of bounds than a regular ball carrier. Vinson isn't as accustomed to carrying the ball as say, Foster, so I'd rather have him assure himself that he'll hold onto the ball than to push for more yards and cough it up. Then again, Vinson isn't as accustomed to carrying the ball as say, Foster, so perhaps he ought to push for that extra yard...

VOTE FOR THE PLAY YOU WANT TO SEE ELIMINATED.

Poll

Which play should be eliminated next from contention as the Best Play of 2008?

More Score for Moore

1 votes

Brent Vinson's Pick Six Poop Out

23 votes

By Guess Who . . . Eric Berry

0 votes

EBWACC (Eric Berry's Wake Always Contains Carnage)

1 votes

Eric Berry Flying Corkscrews Marquis Maze

1 votes

That's Beautiful

1 votes

Rout!

5 votes

Berry All the Way

0 votes

Eric Berry Clobbers Knowshon Moreno

1 votes

What a Play by Berry in the End Zone

0 votes

A Score for Moore

2 votes

Eric Berry's Third Interception of the Year

3 votes

The Fourth of the Half

2 votes

40 votes | Poll has closed

Best Plays of 2008: There Goes Lennon Creer

Joel — Tue, 26 May 2009 15:00:16 -0000

At stake: As badly as Vol fans felt after blowing the UCLA game to open the season, it was only a non-conference game. The all-important SEC season was yet to kick off, and Tennessee had an opportunity to work out the kinks in the Clawfense against UAB, which was a variety bag full of bad.

In-game context: This game made it feel like maybe the Clawfense might could possibly sorta kinda work. Jonathan Crompton threw two touchdown passes for Gerald Jones for a 14-0 first quarter lead. After a scoreless second quarter, the third quarter featured a field goal by UAB and a six-yard rushing touchdown by Montario Hardesty. And with 1:41 left in the third, Lennon Creer got into the action:

Impact: That TD by Creer gave the Vols a 28-3 lead, and Creer would make it 35-3 before the game was over. The win over UAB allowed Tennessee to tweak the Clawfense to perfection and gave the team the confidence it needed to forget the UCLA loss, beat the Gators the following week, and run the table for the rest of the season, finishing in the National Championship game in January against the Oklahoma Sooners. Or maybe it was a fluke against a bad team and the season ended up in the septic tank. I can't remember which.

Talking points: Your job is not safe. I mean it.

Joel — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 12:06:34 -0000

Tennessee football

Really? He's serious! Josh McNeil, the senior who's started 35 games since he was a freshman, is having to compete with former walk-on Cody Sullins for the starting center position. Such a move almost makes you want to believe that the whole "every position but Eric Bery's is open" is complete nonsense uttered only to motivate guys, but Kiffin's sure making it sound like it's real. Credit McNeil for playing the game with a positive attitude:

Everybody is rotating in with the first unit so I just have to do what I've been doing since I've been here and everything will work itself out. You've got to come out here and you've got to perform everyday to make sure that you lock down that starting job.
Creer's career over at Tennessee. He was AWOL for Tuesday's practice, and it was announced as official yesterday that he had quit the team. Nobody knows the details yet, but we do know that Creer had been stripped of his single-digit number a bit earlier as some sort of disciplinary measure. He apparently didn't respond too well to the news that he'd be battling mid-term freshman Toney Williams for the third-team position behind senior Montario Hardesty and sophomore Tauren Poole. Tennessee will grant him a release with the restriction that he won't be able to transfer to another SEC school or any other future opponent of the Vols. He'll need to finish out this semester academically.
Still in the doghouse but trying to get out rather than quit is Brandon Warren, who made a couple of good plays on Tuesday. For one, he hauled in a pass near the goal line and barely got one foot in bounds for the completion.
Good news, bad news. The defense apparently beat the offense on Thursday, forcing turnovers and otherwise creating havoc for the offense.
The Google of Football can adapt in .01456 seconds. Dan Williams and Montori Hughes appear to be your starters at defensive tackle. Together, they're a bit bigger than tackles usually are for Monte's system, but Monte's adapting. He's like that.
Rend the garments! Crompton's thrown an interception! It's inevitable, you know, but in practice on Tuesday, Crompton and Austin Rogers appeared to miscommunicate on a pass play, with Rogers never looking for the ball, and DB Art Evans intercepted the ball and returned it for a touchdown.
Hmm. Tauren Poole, after being beaten by Rico McCoy on a blitz pickup drill, "roar[ed] like a lion." ($) Interpretation, anyone?
Too tall. Gerald Williams batted a ball -- with his elbow ($).
Quintin Hancock made another "spectacular diving catch" ($) from Crompton.
Daniel Lincoln missed two mid-range field goals and had another blocked. This is going to be a problem this fall if it doesn't get turned around.
This is why you the lawyers tell you not to talk to the media or the cops. Donte' Stallworth says that the pedestrian he struck while driving drunk was not in the crosswalk and that Stallworth flashed his lights and honked his horn in an attempt to warn the guy . Somewhere, a prosecutor is wondering why he had time to do all that and no time to hit the brakes.
It's important to note that the current roster of players has been on their best off-the-field behavior all offseason. Woo for no Fulmer Cup points.

Sprints // 04.03.09

cocknfire — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 06:33:52 -0000

More photos » by Alex Brandon - AP

Really. If I stare at you long enough, you will turn to stone.

Browse more photos »

Fox leaves Wolves to join Dawgs. That would be Mark Fox, soon-to-be-former Nevada coach, heading to Georgia to assume the reins of the basketball team.

Don't know him? Don't worry; no else does, either -- including people connected to Georgia. And he probably knows even less about Athens -- maybe how to find the Varsity and the Arch, but that would be about it.

Conversely the $30 million basketball training facility in which Fox will be introduced wasn't even built when he brought his first Nevada team to Athens in November 2004. And from all indications, Fox didn't have a chance to tour the UGA campus before accepting the job. ...
So coach, fans and players will be making first impressions when Fox stands on the podium late Friday morning. ...

"I don't know anything about him," said former Georgia coach Hugh Durham when asked for his impressions of him. "I really can't comment because I really know absolutely nothing about him." [EMPHASIS C&F's]

One way or another, this is going to be fun for someone to watch. Either Georgia fans, celebrating the dark horse that lead them to glory, or the rest of the SEC, enjoying the spectacular colors as the Dawg's program explodes.

When no one knows the coach and he hasn't even visited campus, there is no in-between. He will either be wildly successful, or a disaster. (Though, for the SEC's rapidly ebbing reputation, the former would probably be better for all involved.)

On the merits, Fox is an interesting choice. He has shades of Dennis Felton -- young, very successful at the mid-major level over an intermediate time-frame -- and yet that's not entirely fair. After all, there's a reason programs like Georgia (and South Carolina, which is doing quite well under Darrin Horn) hire coaches like Fox. A lot of them end up working out.

The coach carousel has stopped. Unless Andy Kennedy bolts for Memphis, the SEC slate of coaches is set, as Bruce Pearl gets an extension from Tennessee. He is, apparently, immune to orange poison. In any case, and C&F hates to say this for fear that it will end up wrong, but it appears that Pearl might be one of the few non-nomadic coaches left in college. A better opportunity with more money came around -- and he turned it down. That's saying something.

Money money money money -- money! (I) In an otherwise interesting piece on the escalating price of an SEC coach -- really, even the volleyball coaches are probably making $500,000 these days -- Barnhart highlights the carping of some of the masses (without, for the record, indicating whether or not he agrees).

People rail about the injustice of paying millions to coach ball at a time when faculty is getting laid off at many colleges and universities. We'll certainly have another round of that with the Calipari numbers.

Okay, C&F hopes this is the last time he ever has to say this, though he doubts it. Coach's salaries generally come from athletics department funds contributed by boosters and other alumni. The only way to argue that money going to college coaches could go to professors is to argue that the money currently flowing to athletics departments would be going to academics instead.

And think about that for a moment: Do you really think Bobby Lowder would give as much to the Auburn University College of Liberal Arts as he has to Auburn football? Of course not.

There are legitimate arguments about whether college coaches should be paid as much as they are. There are legitimate arguments about whether states should do what is necessary not to lay off professors. This is not one of them.

Money money money money -- money! (II) John Calipari's UK contract has perks. Lots and lots of very nice perks, including a pair of "late-model, quality automobiles" and a 20 "lower-level" tickets per game at Rupp. Only the best for Cal. That, and $4 million a year.

At least Cal has a contract. The lack of one was at least the official reason for Billy Gillispie getting fired. Add that one to the "bad halftime interview" on the list marked "Excuses for firing a coach in the second year so you can deny it was about wins and losses when it was about wins and losses."

Counting your blessings. Auburn is just happy with being relevant again.

He wanted to go some place a little less 'crunk.' Tennessee RB Lennon Creer, whom C&F will always remember for single-handedly scoring a touchdown against Mississippi State last year, is presumably heading for a school where coaches don't make a habit of removing their shirts. No word on whether Boy Wonder told Creer he would end up working at Piggly Wiggly.

He is not the only player known for a small body of work leaving his team. Anthony Johnson of Mississippi State is doing so as well, although he seems to have had significantly less input in the matter. Who, you might ask, is Anthony Johnson? Well, you're clearly not an Alabama fan.

Ah, see. Now you remember.

'Bring on the bling.' Bring it on, indeed -- $1,000 worth a player. Each Gator will get three rings for winning two championships (the SEC and the national), and while South Carolina's academics aren't on par with Harvard or anything, I'm pretty sure we've got counting down, and 3 > 2.

Cutler becomes first QB in Chicago Bears history. Okay, perhaps that's overstating things a bit, but Jay Cutler will attempt to raise the level of play at QB for DA Bears. Given that he succeeds Kyrex Ortsman, that shouldn't be difficult.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Just sad. There's no other way to describe it. I would add, though, that it would have been nice if the reporter had avoided the roster ramifications near the end of the story. Somehow, "needs another receiver" seems to pale in comparison to "killed coming home from work."

Talking points: none is the loneliest number edition

Joel — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 11:49:56 -0000

Tennessee football

That whole "voluntarily practicing in a numberless jersey" thing for Brandon Warren? Um, not exactly. Unless "voluntarily" means "because the coach said so," because Lane Kiffin thinks that single digit numbers are "a big deal," and Warren didn't deserve one due to some "screwups" that included missing a handful of required commitments in mid-March. Also not true, however, is the earlier report that Warren had considered quitting the team, so woo for that. Note, too, that Lennon Creer, who usually wears the No. 3, is also practicing numberless. And finally, note that both Gerald Jones (No. 4) and Jonathan Crompton (No. 8) both still have theirs.
Brent Vinson had successful surgery on that crazy shoulder yesterday and will miss the rest of spring practice. He'll be back in a limited capacity for fall practice but should be ready to go by the time the first game rolls around. Hopefully that won't be too late for the "best athlete on the team."
Quintin Hancock, whose name I managed to spell correctly today, has had two good practices in a row. Tuesday, he followed up his Saturday touchdowns with a "huge catch on third down to keep a drive alive."

Talking points: call it the crab attack edition

Joel — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:00:59 -0000

Tennessee football

Crab Attack! After Lennon Creer was stripped on a run up the middle in Saturday's scrimmage, Ed Orgeron slipped during the resulting scrum for the ball and had to "scramble crab-like on his backside out of harm's way." Right. Obviously, the reporter responsible for this account does not know the Powers of the O; he was merely in attack mode.
More details on the practice that wouldn't end ($). The defense ended ahead on points, and when practice was called, the offense refused to leave the field and challenged the defense to keep playing. Lane Kiffin allowed one more play, and B.J. Coleman hit Quinton Hancock on a quick slant route for a 3-yard TD. Kiffin again called practice, but this time the defense refused to leave the field, so Kiffin permitted another play. Crompton then hit Hancock on the same play with the same result, and the defense again refused to leave the field. But Kiffin, probably wary of some sort of NCAA sanction against competition, finally made everyone pack up and head home.
What's the estate tax on this? Many of Tennessee's new coaches are inheriting units in shambles, but not secondary coach Willie Mack Garza, who takes the reins of a defensive backfield consisting of a consensus All-American, four bona fide starters, a stable full of talent behind them, and a handful of very highly touted recruits on the way. One member of that secondary on Saturday ran an interception back for a 60-yard touchdown and then leveled a running back like he was Knowshon Moreno ($). What? No, it wasn't Eric Berry, it was Prentiss Waggner, about whom coaches were raving after Saturday's scrimmage. Brent Vinson, though, is still struggling with that shoulder, which became dislocated again a few weeks ago, and will have to have surgery after spring practice. He should be back in time for fall practice.
Did I miss something? Crompton played on a bad ankle for almost the entire season in 2008? ($) Is that new information? Well, regardless, Montario Hardesty says that Crompton is "miles ahead of where he was at this time last year," an assessment that begs for relativity jokes. Hardesty's not the only one, though, as Kiffin said that he played "extremely well" at Saturday's scrimmage. Some Vol fans are understandably skeptical, and as John Adams points out, it's going to take a lot to erase the memories of 2008. Nick Stephens, by the way, is set to re-enter the QB competition next week.
More power please. The offensive line is going all zone all the time this spring, and the players are loving it as evidenced by this quote from Josh McNeil: "You snap the ball and fire off and you go. Whoever you see first, you knock the fire out of him. It just allows you to go 100 percent." I suggest not being in the line of sight at the time of the snap. Aaron Douglas is enjoying his move from tight end to o-tackle, too, maybe because of the "knock the fire" aspect or maybe because he's not running down the field 50 yards every play.
A bit of news on the fullback position in Kiffin's offense. Kevin Cooper says that the fullback is being used more as a running back and as a receiver ($) than just a lead blocker this season.
Big Dan becoming Sorta Big Dan. Dan Williams is shedding pounds to play in Monte's smaller, quicker, faster, better defense.
It's on! Lane Kiffin is hosting a free "Chalk Talk" for fans tonight at the Turkey Creek Texas Roadhouse. Word is he's going to challenge the whiteboard to a duel and ask the staff to draw up plays shirtless.
Put that on the fridge. The final grades are in for this year's recruiting class, and Dave Hooker gives the team a shiny gold star, including an "A+++ " for running backs. Hooker's probably underlined that grade in red and included some happy faces, too, I'm guessing. I would.

Tennessee basketball

Hmm. Pearl got a commitment from JUCO point guard Melvin Goins this weekend, but what has gone sort of unnoticed so far is that in order to add him to the lineup, Pearl's going to have to have a scholarship freed up. So who's on his way out?
Climate control. Pearl is not a big fan of all of the recent coaching changes in the SEC.

Tennessee alums

No comment. Former Vol Arian Foster, who decided not to attend Pro Day in Knoxville a few weeks ago, didn't have the best day in front of NFL scouts last week. He ran a 4.73 and a 4.69 in the 40-yard dash, and those times, along with most of his other results, didn't hit the benchmarks scouts generally look for in running backs.

Spring Position Battles: Running Backs

Will — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 20:00:10 -0000

As Spring Practice is set to begin tomorrow, we wrap up our previews of the open competition battles at each position today. You can check out all of our previous installments over the last three weeks here:

Quarterback

Defensive Backs

Wide Receivers & Tight Ends

While secondary is the unit Vol fans have to feel most comfortable with, and the one that contains the team's best player, on the offensive side of the ball there are equal parts familiarity and high expectation in the backfield. Tennessee returns two backs with each more than 100 career carries and 5 career touchdowns, with more than 1,600 yards of career work between them. Montario Hardesty and Lennon Creer will go head-to-head this spring, and while Kiffin may use both of them come fall, you'd better believe that everyone associated with the Tennessee program is eager to find out which one of them will put up bigger numbers this spring.

Digging into the RTT archives, we've seen evidence of good things from these kids before:

Of course, those clips are from 2006 and 2007, respectively. Everyone involved in the Tennessee offense struggled last season, but I very much still believe that the talent and ability with both of these kids to be productive SEC backs is still there.

So, who's it going to be? We break down the numbers...

Montario Hardesty

6'0", 210 lbs Senior
2006: 107 carries, 384 yards (3.6 per), 4 TD
2007: 89 carries, 373 yards (4.2 per), 3 TD
2008: 76 carries, 271 yards (3.2 per), 6 TD
13 career receptions for 98 yards

Lennon Creer

6'1", 210 lbs Junior
2007: 36 carries, 214 yards (5.9 per), 1 TD
2008: 73 carries, 388 yards (5.3 per), 4 TD
5 career receptions for 23 yards

So, you look at the stats and what immediately separates the two is the yards per carry stat. However, it's very, very important to remember that the bulk of Creer's work has come against inferior defenses - he's never been handed the ball and been "the guy" in a big game:

vs Florida 08: 1 carry, 4 yards
at Georgia 08: 2 carries, 2 yards
vs Alabama 08: 3 carries, 7 yards
at Florida 07: 4 carries, 15 yards
vs Georgia 07: 3 carries, 5 yards
vs LSU 07: 1 carry, 1 yard
vs Wisconsin 07: 1 carry, -2 yards

That's not at all to say that Creer can't become Tennessee's signature back this season. It's just to show that he hasn't proven it on the field under the brighest lights; he's run for 50+ yards six times, but that was against Louisiana-Lafayette, Southern Miss, UAB, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, and Mississippi State.

(Sorry, I'm still feeling the sickness of "Jonathan Crompton is the next Tim Tebow." Dave Clawson gave me something only Lane Kiffin can cure.)

To be fair, if you want to include everybody in the "things coaches probably shouldn't have said or done" file, Phil Fulmer compared Creer to Chuck Webb after the Southern Miss game in 2007. Those of us old enough to have watched #44 play in 1989 know that he's still the torchbearer for talent in a Vol backfield. That was an awful lot of hype for a kid after one good game against a C-USA defense.

Two years later, Creer is at the top of the list of players that Vol fans hope get a dose of instant transformation from the new staff. Perhaps not even transformation, but opportunity. Can he really be that good? Not even Chuck Webb good, but the type of threat the Vols haven't had in their backfield since Travis Stephens? Give the kid a chance to do his thing, we say. Well, this spring Creer's going to get it.

But don't forget about Hardesty.

#2 doesn't have jaw-dropping numbers against any of those same elite defenses. But he has played the role of workhorse in this offense before: 14 carries for 68 yards against Georgia in 2007, 20 for 65 against Arkansas later that year, 19 for 72 against Air Force in 2006. He's been banged up a lot, redshirting in 2005 and missing six total games in the last two seasons due to injury. But if he can stay healthy, I still think Montario is a very viable option as the starter for this team.

Either way I don't think the Vols go wrong, and this is one of the more favorable spring position battles: whoever wins, so do we. Tennessee needs a big year from whoever is carrying the football, whether that's one guy or split reps, and I think the Vols have the talent to pull it off. Even if one of these guys doesn't put up 1,500 yards by himself and become the next Chuck Webb or Jamal Lewis, I'll take a tandem effort like the one we saw from Cedric Houston and Gerald Riggs in 2004.

The Rest of the Field

Tauren Poole ran 9 times for 43 yards against UAB, and 11 times for 44 yards against Wyoming last year. He's a couple inches shorter but still has a similar build with Hardesty and Creer, and with the graduation of Arian Foster, who won't be taking carries from anyone this year, he may see his workload increase.

We know we'll have David Oku, Rivals' #1 all-purpose back in the country. And we may have Bryce Brown as well, Rivals' #1 running back period. But we won't have either of them in the spring. As exciting as these kids may ultimately be, you want to come out of spring feeling good about Hardesty, Creer or both as the starter.

It's unclear how Kiffin will use the fullback in his offense; Kevin Cooper was decent in the role last season, and Austin Johnson is still floating around as well. The Vols haven't employed a true fullback since Will Bartholomew in 2001, and did have some success with Shawn Bryson and Troy Fleming as hybrids in the last ten years...we'll see if anything happens here.

What to Watch For

The majority of Vol fans and even some in the mainstream media are annointing Creer as the next big playmaker - and again, I'll be thrilled if that materializes. We just haven't seen him play that role against SEC competition yet. Don't be surprised if Hardesty stays right with him in this race, or if Montario ends up running for more yards in 2009. Either way, Tennessee needs a good spring out of someone in the backfield, especially if the passing game continues to struggle. The backs will go behind four veteran offensive linemen and a player to be named later.

It's a new day with the philosophy of the running game in the pro-style offense, but this is still the SEC and you still must run it well to win. Can Hardesty or Creer step up to an All-SEC level and be the focal point of the offense this season?

Poll

Who leads the Vols in rushing yards in 2009?

Montario Hardesty

27 votes

Lennon Creer

49 votes

someone else (Tauren Poole/David Oku/Bryce Brown?)

17 votes

93 votes | Poll has closed