SB Nation - Josh Briscoe

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.

Talking Points: Tennessee secondary still unsettled

Joel — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:07:28 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

4 months ago: Tennessee running back David Oku smiles as he is asked questions during an interview at Tennessee's football Media Day, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2009, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

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The secondary still isn't settled. Eric Berry, of course, has the spot at strong safety, but the other three slots are up for grabs. The free safety spot will go to one of Dennis Rogan, Janzen Jackson, Darren Myles, or Derrick Furlow (with Furlow as a long shot), and the cornerback spots are looking like they'll go toBrent Vinson and Art Evans, but Anthony Anderson is still in the mix.
VolNation has a handy SEC survival guide for Lane Kiffin.
In his new gig with the University, Drew Edwards has a fantastic day-in-the-life piece on Jonathan Crompton, which includes a peek into the program's video study capabilities.

The standoff between Gannett and AP on one side and the SEC on the other has resulted in the SEC again revising its media policy, mostly out of PR concerns. Won by the media are additional flexibility in internet news coverage, uses of pictures, and access to video for TV newscasts. The league retains is exclusive rights for game action video on the internet but will allow news conferences and pre-game, post-game, and halftime interviews. Play-by-play blogging is still prohibited.

VolQuest gets to know Roger Woods, the team's new chaplain.

Alabama has "four or five" guys out sick with the flu. Will we be adding flu reports to injury reports this season?

David Oku is shaping up as one of the team's most versatile players.

John Adams is impressed with the Kiffin Chimera and thinks the team will be much improved, but warns that it will be several years before they will challenge either Florida or Alabama, both of whom have a significant head start.

ESPN.com's Brian Bennett says not to count on Phillip Fulmer ending up at Louisville.

Over the Pylon has its SEC preview up.

Former Vol WR Josh Briscoe's been charged with solicitation of a minor football player he was coaching.

Tennessee Volunteers Taken In Undrafted Free Agency

Hooper — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 01:54:36 -0000

More photos » by Ed Andrieski - AP

Two more Vols get a brand new head coach next year: Josh McDaniels of the Denver Broncos. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

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Tennessee may have hit a historic low with only one player taken in the NFL draft, but the day is not over yet! There are still several available Vols who might get picked up via free agency.

NFL free agency is a double-sided coin; while a UDFA is obviously not ever going to be able to say he was "drafted" and loses some vestment from the team, they often end up with a choice of teams to try out for. This can actually work to a player's advantage rather than being drafted in the tailings of the seventh round, as they can be a little more judicious about the team they work out with.

We'll update a list of Vols who are picked up in free agency here as we hear the news and as we have available time to name them. (I'm working on my final project for class, so my attention will be divided.)

Ramon Foster

According to Behind the Steel Curtain, Ramon Foster was picked up by the Pittsburgh Steelers. I am really big on this acquisition. First, the Steelers are in bad need of alternatives for their line. Despite winning the Super Bowl, Big Ben often played the part of pinata behind the porous line in Pittsburgh. Second, the Steelers did not draft a ton of offensive line help, so there should be room for Foster to make a spot if he has a good camp - even if it's a reserve role at first. Third, I think Foster is a better lineman than last year would indicate, as everybody seemed to suffer under the Clawfense's learning curve.

Josh Briscoe and Lucas Taylor

Josh Briscoe is reported to be going to the Washington Redskins while Lucas Taylor is said to be joining Robert Ayers with the Denver Broncos. I don't know the Redskins situation and can't offer commentary, but I like the Taylor to Denver move. Part of it is homerism, but part of it is that the Broncos lack depth at wide receiver. They have Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal, but after that the players get significantly older. Also, everybody will be learning a new system, so Taylor will have a better chance if he can beat the incumbents at the learning curve.

Arian Foster

Arian Foster is reported to have signed with the Houston Texans. I think this is a great fit for them. If he regains his weight, he could be the short-yardage back they might need in goal-line and short-yardage situations. Leaving all related jokes aside, this is a good match. Here's hoping camp goes well for him. (And the folks at Battle Red Blog appear to be fond of him.)

Britton Colquitt

Yet another Vol was picked up by the Broncos. The punter with the roller-coaster history makes the third Vol on the Denver shopping list. This isn't a bad place for Colquitt as the current punter for the Broncos is a fairly new guy himself. McDaniels wants to place a priority on special teams, so a solid showing could very well net Colquitt a new NFL home.

DeAngelo Willingham

Willingham is reported to have been taken as an UDFA by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I don't know the Bucs' secondary needs, but they took one corner in the 7th and two other safeties in free agency. This will be an interesting one to watch as the Bucs transition away from Monte's tutelage for the first time in what seems like forever. I wish I had a forecast on Willingham's chances, but I don't.

More will be added here as we hear of them. If you catch any news, please provide a comment (and a link, if possible).

NFL DRAFT LIVE COMMENT THREAD

Hooper — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 17:30:10 -0000

More photos » AP

8 months ago: FILE - In these university handouts and file photos top college football prospects for the 2009 NFL Draft are shown. They are : Robert Ayers, Rhett Bomar, Andre Brown, Donald Brown, Everette Brown, Darius Butler, Antoine Caldwell, James Casey, Chase Coffman, Emanuel Cook, Jared Cook and Michael Crabtree. (AP Photo)

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Bumped to the top for day 2 of the NFL Draft. A heart WOO!! to Robert Ayers for being drafted in the first round by the Denver Broncos. --hooper

Well, today is the day!

It may seem odd that the NFL Draft receives so much attention and publicity. No other sport's draft even comes close to the sheer overhyping and overspeculating that occurs prior to and during the NFL's greatest offseason show. To me, though, the spectacle makes sense. For one, football is quite simply the biggest sport in the country (and yes, I know NASCAR's claims). Also, the timing works better for football than the other sports: with nearly four months between the last meaningful college football game and the draft, the NFL has the time to put players through workouts and build speculation. And building speculation is easy, what with all the football-only staff members on the major media sites with nothing better to do than update their mock drafts on a weekly basis. Lastly, there is more uncertainty in the draft. Who could have seen this coming, for example?

Oh, and there's this. Money lines:

"Everybody said if Marino was going to be around at that time, that they'd take Marino. Obviously, the Jets know something that the people up here don't."

or

"It's obvious to me right now that the Jets just don't understand what the draft is all about." -- Mel Kiper, way back... yeah, way back...

"We want Sapp! We want Sapp! We want Sapp!" -- NY Jets fans, right before...

"The New York Jets select: tight end from Penn State Kyle Reyes."

Even if the idea of televising a draft is a little over-the-top to you, you have to love the people-watching experience. You have Mr. Hair. You have Jets fans. You have Berman. You have Brady Quinn and a very, very unhappy girlfriend.

As to the Vols, we've pretty well covered their odds. Now it's just time to wait and see. The first-day drama will obviously be with Robert Ayers. He'll get picked up in one of the two rounds on Saturday, but to whom?

UPDATE: Be serious now; how many of you don't think Stafford's career with the Lions won't look something like this:

I warned you...

Many More Players Leaving Tennessee: NFL Draft Plan of Action

Hooper — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:30:47 -0000

More photos » by Steve Nesius - AP

8 months ago: FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2008 file photo, Tennessee defensive end Robert Ayers (91) sacks Wisconsin quarterback Tyler Donovan (12) during the second quarter of the Outback Bowl football game in Tampa, Fla. Ayers is a top prospect in the 2009 NFL Draft. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius, File)

Browse more photos »

We've been on quite the roller-coaster ride with the recent news of Coleman's departure from the team (as well as Sawtelle's), but they will not be the last Vols we see permanently leave the Orange and White behind this weekend. Despite a very turbulent 4 years in Big Orange football and a trainwreck of a 2008 season, there are still several Volunteers who will be drafted by NFL teams on Saturday and Sunday, and others who may get picked up as undrafted free agents UDFAs).

Some prep:

rkmccoy provided a nice bullet list of some Vols to watch for. Click the link to get the Cliff's Notes on Arian Foster, Anthony Parker, Ramon Foster, Demonte' Bolden, and Robert Ayers. Other names not mentioned include Lucas Taylor and Josh Briscoe and Britton Colquitt.
Robert Ayers and Arian Foster are the two most intriguing names to follow, given their histories at Tennessee. Click their names in this bullet point for more detailed information.
Several of the NFL-related SBNation blogs have inquired about Vols players (particularly Ayers) and seem to have a keen interest in him in relation to their team. There should be some Vols buzz afloat at Buffalo Rumblings, The Phinsider, Pride of Detroit, Mile High Report, Music City Miracles, and The Falcoholic.
There is a draft hub for SBNation: Mocking The Draft. It's a great little access point driven by some of the more hard-core draftniks in the SBNation blogs.
A shout-out goes to Craig T of Buc 'Em. He's one of the main guys at the Buccaneers blog, is a big Volunteers fan, and has had his fate even more intricately tied to our own with the acquisition of Monte Kiffin.

Our Plans

Informal as always, I will set up a day-long live comment thread for the first day of the NFL draft. I'd like to have discussions about more than just the Vols being taken as well. I know that most of us are NFL fans and this will provide us an opportunity to have a conversation with fans of teams that are not necessarily our own.

I, for one, will be very intrigued by the Broncos. My lifelong "home" team is in a dubious position in my mind, as I am still very leery of McDaniels (and basically everything that's happened since the end of the season). But they'll be one of the power players in the first round with two mid-round picks in their name.

And, as last year, my personal theme for the NFL draft (as borrowed from Mike and Mike):

You're feelin' it. I can tell.

[UPDATE] Yes, I just learned that this video is not embeddable. Here's the YouTubery if you're interested.

Kentucky @ Tennessee: UT stats, personnel, commentary, and a prediction

Ken Howlett — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 18:28:16 -0000

UK's football 'Cats once again enter the final regular season game with high hopes of victory. Kentucky, coming off a bye week, has had two weeks to put into place new plays, new looks, and hopefully a game-winning attitude, because gaining a victory won't be easy (it's never easy when a team has lost 23 straight to the same opponent).

Emotions are running high in Knoxville. The players seem to have conquered their disappointment over Phillip Fulmer's dismissal of a few weeks ago, and with a victory over Vanderbilt last weekend, and their strong week of practice, they seem focused on winning their last game for the soon-to-be deposed Fulmer.

I would like to add my congratulations to coach Fulmer on an exceptional reign at UT. He's been associated with the Tennessee program for 32 years, beginning with his time in Knoxville as a player (four years), then as an assistant to Johnny Majors. He's of course served 16 years (plus four games) as head man of the big orange (he's 16-0 versus UK). He guided UT to their first national championship in like a hundred years, in 1998. He posted a 151-52 career mark ... here's hoping he ends up 151-53.

Tennessee Schedule

This year UT has wins versus UAB (35-3), Northern Illinois (13-9), Mississippi State (34-3), and last weeks road win against Vandy (20-10). The Vols losses shape up this way: @UCLA (27-24 in ot), home against Florida (30-6), @ Auburn (14-12), @ Georgia (26-14), home against Alabama (29-9), @ South Carolina (27-6), and at home against Wyoming (13-7).

Tennessee Offensive Personnel

Quarterback Jonathan Crompton: 6'4", 220 lb junior -- This year Crompton has thrown for 788 yards and three touchdowns, while going 80 for 159 and five interceptions. For his career Crompton has completed 118 of 267 passes for 1,286 yards, eight touchdowns, and nine interceptions.

Fulmer said this week that Crompton will be the likely starter this week versus UK.

Quarterback B.J. Coleman: 6'3", 210 lb red-shirt freshman -- In three games this year, Coleman is 4 for 8 passing, for 21 yards, one interception and zero touchdowns.

Coleman was limited this week in practice with a foot injury. Fulmer said this week that Coleman would probably see action against Kentucky.

Running back Arian Foster: 6'1", 215 lb senior -- The '07 Second Team All-SEC selection has rushed 110 times for 511 yards (4.6 yards per carry). He's run for one touchdown. He also has 18 catches for 149 yards (8.3 yards per catch), but no receiving touchdowns. For his career Foster has rushed for 2,905 yards, which is good for second place all-time in Tennessee history. Foster has proved to be multi-talented, evidenced by his 82 career receptions for 685 yards. The senior is third all-time in UT history with 3,804 all-purpose yards, behind Stanley Morgan ('73-'76) and Willie Gault ('79-'82).

Foster as made a nice living at UK's expense over the years: In '05 versus the 'Cats he carried the ball 26 times for 114 yards and caught five passes for 44 yards. Last year he rushed 27 times for 118 yards and caught 9 passes or 98 yards and a touchdown, on UT's first play from scrimmage.

Running back Lennon Creer: 6'1", 210 lb sophomore -- This year Creer has rushed 67 times for 364 yards (5.4 yards per carry), and three touchdowns. For his career Creer has ran the ball 103 times for 578 yards (5.6 yards per carry), and four touchdowns. He was honored as a PrepStar All-America coming out of high school in Texas. He was also named the Old Spice Redzone Player of the Year in Texas.

Running back Montario Hardesty: 6'0", 210 lb junior -- Hardesty has 69 rushes for 252 yards (3.7 yards per carry), and six touchdowns. He's also caught four passes for 24 yards. For his career Hardesty has 270 carries for 1,027 yards (3.8 yards per carry), and 13 touchdowns.

Wide receiver Gerald Jones: 6'0", 185 lb sophomore -- Jones has made 27 catches for 308 yards (11.4 yards per catch).

Last year versus UK, Jones caught a touchdown pass in the first overtime.

Wide receiver Lucas Taylor: 6'0", 185 lb senior -- Taylor has made 26 catches for 372 yards (12.8 yards per catch), and one touchdown this year. For his career he has 113 receptions for 1,43 yards, and six touchdowns.

Last year against Kentucky Taylor had six catches for 103 yards and one touchdown.

Wide receiver Austin Rogers: 6'2", 185 lb senior -- Rogers has made 14 catches for 180 yards (12.9 yards per catch). For his career he has 76 receptions for 891 yards (11.7 yards per catch), and four touchdowns.

Rogers was the cause of much pain for UK fans last year when he rushed 13 yards for a touchdown, and later caught the game-winning two-point conversion in the fourth overtime.

Wide receiver Josh Briscoe: 6'3", 183 lb senior -- This year Briscoe has made 14 catches for 176 yards (12.6 yards per catch), and one touchdown. For is career he has 79 receptions for 866 yards (10.9 yards per catch), and eight touchdowns.

Wide receiver Denarius Moore: 6'1", 185 lb sophomore -- Moore has 10 catches for 208 yards (terrific 20.8 yards per catch), and one touchdown. In his short career he has caught 24 passes for 420 yards (17.5 yards per catch), and one touchdown.

Tight end Luke Stocker: 6'6", 245 lb sophomore -- The Madison Central High School grad, and Berea native, has made 13 catches for 139 yards (10.7 yards per catch). For his career he has 17 receptions for 150 yards (8.8 yards per catch), and a touchdown.

Placekicker Daniel Lincoln: 6'0", 204 lb sophomore -- On the year Lincoln has made 10 of 17 field goal attempts. From 20-39 yards he's 8 of 11, and from 40-49 yards he's 2 of 3. For his career he has made 31 of 46 attempts. Lincoln was honored last year as an All-America by the Football Writers, and a Freshman All-America. He was also named Second Team All-SEC. Lincoln was a Groza Award semifinalist in '07( which goes to the nations top placekicker).

Tennessee Defensive Personnel

UT's defense is loaded with talent. They possess size, speed and experience. So it should not come as a surprise that the Vols rank very high nationally in nearly every statistical category: Total Defense - 6th (269.9 yards allowed) ... Scoring defense - 16th (17.4 points per game) ... Passing defense - 9th (166.2 yards per game) ... Rushing defense - 14th (103.7 yards per game).

Tennessee's defensive dominance begins with all-world ...

Safety Eric Berry: 5'11", 195 lb sophomore -- Berry has recorded 67 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, seven interceptions (265 INT return yards and two touchdowns) and six pass break-ups. Berry was named SEC Defensive Freshman of the Year in '07. He was also a consensus Freshman All-America and of course made Freshman All-SEC. In '07 he was voted Second Team All-SEC, and he led all SEC freshman with 86 tackles. Berry has 487 career interception return yards in only 24 games played. He's threatening the NCAA record of 501 yards, set by Florida State's Terrell Buckley. He is one of three finalists for the Thorpe Award, which goes to the nations top defensive back, and he's the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Week. Needless to say, Berry has to be accounted for on every UK offensive snap.

Last year versus UK he recorded a season high 14 tackles and one pass break-up.

Linebacker Ellix Wilson: 5'10", 225 lb senior -- Wilson leads the Vols with 80 tackles. He has recorded 4.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, and two pass break-ups.

Wilson recorded one sack last year versus UK.

Linebacker Rico McCoy: 6'1", 221 lb junior -- McCoy has 79 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack and three pass break-ups. He was named Second Team All-SEC in '07.

Last year against UK McCoy recorded nine tackles and one pass break-up.

Defensive back Dennis Rogan: 5'10", 185 lb sophomore -- Rogan has 50 tackles, one tackle for loss, one interception, and five pass break-ups. Rogan also returns kick-offs, averaging a solid 24.9 yards per return.

Last year versus Kentucky, Rogan had three tackles and one tackle for loss.

Linebacker Nevin McKenzie: 6'2", 215 lb senior -- McKenzie has made 46 tackles, eight tackles for loss, four sacks, one interception and one pass break-up. He's a JUCO transfer.

Defensive tackle Dan Williams: 6'3", 310 lb junior -- Williams has 46 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and one pass break-up.

Last year Williams blocked a Lones Seiber field goal attempt, which ended up costing UK the football game.

Defensive end Robert Ayers: 6'3", 275 lb senior -- Ayers has 43 tackles, a team leading 14.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, one interception, one pass break-up, and eight quarterback hits (tied for team lead).

Last year versus UK he recorded four tackles and one tackle for loss.

Defensive end Wes Brown: 6'4", 256 lb junior -- Brown has 37 tackles. 6.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and eight quarterback hits (tied for team lead with Ayers).

Punter Britton Colquitt: Colquitt has punted 38 times for a 43.2 average. He's had no punts blocked. Colquitt was selected Second Team All-SEC in '07.

Kicker Chad Cunningham: He's kicked-off 37 times, and recorded three touch-backs.

How did Tennessee beat Vandy ...

After UT's home loss to Wyoming (13-7) a few weeks ago, many thought the Vols may very well 'mail in' the remainder of the season ... 'many' would be wrong. Tennessee responded with defensive gusto in their 20-10 victory over Vanderbilt last week. Let's take a look at what enabled UT to come out with that seemingly improbable victory:

UT ran the ball, Vandy did not -- The Vols rushed for 222 yards on 51 carries (4.4 yards per carry), while limiting Vandy to only 25 yards on 28 carries (0.9 yards per carry). Tennessee was led in rushing by Lennon Creer with 80 yards on only 13 carries (6.2 yards per carry). Arian Foster and Montario Hardesty chipped in with 53 yards and 41 yards respectively.
UT contained Vandy's passing game, and the Vols weren't forced to pass -- Vandy quarterbacks Chris Nickson and MacKenzie Adams were a combined 19 of 44 for 188 yards, and two interceptions. Tennessee's D-line and linebackers pressured the Vandy QB's all day, finishing with six sacks. Fulmer went with the run game almost exclusively (he did say this week that he would like to throw more against UK). The two UT quarterbacks finished the day only 4 of 9 for 21 yards, and two interceptions (let's HOPE they throw more).
UT didn't have to go far to score -- UT managed only one sustained drive: a nine play 65 yard drive, which resulted in the only offensive touchdown of the day for the Vols. UT's other 'drives' and scores: five play 27 yard drive, which resulted in a field goal -- this drive was facilitated by a Vandy eighteen yard punt. Eric Berry returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown, and after a 69 yard interception return by Brent Vinson, UT ran two plays for zero yards and again kicked a field goal. All of UT's scoring occurred in the first half.

Final Thoughts

It will take a tremendous offensive and defensive effort to beat the Vols in Knoxville. But it can be done: UK must force Tennessee to pass the ball, and there are only two ways to do that -- Shut down the UT ground attack, or score early and often, putting the Vols in the position of having to throw the ball in order to play catch up.

Neither of those scenarios are highly likely to happen though, after-all, UK's 50th ranked run defense gives up 136 yards per game on average, and we've seen a number of backs post huge numbers against the 'Cat's defense this year. Getting off to a quick offensive start has also not been UK's forte this year; they've been outscored 98-31 in the first quarter, with many of those points coming off of UK turnovers, or other, more creative methods.

Kentucky's only real hope (other than forcing a multitude of turnovers) is for Randall Cobb to play out of his mind. With UK decimated by injuries to so many offensive players, Cobb will be the one looked toward to provide energy and creativity within the context of the offense. In order to fully utilize Cobb's multifaceted offensive arsenal, I feel that the run to pass ratio should be around 60-40 or 65-35, run. Kentucky has the talent to wear down UT's defensive unit, but the coaches have to stay with the run. UK has been far too successful running the spread/option sets to give up on the tactic if early success is not forthcoming. As an aside, I would really be pleased if 6'5" TE Maurice Grinter was utilized more when UK opts to throw the ball. He's a nightmare match-up for a linebacker, because of his size, athleticism and speed, plus he as Charmin-soft hands, and he gains yards after the catch.

On a positive note; UK does have one aspect of this game going their way, and that's the fact that they've had an extra week to prepare. Hopefully, we will see some new looks from Joker Phillips and Rich Brooks, if not, it could be a very long evening for the boys in blue.

Most prognosticators are predicting a low scoring affair. I say ...

Kentucky -- 20 Tennessee -- 17 ... hope springs eternal, and 7-5 looks a lot better than 6-6.

Tim Masthay

UK punter Tim Masthay has been named a First Team Academic All-America, and he currently ranks third in the NCAA in punting with a 45.6 yard average.

Congratulations to the UK senior. Truly, a job well done.

Thanks for reading, and Go 'Cats beat Tennessee!

2008 Senior Day Tribute: Josh Briscoe

Joel — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 14:37:15 -0000

Josh Briscoe

Why.

Well whaddaya know? A receiver who didn't redshirt? Unheard of!

Josh Briscoe not only didn't redshirt, he played in double digit games as a freshman in 2005. He went on to play in 13 games the following year, and in 2007, he started five games and played in all 14. He finished that season third on the team with 56 catches for 557 yards. At Florida, yes, during the Dishumiliarrassment, Briscoe caught eight passes for 76 yards, which might not have sounded like a lot then, but sure sounds good this season, doesn't it? He also had eight for 79 yards against LSU in the SEC Championship game. He went over 100 in the Outback Bowl against Wisconsin.

And then came the Clawfense and the Season of Constant Sorrow. With five different QBs lining up for snaps, Briscoe has only caught 14 balls for 176 yards and one TD. Ah, well. Guy's been good for Tennessee. Briscoe, by the way, is also the male representative on the SEC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and President of the UT SAAC. Leader is Josh Briscoe.

Games Played	Rushing					Total Offense		Receiving				Pts
	Rushes	Gain	Loss	Net	TDs	Plays	Yds	No	Yds	TD	TTL TDs
48	1	11	0	11	0	1	11	79	866	8	8	48

Looking deeper into the problems with UT's offense.

Hooper — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:06 -0000

I didn't get much of a chance to comment on the MSU game last week, thanks to a great-but-fatiguing week-long training seminar and a brutal 48-hour head cold. But even though I basically ran silent for the week, I was [just] able to keep up with the charts I maintain on my computer. That has served well for this week, as I can continue looking at the offense in its seasonal entirety. The MSU game was one of the brighter spots this year. (Remember, it actually gave us a little hope before the Third Fourth Saturday. Gee, hope felt nice. Mmm... hope...) So when I look at the Alabama stats a little more closely here, I'll add in a few comments on the MSU game as well. I'll also throw in a little peek at the unformatted data I use, because it points out something I didn't catch while at the game against Alabama.

But first, let's revisit a graph I put up earlier:

This is the pass play history of UT against Alabama. Since the completion percentage is a function of the number of passes thrown up to that point, it tends to be very erratic early, then stabilizing later on. As you can see, Stephens was settling in at about a 58% completion percentage, which is pretty good for UT this year. (This chart does not include plays where penalties were a factor, and sacks do not alter the completion percentage.) There are two things I'd like to focus on that I didn't mention before.

First, Nick Stephens has completed his first pass in every game he's started. No kidding. Every Stephens chart starts at that 100% mark rather than at the 0% mark. It's only 1 pass in a game, but it's always the right start. (Crompton was 3 of 4 for his first passes; the lone miss was against Auburn, where he missed his first 3.) Now, obviously the coaches script the first play (and likely more), so you would expect the QB to be ready for that pass. But it's a good start nonetheless.

Second, take a look at the chart again. Notice that his percentage dipped to 33% (2 for 6) before working back up toward his final average. The odd thing is, this has been the trend for Stephens in all 3 of his SEC games. And another factor is equally consistent.

UT v. UA reception chart

This little beaut is the unformatted data I was talking about earlier; you can even see the little green triangles where Excel's A.R. is yelling at me and I no longer care enough to change the settings. If you want a closer look, you can use the link to a bitmap version; SBNation won't allow me to make the chart any larger (probably a wise thing). But back to the point; this is the data I use to build that graph above. I even record the intended receivers' names. The ones highlighted in banana yellow are the incompletions. What do you notice about the first 3 incompletions? (Well, the first 4, but don't count the one with the "?"; that was a sack, not an incompletion, but it makes the charts make sense. Unformatted, remember.)

Figured it out?

The incompletions are all Austin Rogers. If you look at the last 3 games, you'll see that the trend is actually that early misses are almost exclusively wide receivers. It's not just Rogers, though he was the guilty party in this game. Against MSU, it was Jones, Rogers and Hardesty (the only non-receiver in this list). Against UGA, it was Taylor, Moore, Jones, Briscoe, then Taylor again. By the time those 10 wide receiver incompletions were tallied, there were only two wide receiver completions. Non-WRs were, on the other hand, 7 for 9 during the early phases of those games.

I don't know the cause of the poor WR numbers early.

They do improve as the games go on. I also do not have copies of the games (e.g. DVR or TiVo), so I can't go back and figure out the cause. But I do know that passes to WRs aren't working in the first drive or two, and it's killing UT's starts.

Hey gang, if you have copies of these 3 games, could you take a peek at the first several pass plays and tell me what happened? I'm really curious.

Ok, looking at the receiving season as a whole:

Oddly enough, everybody is at 50+% for the season except for Jones and Rogers. Rogers was around 50% until the UA game, where his 0-3 start cut his numbers down. The net percentage includes passes where the receiver is unknown in NCAA's stats as well as plays that resulted in sacks. So, out of 229 pass plays (not including positive-yardage scrambles), UT has made 113 completions - just below 50%. The "?" category includes throwaways but not spikes (which aren't counted as passes anymore). The running backs have been the best pass catchers, while the WRs and TEs have settled on lower marks overall. That's not terribly surprising, as many RB passes are dumpoffs and screens (i.e. high-percentage passes).

And yes, Eric Berry is his own category. I suppose he'd technically be a WR, but his lone use was such an anomalous play that I didn't feel right categorizing him. I'm sure he won't mind.

So there you have it. The passing offense is AWOL and the receivers have started cold during the last three games. Add that to a running game that has absolutely disappeared since the beginning of the season, and it's not exactly a recipe for success. Like you needed the reminder.

Tennessee - Georgia: A Brief Look at the Numbers

Hooper — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 11:00:05 -0000

I'll spoil the ending of the story for you early; the numbers don't make the Georgia game feel much better. It still hurts, and it's not a pretty sight. Still, there are some things to see in the pretty charts and graphs, so here we go.

First up, let's take a look at the basic box score numbers in comparison to the rest of the season. Remember, pink is bad. Prepare for bad.

Quick notes:

Completion Percentage! Aagh! Ok, so UT's passing game was better than their running game against Georgia. When you rush for 1 net yard, that's not exactly hard to do. But the reality is that the 43.3% completion rate is second-worst on the season - barely beating out the UCLA game. More on that in a bit.
QB Rating - Not So Shabby! With such a low completion percentage, this number is pretty decent. The reason for this pleasant surprise is that Stephens has still not thrown an INT. Digest that.
Running Game! Running Game! Wherefore Art Thou, Running Game? The more I look at the numbers, the more I believe the Georgia linemen when they say they read our offense. (That's the difference in film study between the majors and 1-AA, Clawson. Remember that.) You'll see this later on, too.
Wheee! Pass-Whacky! 2:1 Pass-Run Ratio. Not exactly Clawson-esque. Chalk that up to the second-half desperation, where the running game nearly disappeared. You can blame the clock rules for that. Well, that and the multi-score deficit. That didn't help much, either.

Let's dig a little deeper into the offense now:

Three sacks, no INTs, no hurries*, again. The (*) is on account of the data source; NCAA.com has still not updated the game data, so I don't have the hurry data for this one. However, the three sacks all came early in the game, suggesting to me that Stephens quickly learned to get rid of the ball. But hey, no INTS is still good. Even when Stephens forced the ball, his velocity made it hard to intercept. A bonus for us.
Wide receivers must love this guy. Stephens is more WR-dependent than Crompton was. I think it's largely due to his love of the deep ball. That's fine, so long as the protection holds. Once Stephens discovers the tight ends in the middle of the field, however, the passing game will likely take off.
Go long, baby! Even with only 13 completions, this was the second-best weekend in terms of overall passing yardage. The kid's got a 300-yard game in him. I just know it.

The RBs don't get many throws from Stephens, but perhaps they should. I don't know this for sure, but I think Clawson is keeping the RBs in for protection. If Stephens is getting the ball out quicker, Clawson should consider throwing to the RBs more. They can catch, even if it's not for long gains.
The WRs don't catch enough. All of them hover near 50%, which is partly a function of Crompton's "horseshoes-and-handgrenades" approach to passing. But this weekend didn't help much. Some quick completion rates:
- Gerald Jones: 4 / 6
- Lucas Taylor: 4 / 8
- Denarius Moore: 1 / 5 (!!!)
- Josh Briscoe: 0 / 1
- Austin Rogers: 0 / 1
50% on the year won't work. This counts sacks, but that's still a lost pass and it's still too low.

And now for the through-game passing trend:

This neatly divides into 3 acts of 10 pass attempts each:

Act I: Hey! These Guys Are Fast! In the first 10 attempts, Nick Stephens learns that the UGA pass rush is faster than the UNI pass rush. Fortunately, the lesson is learned and no more sacks occur.
Act II: Yeah, I Can Throw Against UGA! Despite zero rushing attack, Stephens manages a respectable slightly-above-50% rate throughout the next 10 passes with no consecutive incompletions.
Act III: Ummm..Not So Easy When It's Pass-Whacky! Once UT was in desperation mode, UGA settled back into a full pass defense. From here onward, completions became rather scarce (as did UT's hopes).
Curtain Call: No INTS! So woo! for that.

If you want to compare the UGA game to others, here is the link. There's not a whole lot to say, so I didn't reproduce the old graphs here.

Now for the charts!

I'll tackle these from the top down (FYI, the red line indicates a QB change):

UT continues to hemorrhage offensive plays. Seriously, how far can the bleeding continue? Between the tipped-off running game of no account and the 3rd-down-ole defense, UT's offense was practically absent.
Trend Broken! We now no longer show a trend of decreasing pass calls - a trend that initially had us throwing zero passes against Alabama. Sure, it was desperation, but at least we seem to have found a lower bound on the pass-run ratio.
Again, not a shabby QB Rating. Keep in mind that in the NCAAs, a 120 QB rating is not exactly All-American. But it's better than the abyss we found ourselves in before. Considering that this was Nick's second start (and that against UGA), this is quite acceptable.
We need to average at least 5.5 yards per play to be competitive. That disappearing act of a running game held the average down, obviously. But if the offense can ever get both the pass game and the run game within the realm of functional, most of the offensive woes will vanish. 5.5 ypp (yards per play) isn't a whole lot, especially if the passing game can stay above 7 ypp.
What a wild, erratic offense. The last chart in particular is an exercise in randomness. Stay tuned for more on that.

The worst for last!

Wanna see something freaky? Watch what happens when you take out the best rush that UT had on Saturday:

Normally, this trick gives a better feel of the average rush by eliminating a strong influential rush that's exceedingly long. Even though UT's longest rush was 7 yards (woo for Hardesty), removing it drops UT's rush average to negative yardage. I never thought I'd see the day when removing a sack would be more appropriate than removing a rush.

FIN