SB Nation - Demetrice Morley

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: Eric Berry reportedly slower than his younger brothers

Joel — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:41:02 -0000

Have you heard we need a QB? Hooper's got everything you need to know about the Lamaison thing, but according to John Adams, history has not been kind to junior college QBs in the SEC. Notwithstanding history, though, Lamaison would be a welcome addition. And Jesse Scroggins? Still not announcing until July 25.
Somebody sell tickets. Eric Berry says there's a race set up for some time next year between him and his younger twin brothers. Evan recently ran the 100 meters in 11.25 seconds, and Elliot almost kept up that pace over 200 meters. Eric's not taking them lightly and is in training for the event already. By the way, Eric said that Evan actually committed to the Vols before he did, so perhaps he is slower. ;-)

Love it. Montario Hardesty on the new offense:

"I love it. I love it, man," he said, literally gushing. "It's the same scheme I ran in high school. You hit the line running, and the holes open up. I love it ... love it."

I love the sound of that.

Talking to the right people. Daniel Lincoln is trying to get his groove back by reaching out to former UT kickers Fuad Reveiz, Jeff Hall, and James Wilhoit (same link as above).

That whole wide receiver thing? This puts it into perspective quite nicely:

The Vols finished spring practice with eight scholarship receivers. When sophomores Ahmad Paige and Tyler Maples decided to transfer, the number dropped to a half-dozen.

Now the six has become three.

Yeah, so having our entire returning receiving corps consist of Quintin Hancock, Brandon Warren, and Todd Campbell means we'll need help from tight ends Jeff Cottam, Luke Stocker, and Ben Bartholomew and incoming freshmen Nu'Keese Richardson, James Green, Marsalis Teague, and Zach Rogers. Lotsa newness in that list of names.

No thanks. The NFL supplemental draft passes on Demetrice Morley.

Cheese. Spencer Hall on Travis Henry's poor decision to take on the feds.

Tougher'n a pine cone toilet seat. And via the magic of sharing on Google Reader (another chest bump to Spencer), another college coach who doubles as a quote machine:

Vikings Not Likely to Participate in the Supplemental Draft

Gonzo — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:54:47 -0000

Today, the National Football League will hold their annual Supplemental Draft. For those of you who don't know quite how the Supplemental Draft works, it is for players that have been declared ineligible in some way for the upcoming college football season and have chosen to leave school and try their luck with the National Football League. Those reasons may be academic, they may have to do with rules violations, or for numerous other things.

Every General Manager in the NFL will send an e-mail to the NFL's league office with the eight players that are eligible for this year's Supplemental Draft and what round pick they'd like to "bid" for each player, if they'd like to offer anything at all. When it comes to establishing priority, the 2009 NFL Draft order will be used. So if, for example, the Detroit Lions and the Vikings offer a fifth-round pick for a particular player, the Lions would be awarded that player since their fifth-round pick in the 2009 Draft was higher than Minnesota's. In turn, the Lions would then forfeit their fifth-round selection in the 2010 NFL Draft.

There are eight players eligible for this year's Supplemental Draft, but the Vikings are seen as unlikely to make an effort to acquire any of them. After the jump, there's a brief look at each of these players, to include what round they're projected to be taken in and why they're eligible for the Supplemental Draft.

Jeremy Jarmon, DE, Kentucky - Entered the Supplemental Draft due to a failed drug test. Honorable mention for the All-SEC team this past season. Outstanding sophomore year, but fell off a bit as a junior. Projected to fetch a fourth-round pick.

Deon Murphy, WR, Kansas State - Dismissed from the Wildcats' program a few months ago. Not a big guy, only standing at 5'9" and weighing in at 170 pounds, but is a very good open field runner. Could go somewhere in the fifth or sixth round range.

Corey Surrency, WR, Florida State - A very tall target (6'4", 205), at this point Surrency is a better athlete than a wide receiver. Surrency lost his college eligibility after it was found that he played two years of semi-professional indoor football after he turned 21 but before he enrolled at Florida State. Will probably end up in the fifth or sixth round range as well.

Joe McMahon, G, Central Michigan - Big, mauler type of guard that doesn't possess a lot of athleticism. Left school for "undisclosed personal reasons," which may or may not send up a red flag, I suppose. Not expected to be drafted today.

McKinner Dixon, DE, Texas Tech - Dixon joined the Supplemental Draft after becoming academically ineligible for the 2009 season. He was pretty much a backup in 2008, and while he has some pass-rush ability, he's non-existent against the run. Not expected to be drafted today.

Demetrice Morley, S, Tennessee - The good news on Morley is that he's a very athletic safety. The bad news is that he was kicked off the Volunteers' team by two different coaches, had an academic suspension, and a 2008 arrest in Florida for armed robbery. Some team might gamble a seventh-round pick on him, but I'd be shocked by anything higher than that.

Blake Boyd, LB, Western Kentucky - Classic overachiever. . .sort of a Heath Farwell-type. Academic issues have caused him to leave the Hilltoppers. Not expected to be drafted, but should get a camp invite as a special teamer type of addition.

Torris Magee, WR, Southern Miss - Got kicked off of the Golden Eagles' team after a burglary arrest. Fairly athletic receiver, and has good size (6'2", 215), but only average speed and fairly inconsistent hands mean that it's unlikely someone will burn a pick on him with the character issues he brings to the table.

I hope this has given everybody a bit of insight on the Supplemental Draft process and some of the names that are available. While the Vikings don't appear to be actively involved in this year's proceedings, it remains to be seen if any of the other NFC North teams will jump in or not.

Arizona Cardinals News: Supplemental Draft Preview

Hawkwind — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:00:12 -0000

While the NFL draft is a huge weekend in April that receives more buildup and publicity than Paris Hilton's birthday party, the red headed step child of the draft process is the yearly Supplemental Draft. It rarely get's much, if any, publicity and it'll take some serious googling to find any significant information on the S-draft or the players who are involved. For some quick facts about the S-draft, only 38 players have been selected in the 31 years that it's been in place and a team can select as many as seven players or not select a player at all. The Arizona Cardinals have only selected two players, Timm Rosenbach (1989) and Willie Williams (1990), although neither player really made an impact. Interest in the draft has wained over time considering that 23 players were selected from 1977 to 1990 but just 14 players have been selected since 1990. Last year there wasn't even a player who declared for the draft. Some big name players have come from this process including Bernie Kosar, Brian Bosworth, Chris Carter, Rob Moore, Jamal Williams and Jared Gaither (Raven's starting LT).

For those were aren't familiar with the process, it's much different the normal NFL draft and you won't even find coverage on it via your television. First the 'draft' is held tomorrow and it's basically a silent auction format in which teams submit bids (ala the round that they wish to select a prospect) and the winning bid gets the player and the subsequent pick in forfeited in the following April draft. For example if the Cardinals selected a prospect tommorrow with a fourth round pick, they'd lose their fourth round pick for the April 2010 draft, but there is no loss for submitting a non-winning bid. Normally the players in the draft are guys who have lost their eligibility for one reason or another. It's most often academic related but it can also include failing drug tests or getting booted from their college teams for any number of reasons. There are a handful of prospects who have entered the draft this year and there is at least one player who is thought of as a 'lock' to be selected. Here's a quick look at each, although for the record the Cardinals haven't shown much interest in any of these guys:

Jeremy Jarmon (DE, Kentucky): Jarmon, a former All-SEC defensive lineman, has great size (6-3, 278) and was thought of as one of the nation's top senior defensive ends entering the year. But after he tested positive for a banned substance, the NCAA ruled him ineligible for 2009, thus leaving him with the only option of making the jump to the NFL. He recently had an impressive workout for scouts and representatives from 18 teams and could go as early as the third round. He ran his 40 in a time of 4.78 seconds, posted 19 reps on the bench and reached 31 inches on his vertical jump. More importantly, he was said to be in good shape, looked smooth during position drills and interviewed well with NFL teams.

Stats over the past two seasons: 100 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks

Fit with the Cardinals? You would think that Jarmon's size would put him on the Cardinals radar screen. Depending on which site you look at, Jarmon is listed anywhere from the low-270's to the low 280's so he's got the size to man the DE spot in a 3-4 defense. That's a hard position to find at times so putting in a late round bid would not be a terrible idea and it's conceivable that he could win the fourth DE job behind Darnell Dockett, Calais Campbell and Kenny Iwebema.

Deon Murphy (WR, Kansas State): Murphy, a former Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, is a small receiver (5-10, 170) whose value is tied to his ability as a returner. Murphy is described as one of the "cleaner prospects" in this group because he left Kansas State because of a personality conflict with head coach Bill Snyder, as opposed to a team or NCAA suspension. As a returner, Murphy was third in the nation with 17.5 yards per return, but as a receiver he's struggled with drops and press coverage. As a pro he's projected mainly as a returner although he could make an impact in the slot where he can't be pressed.

Stats over the past two seasons: 97 receptions, 1,160 yards and 11 TDs. (also averaged 17.5 yards per punt return)

Fit with the Cardinals? The Cardinals have enough problems getting all of their receivers on the field. It doesn't make very much sense to draft another Steve Breaston, but stranger things have happened.

McKinner Dixon (DE, Texas Tech): Dixon is the first real 'problem child' of this group. On the good side, he has obvious talent considering that he's racked up 15 sacks in his two seasons at Texas Tech despite never really being a starter. The bad news though is that Dixon's been suspended (or flunked out) twice and been arrested once (for open container and driving without a liscence). In 2005 he played as a true freshman and had 29 tackles and five sacks but he'd miss the next two seasons after flunking out of Texas Tech. When he returned in 2008 he won the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year award (despite not really being a 'newcomer') with nine sacks and eleven tackles for loss. Dixon, (6-3, 250) has good burst off the snap and has flashed play making ability but he lacks the bulk and strength most 4-3 teams are looking for at defensive end. If you've been around ROTB for any length of time, you know that statement describes just about every 3-4 OLB prospect coming out of college. Most of the articles mentioning Dixon say that he might be worth a late round pick or at least a free agent look.

Stats over his two seasons at Tech: 56 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss and 15 sacks

Fit with the Cardinals? The Cardinals normally avoid any player with multiple character questions like the plague so Dixon doesn't seem to be a great fit. The question the Cardinals have to ask though is whether or not his natural talent outweighs his inability to meet even the minimum academic requirements (twice). The Cardinals have an obvious need at the position and Dixon has obvious talent but it'll be up to the Cardinals brass to determine whether he's worth a look.

Demetrice Morley (DB, Tennessee): Morley was a huge recruit coming out of high school and he played in every single game as a freshman and sophmore, but academics, or a lack thereof, kept him from enrolling in 2007. After a season off that was highlighted by an arrest for robbery, he returned in 2008 and was the Volunteers starting free safety (42 tackles, two picks). He's characterized by scouts as instinctive and big enough (6-2, 195) to handle free safety but he also has the athleticism to handle a move to cornerback. Morley cleary has NFL talent but he was essentially kicked off the team by two different coaches and scouts are doubting whether an NFL team will take a gamble on him.

Stats over three seasons: 108 tackles, 5 interceptions

Fit with the Cardinals? Morley has talent but the Cardinals, for once, are stacked in the secondary. They drafted a safety and corner in April and there just isn't room for another rookie.

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There are a couple of other guys in the mix tomorrow but these four are considered the most likely to be drafted. The other four include:

Joe McMahon (G/C): McMahon is a 6-4, 295 pound guard/center from Central Michigan and two-time Golden Gloves Champion, but was forced into the supplemental draft due to academic reasons.

Corey Surrency (WR): Surrency is a big wide receiver (6-5, 220) from Florida State who's been suspended multiple times and actually dropped out of high school in ninth grade. He's also an old prospect considering he'll turn 25 this year.

Blake Boyd (OLB): Boyd played OLB in the 4-3 defense of the Hilltoppers and racked up 184 tackles and 16.5 tackles for a loss in his three seasons before being declared academically ineligible for the 2009 season.

Torris Magee (WR): Magee has good size but he put up marginal stats at a lower level of college football and has an arrest for burglary in his past.

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That's a quick look at the guys who will be on the board tomorrow. Obviously we don't have a scouts view of these guys but would you take any of these guys with a late round pick or are the red flags to obvious?

Best Plays of 2008: Rout!

Joel — Tue, 26 May 2009 21:00:10 -0000

At stake: See Berry All the Way.

In-game context: Three plays after Berry All the Way, Demetrice Morley got into the action:

Impact: After the second pick six in a row, the Vols led 27-3, and after yet another fourth quarter touchdown, they got their first SEC win of the season, 34-3.

Talking points: Nick Reveiz outlifts Dan Williams edition

Joel — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 11:36:10 -0000

Tennessee Football

This actually came out yesterday, but everybody's piling on today, so I will, too. At their first meeting, Lane Kiffin made the understandable assumption that Nick Reveiz was a -- gasp! -- kicker. Yeah, well, coach, most kickers don't outlift your linemen.Lance Thompson, by the way, jokes that with every play Reveiz makes on the field, he "seems to be getting a littler taller."
Suddenly, the secondary looks . . . different. With Demetrice Morley dismissed, Eric Berry held out of full contact, and Brent Vinson recovering from shoulder surgery once again, a bunch of new folks are getting looks in the secondary. Art Evans is No. 1 at one of the CB spots at this time. C.J. Fleming is actually working with the ones at CB more than former starter Dennis Rogan, who's been getting some playing time at that "other" safety position. Also vying for that "other" safety spot, though, are Stephaun Raines and Prentiss Waggner, although Rod Wilks is gettting some looks there, too. Daryl Vereen, too, is in the mix in the secondary, and this fall, five-star DB Janzen Jackson and four-star DB Darren Myles, Jr. will throw their helmets into the ring. Eric Berry's been named to the 2009 Lott Trophy Watch List.
Misc. . . . Cody Pope's been moved from right tackle to right guard. . . .It's true, fullbacks are in fact catching passes in practice. Austin Johnson recently made a "nifty, one-handed catch on the sideline" and another 40-yarder. . . .B.J. Coleman's favorite target is Tyler Maples, and they recently hooked up once for a 50-plus-yard gain. . . .The offense gave up zero turnovers on Tuesday.

Sprints // 04.09.09

cocknfire — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 06:14:20 -0000

Arkansas: Pretty good, thank you very much. For those who thought Arkansas' baseball success (and, no, I'm not calling them "Diamond Hogs") was a result at least in part of their weak schedule -- have at you!

Arkansas just held on for an 8-7 win over No. 1 Arizona State in front of a school-record crowd of 11,014 at Baum Stadium. With the win, Arkansas takes the two-game series sweep over the No. 1 team in the land, according to two of the national polls.

The Hogs knocked off ASU 7-3 last night.

Both Wednesday's win and Tuesday's victory were come-from-behind efforts, but a win is a win is a win, and they play all nine innings -- usually, anyway -- for a reason.

Who is this a big problem for? Western Division favorite LSU. Any illusion that catching up with Arkansas was just a matter of time is now officially gone. The Bayou Bengals have a fight on their hands.

Other baseball: Mississippi State edges Southern Miss ... Tennessee can has offense!!! (Yes, it's Lipscomb, but they were a tourney team last year. Also -- huge for Tennessee -- Lipscomb's players breathe, and the Vols have struggled with teams like that this year.) ... Georgia splits a doubleheader with Winthrop ... The Gamecocks finish off a 2-1 record against rival Clemson with a loss ... Kentucky loses on a balk. (Q: How do you know it's not your year?) Oddly enough, it was a fitting end for the game ... Florida, Ole Miss, LSU and Auburn all defeat overmatched foes ...

Grant: $1.8 million a year. Most of that is a "talent fee." This according to a memorandum of understanding.

It's not a full contract yet, but it tells almost everything you might want to know.

Try telling that to Kentucky fans.

Meanwhile, your humble correspondent might have spoken too soon when he said the SEC coaching rumors are over. Darrin Horn is now a potential candidate at Xavier, though it's confusing as to why he would take the job. Except the whole "going to the NCAA tournament" thing. Oh, and the uncertain future of Devan Downey.

Calipa-recruiting. One star is already on the way, and a lot of Rivals' VHTs (can I used that for basketball?) are at least considering the Wildcats now. All of this adds to the buzz around Big Blue that has SI calling them a "wild card" in 2009-10. A look at this past year's players and their shot selection, for those of you interested in the past.

Jerrell Powe might actually play. After a 37-year battle to get on the team in the first place, Jerrell Powe is performing well enough that coaches are likely to move him to the first-team defense soon. In all seriousnes, you have to admire Powe's determination, and pity the league's QBs if he replicates it on the field.

For his part, Demetrice Morely seems equally determined to not play.

Some guys make up their playing time. Former Wildcat (sniff sniff) Dicky Lyons Jr. talks to A Sea of Blue.

ASOB: Did you just run onto the field?

Lyons: "I needed to talk to Joker (Phillips, UK"s offensive coordinator) but he was up in the press box. So I made something up, and went into the game ... I thought that if the other receiver scored, that I might not ever see the field. After that I kind of steamrolled my spot on the team."

You gotta love the kid. Best of luck to him in the NFL, assuming the scouts are smart enough to draft him and he doesn't talk to the wrong women on Facebook.

Who said the law is boring? Says a presumably unbiased attorney about the anti-BCS antitrust suit:

Basically what you're watching is a three-round bout with the Utah attorney general. The first round of anti-trust is press releases and political grandstanding and people with spears hopping up and down. The second round is the trial court and third round is the court of appeals.

Whoever's left standing at the end of the third round wins. It would be unusual for the attorney general to be standing at the end of the third round.

Somehow, I have a hard time picturing Mike Slive wielding a spear.

Put an * next to that 2008* Big XII Championship story. Looks like Texas will no longer claim its nonexistent title. (HT: EDSBS) Alabama, over to you.

Wind Sprints. Quincy Carter joins the indoor football craze ... Ole Miss fans don't want your love ... Is Gene Chizik the next Captain Queeg, or Woody Hayes? With these whipper-snappers nowadays, does it matter? ... The World Cup in South Carolina. Yeah, that would work ... Don't cry for Bobby Bowden, Argentina, says And the Valley Shook ... Maybe cry for Pat Summitt, though, whose team is out of the Top 25 ...

Demetrice Morley challenges Ed Orgeron and loses, gets dismissed from team

Joel — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 11:51:19 -0000

There is a persistent rumor that when Ed Orgeron first took the Ole Miss job, he ripped off his shirt and challenged his players to a fight at their first meeting together. Essentially, he alpha-rolled his team by challenging them to challenge him. Nobody took him up on it.

Nothing suggests that Orgeron picked a fight with his players upon arriving at Tennessee, but he did have the temerity to institute rules and expect players to live up to them. Junior safety Demetrice Morley has apparently taken the passive-aggressive route with Orgeron and, as you might expect, lost. He's been kicked off the team for the second time in three years.

The official statement from Lane Kiffin:

Demetrice won’t be part of our team anymore. Like we said a long time ago, from the beginning, this isn’t easy. It’s very demanding for guys to stay here and go through everything that we do, and to hold to our standards on and off the field that we expect and to be a part of our culture. Demetrice could not do that, and we wish him the best of luck.

Gathering all of the hidden details from all of the various articles available on this story, it's clear that there wasn't one single event that triggered the severance. Instead, Morley simply never bought into the new theme of competitive discipline that the Kiffin Chimera brought to town, and in failing to do so, he filled yet another clean slate with graffiti.

Morley initially challenged Orgeron's authority by missing "a lot" of team runs early in the spring. He was suspended indefinitely, which to my knowledge wasn't reported anywhere. According to C.J. Fleming, Morley and Orgeron "never really got together." The message had been ignored.

Later, Morley showed up late for a team meeting and was suspended for the team's first spring practice. Message ignored again. He then missed another practice to witness the birth of his child, and he was again absent for Saturday's scrimmage, apparently without excuse. Tuesday evening, he was off the team.

The real shame of this is that Morley appeared to have turned things around. A five-star, No. 2 overall CB in the nation in the class of 2005, Morley played in every game his first two years, and he compiled 66 tackles, three interception returns for 41 yards and a touchdown, and one fumble recovery. In January, 2007 Phillip Fulmer dismissed him from the team for academic reasons, and Morley went to Florida and lived out of his car. During this time, he was arrested on charges of strong-armed robbery and ordered to perform 75 hours of community service. He then returned to Knoxville and paid his own way at a local community college, got his grades up, and earned his way back onto the team the following season. He performed his community service in 2008 and also played in every game but one (Wyoming, for which he was . . . suspended). He had two interceptions for 32 yards and a touchdown and 42 tackles.

Three days after Kiffin arrived, news of the 2007 Florida arrest surfaced when Knoxville police detained him on an outstanding warrant that was mistakenly issued by Florida authorities for failing to make a court appearance he wasn't required to attend because he'd performed his community service. It was a simple mistake, but still, it was not the best first impression, and you'd think he'd work to cure that. Message ignored.

So yeah, Morley's blown chance after chance, apparently for simply challenging authority by keeping his own schedule.

If they didn't before, Kiffin and Orgeron certainly have the team's attention now. Orgeron didn't challenge his players to fight this time, but he did challenge them to a battle of wills. Morley took him up on it and lost. Will the team get the message?

Talking points: Saturday scrimmage roundup edition

Joel — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:11:28 -0000

Tennessee football

We won! Tennessee had another game-like scrimmage on Saturday, and depending on which article you're reading, the offense/defense got the better of the defense/offense, which is a good thing, I guess. If you're the offense/defense.
QBs. Jonathan Crompton went 9-16 for 90 yards in seven possessions against the first-team defense, and four of those possessions ended with punts or interceptions. He also fumbled once when Chris Walker hit him, but he recovered the ball. B.J. Coleman was 17-of-22 for 112 yards with no interceptions, but he didn't have to contend with Walker and the rest of the 1st team defense. The numbers for the both quarterbacks aren't great, but they're not bad, either, considering that they were throwing mainly to tight ends and running backs on third-down and long situations by design.
WRs. Hmm. They said they were throwing mostly to tight ends and running backs, but the stat sheet doesn't really bear that out. Denarius Moore had four catches for 45 yards. Tyler Maples had 3-26, and then you get to the running backs. I don't see any tight ends with catches, unless Ben Lehning (?!) is a tight end. (NOTE: I just learned that he actually is a tight end, so there, me.) Anyway, Ahmad Paige has fallen behind the rest of the receivers due to having to recover from sliding head-first into a brick wall at an earlier scrimmage. The coaches are trying to help him get caught up. One of the main goals for the coaches with respect to the receivers is to make the best use of Quintin Hancock and Brandon Warren, as the system relies on a lot of short passes into traffic and therefore requires big, strong guys to outfight everyone else for the ball. That's what they say, anyway.
RBs. Montario Hardesty ran ten times for 29 yards before the coaches took him out just so they could get more looks at the second-string guys. Tauren Poole ran for 81 yards on 14 carries , but fumbled twice, one of which went out of bounds and the other of which was recovered by the defense. He recovered nicely, though, ripping off runs of 21, 19, and 16 yards after the fumbles. Toney Williams's first run went for 42 yards, and he had two touchdowns of four and two yards each. He finished with 84 yards on 14 carries. And yes, for those keeping score, that's 194 yards on the ground, which is 194 times the number of yards we gained against Georgia last year. And no, that joke will never get old.
DTs. Kiffin made a point of telling folks that 6'4", 312-pound Montori Hughes looks a lot like Albert Haynesworth, who observed practice from the sideline. Tip: Hughes doesn't have money growing out of his pores.
DBs. Demetrice Morley missed the scrimmage. Kiffin told the media that "[s]omething came up" and that he would fill them in on Tuesday after he talked with Morley. Rumor is that the issue "is related to discipline," which has to be the inside scoop of the year. Actually, there is more: Morley will apparently be allowed to return to practice on Tuesday, but will bat the rest of his Tennessee career with a full count.
The turnovers. Yeah, four fumbles and an interception = not good. But considering the emphasis the defense is placing on creating them, perhaps it's not as bad as it sounds. Plus, the offense was apparently at least moving the ball. Even the defense said so. So it must be true. Right? Right? . . . Right?
Mental mistakes. Kiffin believes that simply barking at someone for brain freeze penalties doesn't get the job done, so he punishes such things as false starts and offsides with think-about-it laps. He has data to back up the assertion that it will work: The New York Jets went from about 30th in the NFL in penalties to second in one year after implementing the rule. The rule only applies to mind fog, not to interceptions, drops, or fumbles, but Gerald Jones and Denarius Moore are doing it (with push ups on top) for dropping catchable passes.

Tennessee basketball

Flirting vs. being wanted. Pearl says he didn't flirt with Memphis. John Pennington doesn't believe him, but also doesn't fault him for it. I'm not sure that ending up with a raise after the Memphis rumors necessarily means that Pearl flirted or that he intentionally leveraged the rumor/offer into a raise. Simply being silent and letting things play out could very well have accomplished the same thing, and that's quite different from actually doing something to encourage it.
Jones staying. Associate head coach Tony Jones has withdrawn his name from consideration for the head coaching position at Boston University. Jones is an integral component of Pearl's staff, and him sticking around is a big deal.
Clay Travis debunks the notion that Tennessee isn't a basketball school.

SEC

John Adams is already awarding the SEC the Comeback Conference of the Year for basketball in 2009-10.

NCAA

Nunes Magician takes a look at what the post-season would look like for basketball if the NCAA used a BCS/bowl model rather than a 64-team Tournament.

Saturday Scrimmage Notes

Will — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 18:13:23 -0000

- First and perhaps most importantly, Brent Hubbs is reporting that Demetrice Morley did not participate today, and that Lane Kiffin said he has to talk with Morley and more information will be coming. (Update: Kiffin said he'll tell all of us on Tuesday. --hooper)

- Scrimmage stats from KNS. Quintin Hancock drew the first team reps alongside Gerald Jones at wide receiver, Wes Brown started at defensive tackle next to Dan Williams, and LaMarcus Thompson got the reps with the ones at linebacker alongside Rico McCoy and Nick Reveiz. Without Eric Berry and Brent Vinson (no contact) and Morley, the secondary starters were a fun mix of "who?"

- (Update 5:11 PM EDT) If you're a VolQuest subscriber, you can read early recaps of the defensive and offensive performances. The word for the day on both sides is turnovers, with the offense giving it up three times, including two fumbles by Tauren Poole that offset an otherwise great day running the football.

- (Update 5:14 PM EDT) Here's the writeup from the News-Sentinel.

- (Update 8:49 PM EDT) Here's a freebie scrimmage report from Scout.