THE BERRY BEST

Monte Kiffin has just one request: he'd like to keep coaching Eric Berry, even though he admits such a dream isn't too likely.

"No, I just talk to him sometimes and say, 'Gosh, Eric, just think -- next year we do that same blitz.' And he'll say, 'Yeah, I remember that one, coach, let's run that.' Boy, wouldn't that be fun," Kiffin said. "But that's about as far as it goes. We move onto the next conversation."

Does Berry answer Kiffin's pleas for utilizing the same blitzes in the 2010 season?

"I wouldn't expect him to. I'm just joking around. He's a great guy, and I wish this guy could stay three more years," he said. "When that time comes, whatever happens, happens. We're just worried about the next game. I heard on the radio about him running through the 'T' and I don't know what's going to happen with that. I just know that Eric Berry, he is the best. I'm not just saying that. He's the best. What a team guy. I love the guy."

Twitter / Tom Dienhart: i confirmed that Tennessee ...

"Can you believe that somebody out there, and there's been a couple but I'm not going to say who, has said that they think Monte Kiffin is going to retire so you may not want to go there and play for him because he probably won't be there? Well, I want to tell you this right now: I ain't retiring, OK," said Monte Kiffin, who gained widespread acclaim in the NFL for his "Tampa 2" defense. "And I'm not going back to the NFL. I didn't coach 25 years in the NFL to come to Tennessee to get experience to go back to the NFL. And I'm not here because my grandkids. They may be a little bit the reason, but I'll tell you what right now: I'm going to stay right here.

"I love it here, and I'm going to coach here as long as I can coach."

SAY WHAT?

Kiffin has been known to say almost anything at any point and Tuesday at his press conference when he dropped this notion about starting quarterback Jonathan Crompton, more than a few heads turned.

"He was so accurate," Kiffin said of Crompton's career-best day against Georgia. "There were two things, one is accuracy, which I talked about the week before when he had not played as well (against Auburn). When your passing game is struggling, if you go into a game and your quarterback isn't accurate at times and you drop the ball six times like we had against Auburn, you're not going to do well.

"Then we go into the next week, we catch the ball and we're accurate. You put them both together, that's what happens. The quarterback ends up being the national offensive player of the week.

"We need to continue to build on that and we need to continue to make plays for him. He was phenomenal on the run (against Georgia). I think scouts are going to come in, and watching that game alone, I think are going to give him a first-round grade. It's almost impossible to find something that he did wrong in those 27 throws that he had."

Kiffin to watch recruits play football in Georgia on Friday night using helicopter  GoVolsXtra

"This offseason the commissioner made a big deal of renewing vows in terms of what we say about other teams and other players" Kiffin said. "Obviously Urban feels he doesn't need to follow that. We won't say anything else."

Kiffin did, however, take a subtle jab at Meyer later in the press gathering.

When asked if the Vols were worried about a flu bug after Meyer's postgame revelation that several Florida players were sick, Kiffin said, "We'll wait and see, and after we're not excited about our performance we'll tell you that everybody was sick."

"Nobody gave us a chance," said splendid Tennessee safety Eric Berry. "We were supposed to lose by 50.

"Tennessee is here for real. That wasn't just gibberish that Coach Kiffin was saying."

It was Kiffin's penchant for gibberish that turned this game into a national curiosity. And if you ask the league leader in revisionist history, that was part of the master plan.

"I think it worked perfect," Kiffin said. "It took all the attention off our players. Allowed them to play free. You don't want pressure on your players. Put it on me."

[+] EnlargeJonathan Crompton
Sam Greenwood/Getty ImagesJonathan Crompton struggled getting the Vols' offense going.

Time to put something else on Kiffin now. A new measure of respect. He and his stellar staff can do more than just recruit; they had their team ready for this enormous challenge.

"They played a lot better than they played on film," Florida cornerback Joe Haden said.

I've seen this act before, and a quarterback that wore the No. 7 was the maestro.

The Swamp was a 100-yard long patch of grass to Casey Clausen. There was no intimidation factor or respect for Gator-Chomping-We-Are-The-Boys-From-Florida tradition.

All that was a big joke for the Vols' California Kid, who embraced his "Ice Man" nickname to the extent of spiking his hair like Val Kilmer.

Clausen's big-time mentality turned off a lot of folks in Knoxville at the time - but it was exactly what enabled him to lead his teammates to two wins at Florida in The Swamp. No other SEC quarterback had accomplished that feat since an LSU signal-caller in the late 1980s - pre Steve Spurrier.

True story: The night before Clausen's first start in The Swamp, in 2001, Phillip Fulmer was fidgeting nervously in an elevator at the team hotel.

Vicki Fulmer rubbed the head coach's back, trying to calm his nerves.

Clausen, in the back of the elevator, simply said to Fulmer: "Don't worry about it coach, I got this one covered.''

Anyone who has played or coached at a championship level knows that winning starts with confidence and a vision.

Even Kiffin’s sister has some funny stories about her brother. Whenever Lane contacts Heidi by phone, the caller ID reads, "L.P."

"Lane the Pain," she said, giggling.

(Note: it's a free link. --hooper.)

"It blows me away sometimes how much hatred there is toward him," Kiffin said on the subject of Crompton. "When you listen to a radio show and people call in and you hear the comments.

"I'm not going to pull a Mike Gundy but the kid is in college. He's a college kid, he's a great student and I feel bad for him. Make sure you understand, there ain't a guy in the country trying harder than him. That's preparing harder or doing more to try and do things right. He's going to do well for us."

Vols pickup commitments from Corey Miller and Brandon Willis.

UCLA's Kevin Prince out at least three weeks with a broken jaw | The Fabulous Forum | Los Angeles Times

Official Visitors for UCLA Game

UCLA vs. Tennessee Preview - CBSSports.com Video

3rd Saturday in Blogtober " Dr. Leroy Collins Speaks: Western Kentucky

In fact, the hope led him to make his first public plea for the denizens of Neyland Stadium to get involved in the proceedings on Saturday.

"We really need our fans. We need our stadium to be rockin'," Kiffin said on Tuesday. "We need our stadium to understand that we need them on all defensive plays, but especially third downs.

Hell & Back for John Reaves, Layla Kiffin -- NCAA Football FanHouse

The excitement around Tennessee football is always high and, obviously, with your arrival, it is even higher. So if you thought the Vol Walk for the Orange and White game was impressive, just wait.

Just wait till the electricity radiates through Neyland Stadium as the Pride of the Southland forms the human "T" for you and your team to run through. Simply stated, it's an experience unmatched.

And with it all, as you know, comes a huge responsibility. As you have figured out, Tennessee football is front page news 365 days a year. And if it's a big deal in the middle of May, then just imagine how big it is 12 Saturdays a year in the fall. Fans come by land, sea and air to watch their team. In these economic times, for many it's an even bigger sacrifice to come watch the Vols.

But they come because it's their team. It's their program and they have given you the keys to direct it. The responsibility is a big one and if you thought your every move was scrutinized this off-season, wait till Saturday. It won't just be your play-calls that are analyzed. Your emotions during the Vol Walk will be examined. Your attire on the sideline will be a topic of discussion. How you come onto and off of Shields-Watkins Field will be critiqued. People are waiting to see if you really are going to be a "visor guy" on Saturdays.

Some might say it's crazy, but those of us who have been around Tennessee football all of our life see it as nothing but normal.

Vols S Eric Berry wins Heisman : FoxSports.com Photo Gallery

Off Day? Not for Crompton - TENNESSEE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Gear :: iVoteBerry | Who would you vote for in the race for the Heisman? Keep Up to date with Berry's push for the hardware! : Eric Berry 4 Heisman Blog

Crompton named Starter

Much has been said and written about rap music being played during stretch at the start of the practice, but it's not always a player vote that shuffles the I-pod to a particular tune. Head coach Lane Kiffin offers up his requests as well. Last week, Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a prayer" bellowed through the loudspeakers and on Thursday Kiffin chose a little Bob Marley for his selection.

Funding from ex-NFL player could be center of Brown investigation - NCAA Football - CBSSports.com

Layla Kiffin, the woman behind Tennessee's coach | tennessean.com | The Tennessean

Rocky Sucession: Kiffin's Clandestine Hiring, Fulmer's Heartache -- NCAA Football FanHouse

This Ryan Miller can play music - but football? - Ron Morris - The State

Athlete Delvin Jones picks Vols " GoVolsXtra