UT position analysis: Quarterbacks Cutcliffe's upbeat approach

Beginning Sept. 3, during a season-opening date with California, Tennessee coaches all expect him to act the part.

All you have to do is look at the intangibles.

He’s 6-foot-6, 220 pounds with a strong arm and a quick release.

He’s pegged as a starting quarterback of a major SEC football team — and he’s due.

Regaining confidence in a shaky to mediocre offense is job No. 1 for coach Phillip Fulmer and offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe heading into August two-a-days.

Ainge is the point man in that process.

"Confidence is something you earn, and he’s starting to earn it," Cutcliffe said after trying to repair Ainge’s psyche this past spring.

A stellar freshman season — cut short by a shoulder injury suffered against Notre Dame in 2004 — is a cloudy memory.

A more-recent memory was a baffling sophomore slump in 2005 resulting in a form of quarterback roulette with Rick Clausen (now a UT graduate assistant).

Ainge admits he dealt with a turf-toe injury. He also admits there were times his confidence suffered and it was replaced by bouts of confusion.

Instead of the gunslinging freshman able to make all of the throws with no fear, Ainge at times looked lost and rattled.

Receivers didn’t help the situation by displaying an uncanny knack for dropping passes.

Numbers told the story.

As a true freshman — sharing time with another highly touted freshman in Brent Schaeffer — Ainge put up Peyton Manning-like numbers.

Comparisons started to fly when Ainge completed 109 of 198 passes (55.1 percent) for 1,452 yards and 17 touchdowns in nine games.

In eight games last season, Ainge completed 66 of 145 passes (45.5 percent) and threw seven interceptions compared to five touchdowns.

Enter Cutcliffe.

"There’s two big things with me and quarterbacks," Cutcliffe said. "One is to make everyone around you better and that’s just by doing your job ? the other is accuracy."

The former UT offensive guru during the Manning years and former Ole Miss coach immediately broke his quarterbacks down from the ground up — footwork drills to mental calisthenics.

Back to basics with an emphasis on up-beat tempo became the sermon of the day.

"We really worked to change a lot of things," Cutcliffe said. "We changed our tempo in general and changed a lot of footwork.

"They can play at another level, and consistency is something that just has to be there."

It was Ainge — for the first time in his career — getting all of the first-team reps.

"Erik is clearly our No. 1 guy," Cutcliffe said. "He has been very comfortable with what we’re doing.

"We’ve made a lot of mental changes and a lot of teaching had to be done in our system. He has handled that really well."

Arm strength and "good feet" were never an issue.

"He’s just learning how to use them," Cutcliffe said. "He’s very coachable."

The question remains: Can he forget about 2005 and focus on new possibilities in 2006?

If he doesn’t, a few competitors are waiting in the wings.

Inexperience is the issue. Redshirt freshman Jonathan Crompton and junior Bo Hardegree enter fall drills battling for the No. 2 spot.

Crompton appears to have the skills and confidence after sitting out last season with a shoulder injury.

"As a young player," Cutcliffe said of Crompton, "he has been as good as I’ve had as far as transferring what I’m telling him and verbalizing it in the huddle and not getting frozen."

Coaches hope incoming freshman Nick Stephens can supply the same kind of youthful attributes.

He passed for 2,602 yards and 24 touchdowns as a high school senior.

Senior Jim Bob Cooter supplies more depth pending his return from a summer DUI charge.

Outlook: Promising to much better than a year ago. Cutcliffe’s arrival alone is worth a dramatic increase above last season’s 18.6 points per game.

Ainge is more confident and has, in his words, "learned how to work."

A season of 2,500 yards passing is within reach and would put him fifth on UT’s career passing charts — past Tee Martin and trailing only Manning, Casey Clausen, Andy Kelly and Jeff Francis.