Receivers battling for extra travel spot

Tennessee tight end Brad Cottam’s injury has prompted an intriguing battle for his travel roster spot for the season opener Sept. 1 against Cal.

Wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor said he expects two in-state freshman receivers, Todd Campbell or Tyler Maples, to fill the slot vacated by Cottam, a senior who will be sidelined for two to three months after wrist surgery on Tuesday.

Campbell is from Franklin High School. Maples is from Maryville.

Taylor said UT is planning to take senior Casey Woods, juniors Josh Briscoe and Lucas Taylor and sophomores Quintin Hancock and Austin Rogers.

The Vols will also take four newcomers: junior college transfer Kenny O’Neal and freshmen Denarius Moore, Brent Vinson and Ahmad Paige.

Paige, who’s slight frame worries Taylor when it comes to run blocking, slid into a travel squad spot because of another injury. Freshman Gerald Jones has been sidelined with a hamstring this week. He could return for Saturday’s kicking scrimmage.

The decision to take Vinson was a bit surprising to some, considering he’s had less than spectacular outings in scrimmages open to the media.

"He’s made some tough plays where he’s gone over guys and made some catches," Taylor said when asked what Vinson’s done during closed practices.

Taylor said Vinson needs to understand that running clear out routes designed to take a safety away from another receiver is vital to UT’s offense.

"He wants the football and he doesn’t understand how important it is to take care of a teammate," Taylor said. "He’s got to care more about the guy next to him than he does himself."

Not all of the receivers UT plans to take to the season opener will play, others may play only on special teams. Taylor said he may only play four or five in the game.

For Kicks: As expected, junior kicker/punter Britton Colquitt did not practice as he rehabilitates a sore quadriceps muscle.

"We’re not going to push Britton," UT coach Phillip Fulmer said. "We know what he’s capable of doing. I hope he can kick some on Saturday (during the kicking scrimmage), but if there’s even an inkling it might be the wrong thing to do, we’ll wait as long as we need to wait.

"I’m not concerned about Britton getting himself ready. He’s always managed to do that."

Fulmer said he was pleased with kicker Daniel Lincoln.

"I’m really happy that Daniel Lincoln has made a comeback here," Fulmer said. "One of the things about being a freshman is can you handle adversity, and he’s shown he can handle adversity and bounce back."

Up Front Update: Fulmer said junior tackle Ramon Foster and sophomore guard Chris Scott have a strong chemistry on the right side of UT’s offensive line, likely because they’ve both played the other’s position earlier in their careers.

Fulmer said sophomore offensive lineman Vladimir Richard is close to pushing for playing time and that freshman Ramone Johnson had made "real improvement" in the past two weeks.

Offensive line coach Greg Adkins said he’s still determining who the backups are, which he sees as a good thing.

"The comfort level is I’ve got some guys who can bounce around," Adkins said, "not only in the first group, but the second group as well."

The Chrises: Whether or not former linebackers Chris Donald and Chris Walker stay at defensive end, where they were moved earlier this week, remains to be seen.

"We’ll look at their instincts and stuff and then we’ll be able to make a decision from there," Fulmer said. "Both of them can play linebacker; we know that. We want to see if either one of them — or both of them — can play defensive end."

Ryan’s Review: Linebacker Ryan Karl said he was pleased with his performance in Tuesday’s scrimmage, his first in preseason because of a back injury.

"I think I did well," the senior said. "First three plays, it seemed like I held back a little bit, but after that I felt fine, felt good."

Mike Strange contributed to this report.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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