Long says warmer weather should favor Vols

TAMPA, Fla. — One might think that Tennessee strength and conditioning coach Johnny Long is hoping for cool temperatures when the Vols play Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl on Tuesday.

Not so.

Long said he’s hoping for some moderately hot weather for the 11 a.m. kickoff to test what he already believes is a mentally tough football team, thanks to what Long describes as the toughest off-season program in his 13 years with the Vols.

Long said he had UT’s players running throughout the entire football season, also a first in his career.

It looks like Long will get his wish, weather forecasters are calling for a high of 79 degrees on New Year’s Day.

As for the Tampa heat, which has regularly topped 80 degrees, Long realizes the limitations.

“There’s only so much you can do in five or six days,” he said, referring to bowl practice.

Long said he’s more concerned with a long season than hot weather weighing on his players.

“After five months without any down time … there comes a time when your body says ‘This is all I can take.’ ” Long said.

Long said he plans to stick to his re-vamped offseason program in 2008. One minor change might involve less running and more lifting for what he described as a light, fast group of underclassmen.

Up-Front Update: UT offensive line coach Greg Adkins said he can see that right tackle Ramon Foster’s broken right thumb is affecting his play. Foster didn’t practice until UT arrived in Tampa, having missed more than a week of work in Knoxville.

“I think he’ll be sufficient,” Adkins said. “I think he’s gotten used to it. It does limit him a little bit but, overall, because he’s been used to doing it, he’s learned how to play with it.”

Foster played with the broken thumb during the last month of the season. He then underwent surgery to remedy the ailment in early December. Foster said there’s no pain and that he doesn’t believe the injury affects him on the field.

“It’s the tying up your shoes and stuff like that that gets me,” he said.

Senior Steven Jones or freshman Ramone Johnson would be the most likely candidates to enter the game if Foster proves ineffective.

Foster laughed when he was jokingly asked if he could use the hard cast on his right hand as a weapon in the Outback Bowl.

“I’d probably get a penalty for that so I won’t answer that right now,” he said. “I’ll plead the fifth.”

Stephens Staying: With three quarterbacks (sophomore Jonathan Crompton, redshirt freshman Nick Stephens and true freshman B.J. Coleman) heading into spring practice, it would seem one might be considering transferring to Duke, following UT offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe who will take over a coach of the Blue Devils starting Wednesday.

Stephens said there’s been no such talk and that he certainly plans on being with the Vols next season.

“I came here for this spring right here,” Stephens said of his chance to compete for the starting job.

Injury Report: UT coach Phillip Fulmer said linebacker Ryan Karl will start at his usual strongside linebacker position. Karl has struggled to overcome a broken elbow he suffered in the SEC championship game against LSU on Dec. 1.

Jerod Mayo will slide from middle to weakside linebacker in place of Rico McCoy, who was declared academically ineligible for the bowl game. Reserve Ellix Wilson will start in place of Mayo at middle linebacker.