Rock pounders at work

Photo by Joe Howell
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Running back Arian Foster, who goes over the pile to scored Tennessee’s only touchdown in a 16-13 victory over Alabama last season at Neyland Stadium, is expected to be a force in the Vols’ running attack in 2007.

Pound the rock.

For a metaphor, it implies all the right things about running the football. It suggests toughness and the endurance to finish the job.

But for Tennessee, at least, it’s becoming a little bit quaint.

The Vols finished 9-4 in 2006, despite averaging just 108 yards a game, the lowest average for a UT team since Doug Dickey’s first year as head coach in 1964.

Tennessee’s 382 rushing attempts is the third lowest total since 1950, behind only 2004 (320) and 1964 (377).

Still, last year’s numbers aren’t all gloom and doom.

With David Cutcliffe back as UT’s offensive coordinator for the first time since 1998, the Vols were a pass-first team, led by the resurgence of Erik Ainge and the emergence of Robert Meachem, who set UT’s single-season receiving record.

Because of all the improvements made to the passing game in ’06, the Vols didn’t focus on running the football as much as Cutcliffe would have liked.

“I said this all during the year, and I think people thought I was just talking,” Cutcliffe said, “but I didn’t do a good job of managing the run game. I didn’t call stuff that we do well — and I know we do well — enough.”

Expect that to change this year, especially with a talented and healthy group of running backs.

“I feel like we have one of the most powerful backfields in the nation, and I can say that with confidence,” junior Arian Foster said.

“Straight up.”

Injuries took their toll at various times on Foster and sophomore LaMarcus Coker.

Sophomore Montario Hardesty struggled to overcome a torn ACL from 2005, and enters fall camp fully healthy after having arthroscopic surgery following the Outback Bowl.

And while production was down last season, it wasn’t for lack of talent.

Coker captivated fans with his big-play potential, which included a 48-yard touchdown reception against Florida, an 89-yard touchdown run against Marshall and an 87-yard score against Vanderbilt.

Hardesty, who coaches say is the most effective back at breaking tackles, saw his biggest highlight in a 43-yard touchdown run against Cal.

Foster struggled much of the year with an ankle injury he suffered against Air Force. He carried just twice against Florida, and returned with a three-touchdown performance against Georgia.

Coker’s surge, combined with an off-field incident following a loss to LSU limited Foster to five carries for minus-5 yards in UT’s final three games of the regular season.

That led Foster to refocus during bowl practice in December, and his best performance of the year came against Penn State in the Outback Bowl with 65 yards on 12 carries.

Except, of course, for a pair of fumbles.

Penn State’s Tony Davis scooped his second fumble at Penn State’s 12 and took it the distance for a decisive score in a 20-10 loss.

But Foster, who says he’s finally comfortable at a playing weight close to 230 pounds, forgot the fumbles and remembered his work ethic and carried it over into spring drills.

“I put in some work, and I got rewarded a little bit. But it all got taken away. I thought to myself, ‘I’m going to put in as much work as I possibly can,’ ” Foster says. “I feel right now this overwhelming responsibility to make us win.”

Running backs coach Kurt Roper said he’s noticed a more mature Foster, who has blossomed into a leader on offense.

“He made a very conscious and direct decision to be a more focused, tougher-minded football player after the season he went through last year,” Roper said. “He has goals he wants to accomplish, and I think you see him attacking those goals.”

And if the Vols can get back to pounding the rock behind an experienced offensive line, as Cutcliffe has indicated, Tennessee’s running game will be all right, too.

“You got to call it, and call it and call it,” said Cutcliffe, recalling a shared philosophy of friend and longtime NFL coach Dick Vermeil. “Just because it makes 2 yards or 3 yards doesn’t make it a bad play. Don’t go away from it.”

Drew Edwards covers University of Tennessee football. He may be reached at 865-342-6274.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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