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Event Details
- What: Tennessee vs. South Carolina
- When: Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007, 7:45 p.m. to 11 p.m.
- Where: Neyland Stadium
- Cost: Not available
- Age limit: All ages
Tennessee safety Jonathan Hefney looks at South Carolina receiver Kenny McKinley and sees a faster version of the guy who torched the Vols a week ago.
"He's got speed, he runs great routes and he goes up and gets the ball," Hefney said. "He's just like DJ Hall, besides DJ Hall's like 6-5. He's just like him but he's a little faster."
Hall, who had 13 catches for 185 yards and two scores in Alabama's 41-14 victory over Tennessee last week, is only 6-foot-3. McKinley, who is fifth in the SEC with 5.1 receptions a game, is listed at 6 feet.
But UT's secondary might have bigger problems than just one player.
Hefney said the Vols are having communication issues in the secondary, primarily before the snap.
That leads to incorrect alignment at times, which contributed to Hall's career day and the Crimson Tide's 363 passing yards.
"We just need to communicate more," Hefney said. "Sometimes you get busted coverages, and it's from being young. We can't use that as an excuse.
"You've got to get everything set before the play. You get the (right) signal for the defensive coverage."
Those issues have caused Hefney, a preseason All-American, to struggle at times this season.
"It affects me (my play) a little bit, but at the same time, I'm still my own man and I have to take care of my business before I can help anybody else," Hefney said. "That's what I'm trying to do now, at the time trying to protect everybody else."
The Vols have forced just nine turnovers on defense, fewer than everyone in the SEC except Florida and Georgia.
Only Georgia has fewer interceptions than Tennessee's five.
South Carolina enters Saturday's game having thrown 12 interceptions as a team, the second highest total in the SEC.
That, and some youthful enthusiasm, is enough to pick up the secondary even after last week's dreadful outing.
"I see (true freshmen) Eric Berry and Brent Vinson jumping around, all excited," Hefney said. "And I'm trying to be excited just like them. I'm a little older now, but it's still kind of fun to see them boys going around about their business being excited."
Captain Inky: Inky Johnson will join five other teammates as a captain for Saturday's game.
Johnson suffered a career-ending injury in September of 2006, but has been present for meetings, practices and games since his injury.
"It just hit me that this would be a good thing to honor him in a game like this," UT coach Phillip Fulmer said. "I was going to wait until homecoming but this is a national television game, and I was thinking it would be a great statement for him and how our program has stuck behind him all the way through it."
Tackle Eric Young and Hefney, both South Carolina natives, will join Johnson as captains, as will quarterback Erik Ainge, defensive end Xavier Mitchell and tight end Chris Brown.
Sixth Year For Gaines, Cottam?: Tennessee will petition the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility for defensive back Antonio Gaines, who suffered a season-ending knee injury against Southern Miss on Sept. 8.
"It's practically a slam dunk," Fulmer said of Gaines' chances, citing shoulder surgery Gaines had as a freshman to repair damage sustained in high school.
As expected, Tennessee will also file for a sixth year for tight end Brad Cottam, who could return on a limited basis from a broken wrist suffered in August.
"We're going to try to get some kind of answer in a couple of weeks and we'll determine from there," Fulmer said. "They probably can't give us a final answer, but they can give us a positive answer."
Fulmer said Cottam could be back for four games but would be limited with a cast.
"He's missed so much with five surgeries and a car accident," Fulmer said. "He's had easily two years missed of football.
"Again, if the NCAA is truly about the student-athletes, I think we'll hopefully win that."
Smelley Starter: South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said Thursday evening that redshirt freshman Chris Smelley will likely start against the Vols.
Smelley, who started Carolina's last four games, was battling Blake Mitchell, who led the Gamecocks to a victory here in 2005.
"Unless Syvelle (Newton) comes back, I'm not going to worry about somebody scrambling," Fulmer said. "I do respect their quarterbacks very much that they have in place there."
Visitors: Former UT punter Dustin Colquitt and defensive lineman Turk McBride attended Thursday's practice. Both play for the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs, who do not play this week.
Drew Edwards covers University of Tennessee football. He may be reached at 865-342-6274.
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Comments » 61
RemembertheAlamo writes:
have the defensive coaches not been teaching communication.....I can see why Heffney isn't looking good....he is being stretched from and to everywhere because no one is communicating....
DenmarkVol_aka_Mbumburu writes:
Thanks, Jonathan, for stepping up to the mic. You've taken some heat this year but forget about it. The vast, vast majority of us out here are behind you 110 percent.
As far as communicating, I suggest to call a man named Roland James. He can tell you what it's like to get the job done back there. If you don't know who he is, ask around.
I believe he still works with the Somerville Youth Services up near Boston. See this article to learn about him...http://www.boston.com/sports/football...
Maybe the AD staff has a number for him...if you play half as poorly as Roland James did during his time at UT, you will be first-team All Sec.
99gator writes:
what was the final outcome for inky johnson. i never heard the result. the article says career ending injury. did he, or does he, have a condition that will effect him the rest of his life or will he be able lead "a normal life".
BigVolinCarolina writes:
Our on-field communication the past few seasons has been real simple: "Hey man, was I supposed to cover that guy or were you?"
RemembertheAlamo writes:
mbumburu.....thanks for sharing....great article on Roland James........now there is a name from the past.....
RemembertheAlamo writes:
Roland James....All SEC 1978 and 1979....All American 1979....Jr year had 7 interceptions for 126 yards returned and 1 TD.....his Sr year...had 19 punt returns for 243 yards and 1 TD....just some of his highlights......
OldNumber7 writes:
The proud Tennessee program;
Coaches Poll - nothing
Associated Press - "others receiving votes" (3)
See, three people in the United States voted for us.
Fulmer - more cowbell!
10ACVOL writes:
Who is Hefney supposed to communicate with on punt returns? Hmmm, nobody else back there but him. See, what had happened was...
vtvol#210290 writes:
The young DBs we have are certainly taking their lumps this year. All the preseason pubs wrote about how shorthanded the UT secondary was going to be this year and that the incoming frosh and jucos would have to step-up to help immediately. While they have been singed from their trial by fires known as Longshore, Tebow, and Wilson, they are learning. Let's face it, those are three damn good QBs that these boys have faced. Exacerbating matters is the lack of any consistent pass rush from the front seven which has given UT's opponents ample time to find the open man. There are going to be busted coverages in the future but hopefully not as many as there have been. I see the backfield of Eric Berry, Marsalous Johnson, and Brent Vinson morphing into the backfield of Julian Battle, Rashad Baker, and Jabari Greer from earlier this decade. It was a solid secondary which played together for three seasons. I'm not saying "wait'll next year" but I am excited about what we Vols fans have to look forward to see performing for next few years.
BigVolinCarolina writes:
Not sure what games you were watching earlier this decade but, with all due respect, Julian Battle was the only solid player of the 3 you mentioned.
Rashad Baker and Jabari Greer were consistently beaten by opposing WR's. Fortuntately, though, all 3 were athletic and skilled enough to play at the next level. But, while at UT, Baker and Greer were constantly beaten--largely due to being out of position, which is largely due to coaching.
I do hope that Berry, Vinson and Johnson develop. We certainly need it!
yeavols#228407 writes:
Maybe the charts will help...just a thought.
DennisVols writes:
This is just another symptom of a bigger problem.
What many fans are asking is "Why did it happen?"
Just started a new blog addressing that question. Take a look and leave your comments.
http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/Denn...
RemembertheAlamo writes:
just saw a difference of a team being prepared and one not (like UT)....I can grant you that if UT is down 10 to 0 with 4 minutes to go and playing bad, we would not be prepared to win the game. BC looked like a champion in those last 4 minutes. And Matt Ryan looked like a Heisman Trophy winner. In the post interview, Matt Ryan stated that the team was prepared from practice to win like this. Does UT prepare anything in practice?
MrBamSeydu writes:
As negative as he sounds, I pretty much agree with grvol. I think we signed Marsalous soley to get his brother this year. Brent Vinson is a total work in progress. Jon Hefney is one of the most over-rated UT players in the past 10 years. He's a poor man's Bob Sanders, but without play making ability. A free safety should NOT lead the team in tackles like he did last year. He should lead the team in picks or passes broken up. If the last line of defense is making all our tackles, that's sorry. Eric Berry is the only solid player we have in our secondary and he won't be great until next year.
RemembertheAlamo writes:
Bigvolincarolina......you are half right on this one..Battle and Baker both made all SEC in 2002.......Baker (for 4 years) had 233 tackles and 11 interceptions for 109 yards, 62 punt returns for 544 yards.....Battle (only played 2 years)had 132 tackles and 3 interceptions for 6 yards.
BigUn writes:
We will never be great in the secondary until Larry Slade leaves or is fired.
wyomingvol writes:
Heff is too cool for school..........
GreerVol22 writes:
mbumburu , good grief, you sound as if Heff is playing his but off. Please! He's in NFL-don't get hurt and get thru the season mode...its really obvious comparing how he is tackling and hitting vs last year..its not like he "forgot" how to do it.
And no offense to Inky, but I think he provides about as much inspiration as captain as Billy Graham would in a Baghdad mosque.
But hey, who am I, maybe this communication thing will have some merit. It seems to be working for the 90 or so schools in 1-A that rank ahead of us in most stat cats. But instead of playing 10-12 yards of the recievers it would be better to just back all the way back to the goal line, its quieter and their conversations would be better understood. Gesh, this defense and its coaches are a complete joke.
rockytopjeff writes:
just a little piece from an espn article-
In the Vols' three losses this season to then-No. 12 Cal, then-No. 3 Florida and Alabama, Tennessee has allowed an average of 48 points and 512 yards per game.
That'll give us hope!!! lol
CoverOrange writes:
Good to know that Hefney recognizes that SC has a good receiver. Not sure he knew who DJ Hall was last week.
tennisvol writes:
The ole ball coach will be ready to take advantage of the weak TN defense at the beginning of the game and throughout. No waiting till half time to adjust. He'll adjust on the next play if he notices a weakness. With this weak defense, TN is 3-4 TDs down before the game begins.
orangebloodgmc writes:
Rashad Baker might have eventually developed into a decent db, but when he was first thrown into it, he was pretty shakey.
But it is encouraging that they have I.D'd McKinley; maybe they will even double-cover him short and long, and bring the house with everybody else.
jandjhome#228397 writes:
Here we are again on the eve of ANEONT (another national embarassment on national television)
MemphisVolFan writes:
He has what we used to call senior-itis. Spent three years being told how great he is and suddenly, what got him the accolades is nowhere to be found. I agree with GreerVol22 - he's just going through the motions this year. He'll be lucky if he gets picked in the draft based on this year's performance.
orangebloodgmc writes:
But Hefney is from South Carolina and he put out some of his best play against them in the past. Stay tuned.
Southland writes:
Maybe Slade will be offered a head coaching job at an up and coming school some Middle School program surely needs him I think the Dandrige Middle school has a history of being pitiful Maybe they are looking
Southland writes:
I'm sorry about the Dandridge remark Red Boiling Springs could use him. But truth is Slade is not the only one that needs to go somewhere else
NCCOLTSFAN writes:
Send Smokey in with the plays!
And the charts!
Problem solved!
SC-31 TN-28
GreerVol22 writes:
ilove_football , bite me. I remember the collision that ended his career. It was awful, but dragging this poor kid out on the field, week after week, in hopes that it inspires and motivates his teammates has run its course. Its great that UT remembers him and will continue to pay for his education, but you missed my point that that motivational well is dry.
knoxtenor writes:
Speaking of communication, I'm pretty tired of hearing the names of UT's defensive secondary (in particular, Hefney) being mentioned after opponents' running plays during the game. Last time I checked, there are quite a few other UT players closer to the line of scrimmage whose names should be being mentioned on those plays.
GoVol writes:
I guess it takes communication to make a tackle? I've never seen so many missed tackles...its gets worse each year!
CoverOrange writes:
Excuse me, Greer? Where did it say that Inky was to inspire the troops? Appears they are just honoring him.
Wewhite, that's the defense that Chavis has always played. Moving safeties up for run support, thus the secondary is suppose to be involved in every play, run or pass, as opposed to DLs that are involved only in run (a sack of the QB is a run)
shopsports#273141 writes:
Sounds to me like Hefney is making advance excuses for sucking against the Game chickens the way he has all season so far. What is wrong with him showing some leadership and teaching the younger guys something? He needs to work much harder and be a much better example. I have been very disappointed in him so far this season. When will he have a "good game"?
Wilhelm16 writes:
Our pass defense is vulnerable because our linebackers and linemen can't tackle. Play action plays kill us because Hefney and Berry come running up to support the run. You can't blame them they have to. Another problem we've had is that the d-line doesn't get off blocks. Bama had two starting O-linemen suspended and they still looked like the Indianapolis Colts on the line.
bigbluevol writes:
I think Hefney has finally admitted what many have believed all season: he's trying to cover for everyone in the secondary. It's really hard for one db to have to cover two or more receivers. We've got three first year starters back there with him, two of whom are true freshman. One of those freshman (Vinson) has only played organized football for 3 years (this year included) and had played wide receiver previously. These aren't excuses, they're simply facts. Hefney can play better. My only beef with him has been his tackling, but that's been a problem at UT for almost a decade. As for Inky, I think making him captain is great. He's a good kid and he has been involved with the team and had a positive attitude when most people would slink away and mope. I don't think something like that ever stops "motivating and inspiring." Not to mention, he deserves to be honored and at least have his story nationally recognized.
Wilhelm16 writes:
you're right bigbluevol even when we had great defenses they didn't always tackle well. we relied on speed and talent and have always lacked the basic fundamentals.
bigbluevol writes:
Wilhelm - case in point is Al Wilson. As great as he was, he didn't always wrap up. Often times he just came in there with his forearm shiver. Usually it worked, but not always. I've said it before and I'll say it again: those things at your sides are called arms and it is not illegal to use them to tackle. Let's get that memo out immediately.
asleep#212036 writes:
99gator,
Inky Johnson suffered a freak injury to his brachial plexus after a fractured/dislocated shoulder. The fractured bone pushed downward into the neurovascular bundle that runs in the armpit, under the shoulder and over the rib cage. This injury to the nerves and blood vessels was so severe as to leave permanent deficits. Bottom line: he had to learn how to use his opposite hand and his football days are obviously over. Too bad - he was a class act and a fine young man with character and heart, something this version of the Vols could use. As usual, the hit was routine and actually, unnecessary - the player was running out of bounds on his own. What a senseless tragedy for Inky and the Vols.
webbofconfusion writes:
bigblue... you are right... Hefney is all over the place. If anything his stock value goes up after this season.
Put some size in the middle of the field and we can get the games undercontrol again. I hope that is Phil's long term recruiting goals....
asleep#212036 writes:
On the ESPN website it seems that they are going to blame our Defensive Line for the horrible passing yardage we are giving up. There is certainly some truth to that but like someone said, Slade should have been fired years ago. Chief coaches the linebackers, not the secondary. As D coordinator, I'm holding him ultimately responsible for the overall poor play of the defense, but the position coaches most responsible are the secondary and D-line, both of whom are bad. And what about Fulmer talking about recruiting being the answer to our defensive issues? Not according to Rivals. We have been in the Top !0 every year but one since I can remember. Doesn't sound like raw talent is the issue. Developed talent is what we lack! And I would be pretty honked off if I were a current D lineman when my HC says we need to upgrade the talent to get better. What?! Half those guys are 4 and 5 star players - they are just not well coached!!!! Go Vols!!!
Volunatic writes:
I hope Hefney plays up to the level of all the preseason accolades he received before the season started. If he's worrying about getting hurt and damaging his NFL prospects, he should probably check with some draft experts-- I bet he would find out that he doesn't have very good draft chances right now.
I also think it's past time that we tried someone else on punt returns, like Rogan or somebody.
GO VOLS!!! Beat South Carolina! Somehow!
MOOREVOLS writes:
I agree with Rogan on punt returns. He's quick, fast and has a nose for the endzone. As long as the coaches believe he'll hold on to the ball I think they should give him a shot. It couldn't hurt.
99gator writes:
jawbreaker and asleep
thanks for the update on that. i was always curious about that and hoped for the best. i still remember the tyrone prothro injury for bama in the florida game. while that ended prothro's career it does not (to the best of my knowledge) have the same long term and life altering impact as inky johnson's injury. i wish him the best. has tenn started some sort of scholarship fund or something in his honor?
asleep#212036 writes:
gator99,
He has been placed on medical leave scholarship, or something like that. I think most schools have similar monies available for athletes in Johnson's or Prothro's predicament. Prothro's injury, while not as life-altering, was likewise a tragedy. Not only a great athlete, he is also a class act. The college and professional football worlds were robbed of his great ability. Go Vols!!!
west_tn_volfan writes:
Talent is not the problem at UT. When I see teams that obviously have far less talent than us playing the teams that beat us a much closer game than we did it tells me our coaching is deficient. When a coach can only win if he has superior talent, it means he can't out coach his opponent. Look at Vandy,they play teams closer than we do with half the talent. If that isn't coaching then someone explain what it is.
invisiblekid writes:
Fulmer is on a first name basis with a former SC quarterback but can't recall if his second leading rusher played last week. Terrific, that's just peachy. As for communication problems in the backfield, I have two words: MORE CHARTS!! Ahh, to hell with it, MORE COWBELL!!
invisiblekid writes:
On a serious note, it's good to see that they are honoring Johnson. For him to be present at meetings and practice while trying to overcome his injury says a good deal about his character.
GreerVol22 writes:
Ilove and touchdown, I have not said one bad thing about Inky personally. Honoring him in front of the fans is one thing, to be applauded no doubt. But having him hang around an already fragile secondary is a constant reminder of the bad, not the good. He's there in practice, there in the locker room, and there on the sideline as the defense take the field and I guarantee you that lurking somewhere in the back of their mind is the what if. Its painfully obvious that something has them spooked because my sister hits harder. If that opinion offends either of you then, I'm sorry.
DennisVols writes:
GreerVol22
That is so out of line it is hard to imagine.
If you had ever played football you would know that every player already knows the risks involved.
I am a disabled VET and you know what I knew before I even joined the Army what the risks were everyday that I served.
Inky is a imsperation to this team, its youth and his wisdom, passion and teaching ability is very valuable to this team.
To state that having him on the sidelines, in the locker room, on the practice field in some way is making this team under-perform, or play scared is the most stupid thing I have seen on here and I have seen a lot of stupid thing
GreerVol22 writes:
skaggs, Thank you for yor service. I'm just saying that using Inky to prod these players is not working, in any capacity, so why do it? Yes I have played football and baseball all my life and yes, it effects you as a player when your constantly reminded of the injury you could sustain and yes, from time to time you do pull up just a bit. My coaches always kept injured players away from the field of practice and they were only allowed on the sideline during the year they were injured, after that they were just good fans. Notice I didn't call you stupid for having an opinion.
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