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UT signee Douglas not shouldering doubt
Tight end expects to be ready this season
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Aaron Douglas said he will be physically ready to participate this season for Tennessee.
The tight end from Maryville High School underwent successful shoulder surgery last month. There was speculation that Douglas, who signed with UT in February, might need to redshirt this fall in order to rehabilitate the injury.
"Everything is good," the 6-foot-7, 250-pounder said.
Douglas was the News Sentinel's top prospect in Tennessee and an alternate for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, which annually invites the top 80 prospects in the nation.
Douglas had 44 catches for 470 yards and four touchdowns last season while leading Maryville to a state championship.
Frequent Visitor: Stephon Gilmore affirmed that UT is still atop his list, but the 6-2, 190-pound defensive back from South Pointe High in Rock Hill, S.C., said he is no where close to announcing a decision.
Gilmore, it seems, has a penchant for drama. He won't make an announcement until after his state football championship game, assuming South Pointe makes it that far. Otherwise, a public decision could come sooner.
Gilmore has been to Knoxville several times, including a trip last week.
"I really like UT," he said in a text message to the News Sentinel.
Gilmore also has visited Florida State, South Carolina and Clemson. With proximity in their favor, the Gamecocks and Tigers figure to be the greatest competition for UT. Clemson has shown particularly strong interest.
Gilmore has been offered a scholarship by at least 14 schools.
The Vols made an early leap to the head of the pack thanks to favorable reviews from former UT defensive back Jonathan Hefney, who also is from Rock Hill. Hefney is expected to be selected in next week's NFL draft.
Gilmore has been timed in the 40-yard dash at 4.43 seconds and posted a vertical jump of 35 inches. Last season, Gilmore rushed for more than 2,800 yards and threw for 1,500.
Casey At Bat?: Quarterback Casey Kelly from Sarasota (Fla.) High School has received word that he likely will be a late-first or early-second round pick in the Major League Baseball draft. Kelly should know. His father, Pat Kelly, is a minor league coach.
Such a lofty draft status would certainly hinder the Vols' ability to land Kelly, who signed with UT in February.
Kelly said throughout his recruitment that a hefty contract could make his decision for him, leading him to pursue a professional baseball career.
Kelly, however, told the New Sentinel this weekend that a big payday wouldn't necessarily guarantee he would sign with a major league organization. Kelly, a shortstop, also plans to play baseball if he enrolls at UT.
© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Posted by jasvol on April 14, 2008 at 10:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
dang
Posted by Couchdummy on April 14, 2008 at 11:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Very intellegent remark jasvol! Way to show the world your mastery words!
Posted by Einstein on April 15, 2008 at 3:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I thought that Jonathan Hefney was the one with the severe shoulder injury so that he can not play fotball anymore. How can he be selected in the NFL draft?
Posted by RockyTop on April 15, 2008 at 4:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
That was Inky Johnson.
Posted by pdhuff on April 15, 2008 at 5:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
How many DBs can we play at once?
Posted by OneTrueVol on April 15, 2008 at 7:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Have I missed something? What ever happened to the kid who transfered from Florida State?
Posted by sjt18 on April 15, 2008 at 7:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Warren is enrolled at a CC. They'll know sometime this summer whether he can play or not. Most people seem to be optimistic.
He could end up at DE at UT. That's what they recruited him for originally. He played some DE at FSU as well.
Posted by GreerVol22 on April 15, 2008 at 8:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
this kid is seeing dollars signs, and this day and age, who can blame him.
Posted by Greyback_Vol on April 15, 2008 at 8:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yeah, Kelly will probably end up on a major league diamond instead of Neyland Stadium this fall. I think anyone who really paid attention to recruiting this year could see this coming.
Posted by richvol on April 15, 2008 at 8:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Kelly's father should know that the boy needs a couple of years to mature. If he's as good as advertized the money will still be there.
On the other hand, knowing how Fulmer has been for years tells me the young man would never be put ahead of Crompton no matter how good he is. So there's a two year wait to play built in.
I really admire Coach Fulmer but he is loyal to a fault. Once he has it in his mind that a certain player is a starter that's it. How many times has he played an injured starter over a healthy backup that would have been much more effective? Too many to count.
Posted by auttat on April 15, 2008 at 9:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
richvol, I'm curious. Please name 5. You said too many to count, so completing one hand shouldn't be hard at all.
Posted by LazhilUT on April 15, 2008 at 9:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Casey Clausen, Brent Schaeffer (when Ainge was playing better), James Banks (when Clausen was hurt instead of puttin Kelley Washington at QB which everyone at the time thought he would be better than Banks bc we were loaded at WR), JT Mapu this past season when he stunk at the begining of the year, Foster when our backup RB is much better than Foster.
that's 5 recent ones.
Posted by auttat on April 15, 2008 at 9:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"which everyone at the time thought he would be better..." pretty much explains your response.
Posted by IBleedOrange444 on April 15, 2008 at 11:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Also, JT Mapu played his way out of the starting line up and no, our back up RBs are not better than Foster in my book. You can't start at RB if you can't pass block or stay healthy. Creer, by most accounts, is just now learning to pass block at this level and Hardesty has been given just about as many carries as his body can take. Schaeffer and Ainge were platooning at QB to see who could be the better QB and, unfortunately, they both got injured in the process. They were both freshmen and they both brought different elements to the game. I agree that Casey wasn't exactly a fan favorite, but you said all that needs to be said about him being the starter later in the post. When he got hurt, we had to choose between James Banks and Kelley Washington! I can hardly remember 2 players that gave less effort than those two.
Posted by Einstein on April 15, 2008 at 11:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thanks RockyTop
Posted by ThaiVolFan on April 15, 2008 at 11:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What IBleedOrange said
Posted by NJVol on April 15, 2008 at 12:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I never understood the negativism about Clausen (Casey). To me he gave it his all on the football field. He played hurt and his effort in the Arkansas (I think) overtime game should have won over every Vol fan out there.
Posted by thesavageorange on April 15, 2008 at 12:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I don't understand who everybody keeps talking about being better than Foster.Who?Hardesty?I hear people say ,"I wish Hardesty was healthy, he is so much better than Foster."By whos account?When both have been healthy,Foster has been the better back.
Arian Foster 245 1,193 4.9 12
Montario Hardesty 89 373 4.2 3
He also had 39rec for 340yds & 2td's.That's 1,533yds of production and 14td's.So, if anyone can tell me who is better than Foster, please let me know.
Posted by IBleedOrange444 on April 15, 2008 at 12:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
NJVol-
You're right about Casey. He was a solid QB and was pretty efficient from what I remember. I think he just gets a bad rep mostly b/c he wasn't very charismatic. The 5 or so fumbled snaps against the Gators that one year didn't help his legacy though. But we should try to remember him for the gutty performances he gave us in the OT games against Bama and Arkansas.
Posted by murrayvol on April 15, 2008 at 12:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
pdhuff: No more than 11.
Posted by murrayvol on April 15, 2008 at 12:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Foster was our best back last year and probably this year as well. BUT, with Foster ball security is never far from my mind. PSU fumble cost us the game. SC fumble would have if not for a hustling Jacques McClendon.
Posted by bigbluevol on April 15, 2008 at 12:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
We weren't loaded at WR that year. If you'll remember, the games where Kelly didn't play due to injury(pretty much all of them) we didn't exactly light it up in the passing game.
Posted by rllipscomb on April 15, 2008 at 1:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Foster is a projected to be a second round draft pick. That is pretty darn good. That proably means he is one of the top five backs in the country.
How many times have you seen drives killed because a back missed a blitz? Pass blocking is critical, not just a nice attribute. Foster is an exceptionally good receiver out of the backfield and has picked up a lot of first downs that way.
Foster is probably the best back that we have had since Jamal Lewis. He has been much more productive in college than Lewis. If Foster stays healthy, he will be a pro for 7 years maybe more.
Be very, very happy he is here. Next year, we will all be saying that our starting RB "is no Foster". :-)
Posted by TommyJack on April 15, 2008 at 1:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
auttat: And EA/JC. Or was that too long ago? Good Grief. This is at the core of the CPF/Cut M.O.
Posted by auttat on April 15, 2008 at 2:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Exactly TommyJack, the sole basis of richvol's post was about EA/JC. What did Crompton do in his limited playing time this year? What has bothered him in Spring Practice? Granted he had a few costly ones, but what did Erik Ainge do a pretty damn good job of?
I hope Crompton plays well, I think he will, but he hasn't done anything to prove he is the chosen one by any means.
Posted by TommyJack on April 15, 2008 at 4:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Auttat: Agree..may be best one play. I don't think that philosophy was in place last year, however. Any knowlegeable fan in the free world could predict Cut's plays...especially on 3rd down. And healthy QB's sat on their tails.
Posted by TnKyFlAlGaScLaAkMi on April 15, 2008 at 4:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Technically you can play 11 DB's at once.
Posted by orangebloodgmc on April 15, 2008 at 5:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
All of our rbs contribute something and I am glad that Foster came back, but for all Foster's talent, Hardesty has often appeared to run harder with more urgency and second effort. I look forward to Foster taking an "I'll show 'em" attitude and doing more of that himself.
Posted by pdhuff on April 15, 2008 at 7:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
orangebloodgmc 5:04 pm - great read- I've always thought the few times Hardesty got to play without being nicked up, he brought it.
His 300+ yds up the middle was equivalent to 750 around end as far as getting hit goes. Never understood why Fulmer left him on the sidelines at Bama and said later, to the effect "Oh. he didn't get in"? Might have been discipline. Foster is a totally different back. We are missing Toker Coker.
Posted by gavol2572 on April 15, 2008 at 8:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Foster the best back since Jamal Lewis??? I would put Travis Henry or even the other Travis, Travis Stephens,up against Foster anyday. Just don't distract Henry with more child support and mary jane charges LOL
Posted by invisiblekid on April 15, 2008 at 10:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I seem to remember reading recently that Foster had shed a few pounds and was a step quicker. This should help in his last campaign. Being a tad slow along with the ball security issue that Murray brought up has been the biggest negatives for Foster IMO. Everybody talks about the fumbles but few remember him getting caught from behind in the Cal game last year with a clear path to the endzone. In defense of Foster, I think it's important to remember that the forte of the offensive line has been pass blocking while he has been here as well. Giving up only three sacks or whatever the number was doesn't do much for any of the RB's rushing avergae.
Posted by nicksjuzunk on April 16, 2008 at 12:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
savage and njvol,
I couldn't agree more. But I still want to see some Hardesty!
Posted by IPOrange on April 16, 2008 at 8:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Posted by pdhuff on April 15, 2008 at 5:07 a.m. - How many DBs can we play at once?
Answer: 11
Posted by vtvol on April 16, 2008 at 9:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The way Casey Clausen led UT to that huge six OT win against Arkansas, with what turned out to be a broken collarbone, was nothing short of heroic. While he sometimes made some sketchily questionable decisions about throwing into coverage, he did have the guts and moxie to lead the Vols to many victories. He should be saluted by all for the warrior that he was.
Posted by pdhuff on April 17, 2008 at 8:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
IPOrange 8:15 - That may be their plan. Due to their size, could we put 6 in place of 4 D-linemen? Stay tuned.
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