The New York Jets selected Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge with the 162nd overall pick of Sunday’s NFL draft.
Ainge is the ninth quarterback selected, going with the 27th pick of the fifth round to New York where he'll join former Webb School quarterback Chad Pennington.
The Oregon native, compiled a 27-10 record as a starter, including a 10-4 record last season.
In 2007, he set UT’s single-season completion record with 325 passes and averaged 242.8 yards per game.
In 2006, he set UT’s single-season record for completion percentage at 67 percent.
Ainge becomes the first UT quarterback picked since Tee Martin went in the fifth round of the 1999 draft.
More updates on UT players as the NFL draft continues with rounds six and seven.
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Comments » 62
Phowell23 writes:
Thanks Ainge for everything. Good luck in the NFL. Jets will be a good team for him to possibly compete for QB.
volnknox writes:
how good of a quarterback was he here? It shows now
volnknox writes:
5th round!!!!!! Ha!
warriorman86#667191 writes:
Shows how much faith they have in Kellen Clemmons and Chad Pennington.
MrBamSeydu writes:
This sets up perfectly for him. Pennington is garbage even in the 20% of the time that he ISN'T injured. I think Kellen Clemons is behind him, so Ainge could theoretically end up being the starter for the NY Jets in about 3 years. He could see some p.t. next season, but I highly doubt it.
DadwasaVol writes:
You guys who are negative on Ainge forget that football teams win and lose as a team. Hard to single out Ainge when Tennessee's defense gives up 100 to FL and AL. Congrats and thanks to Erik for giving blood for Tennessee.
Silent_Fulmer writes:
Ashley, who is Eric Ainge?
Maybe if you could spell our QB's name correctly it would help your credibility.
philfan writes:
David Cutcliffe stated earlier that Ainge would be playing in the NFL and he was right. Many laughed at Cutcliffe and Ainge for the so called dink and dunk, but this system moved the ball down the field for touchdowns on a regular basis. The 50 yard passes are spectacular when and if the passes are complete (which they usually are not for any team, college or pro). We will miss both Cutcliffe and Ainge.
drwfocus writes:
IMO Ainge did more for Tennessee than Tennessee did for him. If Eric's NFL success depends on mobility he will not last long, if not, he could be around awhile, i.e., the Manning boys and a couple of others that are a bit mobility challenged.
pj_ladyvolnMI writes:
We're proud of you, Erik! Thanks for working so hard here for us as a Vol. Best of luck in the NFL!
Robvols, that's a good idea. It would've been fun to have him here in Indy with Peyton.
volroadwarrior writes:
For all of you Negative Nellies concerning Erik Ainge, I always felt we had a chance to score late in the game and in OT when he was at QB. He played through the finger injury and was rarely sacked in his senior year. He will be missed more than some of us think. I just hope Crompton can play as well or even better than Ainge. Good luck Erik.
gavol2572 writes:
its funny someone else daydreamed about ainge going to Indie as well as a back up to Peyton too. I agree with the previous post. Ainge really could have a decent shot at some pt with the Jets. Pennington has never impressed me there so maybe Erik will do something in NY
WorkinLikeHeck writes:
I remember Cutcliffe saying that Ainge was a first round pick. Also, Fulmer compared Ainge to Candace Parker last summer who was not only a first round pick but also the number 1 overall pick. I guess this isn't too surpising considering so far through 6 rounds that we have 1 more total draft pick than Richmond. Thank God, Clawson s here.
AllOrange3 writes:
Has anyone noticed that Richmond had two offensive players taken in the 4th and 5th round? It shows that our new OC can develop small school players into some big time athletes. It makes me excited to think what he might be able to do with our players!
johnsoncityvol45 writes:
Great situation for Ainge. He could be the starter there if he can stay healthy. Im not sure who is more injury prone, him or Pennington. Go Vols
givehim6 writes:
Well the Gints have E. Manning now the Jets have Angle. The new yorkers must like the way Cutcliff coaches.
KnoxVol_in_TX writes:
Congratulations Erik! My girlfriend is a true NY Jets fan and this is quite a strange coincidence. I am truly happy for you to represent the Vols in the Pros!
nicksjuzunk#646117 writes:
It seems to be a good situation with him in NY in regards to potential playing time but the fans are brutal.
I see him as a virtual clone of Pennington when he started out. Pennington could put the ball on a dime with his accuracy but didn't have the strongest arm. Now, he has faded quite a bit. Jets fans are quite tired of Pennington so let's see how they feel about Ainge.
mdvol writes:
Erik Ainge - See "2007 SEC Championship Game".
TommyJack writes:
eVOLution: If Ainge was unappreciated, he earned every bit of it. IMO.
dburgVol writes:
sphs_vol, you are supposed to be banned from this website. Just kidding, no hard feelings, never can tell with HS kids from one day to the next.
No Ainge will never be a Pro Bowl qb, but he gave his all for UT, put up with alot of criticism, and hung tough despite being hurt for most of his senior and sophmore years. Thanks for everything Erik, good luck in the pros, you will be a short drive from your uncle now. Never forget about the chance that you were given @ UT, and we will never forget about you.
waterskier3#226480 writes:
coach cut and fulmer must have been smoking the same crack pipe when they thought eric was a 1st round pick..... i never thought that but i did think he had a great arm but as his career at ut progressed he got to conservative... i think coach cut drilled him to much into playing it safe.....
i'm glad he's gone and looking forward to something different at ut this year....
murrayvol writes:
TJ: That's cold. But accurate.
invisiblekid writes:
It makes sense that Ainge would be drafted by the Jets, he reminds me of Pennington in a number of ways.
One thing to add to your point about the injured finger KingsportVol, Cutcliffe alluded to a shoulder injury after the bowl game that Ainge played with as well. I agree with the bad coaching angle, if a guy is limiting your team's offense, maybe they should give someone else a chance. I think he was a victim of coaching at times throughout his career. He was also a victim of being on some less than vintage Vols teams as Dadwasavol pointed out in mentioning the 100 points the defense gave up last year against FL and Bama.
I think some of you guys might want to take a look at this article before bashing Ainge too much:
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/sport...
Ainge had his share of negatives including injuries, lacking that rah-rah attitude that we all like to see in the Vols, and maybe an aversion to being hit. I think that whole West Coast cool angle has worn thin with many Vol fans. However, I think he did catch a good bit of unfair criticism, especially on the getting hit part if the comments made by Cutcliffe in the article are to be believed.
rabidvol1998 writes:
My guess is Erik did better at his job at UT than most posters here do at theirs.
Go Vols and Good Luck Erik.
BigVolinCarolina writes:
Good luck Jerod, Brad and Erik. As for the rest who went undrafted, hang in there and know that you can still make a roster.
I wish more Vols would have been drafted, but that's not how it went down. I'll save those comments & opinions for later.
knoxtenor writes:
A shame Hefney didn't get a nod. I'm guessing it's because of his size. Maybe he can get a free agent deal somewhere.
alfrizzle097 writes:
Hefney always had serious weaknesses. He wasn't exceedingly fast and lacked the size to play safety. The breakdowns on defense were always there on his part. The people around him made him look good for a couple of years, but I never saw somebody who belonged on all-conference teams, much less all-american.
ncvol17 writes:
Who cares what the pros think of Erik or even if he makes it in the NFL ( I hope he does so he can make some big $$ [300K NFL minimum] for a few years b4 he enters our real world of 40hr work weeks. Erik was and always will be a VOL. He loved this school enough to cross the country to come to UT from Oregon and stay his 4 years. We all owe him our well wishes and Welcome him back whenever he can come to Neyland for a visit. I hope he settles in K-ville like Reviez and others have.Good Luck Erik.
rabidvol1998 writes:
Well said ncvol17. We're talking about the third leading passer in TN history.
burntorangeVOLffle writes:
workinCR, once again you twist things so you can see what you want to make snide cracks at Fulmer. CPF never compared Ainge to C. Parker in the way you seem to think. He said Ainge needed to be the team leader Parker was. He believed Ainge had the ability to do so and IMO he wasn’t far off the mark. There's a difference in what was actually meant and what you insinuate all too often.
Congratulations to Erik. He was all Vol and he will be missed. I wish him the best in NY. If he ever gets a chance to play at least he’ll already have experience dealing with an overly critical fanbase and media coverage.
shaymous writes:
Good luck Erik, a VOL through and through
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Good luck Erik!
Hope you have better results than your HC has had for NINE years. Maybe you'll get a ring in the NFL.
It's slip-sliding away, in front of our eyes.
vol_in_lsu_land writes:
It is so amazing, so sad, and so telling that some of you people hold such a grudge towards a 22 year old kid. What's worse is that you outwardly express this grudge in this forum, and that you harbor these resentments even after the kid graduates and moves on.
People, this is COLLEGE FOOTBALL. It is a spectator sport played by amateur athletes. These athletes are all barely on the downhill side of adolescence. As to Erik Ainge; while no one disputes that he had some weaknesses and made some poor choices on the field, I never detected a hint of quit in him. I'd rather have eleven Erik Ainge-type players on the field who give it their all each down than ONE 5-star player who is more worried about his NFL stock.
GreerVol22 writes:
A career backup has to be akin to swatting at raccoons on ones back porch without ever hitting it.
CoverOrange writes:
Volsrock, I blame Quinton Hancock for the first interception more than Ainge. As for the second, a very similar play went for a TD in the third qtr. And no, LSwho's butt was not being kicked with a one point lead at the time of the first interception.
CoverOrange writes:
Greer, if someone would pay me $100k to swat raccoons, sign me up. Beats what I'm doing now.
jandjhome#228397 writes:
He will never make it.
Orangebrewbasher writes:
Eric was a mediocre quarterback, never great, but never awful, except for LSU in 2005 and the SEC championship in 2007. He seemed to have actually been better his freshman year and got worse under david cutliff's tutelage.(I'm so glad Cutcliff is gone) He could actually be a good NFL quarterback if he ever learns to take a hit as he throws the ball. He works hard but he was never a hardass, which is what TN needs, and has in Crompton. After watching Crompton in the Orange and White game, I realize that we will miss Ainge for a total of 0 games.
WorkinLikeHeck writes:
Fulmer talked about Ainge as being a player that could win a championship with their talent, you know a player that can use their talent (hence a number 1 pick, first round pick, and be the best player in their respectice sport) to win a championship
2007 SEC Media Days
Coach Fulmer:
"This is my 33rd year at Tennessee. More than half of my life has been spent on our campus. Pat has been there, I wouldn't age her or anything, maybe as long or maybe a little longer. We're great friends. We were talking about her nine year stretch there, as to why she why she thought she hadn't won a championship.
She had been really close a couple times. She said it's pretty simple, it's Candace Parker. You have to have a Candace Parker type player in your program to be able to do that.
A lot of good players around Candace Parker type players.
You go back and look at Peyton Manning, or Jamal Lewis or Travis Henry or Tee Martin and some of those guys, we've had those people in our program before. You've got to coach them well and not let things happen like in 2005 where things creep into your program that you don't want to creep in.
Do I think that Erik Ainge can be that kind of player? I do. I think Erik Ainge can be that kind of football player that our team rallies around, that he takes the bull by the horns and makes the plays that help you win a championship."
WorkinLikeHeck writes:
"I may have said this earlier. I've talked to so many people today. We did an evaluation on Erik. He came back as a late first, early second pick. (OOOKKKKAAAYYYYYYY, FOOLMORE). I think if he has a big year he could help himself a lot, as well as helping us win a championship (10 years and counting FOOLMORE)"
"Erik has all the tangibles and intangibles as a player. He's been through the gauntlet now of the Southeastern Conference. He's had great success when nobody expected him to. He had some disappointments when everybody expected him to have. So from a maturity standpoint, his skin ought to be pretty thick and he ought to be able to handle anything.
Specifically, play the way that he's capable of playing within the system. Hang in the pocket, make the plays he's supposed to make. Not allow the defense to touch the football when it's his responsibility. Those would be things that he could do to help us to reach that Candace Parker level (UUUMMMM....OOOKKKAAAYYYYY FOOLMORE)".
****Hmmmm...lost of championship talk in there thus being like Candace Parker.
NYVol writes:
Ainge put his time in at Tennessee, and gave his best effort. For the most part, his best effort came out on the winning end; other times not. All in all, he represented the school in honor when winning or losing. He deserves some respect for at least that. Now, he goes on to an attempt at a professional career. All,...Please.....please, wish him a fond farewell, as what has been done is done. Ainge deserves his chance, and he now gets it.
volwalk writes:
I wish Ainge the best in his Professional Career. He has the arm and intellegence but lacks that "it" factor. When a big game is on the line and you need your QB to lead a big drive--it didn't appear Ainge had the coolness to lead. He gets shacky when the heat is on and you need a big play from the QB against the great teams. I truly do wish him the best and maybe he will receive some good coaching that will help him excell at the next level.
NYVol writes:
Ainge may or may not have "it", right now he just needs a job. He's good enough to be #2 on day one with the Jets (Chad should be on top). At the very least, he should be a good back-up to cover when a starter goes down.
chl1958 writes:
Good Luck,Eric. You gave your all even while injured. Our former OC is gone,thank goodness,and we look forward to a change of attitude.Good luck with your change of latitude.
burntorangeVOLffle writes:
workinCR, those quotes are exactly what I said. He never says "Ainge is the Candace Parker of college football" But as always you will see what you want to validate your negative viewpoint.
TommyJack writes:
The guys moving the chains should stay alert..maybe wear helmets.
eb502us#225637 writes:
foreverorange has it right on all counts. Ainge regressed throughout his career and never played better than he did his freshman year.
Silent_Fulmer writes:
This is my favorite time of year. A time when Phil Fulmer goes silent for about 4 months. Where's Fulmer? Jackson Hole? He isn't around for any qoutes to the media like a pro-active type of coach that is for sure (Bruce Pearl).
Basketball_Jones writes:
Alot of people have had a good career and made lots of money as a back-up. He just has to take advantage of his opportunities when given them. I think he'll perform better when he's not "The Man", seems like when he was a freshman he was expected to make mistakes.
Look at guys like Brady, Romo, Derek Anderson, Kurt Warner. Everyone of those guys at some point has been known as a back up, but as soon as their opportunity came it was ovre and they all became starters. Erik can do that
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