Opening reviews are mixed after first scrimmage

Impatience was a virtue for defensive tackle Donald Langley.

Too much patience proved a little troublesome for quarterback Jonathan Crompton.

In Tennessee's first major scrimmage of fall camp, the defense got a much-needed boost from reserve defensive tackles, while UT's offense bogged down near the end zone and struggled again with turnovers.

"I thought at times we operated extremely well," UT coach Phillip Fulmer said of the offense. "We managed the clock, we got the ball out fairly quick most of the time.

"You've got to not turn it over and not let people get their hands on the ball and live to play another down, so to speak. Get the ball in the end zone. We'll grow from that."

Langley, who missed UT's first two days of fall camp to be with his seriously ill mother, made four tackles, including two for a loss, in his first practice in full pads.

Fellow defensive tackle Victor Thomas had two tackles for loss, including a sack against Crompton and the first-team offense.

With Chase Nelson out for the season with a ruptured tendon in his knee, Langley said he felt a sense of urgency heading into Saturday's scrimmage.

"There's no time to wait your turn," Langley said. "You've got to step up and contribute. I think I brought that sense of urgency to go all out and show the coaches I was SEC-ready.

"Me and Vic had the mindset to come and dominate today and so we did our best. Our best was probably clogging up the run game, as you can see."

Tennessee's running game (without Arian Foster, who rested a sore knee) wasn't overly impressive.

And although the Vols had success moving the ball, Saturday's scrimmage wasn't without a few setbacks.

Crompton completed 12 of his 16 passes for 114 yards, but he also had one pass intercepted after a defensive lineman tipped the ball and safety Demetrice Morley came down with it.

Morley picked off another pass, although it was thrown just after coaches blew the play dead on a sack.

"We made some plays here and there. I've just got to watch the film and grade it from there," Crompton said. "I felt a whole lot more comfortable playing on the field, just running the offense, running the show and everything like that."

Fulmer questioned whether Crompton, off limits for full contact, might have been a little too at ease in the pocket.

"I think Jon's a little too comfortable, actually," Fulmer said. "I think he understands what he's doing. That green (non-contact) shirt can ruin you. I want the ball out quicker sometimes and like he did at the end. I thought he had a really good scrimmage, numbers-wise, but you can't turn it over."

Montario Hardesty's fumble on UT's first series was the only other turnover.

UT's offense left coordinator Dave Clawson a little miffed with its performance inside the 20-yard line after a good week in practice.

"We had some really good red zone practices and felt like we were in really good shape there, and come out today in the scrimmage and didn't look as good," Clawson said.

UT's first-team offense failed to produce a score against the first-team defense, and its only passing touchdown came from Nick Stephens to Maryville native Tyler Maples, working with the third team.

Tailback Tauren Poole scored on a 2-yard run, and tailback Lennon Creer scored twice on a pair of 1-yard runs.

Receiver Gerald Jones, who started alongside Lucas Taylor, caught five passes for 64 yards and made a few yards after the catch.

Josh Briscoe made two tough catches for 50 yards, while Austin Rogers finished with two receptions for 21 yards.

Those turnovers and red-zone miscues overshadowed a solid offensive effort.

"I thought overall it was a cleaner scrimmage than we had at any point last spring, except the spring game," Clawson said. "I thought assignment-wise, our guys looked like they were on the same page. They handled a lot of looks."

Ultimately, though, the true measure of UT's first scrimmage will come after coaches dissect film before returning to practice early Monday.

At first blush, defensive coordinator John Chavis wasn't too excited about his group's performance despite the fact that the first-team defense did not allow a score and forced turnovers.

"I'm not going to be satisfied," he said. "I've got high expectations and will continue to have high expectations at Tennessee. It was not as sharp as I wanted it to be. Now I may look at the film and see something totally different."

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

Saturday's scrimmage statistics.

SCRIMMAGE STATS

Rushing Leaders (Att.-Yds.-TD) -- Ja’Kouri Williams 7-37-0; Montario Hardesty 8-21-0; Tauren Poole 9-11-1; Gerald Jones 2-8-0; C.J. Jackson 8-6-0; Lennon Creer 9-5-2.

Passing Leaders (Att.-Comp.-Int.-Yds.-TD) -- Jonathan Crompton 16-12-1-114-0; Nick Stephens 11-8-0-108-1; B.J. Coleman 12-7-0-66-0.

Receiving Leaders (No.-Yds.-TD) -- Gerald Jones 5-64-0; Josh Briscoe 2-50-0; Tyler Maples 3-33-1; Montario Hardesty 3-22-0; Tauren Poole 2-22-0; Luke Stocker 3-19-0; Austin Rogers 2-21-0; Austin Johnson 2-21-0.

Defensive Leaders -- Adam Myers-White 5 tackles; Nevin McKenzie 5 tackles, 3 TFL (-16), 2 sacks (-14); Ellix Wilson 4 tackles, TFL (-4); Donald Langley 4 tackles, 2 TFL (-4); Ben Martin 4 tackles; Gerald Williams 4 tackles; Stephaun Raines 4 tackles; Rod Wilks 4 tackles; Daryl Vereen 3 tackles; Robert Ayers 2 tackles, TFL (-5), sack (-5), FF, FR; Victor Thomas 2 tackles, 2 TFL (-7), sack (-6); Wes Brown 2 tackles; Eric Berry 2 tackles; DeAngelo Willingham 1 tackle, 1 TFL (-3), 2 PBU; Antonio Gaines 1 tackle, PBU; Brent Vinson 1 tackle, PBU.

Punting (Yds-Avg) -- Chad Cunningham 10-42.0-long 49; Steven Hensley 11-37.5-long 46.

Field Goals (Made-Att) -- Daniel Lincoln 9-of-13, long 52; Devin Mathis 2-of-7, long 31; Chad Cunningham 3-of-5, long 48.

Offensive Starters -- TE Luke Stocker, OT Ramon Foster, OG Jacques McClendon, C Josh McNeil, OG Anthony Parker, OT Chris Scott, TE Brandon Warren, WR Lucas Taylor, WR Gerald Jones, QB Jonathan Crompton, TB Montario Hardesty.

Defensive Starters -- DE Robert Ayers, DT Dan Williams, DT Demonte Bolden, DE Wes Brown, LB Rico McCoy, LB Ellix Wilson, LB Adam Myers-White, DB Dennis Rogan, DB DeAngelo Willingham, DB Demetrice Morley, DB Eric Berry.

Touchdown Plays

Poole 2 run

Maples 7 pass from Stephens

Creer 1 run

Creer 1 run

Injury Holdouts -- OL Preston Bailey (head); OT William Brimfield (ankle); TE Jeff Cottam (leg); TE Aaron Douglas (shoulder); DT Walter Fisher (groin); TB Arian Foster (knee); LB Savion Frazier (ankle); DT Chase Nelson (knee, out for season); OL Cody Pope (illness).

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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