What will Tennessee's offense be like this fall?
Don't ask first-year offensive coordinator Dave Clawson. He's not telling.
Clawson has enough challenges trying to get to know a new group of players and a new coaching staff. So Clawson is ready to take every advantage at his disposal.
One such benefit to being a new coach is the element of surprise - and Clawson is more than ready to use it.
Q: Do you expect to make many adjustments when your offense faces the speed associated with SEC defenses?
A: Speed plays a factor. A lot of times in this conference a safety blitz or corner blitz gets on a quarterback a lot quicker than in other conferences. That is where speed plays into it. You have to account for guys that may be farther away from the football but because of the speed, they can make up so much ground and recover.
Q: In recruiting, how much more comfortable are you with what you're pitching a prospect compared to when you first arrived on campus in January?
A: Yes, now I can answer questions. Then I was saying, "I don't know," because I didn't know the personnel on our team that well. As it happened so quickly (getting hired) in January, I was on the road. Obviously being here through the spring and sitting in recruiting meetings, I have a much better feel for what the needs for the program are and what type of players fit with what we do as well as the whole pitch of Tennessee football. It is a lot more comfortable now and I hope when we are on the road next December that I am even more comfortable with it at that point.
Q: How hard is it to recruit prospects who haven't seen your offense?
A: I think that right now it<0x00A0>is just speculation with what we are going to do and part of that is on purpose because we don't want the teams that we are going to be playing to know what we are going to do. On the flip side, I think other coaches are telling recruits what we are doing. I've heard from recruits eight different things that we are doing on offense and none of it is accurate.
Q: What is your comeback to coaches that say they know what type of offense you'll run?
A: How would they know? They haven't been coaching here. We tell them (prospects) what we are going to do and how they are going to fit into it. We don't comment on what they (other schools) do and we know what we are going to do. I think it is better when they hear it from the horse's mouth as opposed to other people.
Q: What do you think of Jonathan Crompton this summer?
A: I think he is working very hard. When you are a player of Jonathan's caliber and you had to wait, I think he has looked forward to this opportunity for years and I think he wants to make the most of it. Sometimes when you come in and are handed the starting job right away, you don't appreciate the role. In Jonathan's case, it has been three years of preparation and this is his opportunity and he wants to make the most of it.
Q: What are the advantages of running a new offense?
A: We are going to try to use it to our advantage as much as we can and that is why when asked what we are going to do, I am very vague on purpose. You have that unknown factor as an advantage for about three or four games and then people are going to see what you do.
The less people know about us, the more they have to prepare for.
Q: UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said he expects a ball-control game in the season opener. Do you agree?
A: Obviously ball control and field position is important in any football game but I don't think with Norm Chow as their offensive coordinator that they are going to be running a lot of inside runs. Ball control can be done in different ways. In any football game, you want to control field position and you want to keep your defense off the field as much as you can. I think a lot of that is coach speak. Anybody is going to talk about ball control and field position, but you have to be able to make plays and get the ball in the end zone.
Phillip Fulmer through the years
Barbara Dooley and Pat Summitt Go Red…
Tyler Summitt through the years
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 255
rootin4volz writes:
How much fun would it be to see us unleash a beast come that UCLA game? And then, once Florida rolls into town, we unleash the *nasty* in that beast.
allvolinatlanta writes:
I can hardly wait to see your offense for the first time coach! I hope you put the 3rd. in a row crushing on Georgia. Welcome to UT!
RJ_Vol writes:
I'm just ready to see Crompton run over some more people! Football season in on the horizon...
richvol writes:
Clawson will show only what he has to in the UCLA game. By the Florida game the boys should be settled in and ready for a little payback. I think Tennessee will be really up for the gators. If Tennessee plays Tennessee hard nosed football that day...we will win. Same for that stinkin' Alabama team.
volfan_brian writes:
I personally hope he doesn't open his bag of goodies until the UF game. If we cant beat UCLA and UAB doing what we have always done, then we are in worse shape than I thought.
DennisVols writes:
An effective 4 quarters offense will be the biggest improvement to our defense. Last years two beatings (UF&UA) happened during the 3rd and 4th qtrs when our offense went to sleep and was more conservative than the Republican National Convention. "In any football game, you want to control field position and you want to keep your defense off the field as much as you can." In those 2 game our defense was on the field 70% of the time.
Yes we need to do a better job of stopping the other team when on defense but our offense needs to score.
Get away from "field goal Phil" and back to TOUCHDOWN TENNESSEE
GO VOLS!!!!!!!
TommyJack writes:
I like it.
DennisVols writes:
Thanks Geoff
thesavageorange writes:
Notice the look on Wilson and Henderson's face.Pure focus and intensity.I hope we see some guys on D in the fall that have that look.
Hopefully the pride of guys like those will bring them home this summer.I know guys like Stallworth & Manning come back during the summer to work w/ guys.
orange4ever writes:
I believe this is the first I have agreed with you touchdown.(Nice Majors speech)
cdldoc#211897 writes:
Wow!! Good post from TDTN!
volsoutwest writes:
Well gosh darn it that sounds great. Hope we can lay a whupping on those sorry gators and those crimson tidians. How many more days til it's football time in Tennessee?
volsoutwest writes:
Oh and by the way...Kindest regards
babyhuey writes:
TDTN, yesssss!!!!!!
LanceR24 writes:
wow that video made me remember just how much i miss al wilson.
utwick writes:
Thanks for the link Geoff. It's definitely football time in Tennessee! If that doesn't make your orange blood boil, move to Bammer.
DennisVols writes:
I hope they show that video to this years team.
Show them the pride that is TENNESSEE FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thesavageorange writes:
tngeoff, I've noticed that about Fulmer when I have watched 90's games and speeches.He had a different swagger, and tone about him.I noticed on the under the lights show that he seemed to be getting a little of that back.I sure as "heck" hope so ,for the sake of naysayers,fulmerites, and fence riders alike.They will go as their leader goes, and like him or not it's CPF.Man, this has been one of the longest off-seasons I can remember.
philfan writes:
Sounds like Fulmer made a great hire in Clawson. I will know if I like the offense when I am totally unable to predict what play will be called at any given moment. A win is a win but we were getting very predictable last year. Go Vols.
invisiblekid writes:
I'd love to see Crompton break a few runs and remind us of Heath Shuler. Could be wrong but I think Clawson will ratchet up the intensity on his side of the ball. It's up to Chavis to see if he still has it in him though. Not really interested in hearing about his future plans or job interviews, I just want to see him put a defense on the field that brings the pain and scares the opponent again.
invisiblekid writes:
Posted by invisiblekid on June 21, 2008 at 8:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Off topic but this is pretty funny regarding the new team of the Professor of Dink and the Doctor of Dunk, David Cutcliffe:
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/rumors/...
Found it so amusing I decided to post twice.
chrisw2967 writes:
good ole days
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhudAn...
RJ_Vol writes:
Thought this was pretty cool about recruiting momentum catching national attention and ties in pretty well w/ story about Coach Clawson...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008...
Apologies in advance if someone else already posted the link.
Ralph_Crampton writes:
I hope the Vols' prepare for the "ROPE-a-Dope scheme that UCLA will bring to the Labor day game at the Rose Bowl. The idea of the Bruins is allow the opponent during the "Santa Ana" winds to wear them self out then win the game in the searing 115-degrees. Saving themselves in the first half..The Bruins in their ROPE-a-DOPE game plan hope to upset the Vol bandwagon with a second half surge after Vols punch themselves out. Just like Ali used to do.
FWBVol writes:
hiresanders, have you been enhaling exhaust fumes again? How can you say Clawson doesn't know anything because he coached at Richmond before he came to UT? Or for that matter that Cutcliffe doesn't know anything because he took a head coaching job at Duke? Did Cutcliffe not know anything when he took the job at Ole Miss in 1998? Did Steve Spurrier not know anything when he was coaching at Duke before going to Florida?
At Villanova, Fordham (where Vince Lombardi played in the 1930s) and Richmond, Dave Clawson's offenses have consistently put up big numbers. Football is a game about getting the right matchups and putting playmakers in a position to make big plays by finding open spaces. From what I've read, Clawson spreads the ball in a manner that does just that.
Saying a coach can't be successful because he came from a small school is like saying a high school student that did well academically at a small school won't do as well as the student from the large high school.
LiveFaith writes:
Amazing love around here for the undefeated coach. Hehe.
stevefrommemphis writes:
Don't show anything until the Alabama game. That's the game that means something.
VOLS85 writes:
I knew the responses to this article were far too positive there for about half of the posts...knew that wouldn't last...
GreerVol22 writes:
"I am very vague on purpose"...says Clawson....funny how with Phil its genetic.
junder13 writes:
TDTN 5:39 lol, hilarious.
"Please don't give up Butcliffe's dink and dunk, spotted ape reverses, and throwing 3 yards on 3rd and 4 and we will be A OK."
Hahaha. I wonder if there's been a team with less success running the reverse than UT under Cutt...he could be so predictable it was painful to watch.
Spotted ape indeed. hahaha
bluetick writes:
Oh, I can already hear it.. If we lose to UCLA in the opener (which we won't).. you will hear all they nay sayers wanting to get rid of Clawsen.
MidTennVol writes:
If we show up with a go-for-it, wide-open, go-deep, big-play passing attack to set up the run, I'll believe things have fundamentally changed with our offensive philosophy.
However, we all know what to expect. We have a completely new offensive system with a new, unproven QB.
Historically, that means extreme conservatism offensively -- run first to set up short passes, play not to turn the ball over...essentially a risk-averse, pound-the-rock, three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust strategy.
I believe this latter approach is in Coach Fulmer's DNA and cannot be altered without extensive gene reconstruction and modification in a laboratory setting.
Lord knows we need a running game. But every team we play is expecting a return to "Tennessee football" this fall, i.e. pound the rock. I predict defenses will be stacked up to stop the run.
Kudos to Clawson for keeping 'em guessing.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
tngeoff 3:25- he has a stand-in alter ego to take up the slack. Ol' Mississippi is flexing some muscle.
Clawsen is talking the talk. He will face a worthy adversary in Norm Chow. Its hard to put a finger on it but I have a wary feeling about going out there for this opener. As bigfan502 pointed out the heat is brutal.
As For Chavis, we'll see how much he's coached 'em up! Its not pretty, its not popular, some say they don't exist, but without a decent anchored d-line you will lose most of your "big" games. Period, koolade or not.
We'll know in 69 days or so whether the Valkyries come for us.
DarthVol writes:
For those of you wanting a wide-open go deep offense, you might be disappointed. At Richmond, his average catch was 6.6 yds. That figure was so consistent throughout the years that I thought there was a screw up in the yearly stat sheets. Now, they averaged over 10 yds per play when they did pass. But I would take him at his word about getting the ball to those that can make something happen quickly without going downfield even if that means dumping it fairly quickly.
His teams didn't average over 200yds/game passing while at Richmond. I'm not saying this is what will be. Only what has been. I'm comfortable with it because I've always been a fan of doing what you do well. Hopefully he is that type of coach. Moving the chains and scoring is the bottomline.
I'll also say that I have never seen his teams play, so it's all about numbers for me at this point. You could tell me that the reality of his teams play is akin to watching a chinese new year party and I could not argue.
douglasawilliams#582863 writes:
invisiblekid, I'm with you I don't want to hear anything about Chavis' future plans, just want a sound defense that can give us a chance to win some big games. The defense has been sliding for several years and Chavis must look in the mirror and know that he is most responsible for mediocre/weak run defensive teams. I really don't know at all what to expect out of the offense but Crompton"s mobility should give us an advantage over what Ainge could do if there isn't anybody open. If Crompton can avoid the pics we very well could be a factor in the east this year. go vols!!!
RemembertheAlamo writes:
BLUETICK......you are wrong, losing to UCLA doesn't matter, losing to UAB doesn't matter....but let us lose to Florida and you will be hearing "Let's get rid of Spiderman"!
eduardo writes:
Nothing will change with the great pumpkin on the sidelines. The only thing he is interested in is getting a lifetime contract to perfect mediocrity. Fire F$$$lmer!
GerryOP writes:
Dang, TDTN. I thought you were going to tell us that Ol' Dupree reeled in the SEC East trophy! Or, maybe he did!
nicksjuzunk#646117 writes:
I'd love to see us run such a simple offense in the first two games to set Florida up and then open up a can of whoop (insert favorite body part here) when the Gators come rolling in to town.
"Pardon me gentlemen. This is our REAL offense. You have been served. NOW GET THE HECK OUT OF K-TOWN!!"
VOLinDAWGland writes:
I don't get the brutal heat comments regarding LA. It might be brutally hot if the game was played at 1 p or 4p, but it's being played at 5 or 6 p and the evenings cool down rapidly. It might be hot in the 1st half but come 4th quarter should be nice and cool. I'll take So Cal's 'brutal heat' over Knoxville's heat and humidity in August anyday. If anyone is going to wilt it should be the California boys. I'm guardedly optimistic. UCLA has too many issues to overcome to beat what should be a good Tennessee team assuming the Vols come in and take care of their bidness.
waterskier3#226480 writes:
the biggest thing you saw in the videos were speed, talent and execution...... i haven't seen that since 2001 in our tn football team..... but lets hope for the best i'm just afraid we'll never be the team of the 90's as long as fulmer is here.... I just think we need new blood to get the fire back... I hope i'm wrong....
GO VOLS!!!
99gator writes:
FINAL WORD of WARNING:
clawson may be the hire of hires, but y'all need to use some caution.
saban, spurrier, meyer, and miles have won national titles. tuberville has had an undefeated season. richt came close to an undefeated season in 2002 and has been to three BCS bowls at georgia. brooks coached in the nfl. petrino is regarded as one of the best offensive coaches in the country. they and their staffs have, for the most part, pedigrees and resumes that are long and distinuished. (ex, charlie strong has worked for lou holtz, steve spurrier, and urban meyer)
the point is......mr. clawson has come to the big leagues. in short, that means if he's as good as y'all hope, it just makes things a fairer fight.
coming from where he does, does not mean he can't or won't succeed. but, predicting his level of success is a lot more fuzzy when their is nothing of significance to hang his hat on.
richmond was 31st in total offense at their level last season, 12th in rushing, 16th in scoring, and did not rank in the top 50 in passing offense. (stats came from cstv in 2007).
i repeat, for those who are on that kool aid high.....they were 31st in total offense at their level of football.
as a footnote......UT-Martin finished 13th in total offense at the same level.
you have been warned.
mikes70gto writes:
Yopu have been warned.....that same style of offense beat a Meatchicken team in Ann Harbor (Appy State)and I feel sure we have better talent than they.With the addition of Morley,Williams,and Sykes the D should be stout,at least stout enough to kick Dupree,TDT,and hires, right back into the lock ness monsters mouth !!!!!!!!!!!!!
BURP...SLOBBER,SLOBBER WARNING the sign said ...............................
NO FISHING
volsoutwest writes:
Finally, a knowledgable football fan. Thanks Ashley.
mikes70gto writes:
Sorry TDT your tounge is in the way!!!!!!!!!!
mikes70gto writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
TommyJack writes:
all part and parcel of the doldrumzzzzzz
TommyJack writes:
No crystal ball, but I imagine the Clawson offense will pose more problems to DC's than did his predecessor's.
Bigger_Al writes:
Doldrumzzzzzz are painful, but they are sooooo good to be having. The alternative is off-the-field news, which is mostly bad.
TommyJack writes:
Lots of testosteron in here. Don't dook it out boys...just bring a ruler.
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