Fulmer appears to be a film buff; QB will be announced Friday

Tennessee will have a starting quarterback on Saturday.

Exactly who that will be, however, remains to be seen.

Incumbent Jonathan Crompton and backup Nick Stephens will have to wait until Friday to find out who will start Saturday against Northern Illinois (TV: Pay-per-view, 7 p.m.).

“We haven’t made that decision yet,” UT coach Phillip Fulmer said following Thursday’s practice. “We’ll take this film and look at it, talk as a staff tomorrow and then make a decision, let our football team know first and then we’ll announce it tomorrow after the walk-through. That gives us another day to continue to work at it and be complete and thorough in our look.”

After UT’s offensive struggles against Auburn last week in a 14-12 loss, Crompton and Stephens have been splitting snaps with the first-team offense in practice all week. The two remain close in ability and practice performance, coaches have said this week, making it difficult to settle on a starter.

“It’s not about an easy decision. It’s about who’s going to help us win,” Fulmer said. “If there was that much difference, we probably wouldn’t be having this discussion at all.

“We’ve practiced well. We’ve got to take it to the game and play well.”

That’s been the stumbling block for Crompton this season. Crompton’s 8-for-23 performance for 67 yards against Auburn, including an 0-for-6 mark in the fourth quarter, is his worst in five games as a starter.

Meanwhile, Stephens’ only game experience was eight plays against UAB. The Vols were leading 35-3 when he entered the game.

“It will be a lot different because it will be meaningful,” Stephens said. “If I get a chance to go in during a time that can determine the game, I have to be smart and do what I know I can do.”

Getting meaningful snaps Saturday — aside from wide receiver Gerald Jones who should take a few snaps at quarterback in UT’s G-Gun package — isn’t a guarantee for whoever doesn’t start the game.

Fulmer said Thursday there’s no set plan to get snaps for UT’s non-starter at quarterback. Any use of Saturday’s backup would come if the starter isn’t productive or moving the offense.

“If whoever starts goes in there and lights it up, I’m sure as heck not going to pull him,” offensive coordinator Dave Clawson said. “If the guy plays well and we’re moving the football, we’re not going to change just for change sake. It may end up that more than one play, it may not. I don’t like to ever commit to playing a person at a series because you never know what the mode of the game is or what’s going on.”

Needless to say, Clawson and the rest of UT’s staff would like to have a clear-cut starter in place at quarterback as soon as possible. Clawson just doesn’t want to force a decision.

“A lot of people want that to happen,” Clawson said. “There’s other teams in the SEC that want that to happen. There’s teams in the NFL that want that to happen. At some places, it happens and you have your quarterback and you build around that. At other places, as much as you want it to happen, it doesn’t and then you work like crazy to make it happen. And we’re doing that.

“We want to be settled at quarterback. Ultimately the quarterback settles who our quarterback is.”

At least publicly, who starts at quarterback doesn’t seem to bother other players on offense.

“As a lineman, it doesn’t really matter who’s back there,” center Josh McNeil said. “We’ve just got to put the best guy back there that will give us an opportunity to win.”

The rest of the team agrees, Fulmer said.

“It’s all about business with them,” Fulmer said. “They want to win, and they want whoever’s going to help them win, regardless of who it is.”

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

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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