Fulmer asks fans at rally to help 'kick some Gator butt'

Leave it to Bruce Pearl to pull the best quote of the week out of Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer.

The UT men’s basketball coach had the microphone and jumped at the chance to pump up the crowd at the “Big Orange Blast” on the World’s Fair Park site Thursday night. When Pearl asked Fulmer about the status of quarterback Jonathan Crompton, Fulmer grabbed his own opportunity to pump up the crowd.

Fulmer first assured the fans Crompton and his swollen ankle were just fine for Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. showdown with No. 4-ranked Florida.

He then implored the fans to come out in force, be loud and help Tennessee “kick some Gator butt.”

Pearl went crazy. The crowd went crazy.

Fulmer’s hoping for more of the same today at Neyland Stadium.

“It’s always an emotional ball game and the stakes are so high,” he said after UT’s walkthrough at Neyland Stadium on Friday. “The chatter (trash talk) is just a part of it sometimes. I’m just glad my guys didn’t participate in any of that.”

The Vols have been reminded more than a few times this week of Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes saying UT “quit” during a 59-20 loss in the Swamp last year.

It obviously ended up on a UT bulletin board somewhere and fans took notice as well.

“I would think the setting (Saturday) will be unbelievable,” Fulmer said. “We have the greatest fans and the greatest support around. We need to give them plenty of reasons to continue to cheer.”

Clawson’s Call: UT offensive coordinator Dave Clawson confirmed what many saw last Saturday: tight end Brandon Warren was open on at least a couple of pass plays in which Crompton decided to throw elsewhere.

“That’s something you’d like him to see,” Clawson said of Crompton.

Clawson, however, was far from critical of Crompton’s performance. Actually, his assessment was quite complimentary.

“The positives far outweigh the negatives, but our job and our goal is to never miss a read,” Clawson said. “It’s never going to be never, but that’s what our goal is.”

More Effective Morley?: Safety Demetrice Morley had difficulty and missed at least two tackles against UAB as a direct result of a cast on his injured right hand.

This week, he has been practicing with a smaller cast to increase his effectiveness this week against the Gators.

“He had two opportunities to make plays in the open field (against UAB) and he didn’t make either one of them,” Fulmer said. “They cut the cast down quite a bit, and he shouldn’t be favoring it. It shouldn’t be sore anymore. In this ballgame, you’ve got to go play, let it go.”

Morley will wear the smaller cast today is expected to need the cast for at least a few more weeks.

No Guarantees: Defensive coordinator John Chavis said he feels like Tennessee is in better shape defensively than it was a year ago against the Gators.

But that improvement, Chavis said, doesn’t guarantee a better performance against Florida.

“There’s no guarantees it won’t happen again like that,” he said. “If we knew those things, we’d just go cut bait and go fishing or do something else.

“It’s preparation, it’s experience, it’s getting your guys on the field. We’ve played the same offense. It doesn’t matter who they had running it. We’ve played it well, and we’ve played it awful. Last year, we were not very good. I’ve always said that what you see on that field is my responsibility, and I accept that. But I certainly like the maturity of this defense, and for us to say that I can guarantee you it’s not going to happen again … if you’re in the business long enough, you know what, it’s going to happen again.”

Food Drive: The 17th Annual Tim Kerin Memorial Drive takes place Saturday. Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee, volunteers, staff and the students of the UT Ministers Council will be collecting donations and distributing an orange and white UT Power Towel for a suggested $5 donation.

SI Legends: Former Vols Jeff Hall (11-12:30), Joey Kent (noon-1:30) and David Leaverton (1-2:30) will be at Calhoun’s on the River signing autographs.

Drew Edwards contributed to this report.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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