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Crompton on turning around UT offense
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There are some pretty startling numbers being used to describe Tennessee junior quarterback Jonathan Crompton.
Start with "12".
That's where Crompton ranks among SEC starting quarterbacks in pass efficiency.
Then there's "89".
That's where Crompton's pass efficiency ranks among all the quarterbacks in the nation.
Inexperienced or not, new offense or not, those are a pair of statistics that Crompton is intent on improving.
Here, Crompton discusses UT's slow start offensively and how close the Vols (1-2, 0-1 SEC) are to having a respectable offense.
How would you describe this team's response in practice to the Florida loss?
"A new season starts as of yesterday's (Tuesday's) practice. We're not even thinking about that. We're just concentrating on the future.
"A lot of teams have said that road games are a good way to get away from the distractions, especially when a team is struggling."
Do you like going on the road this week to play Auburn?
"We like playing on the road. As a competitor, it's always fun going into a hostile environment like Auburn and playing a game.
"We're going to come together as a team and play ball together."
What do you draw from your first start, also in a hostile environment, at Arkansas in 2006?
"It's been so long ago. I don't really know what to take from it.
"You just have to know, that no matter what, it's SEC football. It's going to be hostile no matter what."
Is the crowd's effect on the game overrated?
"You don't pay attention to the crowd whether it's home or away. It gets loud but you don't pay attention to it.
Two losses and you're probably out of the SEC East race. How big is this Auburn game on Saturday?
"Last year we had two (losses) and we were in the championship game. Things happen. It's SEC football.
"Somebody's going to get beat someway somehow. You just have to keep your head up and keep fighting until the end.
"Every game's a big one. No matter who it is."
How do you handle public criticism?
"That's part of it. You expect that coming here to Tennessee.
"Expectations are high so you've just got to deal with it, go on and just play ball."
Is that easier said than done?
"I think I've done a pretty good job with that. I haven't read the paper since I've been at Tennessee. I don't listen to the news. I don't listen to the media.
"I just kind of do my thing and listen to my coaches and my teammates because that's who makes all the decisions around here, is the coaches.
"I listen to them because they're the ones who have the say-so about everything."
Coaches and players have continually supported you. How important is that?
"It's great. I have confidence in myself and I have confidence in all of them.
"I'm glad they have confidence in me because I have confidence in everybody on this team to do the best of their ability and play ball with us."
Many have said your offense is far from getting it together. How close do you think this offense is to succeeding at a high level?
"Everybody is entitled to their opinion. We know by everyday at practice - by how we practice - how close we are.
"If somebody wants to doubt us, they can doubt us. For everybody that doesn't doubt us, I appreciate it because those are the ones that are truly with us right now.
"If we just limit a few mistakes we'll be fine.
"When we correct that, it's going to be hard to stop us. It's all about momentum. I think we're in a good spot right now. "
How maddening are the mistakes?
"It's how you respond to it. That's the test of a true champion."
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Comments » 267
thevoice writes:
Just to get it out of the system, I'm actually first?
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Worst throwing QB in SEC.
Who would have guessed? He's playing for family, though.
On to Aubie. We can hope.
jsmithnga#207674 writes:
I stand by my post on the sack article.
FLAVOLS writes:
I'm tired of hearing about last years record. THIS year the competition is tougher and it doesn't look anything like last year so far. We can hope though - for a couple more days.
cdldoc#211897 writes:
SSSSHHHHHH!!!!!! Jon, be quiet until you have a good game. For a 1 and 2 team all these players are too willing to get quoted in the media.
BigOrangeDave writes:
To borrow a line from the movie BullDurham, listening to Crompton be interviewed by a reporter is like a "martian talking to a fungo".
nostradamus writes:
I believe the UT coaches "coach" the quarterbacks to the point that they can't function on the field. Compared to other quarterbacks on other teams, UT quarterbacks seem mechanical and unsure. I remember how Heath Shuler just seemed to go out there and play football. Peyton Manning was just a phenom. Tee Martin just went out and played football and made things happen even though the coaches would get frustrated with him. Since Tee Martin, I don't think things have been the same. I guess that's when Cutliff left for Ole Miss.
Erik Ainge played great his first year. But after he got "coached up" he was never the same. He did get better after Cutcliff came back and worked with him.
I'm watching Oregon St. and USC right now. The OSU quarterback seems relaxed and confident, and athletic. Crompton doesn't even seem comfortable on hand-offs. I don't think it's his fault.
Just my opinion.
thevoice writes:
Hooker: How maddening are the mistakes?
JC: "It's how you respond to it. That's the test of a true champion."
I wonder if Hambone Hamilton understands what it takes to be a true champion, Mistake No. 1: agreeing a program of our caliber only needs 8 wins to keep it's coach. Sounds like mediocrity to me.
BigMix writes:
Pete Carroll needs to go. How in the hell does he let Or St. Score first. He needs to step down now before the program gets any worse.
Jamey1210 writes:
Hey I hope it makes you feel better to tear down a 1st year starting QB that plays in front of millions(and 21 years of age) while you set infront of your computer hidden in your moms basement with no reprocussions for your actions. By the way this was not just toward you but every single Vol hater on this site. I am sick and tired of hearing you all tear this team down and then bash them cause they play for their family instead of the fan base that boo's them. Oh yeah you all pay so you can say what ever you want my bad I should just shut up. Oh yeah by the way thanks for throwing away a 4 star commit. Good job guys in the basement, us true vol fans appreciate that.
yeavols#228407 writes:
Bigmix..your analogy goes unoticed..that's pretty bad..
nostradamus writes:
How to keep 4 star commitments...
1) Don't get beat by a bad UCLA team on national television.
2) Don't get embarrassed by your biggest rival on national television (for the 2nd straight year) with your 4 star commit attending the game.
But you are right, it's not the fault of the 21-year old quarterback. It is clearly the coach's fault. And Crompton does need some help and advice on speaking to the media. Apparently they aren't coaching him on that skill either.
TommyJack writes:
TRUE VOL fan: If anything cost us the 4* recruit, it was the WORST COACHED game in TN history against UCLA that did it.
CoverOrange writes:
Question, if you are a "Vol hater" do you hate "Vols" or are you a "Vol" that hates? If the latter, wouldn't that make you a "Hatevol"?
smokey_vols writes:
If you really think the crowd is why he opened back up recruiting you are an idiot. It is pathetic coaching and he sees how bad Fulmer is without Cutcliff. True vol fan my a--, you have no clue. Keep drinking the kool aid buddy.
smokey_vols writes:
I do not like this coaching staff but I will be pulling for these players every saturday. They are a good bunch who I believe are the victims of bad coaching.
rep88 writes:
I like it when people like you make comments about people sitting in their moms basement. You are on her posting the same as anyone else so you must be in the basement of your mother to. Now to your stupid comment yes he is awful and we do pay out money for tickets so we can say what we want. If you are tired of it dont get on here and read what we have to say. You can throw away your money if you want to because you are prob one of those fans with millions of dollars left to you and it dont matter to you but to the hard working tn fans it aint that easy
invisiblekid writes:
"You don't pay attention to the crowd whether it's home or away. It gets loud but you don't pay attention to it."
Some players have been paying attention to the crowds. Word is a few of the players noticed fans booing last week.
invisiblekid writes:
Man I hate to nitpick a player doing an interview but jeesh:
"When we correct that, it's going to be hard to stop us. It's all about momentum. I think we're in a good spot right now. "
A good spot? WOW.
Jamey1210 writes:
I have never said that I am for fulmer being head coach, I have said that the fans that want to do nothing but bash everything about UT right now make me sick. You all are right though players do not come to tennessee cause we fill up a 100K plus stadium, or that we show up to the vol walk in thousands after not winning a championship in 10 years. They come for one reason and it is coaching. Yeah go tell eric berry that. It makes me sick that you all do not realize that you have just as much say in recruiting and the way our team performs in games as the coaches. We are the 12th man and you all are quiting what does that say about you. You never quit on your team. Let the guys who are charge decide who is going to get fired. Go 12th man bash your coach and bash your team mates right in front of your possible team mates. If you do not understand what I am trying to get across your an idiot. Like I said if fulmer was fired I would probably be happy. But then again soon as we hired a new coach, he will loose and everyone will come out of the woodworks and want him fired aswell. I am beginning to think that it does not matter.
Jamey1210 writes:
Oh yeah, we should hire Pete Carrol. All of california should be calling for his head. After all he has every 5 star recruit in the nation, Number 1 and they are loosing to a none ranked team 14-0 and just fumbled. Maybe he will be availible. Yeah!
invisiblekid writes:
If you are a Vol hater, would that not indicate that you hate one particular Vol? Try VolsHater instead. Hate is a very strong word IMO though. Maybe we should go with Volsdisliker or Volsdisdainer instead.
Personally, I love the Vols but have to say I am embarassed that we are looking up at Vandy, Boise ST, Wake Forest and others of their ilk. Of course, those programs didn't get SEC East championship rings last year either. And we are still in the running this year, hell, in theory, a 5 loss team could win the SEC right now.
invisiblekid writes:
Throwing this out there and it may be off the reservation, but did anyone ever consider the distance factor that Nunes and his father mentioned. I think I'll stick with what the recruit says instead of someone who may or may not be in their mom's basement(as if it really matters).
invisiblekid writes:
Don't you have a Tebow poster to worship something?
threehundredbowler writes:
if his thing is what we have seen so far,we are in deep poop.Yes Jonathan,keep doing your thing and see where that leads.
rblakeh writes:
Fire Coach Carroll!!!!
BigMix writes:
Needless to say I wont be renewing my season tickets at USC until they make a coaching change.
TNPilgrim writes:
Gatorzz: Were you all too hard on Zook? And where are you now?? These kids are not polished enough to deal with the critial media, so they should really just be judged on their performance as athletes. That said, it's obvious Crompton hasn't been developed having been left stagnant last year on the bench. Poor coaching, not only there but also on special teams and lacking discipline in most all areas. It becomes obvious that Fulmer is exposed as an average coach when faced with more formidable competition in the Eastern division and no Cutcliff to do the heavy lifting in the coaching dept.
DennisVols writes:
Pete Carrol and the condoms are losing 21-0 at 1/2 to an unranked team they were favored by 24 points over.
If this finishes up like this Fulmer will no longer have the worse upset of the year.
threehundredbowler writes:
yeah,right. Other QB's have played in front of millions at age 21 and they looked like a QB,not like a lost sheep looking for the shephard.You are right about one thing.You should shut up.
arkyvol writes:
i'm sure crompton is a nice kid, but i'm not so sure he's an s.e.c. quality q.b. the only complete games i've seen him play were the 06 arkansas game (in person) and the u.c.l.a. fiasco. (i started the florida game on the tube, but i wasn't man enough to handle it all the way after the second goal line stand by the gators.) there was an eery similarity between his performance at arkansas and the one in L.A. ditto what i saw of the florida game. sometimes you have to face facts. he might have been a high school whiz, but he's showing nothing in college. this team is going nowhere until it gets somebody who knows what they're doing under center.
eschroeder writes:
"We like playing on the road. As a competitor, it's always fun going into a hostile environment like Auburn and playing a game."
Auburn is probably less hostile than Neyland for our guys right now.
BillsBrother writes:
Five things that I think would improve Crompton's game;
1) Receivers actually catching the ball on a regular basis.
2) Running Backs holding on to the ball.
3) A veteran offensive line actually protecting the quarterback.
4)A veteran offensive line remembering the snap count.
5) Senior leaders not getting "Unsportmanlike Conduct" penalties.
bls8617#370509 writes:
Could anyone on the coaching staff please tell Crompton not to stare down the receiver. It's been three games and he's still doing it. That's not too much to ask, right? But then again we as fans shouldn't demand that because we've never played football. I'll let my six year old neice who also noticed Crompton's solid eye to quit being a "volhater".
Rockytop4life writes:
People on here trying to be smart talking about USC should fire Pete Carroll b/c of their performance so far tonight. Pete Carroll has more national championships in 8 yrs than big Phil has in 17 yrs. BCS appearances I ain't even going to go there. We wouldn't be talking about Phil if he put out a product like Pete does year in and year out.
dvols writes:
hey rock,
when we start getting 8 5stars and 10 4 stars holla!
cdonsbach writes:
Please stop throwing the ball at the ground with all your might. The fields can't take it and your receivers can't catch the balls when your passes are registering 3.6 on the Richter Magnitude Scale.
Go Vols!
Jamey1210 writes:
Go ahead fans drive us in the ground. I would love for me and my son to set behind you at a game so I could make an example out of you about how not to be a team player. GO VOLS!
yeavols#228407 writes:
By now, anyone who has watched a football game outside of the VOLS must have realized a few differences. How can anyone not notice how coaches are active in the game? They are pacing, calling plays, actively involved in their team anticipating and calculating. The players are actively involved with each other on the sidelines, throwing passes, encouraging each other, so on. It is so different watching other teams play the game compared to watching Tennessee. Even a team down 21-0 has character in coming back, not giving up, believing in each other. I only wished some day I can see my team do that.
Rockytop4life writes:
dvols,
Long as phil is there, I never will.
bls8617#370509 writes:
Psssh
nostradamus writes:
I am amazed that anyone, coaches, media, or people with comments on this blog can blame the fans for anything. The fans pay for tickets, concessions, souvenirs, etc. In other words, we as fans make it possible for the athletic program to exist. On the other hand, the fans have no control over the coaching or the execution by the players.
In other words, the state of the team is all on the coaches.
yeavols#228407 writes:
Poor fans...USC is a mark of an excellent team..down 21-0 on the road..they don't fall apart. It's now 21-14 and poised to take the lead in the 4th quarter..sorry all you folks trying to minimize the VOL losses compared to USC's game at Oregon State. Just didn't work for ya...try something else..
MrBamSeydu writes:
I heard a great comparison today...
If we hadn't fired Buzz Peterson, we'd have never hired Coach Pearl. We'd still have a so-so basketball program and be ho-humming around MAYBE hoping to get into the NCAA tourney each year.
But we fired him and got Coach Pearl and now, we're getting 5* players from Maryland and have been to the Sweet 16 2 years in a row and the NCAA tourney every single year.
Sure, we can keep Phil Fulmer.... and we'll keep ho-humming along MAYBE hoping to make it to the SEC championship game every 5 years or so.... or we could make the change NOW!! And get a fresh coach with a new perspective on things who wil not be afraid to shake things up and make the fans ENJOY UT football again.
All it would take is for Mike Hamilton to have the foresight that he had with Coach Pearl. We don't owe Fulmer a single thing. He's a very rich man thanks to the University of Tennessee. And he's been quoted as saying "We didn't become stupid as coaches". Yeah, well I'm sure every coach who was ever fired didn't just "become" stupid. But guess what? The landscape of sports these days is all about "what have you done for me lately?" and Phil Fulmer hasn't done jack-squat since 1999.
GerryOP writes:
Good post. I agree. If the coaches would just step aside and let the dude play, he might do well. I think he is continuously torn between doing what he is told to do and doing what his talent and intuition tells him he should do.
As nostradamus said, Shuler, Manning, and Martin excelled by "doing their thing." Crompton should adopt the same philosophy. Might as well try it, doing what he has been doing sure isn't working.
GerryOP writes:
Yup, you're right BigMix. And as soon as he steps down, call him and see if he wants to move to K'town.
utfan15govols writes:
this is my third time saying this on a different post. Nick stephens when he played in the second half of the UAB game, he played with confidence. May not have the talent as crompton, and i question that now, but confidence is what we need. Can i start a ,"Start Nick Stephens campaign!"
GerryOP writes:
Jamey1210? Another new name. Where are all of these punks coming from? Must be another member of the "Fulmer/KK $5 A Post In Favor Of Fulmer Club."
Hey kid, did you get the Phillip Fulmer autographed $5 bill or the unsigned one?
dvols writes:
ok u haters,
lets get rid of orange and white, sink the vol navy, dismiss the pride of the southland band, forget john ward, put the torch out, tennessee drill stinx, quit singing rocky top, whoo, blow neyland stadium up, erase neylands maxims, quit running out the t, erase checkerboard endzones, quit sayin its football time in tennessee, no more vol walk, no more sea of orange walkin in the stadium, no more fight vols marching down the field!!!!!!!!!
done
hire a coach that is so smart and cares nothin bout the vols but might win some games... cause coaches are so smart
be careful what you wish for, maybe we could wear all black.
lets change out colors to blue and green?
i am with tennessee, dont know bout you geniuses on this website!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
dvols writes:
oh yeah, pete carroll is an idiot. put a movin truck in his curly haired yard
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