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Nick Stephens comes from a small town in Texas. He's played football since the 7th grade. However, the sophomore that is a contender for the starting quarterback position at the University of Tennessee had only one year of varsity football in high school before coming to UT. Watch »
(Editor's note -- UT associate head coach and defensive coordinator John Chavis substituted during Tuesday’s weekly news conference for head coach Phillip Fulmer, who was in St. Petersburg, Fla., attending the funeral of a family friend by the name of Skip Carr.)
“It’s good to be here today. I think most of you know why I'm filling in for Coach Fulmer, but in case you don't, I'll let you know. He’s had a very, very dear friend of his and his family’s that passed away. He felt like he needed to be there with his family to support them. I'm here filling in for him today and we'll take this wherever you want to go. It’s good to be here.”
On if he uses the offense’s recent struggles as motivation for his defense…
“We want to go play and be a football team. We've done that around here for a long time. There have been games and seasons where the offense has had to really protect the defense because we were young, inexperienced, maybe not as good as we should be. It’s been the other way from time to time, but obviously you've got to play as a team and that’s what we’re all about. You want to go out and play every play as if it was the most important play in the game. When you get to that point, you'll play good football as a team.”
On Northern Illinois…
“They’re a fine football team. They’re very well coached; they know what they’re doing; they know how to execute. They've played three quarterbacks up to this point. My understanding was that the starter had off-season shoulder surgery and was not quite ready for the first two games. The backup came in and did a tremendous job as well as their third-team quarterback. So they've played all three of them. Their starter came back two weeks ago. I can understand why he was the starter. He knows how to run the offense, how to execute well. He throws the deep ball as well as anybody that we've seen. I think they've had more than a dozen receivers who have caught passes. They’re plenty talented at receiver. They've got a back that has rushed for 2,000 yards in two past seasons, but he’s had a tough time getting on the field because of an outstanding freshman. They've been able to run the football, throw the football and put up big numbers doing either.
On the defensive performance vs. Auburn…
“We were really for the first time complete in terms of our coverage and our pressure up front. We looked like a good football team rushing the quarterback; we looked like a good football team stopping the run, and our secondary played as well as they've played all year, and they've played well all year. The pressure up front was the biggest difference in the second half. We got some sacks that allowed us to get off the field. That’s what you have to do. Even though we've been very productive in the take away department, we'd gone six quarters without a turnover. So the turnover in the second half was big for us. We've got to provide our offense with a short field. We've got to be able to take punt returns and change field position and we were able to do that.”
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Comments » 33
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Ok.
When do we start on these things?
cterblan writes:
Only three questions... what kind of phooey is that?
BigVolOnBoard writes:
Does basketball start soon?
GoVol writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
bluetickhound writes:
I think NIU might beat us. Anyone else out there willing to consider it?
NeylandWest writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
GoVols88 writes:
If I hear that statement again I think I'm gonna go crazy. "They’re very well coached". I wish someone would tell me how you know when a team is very well coached. Please - get a room. This is the standard "respect the other team" chatter. I wonder what the UCLA coaches, or the Auburn coaches (or the media for that matter) say about the Vols coaches.
That whole staff up there belongs in politics. Especially the head coach. And now, not only do the assistants say the same thing the coach says (which is bs) but now the players are. Guess who was the latest to say "we need to see the film first". How about our 119th ranked QB. I'd rather hear Pearl or Summit speak anyday than listen to any of the football coaches.
NeylandWest writes:
Is it before or after the replay of the Ole Miss/Florida game?
WeLoveTennesseeVols writes:
Crompton's getting an education, football is a phooey shoot, something our fans take for granted. Winning that is. Fulmer has done such an outstanding job for years, that he is now taken for granted. A few bad calls, a mustang defense which cost us a couple of games, some fumbles, and a little or lot of luck, would have him with over 800 percent winning percentage. Heck, people would still female dog about it, because he have nothing better to do. Chavis' defenses should have defended better on 3d and long throughout the years, but defenses seem to be stopping the long ball. Why do we get these off the wall teams with great running backs and 3 quarterbacks who are great, while we cannot get one good one every 5 years??
pammyvol1000 writes:
It was on Sports South last night. I have to give JC credit for making a couple of good runs.
I'm gonna get some flack for this.. but I hope JC does get it together and ends up being a good QB. He waited 3 years to play in the Orange and now it's a disaster for him.. Can't help but feel a little sorry for him even though he does run his mouth.
Colliervol writes:
What's a phooey shoot? That sounds very questionable to me.
jmbigorange#280428 writes:
This was a joke...right.
commonsense32 writes:
Seriously, U people who keep defending Fulmer and Crompton. Why? I mean What has it gotten you?, besides some damn heartache. I wish that I had all the answers, but i like Fulmer, don't. All I know is we need to work like heck to get better. It's not going to happen this year. Coach Fulmer needs to be "promoted" within the program, and get a new coach. Those of you who say I am out of line, I'm sorry. This is the sad state of affairs the once mighty Vols are facing.
debaser11 writes:
Lane Kiffin is now officially available
IBleedOrange444 writes:
Congratulations to Chavis and the "D". They played very well at Auburn. Let's follow up that performance with another strong one here on Saturday.
IBleedOrange444 writes:
I keep seeing his name thrown in the mix and I don't know what all he's done in his career, but his NFL career wasn't very good was it? Why would we want him? Just because a guy coached in the NFL doesn't mean he'll be a successful college coach. Does Dave Wanstache ring a bell?
rblakeh writes:
I agree. I hope he is able to get it together, because he's already taken his licks. His been waiting a long time to take over, and it's just not working out for him. And it doesn't seem to be due to a lack of effort or desire. I want the QB who gives us the best chance to win, and I'll cheer for whoever it is. I just hope it is JC.
Either way, Go Vols!
FlaVol2 writes:
I have nothing against Crompton - but he has not shown me that he is SEC caliber yet. If he can motivate himself to the winning QB position, more power to him. But, he has a long way to go. I wish him the best, but I would like to see a winning, agressive, thoughtful and tough minded leader QB emerge from the three QB's we have. This is the SEC and we need a talented QB to pull the team and this season back together. Go Vols!!!!
gavol2572 writes:
I certainly hope this isn't a foreshadow of things to come with everyone hollering for Fulmer's head (even me)... HC John Chavis.
kbart4033#247331 writes:
I remember a few years back when the Braves, I believe, had
a rookie catcher come up late one season and light the league up. The media wrote about him all winter and excitement was
at a fever pitch. Unfortunately, he got off to a terrible
start the next season and lost his confidence so badly that
by mid-season he could not accurately throw the ball back to
pitcher. Not sure what ever happened to him. The Titans are
going thru the same thing now with Vince Young. He is a shell
of the player he was as a rookie. I think that is where
the Vols are at QB. It has very little to do with coaching,
and a lot to do with the QB's mental makeup. I applaud
P. Fulmer for staying with him and trying to give his
confidence a chance to take. However, I think it is time to
let him step back for at least a game; play the other 2
against NIU and then re-evaluate. QB play cost us dearly
vs. UCLA and Florida. QB play and, more importantly, lack of confidence in our QB killed us vs. Auburn. Go Vols!!
us vs. Auburn
fedupvol writes:
Yeah Old Jonny Cromp is a Head Case, that's for sure....and a joke as far as an SEC caliber qb goes...so sad..pf or mikey won't make necessary changes in personnel, coaches or otherwise, until things have gone to h$*% in a hand basket! And boy have they these past few years....
shipperman#280095 writes:
Fulmer has done an outstanding job against the cream puffs but look at his record against the top tier teams and his record is phooey.
shipperman#280095 writes:
Would it not be ironic and just if Chavis took fat boy's job like he took Majors' job?
cterblan writes:
You can't say c r a p on this site. If you do, they turn it into phooey.
Tastes like phooey.
See. Pretty funny.
Stumps writes:
it's already crossed my mind. one of those games where you should be playing your backups for game experience by the 3rd quarter, and we could loose. This is a decent team, NIL rolled in on Shula's tide a few years back and whupped them. Could happen. shouldn't, but could.
oh well.
ChuckG writes:
Are we winning the Auburn game on CSS, I really think we are going to handle them ?
DennisVols writes:
I'll give Chavis this he sounds a good bit smarter in an interview than Fulmer does. No "stay the course", "working likr heck";
Hos answers were well thought out
givehim6 writes:
Maybe Chavis might know the pilot of the plane that brings phil baby home. And get the plane back after the game. Let Chavis and Clawson run the show and see how good thay are.
murrayvol writes:
When is the Gator/Ole Miss game going to be on? :)
murrayvol writes:
He won 5 games at Oakland last year. That's double tough.
murrayvol writes:
rblakeh & pammy: For heavens sake give it up. What he's got ain't gonna heal.
We don't always get what we want, no matter how bad we may want it. In 4 games you've seen proof positive of why Cutcliffe didn't give him snaps last year.
I wish him well too on whatever career path he choses.
murrayvol writes:
Rick Ankiel (pitcher) had a similar experience w/the Cardinals. Finally made it back to the bigs as an everyday player.
TommyJack nailed it a few days ago when he said JC doesn't have good football instincts. Unfortunately that's not something you can teach.
MidTennVol writes:
sjt18, you've made some good observations on here the past few years. I had to laugh about your comment on Chavis.
Trust me, there is little else in life that he hates worse than dealing with the media. Sometimes he has a hard time disguising it.
Sometimes he puts some bad defenses on the field, sometimes he puts some good ones.
This one, so far, is decent. Not great, not even really good in my opinion but, like he said himself, sometimes the offense carries the defense and sometimes vice versa.
Thank goodness the defense is decent this year, so far.
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