Warren under scrutiny; No. 1 removed from practice jersey after 'some screwups'

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UT wide receiver, Gerald Jones, talks to the media following Tuesday's practice. According to Jones, there's no need for him to play quarterback for the Vols this season. Watch »

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UT quarterback, Jonathan Crompton, is feeling a little more confident this spring. Crompton answers questions from the media following Tuesday's practice. Watch »

Receiver Brandon Warren repeatedly denied that he had ever considered quitting Tennessee's football team or transferring to another school after last season.

"Why would I want to go somewhere else? Why would I want to quit?" the former Alcoa High School star said Tuesday when asked about a report last week by Volquest.com.

Warren left that very impression on many in UT's program when he missed a handful of required commitments in mid-March. Warren, however, has been present in each of UT's seven practices this spring.

For his missteps, Warren was punished by UT coach Lane Kiffin, which included the removal of the No. 1 from his practice jersey.

"Brandon doesn't have a number for now," Kiffin said Tuesday. "We think that to have single digit numbers around here is a big deal. You've got to keep earning them every day.

"Brandon's had some screwups, hasn't been taking care of business off the field and in class the way that we'd like. He wants that number back, he's got to do the right things off the field."

Said Warren: "It's been some personal things with me, having to balance out things at home and being here but I never thought about quitting."

Warren said a family member called him and informed him of the Internet report that claimed he had strongly considered leaving UT.

"I don't know where he would get that information from," Warren said referring to the reporter.

Warren has shown more maturity over the past week according to one member of the football department. Those around him are hopeful he'll continue to uphold his responsibilities.

Warren has been spending time with defensive line coach Ed Orgeron, receivers coach Frank Wilson and senior associate athletic director David Blackburn. All are acting as mentors for the junior.

Warren was the subject of much speculation when he suddenly left Florida State following a Freshman All-American season in 2006 in which he caught 28 passes for 301 yards.

Warren left midway through the 2007 spring semester to be with his mother who has battled cancer. FSU refused to grant Warren a release to play elsewhere.

Without the release, Warren was forced to sit out a year from Division I competition.

Having left before he completed his last semester at FSU, he also needed to seriously improve his transcript before he could be accepted to UT and placed on academic scholarship.

Warren took classes at Pellissippi State - missing a season of football - in order to enroll at UT, which he did in 2008.

Warren was moved from tight end to receiver before spring practice began last month. The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder has already made an impression on UT's best receiver.

"He's so versatile," junior wideout Gerald Jones said. "He's so big. He can block because he played tight end. And he's very quick and has great hands.

"It just puts another weapon outside at wide receiver for us."

Receiver is a position of need for UT after the Vols lost two of their top four receivers from 2008.

Warren played in 12 games for UT last season and caught 10 passes for 85 yards. Early in the season, UT's coaches claimed they had an offensive package for their most athletic tight end.

Former UT offensive coordinator Dave Clawson later admitted that playing Warren at all three of UT's tight end positions in preseason limited his understanding of the offense and, subsequently, his effectiveness.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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