Tennessee’s first-team defense is playing like a championship squad during spring practice, coach Lane Kiffin said after Friday’s scrimmage.
Now to get the rest of the team up to speed.
The defensive starters sacked quarterback Jonathan Crompton, who was playing for the first-team offense, seven times. He fumbled on one sack and was downed by Chris Walker in the end zone for a safety on another.
“That (No.) 1 defense is a special unit,” Kiffin said. “You feel their confidence. That’s what you need your team to be. When you eventually get your whole team that way you become a championship team.
“We’ve got to do a lot better job on the other side,” he said.
Starting on the offensive line were tackles Cody Pope, Chris Scott and Jarrod Shaw and guards Jacques McClendon and Vladimir Richard.
Despite the line’s difficulty in protecting the quarterback, Kiffin praised Crompton and second-string quarterback B.J. Coleman for their performances. After a slow start, both engineered long drives, moved around in the pocket and made plays on their feet.
Crompton, a redshirt senior, finished 8-for-11 for 91 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions, and Coleman, a sophomore, finished 11-for-16 with 151 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
“Our first-team defense is outstanding. That’s why they’re at Tennessee,” Crompton said. “They proved last year that they were good enough. Especially with the defensive staff that we’ve got in this year, that’s what we expect. But we also expect a whole heck of a lot out of our offense, too. That’s part of it, so we’re going to come out here and compete every day.”
Nick Stephens, playing in his first scrimmage after sitting out much of the spring recovering from a broken wrist, completed two passes for the third string for 28 yards and a touchdown.
“I’m starting to understand their personalities, starting to understand how they are in the huddle,” Kiffin said. “It’s really good for me to get a chance to be out here all the time in the huddle, so I get a good handle on them.”
Tauren Poole, playing for the second team, led the ground game with 80 yards rushing on 11 carries and scored on a 1-yard run. Montario Hardesty started and carried the ball eight times for 38 yards.
Ben Bartholomew had four catches for 53 yards and caught a 14-yard scoring strike from Coleman. Ahmad Paige caught a 23-yard TD pass from Stephens. Starter Quintin Hancock caught Hancock three passes for 51 yards.
Daniel Lincoln connected on a 32-yard field goal.
Starters
Offense
Jonathan Crompton, Montario Hardesty, Kevin Cooper, Gerald Jones, Quintin Hancock, Cody Pope, Jacques McClendon, Vladimir Richard, Jarrod Shaw, Chris Scott, Luke Stocker and Cody Sullins
Defense
Montori Hughes, Dan Williams, Ben Martin, Chris Walker, Rico McCoy, LaMarcus Thompson, Nick Reveiz, C.J. Fleming, Rod Wilks, Art Evans and Stephaun Raines
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Passing
Name Comp-Att-Int Yds TD
B.J. Coleman 11-16-0 151 2
Jonathan Crompton 8-11-0 91 0
Nick Stephens 2-4-0 28 1
Receiving
Name Rec Yds TD
Ben Bartholomew 4 53 1
Quintin Hancock 3 51 0
Gerald Jones 3 36 0
Austin Rogers 3 31 0
Denarius Moore 1 30 1
Ahmad Paige 1 23 1
Montario Hardesty 2 22 0
Brandon Warren 2 16 0
Austin Johnson 2 8 0
Rushing
Name Rush Yds TD
Tauren Poole 11 80 1
Montario Hardesty 8 38 0
C.J. Jackson 6 34 0
Toney Williams 14 30 0
Quintin Hancock 1 1 0
Defense
Name Tackles TFL Sack Int/PBU FF/FR
Derrick Furlow 8 1/3 -/- -/- -/-
Nick Reveiz 7 1/2 -/- -/- -/-
Rico McCoy 6 -/- -/- -/2 -/-
Shane Reveiz 5 2/6 -/- -/- -/-
Chris Walker 5 3/8 2/7 -/- -/- (safety)
Montori Hughes 4 2/10 1/6 -/- -/1
Prentiss Waggner 4 -/- -/- -/- -/-
Scoring Plays
- Tauren Poole 1 yard run (Ingham Kick Good)
- Chris Walker safety (sacked Jonathan Crompton in the endzone)
- Denarius Moore 30 yard pass from B.J. Coleman (Lincoln Kick Good)
- Ahmad Paige 23 yard pass from Nick Stephens (Lincoln Kick Good)
- Daniel Lincoln 32 yard FG
- Ben Bartholomew 14 yard pass from B.J. Coleman (Lincoln Kick Good)
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
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Comments » 44
Jankypoo writes:
Wooo! I am pumped up!
PepperGrinder (Inactive) writes:
Sophomore Tauren Poole the led Vols ground game with 80 rushes on 11 carries.
BigT_Chief writes:
B.J. (Coleman) did well the last series and made some plays when things weren’t there.
That part of CLK's comment was pretty good to hear.
jobrando#216494 writes:
Hope to see BJ as QB this Fall. We know what Crompton can do.
RockyTopBoy writes:
Give me more B.J.
Major_Magilicutty writes:
Yep, I vote for B.J. too. Too much history with Crompton, I doubt all the players would rally behind him. Add in his spotlight seeking personality and his unwavering, obscene optimisim in the face of horrendous losses last year, and I dont want him to throw another ball.
Volunatic writes:
80 rushes on 11 carries? That's AMAZING! Shoot, 80 yards on 11 carries would be pretty awesome.
PepperGrinder (Inactive) writes:
I'd like to see Stephens get more snaps. I think he will be the starter.
mtnsvol44 writes:
Uh oh, did CLK say problems (remember last year)with offensive line again ?
n2thecheckerboards2 writes:
No surprise here on the defense, but the offense i think will be better as we get closer to the season.
givehim6 writes:
So by what I count we made 26 points? If UT can make an average of 21 points a game, and the defence holds the other team to 14, or less. A good year is on the way! GO VOLS!
UTandETSUfan writes:
How exactly does one team get "-5" turnovers? That sounds pretty good to me!
BGHISLE writes:
Ky beats FL this year 35-7 and TN 14-7 give me your opinion.
jobrando#216494 writes:
Is the defense great or is the offensive line and qb performance no better than last year? I'm going to assume the latter in preparation for a 7-5 season. I hope for better but dont want to miss a minute of the action because I've expected something better, get mad and tune out. I'm really looking forward to next years recruiting class and the new running backs.
sizematters writes:
u dont want BJ to be the starter if u want a top QB to look at us for 2010
Volchaz writes:
In what sport? Hockey or baseball?
Surfingvol writes:
our 6 points come from 3 safeties
you suck
write it down
Volchaz writes:
Looking at Tauren's rushing numbers, you would think our O-line is all-world, but when you count the sacks on Crompton.....its the exact opposite..Nice run blocking, work on the pass protection boys...
GahLee writes:
Not sure about how the statistics are laid out, especially for the defense...did Montori have 10 sacks? I know he didn't but they should really put this in a different format...offense is simple but defense is a little confusing, maybe I'm crazy.
tennezz writes:
What flavor turnovers apple, peach, cherry?
GahLee writes:
Chris Walker sounds like he is all-world at this point, lets hope he isn't a practice gem.
T4TN writes:
u r insane
T4TN writes:
beat it kid your stinking up the net
jobrando#216494 writes:
Could be Kif's strategy and just write off this year with Crompton.
GaytorHater writes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc-2EG...
UT37916 writes:
That's not a good reflection on our defense.
gohawks1 writes:
This is bad - Crompton is no longer undefeated in practice. Get well soon, Nick.
rockytopman writes:
Volquest.com’s John Brice has just reported that Tennessee’s already-thin defensive line just got a lot thinner. Senior defensive lineman Wes Brown will miss the rest of the spring with a knee injury and will have surgery almost immediately.
teampenny#658108 writes:
I do not agree. A top QB would come in an compete. Fla has signed a top QB every year Tebow has been there and so does USC. Go Vols
TDTN writes:
I have been thinking the same thing. Starting a sr QB looks more appealing to a high school recruit who wants an opportunity to play early. However, we want a top rated QB and a top rated QB should not be afraid to compete with anyone at all regardless. If you look at programs like Ohio St and USC etc they have five star recruits stacked up behind each other. We must do the same to get back in the hunt for a championship. Let the best man start at QB this year, and every year whether that be a senior or a freshman, I dont care. I am just ready to win again. I am tired of driving 400 miles roundtrip to see us lose to teams like lowly Wyoming. I want to go head to head with fla and bama again. The worm is starting to turn.
montanavolfan writes:
Their spouse..........
commonsense32 writes:
Men I have been telling you this for awhile now. BJ is going to be the starter for the University of Tennessee Vols. He will be more than capable. Not only will he manage games he will win a game or two. David Cutcliffe would not have recruited this guy if he couldn't play and be effective. I CANNOT WAIT TIL APRIL 18th! GO BIG ORANGE!!!
dannyman writes:
Do any of you guys ever play or even practice football? The only evident fact about spring practice so far is that we probably have a decent defense.
Voluvr writes:
COACH KIFFIN, Get over to the baseball field and ask for a show of hands of High School QB's and get you one over there. There's probably 4 or 5 QB's (Todd Helton types) over there right now.
Then, go down to the Tap Room and get you some rugby players to block for them.
Voluvr writes:
Then, go over to the track team and get you some receivers.
Then, go to the gay bar and get you some Alabama players and scrimmage.
GahLee writes:
You are hilarious...but your classmates must tell you that all the time.
Vol43 writes:
Coach was in the huddle? Actually in the huddle listening to the play call? Hot damn! Do you think the previous administration ever did that? I don't know, but one thing I do know is that we're headed in the right direction. I haven't been this excited about UT football since coach Fulmer left, and I was excited when he left.
Question: Were the lopers here when Fulmer was coach or is this a recent phenomenon? How's that for a big word, grammer police? That would be 'phenomenon', to be exact.
Vol43 writes:
Oh shart, grammar. I'm done.
old_number1 writes:
Guys, you are missing the point. This defense was #3 in the nation last year. The offense is going to have a rough time in practice against them. If the O can move the ball some on them, that means progress! And our new staff was not born yesterday. They know what the s**t they're doing. So chill, good times are ahead! Coleman will lead the O.
SignalMtnVol writes:
Has anyone heard anything about Savion Frazier? I know he was one of the very few bright spots on special teams last year. He and LaMarcus Thompson seemed to be the only ones making any ST tackles last year.
Alwaysavol writes:
According to this article, we started three tackles and two guards. No center? No wonder the offensive line struggled.
On the other hand, the game stats list the starters as including three tackles, two guards, AND a center. If we really started 6 offensive linemen, it seems like the line should have done a little better.
douglasawilliams#582863 writes:
I know nobody wants to hear this but 7-5 is two wins better than last season. Thats an improvement and if I had a gun to my head that is what I expect our beloved VOLS to finish at. Of course I want them to win the SEC but thats not realistic is it? I'm banking on conditioning and new freshmen from preventing us from a worse record than that. I hope I'm wrong and they finish with 9 or 10 wins but I have no eveidence we can play even ball with the elite of the SEC. Losses to Florida, Alabama, Georgia are very likely, losses to South Carolina, Auburn and Ole Miss somewhat likely. Things can change and the offensive line can play better. Stranger things have happened maybe BJ could be the man and throw for 300 yards against Alabama or Florida.
TD_4_UT writes:
We should be able to run the ball this year. That should open up the play-action pass. All we need is a QB that can hand the ball off and hit a few short passes. Of course I'm talking about BJ or Nick. Crompton has already proven he can't do either.
OrangeMagic writes:
Voluvr,
That was great!
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