Cue up the videotape.
Before a Big Orange Caravan luncheon at the Cleveland Country Club on Monday, UT coach Lane Kiffin said he and his staff will spend the next week or so re-watching tape of spring practices to develop offseason goals and plans for players heading into offseason workouts. Kiffin said coaches will give strength coach Mark Smith a plan for each player.
They also could make a decision on UT's starting quarterback heading into the fall.
The offensive coaches, particularly Kiffin, offensive coordinator Jim Chaney and quarterbacks coach David Reaves, will watch, evaluate and grade every aspect of every snap taken by UT's three quarterbacks over 15 spring practices and scrimmages.
Kiffin stopped short of naming a frontrunner Monday, although he indicated at times this spring that fifth-year senior Jonathan Crompton made strides toward becoming the starter.
"We're going to still break it down, the whole spring, go back and take all their throws and put them together by concept and everything," Kiffin said. "At that point, maybe we'll be able to put something together. We may not, just go into fall. We'll figure it out."
Crompton, who spent most of spring practice working with the first team and started Saturday's Orange and White game, said his list of improvements to make is long.
"I've got to get better, pretty much at everything," he said. "I'm trying to hone in on the little things. I think I had a decent spring. Like I said 100 times, I'm out there practicing like I'm the fifth-team guy. I've got a chip on my shoulder. I'm trying to get out there and just play. Impressing guys is good, but you've also got to play for yourself."
UT's quarterbacks combined to complete 38 of 70 passes Saturday for 434 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Kiffin was pleased with that performance, but he also wants to temper his enthusiasm because UT's defense did not blitz or stunt and used only a handful of defensive fronts.
"I don't want to downplay it, but I've got to be realistic," Kiffin said. "It does help by the setup of it, by knowing what was coming on defense and all of sudden not having new things they'd never seen before coming at them and limiting them to what we did on defense.
"As excited as I am about how they played and their decision making, one interception in 68 attempts or something like that, that's pretty neat. I have to taper that a little bit with knowing what the setup was, too."
SEC Tops: Asked about his impressions of the SEC, Kiffin called the SEC "the best conference in football" and "a special place" although he said that recruiting in the conference isn't that much different than his time at Southern California.
The Trojans competed for - and landed - many of the nation's best prospects, often battling SEC schools and other national programs.
"At the end of the day, it's recruiting and it's football," he said. "You're coaching football and you're trying to get your guys better and you're coming up with plays to do that.
"In recruiting, you're going to try to get the best players. I'm sorry to tell you, I think a little too much gets made of it, that there's this big difference in recruiting. I hope that we kind of showed that. There were some questions of this staff coming, that I hadn't been in the SEC and that some of our coaches from the NFL hadn't been here, but I think they put together a great class."
Kiffin Enjoying Caravan: The Big Orange Caravan continues for the next few weeks, but all the public speaking is a little new for Kiffin.
Kiffin said he typically made only one public appearance a year while an assistant coach at Southern California and virtually none in parts of two seasons as head coach of the Oakland Raiders.
"It's very valuable for me because of not having the background in Tennessee and not knowing very much about it, the people and the different areas," Kiffin said of various public appearances since being introduced as UT's head coach on Dec. 1. "I look at it for me as a great opportunity to get out and touch a lot of people and go to different areas I've never been to."
Drew Edwards covers University of Tennessee football. He may be reached at 865-342-6274.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Tennessee defeats Georgia 3-2 in…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 124
dvhill100 writes:
Good article. I'll be surprised if they announce a starting QB before August.
bcbobcat82 writes:
I am CONFIDENT!!
DennisVols writes:
My football fix for the day!!!!
rockydog writes:
Crompton as the projected starter?!? I thought he was the only quarterback that got worse as the Orange and White game went on. Perhaps the G-Gun should be brought back to life. I have faith in Coach Kiffin, but I doubt he has anything to work with in regards to a quarterback. Hoping greatly that I'm wrong. Go get 'em Coach Kiffin! Go VOLS!
mpm80#1357758 writes:
i thought the team looked sharper and better prepared than in years past at this stage!
mdvol writes:
Fulmer always got an A in recruiting and an F in player development. I think we have a coach who might be an A in both.
As far as Kiffin as a speaker, I was at the BOC in Atlanta. Kiffin was cordial but he's not the gifted crowd pleaser that Pearl is. I wonder how he'll be in the locker room? However, he does seem to have a clear vision. I like the attitude he's bringing and he's set a high bar for the players. Not afraid to give a kid the boot who deserves it. Pleased so far. Can't wait until Sept 5th.
East_TN_VOL writes:
Dont get me wrong( I love Fulmer, and for me when someone says Tennessee football I automatically think of him), but with CLK and the new staff there is a new found work ethic and spark on Rocky Top. Do I think we will win a NC this year no, I do however see us winning at least 8 or 9 games. Does anyone else think that BJ would be a good fit as our starter when WKU rolls into Big Orange Country on Sept. 5th?
VolSkins writes:
I watched the Oraange white game, I was at Peytons Last Home game, so I like to think of myself as a fan. I liked what I saw from the running game, Hardesty, will be our man, but I really liked what I saw from Toney, ala, smaller Jamal Lewis. The key will be quarterback, and I now this Rozier kid is coming in, but we dont know what to expect, so lets go from what we have at this point...unless Im just a moron, and im someone who played college sports, its gotta be BJ Coleman, with our running game, along with Oku And Brown coming in i could totally see a 65-35 run to pass ratio. Walker, could be amazing, in fact i really like our whole D-Line, which was suppose to be a weakspot for us...RICO...you da man...im excited. I live in Charlotte and havent been to a game in forever...so any guys who have extra tickets for any games...I'll pay....GO KIFF
soccervol writes:
Am I missing something form Crompton? I think Stephens is the best of the three...
Volsfanstuckintx writes:
Don't know if anyone has posted this yet but an espn article shows that Tyler is entering the draft and has hired an agent.
soccervol writes:
And our running game is going to be studly this fall...Thought it looked good on Saturday...WE didn't even have our best out there - What can Brown do for you?
East_TN_VOL writes:
Crompton is good, he proved it during his sophomore year, but he isn't SEC good. I can see Nick Stephens being the starter, but at the same time he has been hurt, plus we got a commitment from the Rozier kid from the BO Sox so who knows......
Voluvr writes:
I think it will either be BJ or outside shot Rozier who could actually pick it up this summer. Or, just enough to be #2 in line to move in down the road.
Also, Rozier might be a good practice QB to prepare for Tebow.
Caveman writes:
Caveman say Fullbacks look good - no talk of them. Running game with play action will be key and a STRONG D will win more games than last year.
Caveman doing recruiting dance to hopefully sign surefire QB and 2 6'5" 220 WR with hands.
Fire Say NUFF SAID!!
rich182x writes:
We got Jake Heaps!
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Amen.
Stephens by a mile.
DirtyVolsack writes:
Source??? I hope you're right man.
ArealVolFan writes:
Seriously? Stevens looked the worst of the 3 by a mile if that is what you mean. Coleman showed flashes, and so did Crompton. All three maid some bad mistakes though, but Crompton and Coleman did good things. Stevens did not.
TotalPackage1 writes:
I think that unless there is a CLEAR separation from Crompton to anyone else, we should go with the younger player. My vote is BJ
BillsBrother writes:
Quarterbacks were 38 of 70. That's about 54% completion rate. If we do that during the season the running game will have to be very, very strong to produce points.
Well, championships have still been won with strong defense, strong special teams and an offense that makes few mistakes.
So if the boys can keep the INT's to 1 in 70 we can be successful!
VAvolfanRON writes:
this guy looks pretty decent...
http://tennessee.scout.com/2/858681.html
Voluvr writes:
Thanks for the link. I saw his rivals highlights and the kid can play and run. He loves to hit. He also has a strong arm standing or on the run. A 3.85 student going into pre-med. I like this kid. Very mature and confident.
Voluvr writes:
Who's we?
tgw#509824 writes:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/i...
Just found this article on Heaps.
Has anyone seen this Demetrius Wright,DB, out of California? Later in the same article there is a very complimentary article on him also. He mentions Tennessee along with some other schools.
balloonman writes:
Fair is fair.....where is the bsshing for the comment....."we gotta watch the film"
101st_AIRBORNE_VOL (Inactive) writes:
Watch out. It's probably you're imposter-name thief trying to get us riled up. Can't find any news on it. Darn Gator tools.
DirtyVolsack writes:
I asked him for the source earlier but he has yet to respond. I have looked everywhere for something to back this up but I can't find anything. This might just be an attempt to get us excited. I surely hope not...but right now I don't know.
DC_Vol writes:
Hey ITV_09,
Fan of your posts. Here is the latest on Jake Heaps. He is down to five on his list as of today.
Posted by Greg Biggins
Quarterback Jake Heaps (Sammamish, Wash./ Skyline) had a list of 10 colleges he was looking at for some time. The talented signal caller recently cut his list to five and said his decision could come any time.
The lucky five to make the final cut for Heaps include BYU, Cal, LSU, Tennessee and Washington. The feeling among most has always been the hometown Huskies and the Cougars, the church school for Heaps, are the teams to beat.
"I know a lot of people think that way but honestly, everyone has the same
ArealVolFan writes:
So I don't get your post...you say Nick played just as well as J.C. and you would rather have him start when there is no clear separation between the two. So whats the big deal? Coleman is ahead of Stephens in my opinion and I feel Crompton is also so maybe you could argue for a battle between those two, but not Nick. I don't see why you wouldn't be rooting for J.C. if he can come in and play well enough for us to win 8 or so games then it opens the door for a new QB that will be hands down better than Stevens or Coleman to come in and have an open competition w/o an incumbent starter. I think its easier to recruit that and there is nothing wrong with that.
BigOrangeCrazy writes:
According to Rivals, Scout, espn, and Volquest, Heaps has not committed anywhere. He plans on taking a few more visits and committing before his senior year. Hopefully sometime in June or July.
OakyVol09 writes:
Crompton will be the starter on opening day, for better or worse. I think the biggest problem with all the Qb's right now (Nick gets a little bit of a pass) is how inaccurate they are. It was glaring at us from all three guys during the O & W game. Hancock and Warren both made a great catch each and Moore made 3 catches that were spectacular from badly thrown balls. If those 5 balls were dropped, which they easily could have been, our qb's were under 50% passing against a D that was not blitzing, mixing coverages, or has a Berry out there.
Another problem was how they just stared down their 1st option and tried to force them the ball. This causes the qb to hold the ball to long, miss open wr's who maybe the 2nd or 3rd option, try to force the ball into narrow or closed windows, and allows the D to read the qb's eyes. Add inaccuracy, narrow windows, the D cheating on the route because you are not looking them off, and it adds up to bad things.
Last year showed that even good defenses cannot hold teams at bay if they are on the field the entire game. Especially when you have a 3 man rotation at DT, which is likely this year as well. Here is to hoping we can run the ball which will take tons of pressure of the qb's and maybe they can make a play or two for the Vols every game.
QB_10 (Inactive) writes:
There is going to be lots of speculation, but CLK likes to keep his players working and pushing themselves..sort of like the wrestle off on a wrestling team, except Eric Berry's postion, the rest are for grabs..but very very soon, he is going to have to divide up the players reps at the QB postion for summer 7-7 drills. This is where i believe Nick Stephens will win this job. My lord the kid practiced 4 times...the pass he hit Warren on was a bullet and could only go one place...sort of like he did aginst Georgia in 2008...However, that brings another question: Who Plays, Stays and Who possibly goes....
Jonathon Crompton: is a decent practice player, but in game situations he tightens worse then Arod in the playoffs..BJ is a good kid who bleeds Orange and White, but so do 106,000 others on Saturday that will not see any playing time..he can dink and dunk his way through practice and scrimmages, but that is it-he has a very slow release with a ball that takes too long to arrive- that is a fact and CLK, Chaney and Reeves see it..which leads back to Nick Stephens- i just think back of his first SEC road start UGA, without him in the first half UT goes in with no points, the kid looked calm and in control of a pretty weak offense. Nick can make the faster reads and proper throws necessary- imagine if he would have had any type of running game- Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama were all not out of the question, I have watched those games at least 3 times each...it takes 11 players all moving in the right direction, but without someome who can make the short, medium and long ranege passes UT would win at best 5 games in 2009. With Stephens and a running game and oh yes a Kicking Game...UT can win a solid 7 maybe 8--With Crompton and BJ you will have a duplication of 2009, a decent defense with a lot of UT fans wondering what should have been a better season on offense-- If Lane Kiffin does not play Stephens, UT is in trouble for 2009 and 2010--PS actually stands for Play Stephens he is the best so let the Gunslinger take the CLK offense " from the 1960's to the 2009 version..." Who had 3 of the 4 longest plays from scrimmage in 2008? I just think the kid has the attributes to make this team a better team and the best opportunity to win games in 2009...
BigOrangeCrazy writes:
The latest on Heaps. Posted 4 hours ago on espn. UT among his final 5 along with LSU, BYU, Washington, and Cal.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/i...
OakyVol09 writes:
I also forgot to mention that both Stephens and Coleman threw would-be interceptions that the db's dropped. I do not think any of the qb's are playing much better than the other. That is why Crompton will start, he is the Sr. From last year, I think Stephens gives us the best play and leadership on the field. His broken wrist might have killed his chances unless he blows the coaches away in the fall.
I do think whoever the starter is will be yanked quick if they do not produce. Maybe even a two Qb system?
Volsfanstuckintx writes:
Posted this earlier but here is the link. According to this link Tyler Smith has hired an agent and is gone. I don't know if anyone else has posted this but here it is. I'm not real sure what this means for the team next year but it does open up a scholly.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft20...
OldSmokey writes:
Great post.
OldSmokey writes:
Another great post lol.
OldSmokey writes:
I don't think it matters to CLK if its a freshman or a senior or anywhere in between. I believe he will start the best man for the position. But good post.
ArealVolFan writes:
Yeh, still not buying Stephens or Coleman as being a good enough solution for two plus years. A top flight QB can come in and play just as well as any of the three we have now, as none of them are elite qbs and may not even be that serviceable. I know a freshman QB wont take us back to a NC game, but the dropoff in play won't be as bad as you are thinking. As for the O-line yeh thats valid, but its going to suck for whatever QB is in there at the time. BJ or Nick will end up starting the year after next, but I think at some point they give way to a new recruit. I'm just not willing to slap a "good" label on any of the three right now. Personally, I don't care who it is just so long as we win some games this year. By the way, I have seen plenty of them live this year, I'm a student and I have swung by the practice field to catch a glimpse several times and I was at the O and W game. And in my opinion all three QBs need alot of work before the season before we have one that resembles a starter in the SEC. Book that.
BillsBrother writes:
I will be happy if they line up in an I-formation running the option with Gerald Jones at QB if it will win 10 games!
Our hope will lie with the talented RB's this fall as opposed to pinning our hopes on which QB can throw to our receivers successfully 1/2 the time.
HonoluluVol writes:
Where's the Gator interlopers when you need one???? Star child PERCY HARVIN PISSED HOT AT THE COMBINES IN FEBUARY. Don't sound like ole Urby Poo is has a clue of what his players do. What kind of program is he running???? Gators can't say jack about UT!!!!!
ArealVolFan writes:
Yeh, I was being a bit smart in response to your book it comment. I'm not big into "book its" and calling who is going to be a starter. I mean come on are you a "Scout" I mean I severely doubt you have any more experience than I do. If BJ can play then let him play, if its Stevens can play let him play, if Cromptom can play let him play. I just want my Vols to win and I don't care what QB does it. I have my opinions as to who will and or won't start, but if I'm wrong then who cares so long as we are winning. That has been my whole point, I'm not big on people getting high on any unproven guy.
silentvolfan writes:
Could someone please explain to me why many posters are so invested in their own personal choice for starting QB? Even to the point of wishing the other 2 bad performances.
My choice is going to be the one CLK decides should play, 8, or 17, or 18. All wear the Orange and all are Vols.
A true Vol fan's job is to support whoever CLK puts on the field.
ArealVolFan writes:
I do completely agree with your assessment of Lincoln though lol
ArealVolFan writes:
Agreed.
ArealVolFan writes:
Well cool, if you are legit then I can respect that a lot more, most people just come in here and claim they know this or that without thinking things through or having any supporting facts. I try to stay as knowledgeable as I can just being a fan so I can try to make a reasonable assessment of whatever situation we are in at the time. People are always going to have differing opinions, but at least you can back yours up a bit and don't have blind Nick Stephens or Coleman love for no apparent reason.
thevoice writes:
I like your thoughts. Seems to me, for 365 days now, that BJ is our best option at QB. The WKU game is a gimmie, so starting him would be an excellent setup for confidence.
gnm53108 writes:
Agree.
BJ is gonna be hard to beat with the head start he's had,but Nick(I believe)has more potential.
It should be between BJ and Nick.
GainesvilleVol1 writes:
You gotta love the attention to detail this coaching staff has implemented. I don't think they will name a QB starter, nor should they until the start of Fall pratice. Rozier may have something to say about the QB position. This will be the most focused off season squad in a long time. It will pay off on the field. Come on Sept!!
GO VOLS!!!!
belayvol writes:
No but we are working on your next gone camping experience. That must be the highlight of your life. Telling your friends, this one time, at Banned Camp.
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.