Tennessee Stat Book
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — After Tennessee suffered its third loss of the season in early October, there was hardly a person in Neyland Stadium dressed in orange who didn't want to bench quarterback Jonathan Crompton.
Volunteers coach Lane Kiffin was not among them.
"There was never a doubt in my mind he gave us the best chance to win," Kiffin said after a 56-28 win over Memphis on Saturday night.
Turns out the coach's instinct was correct.
Since that 26-22 loss to Auburn on Oct. 3, Crompton has rewarded Kiffin's faith in him by twice setting career highs in passing, turning into the Southeastern Conference's leader in passing touchdowns with 21 and leading the Vols to their current 5-4 record.
Now there's little doubt in fans' minds that Crompton will give the Vols a good chance at going undefeated in November and lead them back to a bowl game.
"That's how you know he's building a championship program, saying, 'I'm not going to be shaky on somebody. We're going to stick with him, and we're going to win games,'" Crompton said of Kiffin's pledge of confidence.
The redshirt senior, who after the Auburn game led the nation with eight interceptions and had only nine touchdowns, set one career high with 310 yards passing against Georgia and another with his 331 yards against the Tigers (2-7).
Crompton made the effort against Memphis look easy. He racked up 305 yards in the first half, a school record for yards passing in a half. Peyton Manning set the previous record of 285 yards in a half against Northwestern in the 1997 Citrus Bowl.
With a 10-yard pass to Denarius Moore, Crompton broke the 310-yard mark on the first drive of the second quarter. He tied his career high of five touchdown passes on the next play with a 16-yard connection to Moore to make it 49-7 with 12:38 left in the third quarter.
Crompton had completed 21 of 27 passes with no interceptions — his second turnover-free game in a row — and had run for a TD in addition to throwing for five by the time Kiffin replaced him with backup Nick Stephens halfway through the third quarter.
Stephens, the junior whom fans wanted to replace Crompton, finished 5-for-9 with a touchdown and an interception in a quarter and a half of mop-up duty. The pair split starting duties during Tennessee's miserable 2008 season with neither emerging as a clear leader.
The odds have been stacked against Crompton through much of his career. Though he was ranked one of the top quarterback prospects in 2005, he was forced to wait his turn behind Erik Ainge.
He's studied under four different offensive coordinators and was pegged the original starter during last year's 5-7 season which turned out to be the Vols' worst offensive season under then-coach Phillip Fulmer.
The Waynesville, N.C., native has said he received death threats because of the 2008 performance, and he seemed on the verge of another bad season after shaky, interception-prone losses to UCLA and Auburn.
But Kiffin continued to stick with him, blaming many of the passing game problems on mistakes by wide receivers and his own playcalling.
"We weren't doing things around him," Kiffin said. "I wasn't giving him a good enough game plan. We weren't making enough plays, and he was making some poor decisions. We got those things fixed, and that's why he's on the run he's on right now."
In the last five games Crompton has thrown 14 touchdowns and only two interceptions. He was named SEC offensive player of the week for his performance against Georgia on Oct. 10.
He's spread out the scoring strikes among 11 different targets, his favorites being Gerald Jones and Denarius Moore. Both Jones and Moore spent the first few games of the season recovering from offseason surgeries.
Memphis coach Tommy West said he prepared for Tennessee with the idea that stopping running back Montario Hardesty would be the key to stopping the Vols' offense. Hardesty entered the game fourth in the SEC with an average 105.1 yards rushing per game and carried the offense early in the season.
"We came in to take the back out of the game, and their quarterback threw the ball to beat us," West said.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
National Signing Day 2010
Signing day celebration at Neyland…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group during action against Memphis Saturday, Nov 7, 2009 in Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. Tennessee running back Montario Hardesty (2) is blocking.){kind=link}
Comments » 26
VolFanInSanAntonio writes:
Jon....all we can say as Vols fans is, we are sorry. You'll go down in Volunteer history as a man of character and in the end, a pretty dang good QB. Not only did you break one of Peyton's records in this game but you passed Tony Robinson for all time TDs and now only one behind Alan Cockrell. Thank you Jon for perservering! Now let's go out and win these last few games and get into a decent Bowl game!
Salpointe writes:
Thanks, Jonathan for hanging in there when all seemed lost and everyone seemed down on you. You are proof-positive that when a person never gives up, good things happen to him/her. I noticed that you no longer focus on your primary receiver from snap to pass and as a result, good things seem to happen. The defense was keying off of your eyes. Keep up the great work. You're a winner and I predict that you will do well in the draft.
JohnnyVol writes:
CLK has gained an awful lot of trust points with this fan. My goodness, it seems that he saw things no one else saw in Crompton. This should really give us fans a good feeling of trust in the judgment of our coach. When a leader can, against all opinion, stick with his decision and come out ahead, it should really build a lot of confidence in him. GO VOLS.
ItIsMeToo writes:
Thank You, Jonny Crompton. Please forgive us for getting to the point of giving up on you (though you must admit, it wasn't looking good for quite awhile!). Now, we hope the NFL Commissioner calls your name on Day 1. You bleed Orange, sir...
paradisetaxi writes:
Thanks JC
Alphafemale writes:
Agreed. Way to keep your head up!
notoriousBIGorange writes:
I too was wrong about JC. This season is a testament to his character as well as his ability as a QB.
His story also shows the incredible teaching ability of this coaching staff! Recruits nationwide WILL notice this.
GBO!!!
notoriousBIGorange writes:
BTW, it will be interesting to see the on field comparison of JC to the much hyped and pre-season Heisman hopeful Snead on Saturday!
huckle309#634494 writes:
One word....IDIOT...
If we are going to discount TDs by the competition, throw your boy Timmy Teabag in there as well. Of his puny 11 passing TDs, 1 was against a FCS school (Charleston Southern), and 4 against Troy. The other 6 have come against the likes of TN (0), KY (1), LSU (1), ARK (1), MS St (0), GA (2), and Vandy (1). WOOO..Those are Heisman worthy, huh?? DaDORK!!
The_Greater_Pumpkin writes:
Do you have 1 or 2 years of PeeWee football under your belt? Where have Tebow's and McElroy's and Garcia's numbers come from? All against bad teams. That's what it is to play against SEC defenses! He managed the game well against Bama and Florida. I bet you don't have season tickets or contribute one dime to the university! Your attitude sucks, and we would be better off if you would move out of state! We might get one offensive lineman in the NFL. We will probably get 2 defensive lineman in the Nfl, and ONLY because this coaching staff has pushed them to reach their potential. Hardesty will go 2nd or 3rd round and Fulmer thought Foster was a better option. WRONG! Berry will go top 5, and mark my words, Jonathon Crompton will be on an NFL roster next year! We won't have any skill position players at the next level from Fulmers guys either. I think you should change your name from DaMan to DaIdiot!
UTmama writes:
To Jonathon Crompton,
I apologize for doubting you. You, sir are a man of great character for sticking it out at UT and working hard through the backlash from the fans and media. I hope and pray that you and your family will find it in your hearts to forgive the Tennessee fans for our brutal behavior. Hopefully, we haven't messed your head up for life! Thank you for giving your all to Tennessee!
jsm67vol writes:
Cograts to Jon Crompton and the rest of offense for continuing to work hard through the adversity of the early season struggles. I always knew JC had the physical tools to be a good QB. I'll be the first to admit that I thought last year screwed JC up between the ears so bad I wasn't sure he could ever pull out of it. Noone happier to be proven wrong in this case than I. I'm glad I will be able to remember JC in a positive light once he is gone. With the 3 games remaining and the weekly improvement in this Vol team, JC may just be up for offensive player of the year by the time the season is over! Wouldn't that be awesome! JC offensive player of the year, EB defensive player of the year! Go Vols! FINISH STRONG!!!!
jsmithnga#207674 writes:
I hate to say I told you so, but after Kiffin came and put the only committed qb on the road and said he was comfortable with what he had; I reminded all you naysayers that John Parker Wilson was awful until Saban arrived (he is now 3rd string qb for Falcons) and I said maybe the same could happen with Crompton with a decent offensive scheme. I rest my case and will trust our coach to do the same with rbs, and all other positions. It seems to work better for us to post and support our team and leave the coaching to the coachs.
TennVolAlum writes:
I would like to offer my apologies to Mr. Crompton, as I was one of the many on here calling for his head. I not only called for his benching, but I also shun other posters on these message boards insisting that I should stick by our QB. I am a true orange blooded fan like all others, and Mr. Crompton has proved me wrong. For that, I am sorry.
I have had friends come from out of state for the past couple of home games, and Crompton (along with the rest of the offense) has provided for a great time to be shared by many. Best of luck to JC the rest of the VOLS for the remainder of the season!
I also learned a lot about Kiffin and company. I hope future recruits see how the coach will stick by the team members through good times and bad. Kudos to the staff! GO VOLS GO!
VolO writes:
I'm not apologizing to JC. He deserved most of the flak he was getting. He was terrible the first few games. I don't know what he or CLK did to turn it around, but it's working. GO VOLS.
illinoisvolfan writes:
And what have you done, other than show up periodically on this site and talk isht.
Crompton has shown how much one can accomplish when someone believes in him. CLK and QB coach Reeves obviously saw leadership skills and talent in Crompton that were not clear to most of us. That's why this staff is one of the best in the country.
DaMan, do us all a favor, and go play on I-40 during rush hour.
ProwlinAndGrowlinSmokeyDog writes:
I am new around here, but I am smart enough to know that 21 TD's is what it is..PERIOD!!! I don't care what teams you have played!!!! He is fourth nationally plus he has 10 more than Tebow, the QB of the #1 team in the country!!!
ProwlinAndGrowlinSmokeyDog writes:
BTW..If you don't like the Vols or Crompton, then why are you even on this site???? I know if I didn't like someone, I wouldn't waste my time on their site...Example:FlA....AND If you you are A Vols fan, you sure aren't acting like one...
ProwlinAndGrowlinSmokeyDog writes:
Sorry for typo...Example:FLA
kifslostcred writes:
Always said you were a gamer and tough as nail's. You finally got a coach or should I say offensive coordinator that is a good fit for you. Ride that big orange wave of success your on and enjoy. You have been absolutely great to watch these last several games. Take it to the house big guy!!
smokey_vols writes:
I bout got sick I laughed so hard. That was fantastic.
navarrebeachvol writes:
keep peddling that tired ole phooey, d-bag. you're making yourself look quite stupid.
milesofsmiles writes:
TEEBOW??? What pro team needa a running QB. Me thinks they got hefty guys to do the running. He might make a ok tight end. He's not a stay in the pocket qb. J.C. is cool. Smiles to all vol fans.
coachbenchpressfakebakes writes:
"When you see how many of these kids will be in the NFL."--This is perhaps the dumbest comment Ive ever read. NFL talent like Nick Reveiz (walk on) who was coached up to the point he is now sorely missed. Hughes a walk on fresh. at D-Tackle, the Sullins brothers both walk ons starting on the o-line. We have a 260 pound center, enough said.
ncvol17 writes:
Let's hope he's got 4 more good college games in him..JC can leave on a high note and make a bit of UT history, starting the rebuild of a program to a 10 - 12 win season.
KevDVol writes:
CROMPTON COMES ALIVE!
Unlike several players that had to be let go because they couldn't get with the program, Crompton told Kiffin, "I want you to Show Me the Way." Later, Kiffin refused to listen to all the doubters and said to Crompton, "Baby, I love your way." And, now many Vol fans believe Crompton is starting to play like one of the best QB's in the conference. If Crompton keeps improving and the Vols keep winning, we might soon have to ask others, "Do You Feel Like We Do?"
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