Left guard Vlad Richard was among several banged-up Tennessee Vols back at work Monday after the open date.
Richard, already playing on an sore Achilles tendon, injured his knee at Florida on Sept. 19 and missed the past three games.
"All the treatment, all the long hours in the training room, all that paid off,'' he said. "Achilles injuries take a long time to heal. It's not healed yet but it won't stop me from doing anything on the field I have to do.''
Kiffin said Richard and Cory Sullins alternated with the first team and a decision on who starts will be made at game time.
Receiver Quintin Hancock is still wearing a walking boot due to an ankle sprain suffered against Georgia.
Going Home: Willie Bohannon, a redshirt freshman from Mobile, Ala., looks forward to competing against the team he once wanted to play for.
"There was a lot of things that went on during recruiting,'' Bohannon said.
"They recruited me. They offered me a scholarship and I understand how the recruiting process goes. If you don't commit fast enough, sometimes, if you're not Julio Jones or somebody like that, they're going to pull it away.''
When Bohannon initially balked, Alabama backed off. Bohannon then committed to Kentucky. He changed his mind and signed with UT in February 2008.
He said he was upset with the Tide "at one point," but added that "it's going to work out for the best and it actually did.''
The irony is that the Alabama assistant who recruited Mobile was Lance Thompson. Thompson left the Tide to join Kiffin's staff last winter.
"When I saw he was coming here, I was laughing to myself,'' Bohannon said.
"Alabama is the home-state school. I want to beat them, not out of animosity or anything.''
Insider Knowledge: The fact Thompson coached at Alabama last year doesn't give UT any inside edge, Kiffin said.
"That's a little overrated. "We had (assistant coach ) Eddie Gran here and lost to Auburn.
"We get paid to coach and watch a lot of film and stay here a long time to figure out what people do.''
Early Tuesday: Kiffin praised Monday's workout, which was upgraded to a normal Tuesday routine after the open date.
"This is probably the best 'Tuesday' practice that I remember being around since I've been here,'' he said.
"It's the hardest practice of the week and it's good to get a head start. It gives us two lighter days at the end of the week to make sure we have fresh legs.''
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Tennessee defeats Georgia 3-2 in…
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Comments » 26
thaclaw writes:
1st
jsm67vol writes:
Keep those legs fresh Coach! We will need them in the fourth qtr. in this one. Go Vols!!!
CoverOrange writes:
Apples and UT Oranges, Eddie Gran didn't coach with Malzahn at Auburn. Thing is, Bama plays basic, straight ahead football. And they just execute. Not much Lance Thompson could tip off about.
raynochonspeed#212632 writes:
Here's what Thompson can 'tip off':
Alabama has a good running game.
Alabama has a tough defense.
Alabama has one All-SEC receiver.
You are right. There isn't a whole lot to reveal. They have athletes, and they execute.
This, I'm afraid, will be the Vols' worst game of the year - mainly because of the competition. Hopefully, UT can run the table after that; it isn't out of the realm of possibility.
RTB writes:
There are times when football players bond with the school and the fans bond with the players. For example, the time when Payton got up at a press conference and said that he liked it here and was coming back for his senior year. That sealed it for me -- I was a Payton fan for life from that day on. This Alabama game is an opportunity for the team and for the individual players to show up and make the statement about turning Tennessee Football around. Just like the Florida and Auburn games have been.
Especially, I would like Jon Crompton to have a great day at Birmingham. Do they still sell those cans of spray glue stickum that Fred Billitnikoff used to use on his hands to catch the ball?
VOLS_R_BEST_DEAL_WITH_IT writes:
Well just remember this Alabama's offense is STRIKINGLY similar to Georgia's. I predict a low scoring affair AND an upset. Monty will have the boys ready.
VOLS>TIDE
rich182x writes:
I think a "for life" fan of someone would know how to spell his name. But ok...
mm29680#645909 writes:
ROLL (over and die) TIDE!
AppreciativeAlum writes:
He may know how to spell his name.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Only throw the pig to those in Orange.
Tackle hard. QB, line ours, is suspect.
They are a two-trick pony, albeit great ones.
Ingram and D.
Nardesty and Monte must match that.
Lot os wounds can be healed Sat or freshly re-opened.
Whew, bring it!
VOL03_NC writes:
This is a football forum not an english forum. Humble pie will set in your plate one of these days so just enjoy it and dont worry about the things you cant control. It just makes it harder for others as well as yourself.
OrangeMagic writes:
I've seen the normal grammar posts but rich182x's post does not fit that mold. He has a point, it's not a stretch to think someone could spell the name of someone the original poster says he admires so much. Peyton's name is probably in the news more so than any other sports figure other than Tiger. Maybe the OP should switch to Bo :)
RollTideJoe writes:
Is that like a Rocky Flop?
1974Vol writes:
Unless they get a short field on a TO or special teams play neither offense may score a TD. Field Goals, turnovers, and special teams will determine outcome. If McElroy struggles early look for Saban to go "single wing" on us with Ingram in the Wild Cat. Heck we may even see 3rd down quick kicks before the days over. Except for the LED score boards it may look more like 1959 than 2009. Vols win 10-9 on late turnover.
abnermc writes:
Hulio Hones gets introduced to Heric Herry ,Hark Hingram gets introduced to Hico & Havier Harenas meets Hanzen Hackson. LOOK OUT! Pa-role tide Pa-role
CoverOrange writes:
I think we will hold them to less points than Ole Miss or SC did. But, I'm afraid we will score less points than Ole Miss or SC. Seriously, this could be a repeat of last year's Auburn game. Here's hoping for short fields for UT and long legs for Lincoln.
tulelakevol writes:
What does the moon and UT have in common?
They both control the tide!!
Go Vols! Beat the Bammer turds!!
deadhorse writes:
I was there for the Bama 6 UT 3 game in the early 90s...that was pretty brutal to watch...hopefully Sat's game will be better. But I think the prediction for a low scoring game is on the mark.
CoverOrange writes:
You may be thinking of the 2005 game that Chavis let slip away in the final minutes after Randy Sanders plan had the game in hand. That ended 6-3.
The 1990 game final score was 9-6. Similar story as I recall, gave it away at the end (who was the D coord then?). Highly favored Bama teams denied domination but won in the end over UT teams that played only 55 minutes.
davethevol writes:
Other people want to attack your critique, but I agree with you. If someone is an actual fan, then they should have no problem spelling the name correctly. I'm guessing the original poster is a fair-weather fan.
DennisVols writes:
What will be revealed, will be revealed during the game. If UT executes like they did against GA on offense then the game will be interesting. UT’s defense has one main goal, control the running game. If they can control the running game and make Bama pass we can control the game. UT must, I repeat must establish a running attack on their own to include screens to set up the passing game and keep Bama from pinning their ears back and coming after Crompton.
Bama’s defensive line is quick so we need to make that work in our favor using the screen and rolling Crompton out in passing situations. SC had several opportunities on their screen pass but their QB made bad passes. I know before anyone decides to point it out Crompton has had his share of bad passes. That why as I stated earlier UT has to execute as they did against GA. The receivers have to make plays when the opportunity arrives; the line has to open the holes for Hardesty & Brown so that the passing game can work when needed. UT needs long time consuming drives to wear the Bama defense down, which is deep at several positions.
UT has been in every game, including the losses, and during this rebuilding/transition year anything is possible. The confidence level rose to its highest in a couple of years following the GA game, and yes this is not GA it is Bama. Confidence goes a long way when transitioning into a new system, something that never happened last year. There was no GA game under Clawson’s watch. A week off to heal and rest with Bama coming off a tough game against SC might just be the edge for an upset.
I’m looking forward to the time when a UT win is not considered an upset.
Keeping it Real
Go Vols!!!!
deadhorse writes:
1990 9-6, that's it. It was so traumatic I blocked it out!
johnlg00#206211 writes:
It's a good thing Big Bad Vlad will be back for Saturday. We'll probably need as many fresh bodies as we can get to rotate in and out against Mt. Cody. Gonna be a tough slog any way you look at it, but I'm with the Vols no matter what. GO VOLS!!!
SEC__Headgear writes:
Of course Rich could have pointed out that the game is not played in Birmingham as well. He was subtly trying to suggest thinking before blabing is a good idea. So is he really the posting police or are you. I have my badge.
steelersman42 writes:
wow you sound like such a huge VOL fan. COME ON! where the heck is your confidence? we are the TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS, and we back down for NO ONE!
steelersman42 writes:
Is there such a thing as a "good" Bammer perspective? GO VOLS!!!
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