Kiffin continues to learn about players

Knowledge is power. At least Lane Kiffin hopes so.

Tennessee’s coach said learning more about his players as the season rolls on should help UT’s coaches improve their woeful special teams. Better personnel knowledge, Kiffin said, should lead to more effective personnel changes.

“We’re not very good in special teams,” he said. “I don’t think that’s a surprise to anybody and it’s killing us.”

Kiffin said that part of the problem comes from not having a deep roster of talent.

“You can’t miss on many (in recruiting),” he said. “If you start missing on five, six guys every year . . . that’s 24 guys right there that can’t play at this level. Special teams will always have to do with the bottom of your recruiting class.”

Mobile Man: South Carolina’s Stephen Garcia is the type of quarterback that has given the Vols trouble this season.

“We’re going to have our hands full,” said Kiffin, whose team plays Garcia-led South Carolina 7:45 p.m. Saturday (TV: ESPN) at Neyland Stadium.

Kiffin said most of the significant plays UT has yielded in the passing game came as a result of a mobile quarterback using his athleticism.

Defensive tackle Wes Brown said it’s up to UT’s linemen to stay in their lanes.

“The two inside guys are supposed to stop the step-up and (ends) Chris (Walker) and Ben (Martin) on the edges are supposed to make him step up,” Brown said. “If we get out of our lanes, he can hit us for a run like (Alabama quarterback Greg) McElroy did against us.”

McElroy rushed three times for 22 yards and completed a handful of passes after breaking out of the pocket last Saturday.

Road Warriors: Kiffin said he’s unsure why the Vols have played two of their best games — losses against Florida and Alabama — on the road.

“I can’t figure that out, really,” Kiffin said. “Maybe when you have so many young guys, there’s so much excitement around our home games . . . maybe it’s distracting. When we go on the road, there really aren’t many distractions. It’s just us.”

Front Fodder: Offensive tackle Aaron Douglas will be happy to see South Carolina’s 4-3 defense. He admitted the Vols struggled to run the ball at times against Alabama’s 3-4 last week.

“It’s real different,” the freshman from Maryville High School said. “I’d say a 3-4 is a big changeup. I think 4-3 is easier with our type of scheme.”

D Is Up: Douglas said he can see a difference in UT’s defense now that the Vols have improved offensively.

“They’re definitely a little bit more fresh because at the start of the season they were on the field a lot,” Douglas said. “I can see a big difference.”

Monte Moment: Brown lauded defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, then offered a humorous anecdote.

“We were laughing in meetings the week we played Georgia,” Brown said. “He referred to them as Atlanta a couple of times. He was thinking about the Falcons.”

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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