Tennessee began a new era and brought back memories of an old one in the same season opener Saturday.
My first memories of covering UT football on a daily basis included a lot of people getting knocked down. The people getting knocked down were opponents within striking distance of UT's offensive line.
That was back in the late 1980s when Johnny Majors was the head coach and Phillip Fulmer was one of the best offensive line coaches in the game. That was when guys like Harry Galbreath, John Bruhin, Eric Still, Antone Davis, Charles McRae and Tom Myslinski were repeatedly bouncing defenders off the Shields-Watkins turf.
They didn't just do it against football's have-nots. They did it against almost everyone.
I'm not comparing UT's offensive line to those lines. I am comparing the mindset.
UT coach Lane Kiffin is as committed to a physical running game as he is to a pro-style passing game. Majors' offenses in the late 1980s strived for the same balance.
Even while the Wide Receiver U. moniker was still in vogue, UT was establishing its true identity up front with a group of blockers who so often imposed their will on the competition. No one is suggesting UT has that kind of talent or depth now. But its heart is in the right place. You establish the attitude first, then recruit the talent and depth.
On any given UT play Saturday, you could see someone from Western Kentucky on his back. That was the foundation to UT's 63-7 victory and 657 yards against a drastically inferior opponent.
When your offensive line prevails, everything else often falls into place. Your backs have room to run. Your quarterbacks have time to throw. And your defense has time to rest.
You could see the drop-off in Oklahoma's offense even before quarterback Sam Bradford was injured in an upset loss to BYU on Saturday. You saw the difference in the offensive line, which was without four starters who helped carry the Sooners to last season's national championship game.
Oklahoma couldn't run on the Cougars. And, as the sling encasing Bradford's throwing arm showed, the Sooners couldn't protect their quarterback, either.
Freshman Matt Barkley is being hailed as one of the most promising quarterbacks in Southern California history - and that's saying something - but his 15-for-19 passing debut wasn't all about his talent. It was a tribute to one of college football's most formidable offensive lines.
You also saw the impact an offensive line could have in Alabama's 34-24 victory over Virginia Tech. It became better as the game went along. The runners, and first-year starting quarterback Greg McElroy took it from there.
You even witnessed the clout of an offensive line at the end of UT's 5-7 season in 2008. UT's offensive line played its best in the last two games, a 20-10 victory over Vanderbilt and a 28-10 win over Kentucky. In each game, UT rushed for more than 200 yards.
Those games were more about power than finesse. So is the Kiffin system. And it should bring out the best in veteran guards like Vladimir Richard and Jacques McClendon, both of whom obviously know their way around a weight room.
Tackle Chris Scott endorsed that approach against the Hilltoppers. He was named SEC offensive lineman of the week after being credited with six knockdown blocks.
UT won't block UCLA the way it blocked Western Kentucky. But it can try. And if it fails initially, it shouldn't feel compelled to throw more than 40 times, as it did in last year's overtime loss to the Bruins.
The Vols have run into success under similar circumstances.
Following a 5-6 year in 1988, UT opened its next season with a lackluster 17-14 victory over Colorado State. You didn't know where the team was headed until it played the Bruins the following week in the Rose Bowl.
Late in the first quarter, UT began a touchdown drive that would define its season. It drove 90 yards in 15 plays, all of them runs. And just like that, the Vols were off and running to an 11-1 season, a share of the SEC championship and a No. 5 national ranking.
Even in a new era, that's worth remembering.
Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com.
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Comments » 20
smashmouth98 writes:
I love pounding the ROCK!!! Let's keep that mentality.
dvhill100 writes:
I agree. With the exception of USC, no one else in the PAC 10 plays physical football like the average SEC team.
vol_chaz writes:
Gotta believe our Offense will take advantage of the Bruins first year D coordinator. Vols have so much to prove, if crompy has time to throw the ball, the sky is the limit.
TommyJack writes:
Pound the fritter
CT_VOL writes:
Exactly how do you know that the Vol's o-line cannot manhandle UCLA, Adams? It is true, you are indeed a negative person.
Vol737 writes:
I was in school at UT during those years...I remember the UT v. AUBURN game in 89' in the rain. Auburn came in here ranked #1, I think, and Charles McCrae pancacked the hell out of an Auburn defensive lineman and it sprung Reggie Cobb for about an 80 yd. touchdown. Awesome season. Looking forward to a dominating offensvie line again.
TommyJack writes:
RR2 is a wordsmith!!
xvolx writes:
no knock on McNeil, but Sullins played an outstanding game Saturday at center.
Hounddog writes:
Focus. Beat UCLA.
Let's play football. Hounddog
mercuryvol writes:
I think our O-line is gonna be great.Look for orange domination on the field against UCLA.UT 24 UCLA 10
StonedontheHill writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Volin68 writes:
Focus is the key. It is just one game. Just think UCLA UCLA UCLA UCLA.....
Madkels writes:
Multiple personalities?
johnlg00#206211 writes:
While I DO think UT's O-line will do a good job, surely you realize that UCLA is likely to be a good deal better than WKU. Even the Pac-10 is a big step up from teams at WKU's level. That is not negativity, it is realism. UCLA is probably 80+ spots better than WKU, which was ranked the 120th team out of 120 in the Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly known as Division I. If the Vols DO dominate UCLA, that will tell us a lot more about where they really are right now than we learned against WKU. I'm not saying the WKU win was worthless or that I was not impressed by the performance of the entire team in that game. I AM saying that WKU was playing out of their weight class. UCLA is a LOT closer to our level.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Come on, Rich; you're better than that! Adams was saying before that OTHERS would dismiss the UT win because it "was only WKU". While he said the win was important EVEN THOUGH it was WKU, he said UCLA is better than WKU. That seems pretty reasonable to me, and shouldn't require a lot of figuring out.
volaholic45 writes:
I was at that Colorado St. home opener, sitting next to a dad with his 5 yr. old or so. Around the second quarter, the little boy said, "Daddy, those other boys are playing too rough!" It was pitiful. No Vol fan left that evening thinking 11-1. Similarly, our 63-7 win over WKU may mean very little next Saturday.
givehim6 writes:
Yes you are right, I think that was the motto for the 98' National Championship Team. But still can't get the image out of my head of a dominating UT O-line bouncing some gator butt off the turf, especially that one guy, oh whats his name, oh yea SPIKS!
BigVolFaninSC writes:
You mean to say that a successful football team has to have a good O-line?...what a novel concept! It ALWAYS starts up front with the big uglies! You can get by with marginal skill position players if you have a dominating front line, but an All American backfield will fail if the boys up front can't get it blocked! And with Orgeron coaching the D-line across from them, they will automatically HAVE to improve! He is relentless! I predict he will be a head coach again soon! He is that infectious! I hope he stays, but the offers will be coming soon! Not saying the O-line coach doesn't deserve some credit, too, but he's just not as visible as the Assistant Head Coach! It seems as though this entire coaching staff has been a good "shot in the arm" for the team! I loved Fulmer, but maybe this change is for the best! Time will tell! Go Big Orange! Take the Bruins to the WOODSHED!
go_vols_go writes:
Pound It!!!!
johnlg00#206211 writes:
I would have to say that the most encouraging thing I saw all day against WKU was the sharp play by both lines. Yeah, yeah, it was "only WKU", but last year's O-line in particular couldn't seem to get out of its own way, let alone crush some fools at the line, time after time after.... And, yeah, Coach O is a real original! I had the Lane Kiffin show on Sunday when he was on. My wife, who barely knows the difference between a football and a basketball, walked through the living room, took one look at Coach O, and said, "Now THAT guy is a football coach!" I was so proud of her(;-P)!
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