Kiffin continues defense of Crompton : govolsxtra.com

Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin emphatically defended quarterback Jonathan Crompton during Tuesday's media day.

"I'm not going to pull a Mike Gundy," Kiffin said referring to the Oklahoma State coach's vocal defense of a player during the 2007 season. "But the kid is in college. He's a college kid. He's going to school. He's a great student. I feel bad for him."

Crompton has received plenty of criticism after throwing three interceptions in Saturday's 19-15 loss to UCLA.

"There ain't a guy that's trying harder in the country than what's he's done, that has prepared harder or is doing more things to try to do things right," Kiffin said. "He's going to do well for us."

Kiffin reiterated that it's up to UT's coaches and players to perform better around Crompton, who is not available for media interviews this week as the Vols prepare for Florida on Saturday.

Kiffin didn't seem to have any issue with Crompton in the waning moments of the UCLA loss when the senior was demonstrative following an incomplete pass thrown to receiver Gerald Jones.

"That was an example," Kiffin said of UT's team not helping Crompton. "Quarterbacks get frustrated when guys aren't doing thing right around them. Especially his situation because he's taken so much heat here. It blows me away sometimes how much hatred there is towards him when you hear a radio show and people call in with comments."

Much of that frustration harkens back to UT's 5-7 season in 2008. Kiffin is more focused on 2009.

"He played one game that wasn't very good and played one almost perfect game," Kiffin said, referring to the UCLA loss and a 63-7 win over Western Kentucky, respectively. "We want him to play like the first game. One game will never define a player and never define us as a team."

Kiffin said he's dealt with a similar situation - although not to this extreme - when he coached Carson Palmer at Southern California in Pete Carroll's first season.

"Had a really, really poor season," Kiffin said. "He got beat up a lot because the expectations, like Jonathan, were so high on him. The difference was there's not so much attention at S.C., especially at that time with the football program like there is here. He didn't have to deal with it like Jonathan does on an hourly basis around here."

Kiffin said he feels good about Crompton's mental state following his disappointing outing. Kiffin is most confident that Crompton is OK when he's at UT's athletic complex with coaches and teammates.

"It's the time he's away from us I worry the most," Kiffin said.

Kiffin said he'll continue to evaluate all positions, including quarterback, but offered no hint that he will make a quarterback change.

"(Backup junior quarterback) Nick (Stephens) will always be ready but Crompton is our quarterback," Kiffin said. "We have a lot of faith in him."

Kiffin said he's confident the Vols are past the finger-pointing issue that plagued them following the UCLA loss.

"We're great," Kiffin said. "I think that was just a mentality for whatever reason they were used to. That's not what we're used to, so they needed to understand that. It was only a couple of guys. I don't think it's an issue at all."

Look Back: Kiffin said he was concerned about his players' confidence following the loss to the Bruins, until his team reviewed the tape. Kiffin said UT could have beaten UCLA by 14 to 17 points if it hadn't made so many mistakes.

"We saw very good effort on the film," Kiffin said. "It (the loss) was about assignments and not doing things right and being consistent. I think it was a result of having the first game almost like a preseason game."

Many of UT's starters only played approximately 25 plays against Western Kentucky. The UCLA game was much more demanding.

Kiffin said UT could have scored three more touchdowns if not for UCLA's standout defensive tackle.

"Brian Price dominated the game at times," Kiffin said.

Kiffin also took issue with an official's decision to blow a late play dead in which UCLA's tailback had fumbled.

"The ref blows the whistle when he shouldn't have so we don't go and dog pile and try to get the ball that's sitting right there because the whistle blows," Kiffin said.

Always Recruiting: Kiffin took a not-so-subtle swipe at Florida's spread-option attack, which is much different than NFL offenses.

"The only time I really see them lose kids," Kiffin said, referring to Florida's prospects, "is because kids want to play in a pro-style offense. That seems like the only time they lose kids. It's such a great place to play and they do such a good job of coaching. You see some kids that don't want to play in that system because a lot of times it hurts them going to the next level for their (NFL) draft status."

No Dog: Kiffin said he's never been a 28-point underdog, as the Vols are this week. Yet he doesn't believe in using the role to hype his team.

"I don't really believe in the underdog role for motivation," Kiffin said. "If you're not motivated for this game, something's wrong with you. It's Tennessee versus Florida."

Kiffin believes the role could help his team prepare. Much of the pressure is off, he said, because UT lost to UCLA.

"It's kind of like screwing that game up Saturday has taken some of the pressure off this game, the buildup I guess," Kiffin said.

Kiffin said he also doesn't use media coverage as motivation - a staple of Florida coach Urban Meyer.

"I don't know that that really works," Kiffin said. "I think what works is when you recruit really good players and you coach really well, like they have."

Marrying Man: Kiffin and his wife, Layla Kiffin, will celebrate a memorable anniversary this weekend. Lane Kiffin proposed the day after Florida beat UT 23-21 in Sept. 1999. Layla Kiffin, a Florida graduate, took Lane to the game, which was the only time he had seen UT or Florida play until he became head coach of the Vols in December.

"At that time I was happy that Florida won because I was with her," Lane Kiffin said.

D'ed Up: Kiffin said his defensive players seem confident playing Florida after holding the Gators to 243 yards and 23 points last season.

"I think our defensive players, before we even gave them the game plan for this week, have some confidence because statistically the (2008) game was decent," Kiffin said. "They held them in check for a while. I think when you go back and look at it, part of that is the (Tennessee) offense was struggling so much at the time coming into that game. I think Florida was pretty conservative (offensively) compared to other games."

"I would not anticipate them doing that this Saturday."

Tough to Tackle: Linebacker Rico McCoy said he hears plenty of advice on how to handle Florida quarterback Tim Tebow.

"Everybody tells you 'Knock out Tebow." but it's like hitting a fullback," McCoy said. "He's a load. I'm not going to lie to you. He's a big boy. He's tough."

McCoy also didn't seem bothered by being a 28-point underdog.

"The game is still going to be played," he said. "It's just a number they threw up there before the game. We determine if that happens or not."

Practice Report: UT trio of banged up offensive linemen – center Cody Sullins (hand) guards Jacques McClendon (ankle) and Vladimir Richard (Achilles) – were at practice Tuesday afternoon.

UT struggled to field punts. Nu’Keese Richardson, Mike Edwards, David Oku and Gerald Jones all had a drop.