Excuses not accepted

Tennessee was already down a linebacker, then it lost its most consistent one.

The Vols were shorthanded on the defensive line, then its best playmaker so far this season had to leave the game as well.

There was a suspension in the secondary, a banged up offensive line, a running back who looks like he could use a break putting the team on his shoulders and more than enough reasons to justify a 34-23 win over Ohio that didn't exactly thrill UT on Saturday night. Most of those issues aren't going away anytime soon, but first-year coach Lane Kiffin made one thing clear as he started looking to Auburn (4-0, 1-0 SEC) on Saturday (TV: ESPN, 7:45 p.m.) - none of them will be used as a crutch for the wounded Vols.

"We don't accept any excuses about not having enough reps or a guy playing at a spot he's never played at before," Kiffin said. "Whoever is in there needs to play at a championship level for us.

"It was a tough day for us as you saw with injuries, and I think I looked out there on the last series and we only had five starters from the defense that we played with last week. We need guys to step up. We talk about it all the time with preparation and everyone has to prepare like a starter because there is no excuse about not having enough reps or not being in there."

The Vols (2-2, 0-1) had to send more than a few new faces out there against the Bobcats (2-2) on both sides of the ball, and the inexperience showed in an effort Kiffin repeatedly called inconsistent.

A missed block on a late third down in the fourth quarter had him visibly frustrated. Blown coverages in the secondary made the fifth-ranked defense in the country coming into the weekend look ordinary, and the special teams played worse than that.

Now UT has to improve a struggling passing game with receiver Quintin Hancock still out with a broken jaw and freshman Marsalis Teague nursing some new injuries. Its steady rushing attack looked fine in Saturday's second half, but the piecemeal offensive line also needs to get healthier. Every level of the defense is now dealing with some type of pain - including a potentially devastating loss of middle linebacker and former Farragut star Nick Reveiz for the season with a knee injury.

The Vols might not use those concerns as an excuse as they prepare for the Tigers, but the injury bug is certainly going to be an irritant.

"We're pretty beat up over there, but we've got to get better," Kiffin said. "We've got to improve our depth, that's why we have competition so that our depth feels like it's improving throughout the year and our backups aren't just sitting there. We've got to play better, it doesn't matter who's in there. We've got to play better.

"We've tried from the day that we got here to develop depth so that when these things happen, football is about adversity, championship teams fight through it and guys go and make plays."

The Vols made enough of them to get an important win to start their three-game stretch at home heading into the bye week, and whether it was impressive or not, the outcome was exactly what they needed.

It may have come with a price, but the offensive line and senior running back Montario Hardesty at least provided one example of what UT can do even while operating at less than 100 percent.

"We've had a lot of guys banged up," Hardesty said. "(On the offensive line), Jacques (McClendon) was down, we had (Jarrod) Shaw flip-flopping, we had the Sullins twins (Cory and Cody) playing in there for Vlad (Richard), and those guys stepped up and played great for us. We're just developing depth and going out there and playing good.

"I'm fine. I'll ice up on Sunday and be back to practice (today). We've got other guys on the team that are banged up that we have to get back healthy, but I'm fine."

By comparison, Hardesty might be in better shape than a few other starters.

But no matter how many could end up missing some time, Kiffin clearly won't tolerate a drop-off or any excuses.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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