KNOXVILLE — Tennessee opened the 2007 football season by taking shelter in the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center on Friday afternoon. Avoiding a quickly-moving thunderstorm, the Vols worked out for about three hours in the warm and humid echo chamber, giving head coach Phillip Fulmer cause for optimism. “I was really pleased with the first day of practice and with how the players went about it and coaches went about it,” Fulmer said. “I think the effort was certainly there, and there’s some young guys who are going to push themselves pretty quickly into the mix.” Fulmer said he didn’t know who those young guys are but soon singled out newcomers Eric Berry, a freshman from Fairburn, Ga., and junior college transfer Nevin McKenzie for their work in the secondary. Former Maryville High standout and Tennessee Mr. Football Tyler Maples and former Fulton running back Dennis Rogan both worked at defensive back in the practice. As for the veterans, Fulmer said he was comfortable with the retention from spring practice and with the level of experience on the team.
“We have the third fewest number of returning lettermen in this conference, but we have a lot of guys who’ve played a lot of football,” Fulmer said. “I’m expecting to pick up where we left off in spring practice, and I think we took a step in that direction. “We’re off to a good start. We got a lot of good looks and fundamentals done. Now we’ve got to get into pads and see where we are.” Offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe wasn’t quite as sunny, saying he has pleased with the retention rate from spring but not happy with how his quarterbacks handled the football or with the uneven effort of his unit. “I didn’t think we took good enough care of the ball at quarterback. That disappointed me,” Cutcliffe said. “I don’t think we understand start-to-finish as an offensive unit. I thought there was excitement in the newcomers. There’s some speed. I like seeing that. It was good to see that. “For everybody here, the first thing I want to see is if they understand effort. You guys know what I expect effort to be. I don’t think we understand that, but we’re going to find it out.”
Over the next six days, the Vols will get everything thrown at them, Cutcliffe said, and then the coaching staff will back off and evaluate the players. “We’re going to pile things on over a six-day period and then back off,” he said. “For the next six days, we’ll challenge them mentally as well as physically. “We’ve got about two weeks to see who wants to play and then we’re going to have to make some decisions. We’re in shorts right now guys, so we don’t know anything yet. When it gets real, we’ll find out. About next Tuesday after practice, we’ll know a little bit more.” Fulmer said the normal shakedown period will probably last through the second preseason scrimmage, at which point the coaches will begin working with players who show the potential to contribute in the first three games of the season. “It will take a scrimmage or two. They’ve got to tackle and get out there and play the game,” Fulmer said. “There’s some natural athleticism. You can see that. There’s a mental part of getting accountable for their assignments. I give us after the first scrimmage and maybe the second. “We’ll get nine or 10 (newcomers) ready for the first two or three games, and as we go along, we hope the others will develop and get to play. That’s where we are.” He added that the coaching staff is nearly always willing to simplify things to allow some of the more talented younger players to contribute. “We’ll menu a little bit if we have to do that to get some of their skills on the field,” Fulmer said. “We simplified the passing game last year to give younger guys a chance to play.”
STRONG LEG: Redshirt freshman placekicker Daniel Lincoln got off to a good start by having a better day than Britton Colquitt, Fulmer said. Colquitt, who was assigned the placekicking as well as punting duties for this season following the graduation of James Wilhoit, had a solid spring, but Fulmer was impressed with how steady Lincoln has become.
“Daniel kicked better than Britton today. Daniel’s got a great leg,” Fulmer said. “Maybe we’ll have a long and a short guy. I don’t know how it’s going to work out. Daniel kicked very well.”
MEDIA SUPPORT: The Vols will host media this morning at Neyland Stadium for photo and interview opportunities and will hold another practice session this afternoon.
No comments:
Post a Comment