The Daily Beacon

Football Preview Fall 2012

by Lauren Kittrell Sports Editor

With a solid win under their belt, Tennessee’s overall outlook on their 2012 season has become a shade lighter.

Head coach Derek Dooley can by no means rest easy just yet, but winning the Chick-fil-A kickoff game against N.C. State definitely loosens the strain on his career. Dooley said he was proud of the way the team transferred what they practiced at training camp to real game-time play.

“That was my number one thing for those guys, just to make sure that the same team that had been performing out there in practice was reflected on game day, and it was,” Dooley said. “I was proud of the team for that.”

With record-breaking starting quarterback Tyler Bray and two (arguably more) star receivers in Justin Hunter and Cordarrelle Patterson (despite the loss of former wide receiver, Da’Rick Rogers), Tennessee’s offense is sitting pretty. Regardless, Dooley said, according to his standards, the N.C. State game was hardly a win. He hopes for more big plays in the future.

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Fall 2012

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Sports Editor Lauren Kittrell lkittre1@utk.edu

Assistant Sports Editor Austin Bornheim abornhei@utk.edu

Bray cool under pressure Lauren Kittrell Sports Editor Tennessee’s junior starting quarterback Tyler Bray opened the 2012 season with a statement.

In the Chick-Fil-A kickoff game vs. N.C. State on Friday, he threw for 29 completions, two passing touchdowns, and 333 yards gained.

Sophomore backup quarterback Justin Worley said Bray’s talent and leadership have had a great affect on the offense as a whole.

“Tyler goes out there and he plays phenomenally and it honestly comes natural to him,” Worley said. “To see him throw to ten different receivers is awesome.”

Worley said offensive coordinator Jim Chaney made a point to emphasize leadership during spring and summer practice. He said the difference in leadership between last year and this year has been significant. “(Bray) has really embraced that and it’s gathered the guys and we’ve thrown individual routes and just seeing him do that is a big step from where all of us were last year and where he was last year,” Worley said. “Just seeing his leadership develop that makes a huge part in the way our offense runs.”

As the second string quarterback, Worley is playing a difficult waiting game. After Bray’s injury last season against Georgia, Worley was forced to step in as starting quarterback, starting three games and throwing for 604 yards.

This year, there’s always a chance it could happen again and his practice routine revolves around that knowledge.

“Last year was a wild ride,” Worley said.

“The first few weeks I was just along for the ride and then, after Tyler got hurt I knew I needed to start preparing better and I started practicing better and that carried into this year.”

He said he can’t prepare depending on each week’s opponent, but must be ready to play against anyone.

“You have to prepare week in and week out and I prepare like I’m gonna be the starting quarterback and Tyler prepares like he’s gonna be the starting quarterback.”

Worley said that Bray’s leadership skills is something that he’s hoping to follow in as well.

He said he just hopes to fall in line.

“Everybody’s got room to improve and that’s including me. I think leadership is gonna come along,” Bray said. “It’s definitely a lot better than it was last year and I have more confidence around the guys and being able to lead the offense, but I’m approaching it like I’m the starting quarterback.”

As Worley and Bray continue to focus on leadership, it has trickled down and affected the confidence in their receivers as well. Head coach Derek Dooley said the trust the players have in Bray’s leadership and experience is significant.

“He’s gotten better because of his experience,” Dooley said. “He has a lot of trust in the players around him. You look at guys like Vincent Dallas and Jacob Carter making a catch, even Ben Bartholemew had a couple of real big catches on third down. Tyler’s confidence in the other players shows up and when you feel like you have a quarterback who believes in you, you tend to perform better.”

Bray’s confidence in his ability to connect with his receivers during the N.C. State game was unwavering. He said he does his best not to be effected under pressure.

“I’m from California,” Bray said. “I never get effected, or I try not to.”

Head coach Derek Dooley noticed a change in ball management as well. Dooley said he was especially impressed with Bray’s control of the ball in the red area.

“Really proud of Tyler’s management in the throwing game,” Dooley said. “He took care of the football.”

Looking forward, Dooley is hopeful that his talent will continue to increase throughout the season. The N.C. State game served as an excellent indicator and Dooley said the poise Bray demonstrated throughout fall camp and during the offseason has paid off on the field.

“You never saw Tyler get frustrated or effected like maybe you saw last season or the year before when he was young,” Dooley said. “I just think it is his level of growth, maturity and experience. He just kept playing.”

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Fall 2012

THE DAILY BEACON • 3B Editor-in-Chief Blair Kuykendall

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Managing Editor Emily DeLanzo

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Secondary room to grow

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Austin Bornheim Assistant Sports Editor With just two weeks left before the Volunteers first game of the season Derek Dooley was still skeptical and his defensive backfields capability to stop the big plays.

“We gave up to many big plays on defense,” said Dooley following the August 17 scrimmage. “There were a lot of communication problems.”

Though the Tennessee secondary did give up some big plays, four for over 20 yards, they were able to intercept four Mike Glennon passes. Glennon, a fifthyear senior and highly touted quarterback for this year in the ACC, finished the 2011 year with 31 touchdown passes and threw for over 3,000 yards.

"We got a lot more comfortable as the game went on,” said defensive back Brian Randolph. “We affected the quarterback as the game went on. It gives us a lot of confidence going forward."

Safety Byron Moore and cornerbacks

Prentiss Waggner, Eric Gordon and Marsalis Teague all tallied a pick in the game.

“We gave up a lot of big plays over the middle early, but we settled down and figured it out,” said Dooley. “I always say the two things to look for are who wins the turnover battle and time of possession and we did a real good job of winning the turnover battle.”

Moore also led all Tennessee players with eight tackles against the Wolfpack, and the Volunteer secondary accounted for 32 of Tennessee's 57 tackles.

"We wanted to come out and establish our trademark, our standard for how Tennessee is going to play this year. It felt good to play four quarters,” said Moore.

The secondary is one of the more seasoned groups on the Tennessee roster, boasting six juniors and two seniors.

This has helped the defensive backfield adjust quickly to the new schemes of defensive coordinator Sal Sunseri and his 3-4 defense.

“There was some change because obvi-

ously we have a new defensive coordinator but we have had it since the spring,” Gordon said. “We have been hammering it home and got a lot of the stuff down and we're very familiar with it.”

Randolph, Moore, Waggner and Teague got the starts for the Vols, but Gordon and Brent Brewer both saw extended playing time in the nickel and dime packages. The Vols like to send lots of blitzes in the new scheme and against N.C. State the Volunteers frequently sent Gordon after the quarterback on second and third-and-long situations.

"I always notice Eric out there making plays, even in practice,” Waggner. “He sort of has a knack for making plays, he is always around the football. The main thing with Eric right now is just training, playing fast all the time. When he is playing fast all the time he can make even more plays."

Dooley still sees room for improvement from the unit, but sees that they have the ability to influence the game in a big way.

“Yeah, we have lots to work on, but we made good in game adjustments,” Dooley said.

The group held Glennon to 27-46, 58 percent, 288 yards through the air with one touchdown.

Through the off-season the group experienced growing pains, but matching up against a talented quarterback and receivers day-in-and-day-out helped the secondary learn how to communicate properly and pick up the new defense.

The Volunteers will have their work cut out for them with the SEC slate that awaits them when they reach October, but the team is confident in the defensive backfield.

"It's one game...All that matters is that we are 1-0 and we have to clean up a ton of mistakes,” said Dooley. “We're not going to pat ourselves on the back because we won one game. They're times you're going to be winded you have to get over it and keep playing. Our guys have to understand that our tempo is going to wear them down."

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Fall 2012 Design Editor Alex Cline acline5@utk.edu

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Patrick MacCoon Staff Writer

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One thing that the Tennessee Vols football team put a strong emphasis on this off-season and wanted to key on heading into the 2012-13 college football season was getting the running game back to being a recognizable force in the SEC. For that to happen though, the team realized that the offensive line would have to lead the way and the running backs need to be explosive and find the holes created by the big men up front.

The Vols put all questions aside as they took the field against N.C. State last Friday and beat down the Wolfpack 35-21 behind a fast paced explosive and balanced attack on offense.

In the season opening victory for third-year head coach Derek Dooley, the Big Orange averaged five yards per rush and totaled 191 yards on 38 carries, which blew out their average of 90.1 rushing yards per game from last season that ranked dead last in the SEC. “I thought we did pretty well as a unit and we still have a few things that we have to clean up in the running game,” said junior guard Zach Fulton who was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week after grading out highest on the offensive line at 85 percent. “We need to get our fits back and get our technique down better this week.”

While the running game was effective, it thrived off of 67 and 42 yard runs, and junior tailback Rajion Neal and sophomore Devrin Young combined for 24 carries for 51 yards and a score.

“We need to work on getting more movement on the defenders off the ball and dominating the line of scrimmage each and every play,” he said.

While the starting offensive line has practically the same look as last season, it has one big edition in that of sophomore left tackle Antonio “Tiny” Richardson who comes in as the team’s biggest offensive lineman at 6-foot-6 and 332 pounds. While he was solid in his first start for the Vols, he realizes he has room for improvement, just as the unit as a whole does.

“I saw a lot of things I can improve on,”

Richardson said. “But for it being my first collegiate start I was really pleased. The off-season team building really helped us, and we know we have a long way to go and have to continue to improve.”

However, there is a much larger reason the “big five” are separated up front from the level of performance they played last season when they struggled to create holes for the running game.

“The biggest difference in the line this year is the maturity and that we all have the playbook down to a tee,” Fulton said. “There’s no miscommunication at all.”

The maturity that has come to the unit is a result of the combined 106 starts between Fulton, James, Thomas, Stone, and Richardson.

Not only can their experience be used as an advantage on the field but the unit, which has their own cutoff t-shirts labeled OLP for Offensive Line Pride, believes that they can use their size as an advantage too. The front five for the Vols average out at 6-foot-5 and 318 pounds.

However, the unit realizes that they have a long way to go and they haven’t proven themselves yet as a dominant offensive line, especially since they have yet to start conference play.

“To get better each week they need to get in that film room and study the defenses more and the players and see what their tendencies are and what they like to do on certain downs and distances,” senior guard and Outland Trophy Watch list nominee Dallas Thomas said. “Coach (Sam) Pittman is a real good coach and we’ve learned his new terminology and we’ve been putting it all together, and it’s been clicking lately.”

The team now has its focus set on Georgia State and they are determined to have greater success in the running game.

“We always try to get more rushing yards than we did the week before,” Fulton said. “We are always trying to push to do better.”

Nonetheless, the running game and offensive line for the Vols has themselves headed in the right direction and is excited for what’s to come for the rest of the season.

“We have a lot of goals, but when it’s all said and done we just want to be a dominant offensive line,” Thomas said.

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Vols’ receivers set to win Austin Bornheim Assistant Sports Editor

Matthew DeMaria • The Daily Beacon

After a promising start to the 2011 season, things took a quick, and unfortunate, turn for Justin Hunter.

“I hated having to sit there on the sideline in my sweats watching the guys plays and knowing I couldn’t contribute anything,” Hunter said.

Hunter’s ACL injury last season was widely publicized in the Knoxville area and left Tennessee fans wondering what could have been if the then-sophomore receiver had been healthy for the entire season.

“Yeah, it was really hard sitting there because I felt like I was letting my teammates and the fans down,” said Hunter.

Now a junior, Hunter is back, and in the eyes of his coaches and peers seems to be better than ever.

“He looks really good and I think physically he looks better than he did before the injury,” said quarterback Tyler Bray.

“It just looks like he is moving quicker and jumping a little higher.”

Hunter was able to start running and working out again during spring practice last semester, but claimed he wasn’t 100 percent until the Vols starting practicing in pads this August.

“There were different hurdles for me to get past, but I feel great now,” Hunter said. “Getting the first catch was really big and helped me take a deep breath.”

The receiver returned strong in his first game back since the injury against N.C. State in the Vols’ season opener.

Hunter recorded nine receptions for 73 yards on the night, with a long of 19 yards.

By most standards, Hunter had an above average performance, but he focused more on his two drops on the night than the nine catches.

“I am disappointed I couldn’t bring those in cause the deep

one would have been a touchdown, I think,” Hunter said. “I guess I still have some rust so I’m going to work on that this week.”

“Justin obviously still has some rust to knock off, but I was pleased with the way he played,” said Dooley.

But Hunter isn’t the only receiver on the Tennessee roster.

Due to the departure of All-SEC receiver Da’Rick Rogers before the start of the season, others will need to step up even more to fill the void.

Junior college transfer Cordarrelle Patterson has received a lot of hype, and after his performance in the Georgia Dome Friday night it seems well deserved. The transfer recorded six receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown. Patterson had two carries for 72 and a touchdown, all in the first half.

Ten different Vols recorded receptions in the 35-21 win over the Wolfpack, and to Derek Dooley that’s what the team will have to do to keep having success as the season continues.

“I was pleased in the way that Tyler spread the ball around tonight,” said Dooley. “A lot of guys made contributions and he didn’t try to force anything.”

Thought of as the leader of the wide receivers, Zach Rogers led by example in Atlanta. Rogers was able to fly past 2011 All-American corner back David Amerson for a 72-yard touchdown that ties his career long.

“Zach is the leader of that group,” said Bray. “He helps keep the other guys focused when they started goofing off. He helps make my job easier.”

Former walk-on turned scholarship player Jacob Carter recorded his first reception as a Volunteer during the second quarter against the Wolfpack that went for 20 yards. Carter received the scholarship following the dismissal of Da’Rick Rogers.

“I was happy for Jacob,” said Zach Rogers. “He has put a lot of time and hard work in and it’s paying off for him.”

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FOOTBALL PREVIEW FOOTBALL TIME continued from Page 1B “When you look at the three big factors of winning and losing that I always emphasize are big plays, turnovers and fourth quarter,” Dooley said. “In the big play front, the appearance is that we won it, but we really netted out zero because we gave up some big plays, too — more than we needed to, and ours were really huge plays.”

As the team heads into game two against Georgia State on Saturday, Tennessee will be focusing on two game-making factors. Dooley said number one on the list is making an improvement leap from week one to week two. The second is mainly focusing on the season as a whole.

“The second thing is trying to define a standard of how we compete every week regardless of the opponent, regardless of the environment, the venue,” Dooley said. “We need to learn to come out there and perform with the same intangibles, the same level of execution and intensity every week, and that’s what good

teams do. We have a He graded himself lot to prove over and the o-line time and this will be harshly. step two in proving “Overall we we’re a good football grade it out about a team."

B minus,” Dooley said he Richardson said. feels the team has “We could’ve done improved in maturia lot better but ty and experience, we’re just going to which should help continue to as the season proimprove.” gresses.

More sure of “We’re getting himself and the older, more experiteam is junior wide enced, more receiver Justin mature,” Dooley Hunter, who said. “We’e teaching returned to the them differently this field for the first Matthew DeMaria • The Daily Beacon time since his ACL year, which we needed to emphainjury last size in practice more the right way this year.”

September. Hunter received nine passes for a A sign of the growing maturity on the team, total of 73 yards and the second-highest recepsophomore offensive lineman Antonio “Tiny” tion total of his career.

Richardson wasn’t disappointed with Friday’s “We all think about our season last year,” game, but said he’s not satisfied with a win. Hunter said. “We had a good run and then

Editor-in-Chief Blair Kuykendall bkuykend@utk.edu

Managing Editor Emily DeLanzo

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started falling off, so I think everybody is staying focused and trying to keep the streak going.”

Away from the offense, senior defensive back Marsalis Teague said he’s confident in the defense as a whole, regardless of what package they use.

“Like I said, if we can keep doing what we are doing, we will be a special team,” Teague said.

With the home opener on Saturday, Dooley said it will be good to go into the game and the season with a win.

“I think it was good to get out there — more than anything, to show ‘hey guys what we’re doing it works, if we execute the right way.’ Because that’s probably an issue any time you put a new anything in. It was good on offense too,” Dooley said. “We made a real philosophical change offensively. I was worried about a lot of offsides and administration and all that stuff. If it doesn’t look good, you start doubting. I hope the first game at least validates that we’re in the right direction, schematically. We just have to now show an ability to perform every week.”

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Probable winning season for Vols High expectations for Vols offensive line Lauren Kittrell Sports Editor Tennessee proved its worth against North Carolina State at the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in the Georgia Dome on Friday.

Big plays made the game, filling the dome with the roar of more than 55,500 fans. “Rocky Top” rang in the ears of every attendant and skeptics took notice.

Starting quarterback Tyler Bray said he thought the team would surprise people, and he wasn’t lying.

Four touchdowns and interceptions later, every journalist in the building was anxiously typing up new predictions for the Volunteers.

Though head coach Derek Dooley is currently on the hot seat, his position definitely cooled down after the team’s performance last week.

That’s not to say he’s in the clear.

What Dooley’s looking for is a winning season, something the Vols haven’t seen in two years. It’s going to take a bowl game to get his job to become anywhere near secure, but that only takes six wins. That should be a piece of cake.

The team’s schedule is loaded with the best of the SEC, but there’s room in the schedule (thanks to the recent SEC expansion) for Tennessee to come away with much more than just a winning season.

Tennessee’s offense is strong. Along with a stellar cast on the offensive line, Bray has wide receivers Cordarrelle Patterson, Justin Hunter, Zach Rogers and recent star Jacob Carter in his

back pocket. No one seems concerned over the loss of recently dismissed wide receiver, Da’Rick Rogers; in fact, the N.C. State game produced comments along the lines of, “Da’Rick who?”

Defensively, the Vols look pretty good as well.

Personally, I don’t consider it as strong as the offense, but it’s far from concerning. The four interceptions against N.C. State soothed nearly everyone’s concerns.

I predict not just a winning season for the Vols, but a stellar one. I predict Dooley’s return for another season and I predict a season ending much like it began with a win in the Georgia Dome.

Record: 9-3 (5-3 SEC) Wins: North Carolina State, Georgia State, Florida, Akron, Mississippi State, Troy, Missouri, Vanderbilt and Kentucky Losses: Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina Bowl Game: Chick-fil-A Bowl

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the week before to Georgia and get it done against a weak SEC west opponent in Mississippi State.

The following week, UT plays host to defending National Champion Alabama. The Vols showed heart in the first half last year and have improved, but look for an outcome similar to last Austin Bornheim season.

When the Vols travel to Columbia on Oct. 27, Assistant Sports Editor it could be the deciding game on which way the Volunteer season swings. If things go well, In Dooley’s third season it is time for the Vols Tennessee will be sitting at 4-4 heading into to start producing, and I think the Big Orange will Williams-Brice Stadium. I think the Vols will come answer the call in 2012. close, but they will fall to 5-4 on the year.

Tennessee’s offensive line now has another year All is not lost though. The Volunteers finish the under their belts and 106 starts to their resume. final month of the year with a pretty easy schedule.

Even though there was hope for the unit last seaGames against Troy and son, there is an even Missouri should be wins for higher expectation for Tennessee, and then the the group to produce. matchup against the If not, the Vols will Commodores on Nov. 17 struggle once again. will be very interesting.

The Vols did have Tennessee is improved from to dismiss talented, last year, but so are the but troubled, wide Dores, and James Franklin receiver Da’Rick will be sure to remind his Rogers before the seateam about Dooley’s comson, leaving Dooley ments following UT’s overhoping Cordarrelle time win last season. In the Patterson can step up end, however, the Vols and fill the void left by Tia Patron • The Daily Beacon should get the win.

Rogers.

Then comes Kentucky. In Other top-flight my opinion, there is no way the Volunteers will wideout Justin Hunter is back for the 2012 season, repeat last year’s embarrassment. It’s one thing to and according to his teammates and coaches he is lose and another to not show up, and Dooley will back to where he was before his injury, if not bet- have the team focused this season. ter.

The Vols have a chance to head Between the Record: 8-4 (4-4 SEC) Hedges at 4-0, if the Volunteers can beat the Wins: N.C. State, Georgia State, Mississippi State, Florida Gators for the first time since 2004. Akron, Troy, Missouri, Vanderbilt, Kentucky However, since it hasn’t happened in seven seaLosses: Georgia, Florida, Alabama, South sons, I can’t call a Tennessee win with good con- Carolina science.

Bowl Game: Gator Bowl Tennessee will bounce back after a tough loss