Inside Scoop by Mark Risley
Much to the chagrin of head coach Phillip Fulmer, the Vols emerged from spring practices without a clear-cut starting QB. Senior C.J. Leak, who probably has the most physical tools, appeared to take the bull by the horns in the early part of spring, and then took a few steps backwards in the last few practices with poor reads against more complex defenses. Sophomore Rick Clausen, who exhibited a solid understanding of the offense this spring, did a great job of protecting the football, but his passing skills were cause for concern. So, with neither QB able to place a stranglehold on the starting job, Fulmer made it very clear that the two incoming freshman, Brent Schaeffer and Erik Ainge, will have every chance to gain the starting job. In fact, offensive coordinator Randy Sanders scheduled house calls to each of the freshman QB?s homes this May to help them get a head start on understanding the offense. It would, however, probably take a significant performance, in August for either freshman to earn the starting job in the Vols? opener, and one would expect that, barring a total collapse, Leak would probably maintain his slight edge over Clausen and subsequently get the nod, coming out of fall camp. ? The RB spot is once again a suspicious area for the Vols. Senior Cedric Houston had a solid spring, but, with the coaching staff looking for someone to be the workhorse this season (as opposed to a RB-by-committee), Houston will have to stay away from the injury problems that have haunted him the past few seasons. With junior Gerald Riggs out with an ankle injury and senior Jabari Davis having trouble holding onto the ball this spring, sophomore walk-on David Yancey appeared to be the most impressive back during the 15 workouts. ? On the O-line, senior Jason Respert has made the move from back-up guard to center, but the most intriguing new face, among the starters, may be RT Albert Toeaina, one of the nation's top JUCO recruits. He has tremendous size (6?5?, 350), but struggled, at times, this spring with his blocking assignments. However, the fact that he was able to get 15 practices under his belt, should allow him to hit the ground running in the fall practice sessions. ? Sophomore starting cornerback Antwan Stewart went down with a torn ACL in his left knee during one of the Vols? scrimmages this past spring. Stewart, who made the conference?s all-freshman team last season, hopes to be back in the latter part of the season. At the moment, this causes problems for the Vols? staff, which can draw upon only one other player with any real experience in the secondary, in Jason Allen. When two-a-days begin this August, there will be three openings in the secondary, which prompted the move of Jonathan Wade from WR back to his natural CB spot, which he played in high school. Wade spent most of this summer on the track team, but D-coordinator John Chavis is extremely excited about gaining Wade?s services and stated that Wade has unlimited potential in the defensive backfield. ? Another significant move, on defense, is the transition of junior LB Kevin Simon from the strong side to the middle. Simon had a fantastic spring, which was probably due mostly to the fact that he?s another year removed from his 2002 injury problems, and partly due to his excitement of moving into his comfort zone at MLB. Due to Simon?s relocation, classmate Jason Mitchell moves from the weakside into the starting strongside spot, which comes with a lot of responsibility in the Vols? defensive schemes. ? UT has moved its Sept. 4 home opener versus UNLV to Sunday night, Sept. 5. The game, which will be televised on ESPN at 8 p.m. (EDT), will be the lone football game, college or pro, in primetime that day. The University also announced that CBS would carry the Sept. 18 home contest vs. Florida in primetime (8 p.m., EDT), which could possibly match-up the two Leak brothers as opposing starting quarterbacks.
Conclusion: Some may say that the Vols will only go as far as the right arm, or is it the left arm? Or the legs, well, who is the quarterback? Many candidates and a multitude of options, but perhaps a season of headaches. The sad thing is that the other offensive pieces are in place to have a solid year. There are more capable receivers than you can count and 2003 star recruit Robert Meachem returns after a season ending injury (is it just bad karma or what?). The Vols return three quality running backs in Cedric Houston, Jabari Davis and Gerald Riggs behind a line that features offensive tackle and captain Michael Munoz. They just need someone to steer the ship. CJ Leak will more than likely get the first crack and if given more than one game to prove himself, he may be the best option. But, head coach Phil Fulmer has never shied away from using freshmen at the position (see some kid named Manning and the aforementioned Clausen), so Erik Ainge and Brent Schaeffer will be thrown into a complicated mix as well. It may not be pretty if the ?situation? drags into September.
Much to the chagrin of head coach Phillip Fulmer, the Vols emerged from spring practices without a clear-cut starting QB. Senior C.J. Leak, who probably has the most physical tools, appeared to take the bull by the horns in the early part of spring, and then took a few steps backwards in the last few practices with poor reads against more complex defenses. Sophomore Rick Clausen, who exhibited a solid understanding of the offense this spring, did a great job of protecting the football, but his passing skills were cause for concern. So, with neither QB able to place a stranglehold on the starting job, Fulmer made it very clear that the two incoming freshman, Brent Schaeffer and Erik Ainge, will have every chance to gain the starting job. In fact, offensive coordinator Randy Sanders scheduled house calls to each of the freshman QB?s homes this May to help them get a head start on understanding the offense. It would, however, probably take a significant performance, in August for either freshman to earn the starting job in the Vols? opener, and one would expect that, barring a total collapse, Leak would probably maintain his slight edge over Clausen and subsequently get the nod, coming out of fall camp. ? The RB spot is once again a suspicious area for the Vols. Senior Cedric Houston had a solid spring, but, with the coaching staff looking for someone to be the workhorse this season (as opposed to a RB-by-committee), Houston will have to stay away from the injury problems that have haunted him the past few seasons. With junior Gerald Riggs out with an ankle injury and senior Jabari Davis having trouble holding onto the ball this spring, sophomore walk-on David Yancey appeared to be the most impressive back during the 15 workouts. ? On the O-line, senior Jason Respert has made the move from back-up guard to center, but the most intriguing new face, among the starters, may be RT Albert Toeaina, one of the nation's top JUCO recruits. He has tremendous size (6?5?, 350), but struggled, at times, this spring with his blocking assignments. However, the fact that he was able to get 15 practices under his belt, should allow him to hit the ground running in the fall practice sessions. ? Sophomore starting cornerback Antwan Stewart went down with a torn ACL in his left knee during one of the Vols? scrimmages this past spring. Stewart, who made the conference?s all-freshman team last season, hopes to be back in the latter part of the season. At the moment, this causes problems for the Vols? staff, which can draw upon only one other player with any real experience in the secondary, in Jason Allen. When two-a-days begin this August, there will be three openings in the secondary, which prompted the move of Jonathan Wade from WR back to his natural CB spot, which he played in high school. Wade spent most of this summer on the track team, but D-coordinator John Chavis is extremely excited about gaining Wade?s services and stated that Wade has unlimited potential in the defensive backfield. ? Another significant move, on defense, is the transition of junior LB Kevin Simon from the strong side to the middle. Simon had a fantastic spring, which was probably due mostly to the fact that he?s another year removed from his 2002 injury problems, and partly due to his excitement of moving into his comfort zone at MLB. Due to Simon?s relocation, classmate Jason Mitchell moves from the weakside into the starting strongside spot, which comes with a lot of responsibility in the Vols? defensive schemes. ? UT has moved its Sept. 4 home opener versus UNLV to Sunday night, Sept. 5. The game, which will be televised on ESPN at 8 p.m. (EDT), will be the lone football game, college or pro, in primetime that day. The University also announced that CBS would carry the Sept. 18 home contest vs. Florida in primetime (8 p.m., EDT), which could possibly match-up the two Leak brothers as opposing starting quarterbacks.
Conclusion: Some may say that the Vols will only go as far as the right arm, or is it the left arm? Or the legs, well, who is the quarterback? Many candidates and a multitude of options, but perhaps a season of headaches. The sad thing is that the other offensive pieces are in place to have a solid year. There are more capable receivers than you can count and 2003 star recruit Robert Meachem returns after a season ending injury (is it just bad karma or what?). The Vols return three quality running backs in Cedric Houston, Jabari Davis and Gerald Riggs behind a line that features offensive tackle and captain Michael Munoz. They just need someone to steer the ship. CJ Leak will more than likely get the first crack and if given more than one game to prove himself, he may be the best option. But, head coach Phil Fulmer has never shied away from using freshmen at the position (see some kid named Manning and the aforementioned Clausen), so Erik Ainge and Brent Schaeffer will be thrown into a complicated mix as well. It may not be pretty if the ?situation? drags into September.
