By CHRIS LOW
Staff Writer
KNOXVILLE ? They don't hand out championships in college football based on the offseason.
There aren't any BCS bonus points awarded for bench-press records in the weight room, and there's no component in the BCS formula that weighs perfect attendance during voluntary workouts.
''I guess you could say it's really only a gauge,'' said Scott Wells, Tennessee's senior center and one of six team captains. ''You've still got to go out and do it on the field when it counts, but I think what happens in the offseason, both on and off the field, can go a long way toward shaping your season.''
Of course, given the Vols' 8-5 finish a year ago ? capped by one of the least inspired performances of the Phillip Fulmer era in the 30-3 loss to Maryland in the Peach Bowl ? the offseason conditioning program figured to resemble a boot camp more than it did anything relating to football.
''The first five or six weeks out here, all the strength coaches kept saying was, 'We didn't come to Tennessee to be 8-5,' '' senior fullback Troy Fleming said. ''They're pushing. We're all pushing.
''With the older guys, there's a sense of urgency. We've been here four or five years and really haven't won anything. We won the SEC East, and a few of us participated in that in 2001. But we want something we can say is our own.''
As the offseason dwindles to a close and the start of August practice nears, Wells likes this team's chances to do just that.
There's a different mentality than there was this time a year ago.
http://tennessean.com/sports/ut/archives/03/07/36485750.shtml?Element_ID=36485750
Staff Writer
KNOXVILLE ? They don't hand out championships in college football based on the offseason.
There aren't any BCS bonus points awarded for bench-press records in the weight room, and there's no component in the BCS formula that weighs perfect attendance during voluntary workouts.
''I guess you could say it's really only a gauge,'' said Scott Wells, Tennessee's senior center and one of six team captains. ''You've still got to go out and do it on the field when it counts, but I think what happens in the offseason, both on and off the field, can go a long way toward shaping your season.''
Of course, given the Vols' 8-5 finish a year ago ? capped by one of the least inspired performances of the Phillip Fulmer era in the 30-3 loss to Maryland in the Peach Bowl ? the offseason conditioning program figured to resemble a boot camp more than it did anything relating to football.
''The first five or six weeks out here, all the strength coaches kept saying was, 'We didn't come to Tennessee to be 8-5,' '' senior fullback Troy Fleming said. ''They're pushing. We're all pushing.
''With the older guys, there's a sense of urgency. We've been here four or five years and really haven't won anything. We won the SEC East, and a few of us participated in that in 2001. But we want something we can say is our own.''
As the offseason dwindles to a close and the start of August practice nears, Wells likes this team's chances to do just that.
There's a different mentality than there was this time a year ago.
http://tennessean.com/sports/ut/archives/03/07/36485750.shtml?Element_ID=36485750
