TENNESSEE FOOTBALL NEWS – 10/2/08

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Lots of quick-hitters from around the league today, and we’ll start with this notes column from The Knoxville News Sentinel.  In it you’ll find that Phillip Fulmer is in no rush to name a starter at quarterback for this Saturday’s game with Northern Illinois, that QB Nick Stephens says he learned leadership skills from last year’s starter Erik Ainge, and that the Vols have had good practices this week.

Stephens and Crompton both say that they’re having a friendly “battle” for the starting quarterback job.  (This column also reveals that the full buy-out of Phillip Fulmer’s contract would be $6 million paid out over four years… that’s $1.5 million per year.)

Speaking of Crompton, someone in Knoxville has clearly gotten word to the young man (or his family) that his professions of self-confidence this season have not sat well with an angry fanbase.  Crompton has repeatedly said that things are okay, that the offense is close to working, that he’s going to be “the guy.” 

Now, wisely, he’s admitting that “The last couple of weeks, I haven’t played to the best of my ability and I’ve got to get better.  That’s just the fact of the matter.  I knew the second the game (Auburn) was over that I’v egot to go to work and got to get better.  I’m my own worst critic.  I know when I’ve got to get better.”

Vol fans are still waiting to see former freshman All-American tight end (at Florida State) Brandon Warren show what he can do.  Warren played only six snaps against Auburn.  According to Fulmer, “He’s got to get his assignments and techniques.  Inexperience, that’s all it is.”  Then how did FSU so quickly utilize his talent as a true freshman?



Northern Illinois has played at Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Minnesota since 2004.  They also won at Alabama a few years back with running back Michael Turner.  Their current coach, Jerry Kill, believes the key to facing big-time programs is as follows:

“You have to play loose.  That’s all you can do.  You control what you can.  That’s our concentration.”



And finally, it wouldn’t be a disappointing football season in Tennessee without someone asking former coach Johnny Majors about Fulmer, the man he believes stabbed him in the back. 

For the most part, Majors has not taken the bait in recent years, but he did let his true feelings slip at recent speaking engagement (and naturally a reporter was there to get the dirt):  “Frankly, I think (defensive coordinator) John Chavis has saved his job for 10 years.”

Majors went through a bitter divorce from Tennessee.  And while he’s tried to bite his tongue of late, reporters and fans continue to ask him about his old partner.  It would be nice if people stopped asking him about his “ex-wife” because most folks who go through divorces don’t have a lot of good things to say about their former spouses.

Isn’t it time to move on?  And I’m talking about reporters and fans who bait the man… not the man himself.