University of Tennessee Preview: Offense

Hi everyone! This is my first post here on Athletic Alley and I just wanted to spend some time to thank Danny Thorton for inviting me to come aboard as the Unofficial Official University of Tennessee Athletic Blogger. I’m currently a junior at the Rocky Top Center of the World and I’ve been a fan of the Big Orange for a very, very long time.

Quite possibly the only thing that I’ve been a fan of longer than Tennessee..is football. And with football time fast approaching (but not fast enough!), it’s time to start examining and dissecting the University of Tennessee Volunteer’s football team. Today we’ll look at the offensive side of the ball and in coming days we’ll examine the defensive side, the special teams, the coaches, the schedule and final prognosis on the 2008-2009 season.

So without further ado, and in the words of The Joker: Here…we…go!

Quarterbacks:

The past two years has been the Erik Ainge Show and he rarely disappointed. But with his veteran leadership and his super-accurate arm gone for the NFL, the signal-caller falls to redshirt junior, Johnathan Crompton. Here is where people may be surprised with UT. The talent hasn’t dropped off between Ainge and Crompton. In fact, I feel that Crompton may be able to succeed where Ainge faltered. Watching Crompton fill in for an injured Ainge in the 2006 LSU game and seeing him absolutely demolish an LSU linebacker on a broken play reminds me of another hybrid quarterback/halfback: Tim Tebow. Similar size, similar demeanor, and Crompton has an absolute cannon for an arm.

Running Backs:

Tennessee has a stable of running backs and hopefully will use all of them extensively this upcoming season. Headed by senior running back Arian Foster, who is only 600 some odd yards short of Travis Henry’s school record for all-time rushing, and completed by speedsters Montario Hardesty and Lennon Creer, this may be the deepest pack of RBs Knoxville has seen in a while. Keeping these guys fresh, productive, and happy will be key in paving the way to Atlanta for the SEC championship.

Wide Receivers:

Last year was a pleasant revelation for us in relation to the wide receivers. And this year, they will be even better. Lucas Taylor, Josh Briscoe, Quentin Hancock, Austin Rogers, and Gerald Jones return along with a great crop of freshman WRs to build on one of the best performances by a wide receiving corp in Tennessee history. Hopefully, their sure hands will help Crompton get the jitters out of his first couple starts.

Tight Ends:

Jeff Cottam will highlight this young group and hopefully his surgery in the off-season this spring won’t slow him down for too long. The tight ends will play an important part in Dave Clawson’s new offensive gameplan and will no longer be the simple ‘outlet pass’ of yore. Tight ends will be more involved with the fireworks downfield and to draw off the Will and Sam linebackers for screen passes over the middle.

Offensive Line:

My favorite part. The oft-overlooked cog in the offense, a strong, imposing offensive line helps smooth over the rough patches in the season, punch holes for the running backs, and keeps pass plays alive. Here, Tennessee will excel. Anthony Parker (G), Josh McNeil (C), Jacques McClendon (G), Ramon Foster (T), and Chris Scott (T) all return as a group that only surrendered 4 (4!) sacks the whole 2007-2008 season.

And that concludes the first part of five of the Volunteer preview. Come back in the coming days and read some more!

___________________________________________________________