University of Tennessee Athletics
December 28 Practice Report
December 29, 2000 | Football
ALL PLAYERS NOW IN DALLAS AS VOLS PREPARE FOR COTTON BOWL
DALLAS - For the first time since arriving in Dallas for the 65th Southwestern Bell Cotton Bowl, the No. 21 Tennessee Volunteers practiced with its entire squad on Thursday as all players are now in town. OT Reggie Coleman, DB Andre Lott, WR Eric Parker, TB Travis Stephens, LB Dominique Stevenson, and WR Cedrick Wilson all missed practice yesterday due to weather conditions around the country that prevented them from arriving as scheduled.
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| Travis Henry, the Vols' all-time leading rusher, will be playing his final collegiate game in the Cotton Bowl. |
"It was a little bit of a distraction yesterday not having everyone here, but we had good work yesterday despite that. They jumped right back in there today and looked fine," said UT Coach Phillip Fulmer.
"It was an experience," said Coleman about the delay. "I'm just happy to be down here and have all of that behind me. I just want to get ready to play against Kansas State."
Despite the players' unexpected absence, Coach Fulmer is pleased with his squad's work this week.
"We had good work in Knoxville and the kids have really seemed into it here," said Coach Fulmer. "We've made a real effort to keep the team's focus on the game and not miss opportunities to improve, because this team can get better in a number of areas. I thought it was a good practice for us today."
Tennessee practice at the SMU new football facility was in much better weather today. Yesterday the temperature was in the 30s with a brisk wind, while today the sun came out and the mercury rose into the mid-50s.
Offensive Coordinator Randy Sanders is well aware of the difficulties posed by the Kansas State defense.
"It's going to be a challenge," said Coach Sanders about the Wildcats. "They basically line up and say, 'you're not going to run it.' The key will be our receivers getting open against their cornerbacks. We have to do that to open up our passing game."
Thursday was perhaps the Vols busiest day in Dallas. In the morning the team attended a breakfast hosted by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Prior to practice the Volunteers offensive players and coaches attended a press conference to discuss the matchup with No. 11 Kansas State. Following practice Tennessee visited the Children's Medical Center in Dallas, and UT was scheduled to attend the Dallas Mavericks-Los Angeles Clippers NBA game tonight.
Tennessee and Kansas State will face each other Monday, January 1 in the 65th Southwester Bell Cotton Bowl Classic. Kickoff is scheduled for 10:12 a.m. CST and will be televised nationally on Fox.
