University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Finish Strong During 'Tennessee Drill'
August 10, 2005 | Football
Aug. 10, 2005
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Head coach Phillip Fulmer handed out only so-so grades to his Tennessee football team Wednesday despite a rally of sorts during the morning "Tennessee Drill." The Vols head coach thinks the first day of two-a-days might have been the culprit.
"I thought the kids tried to push it through," Fulmer said. "We had to start a couple of periods over, which we don't like to do. But the good part about that is they picked the tempo up at the end and they tried to finish strong."
Fulmer said his Vols, who have practiced every day since the Friday start of fall camp, are a tired football team in the middle of Week 2.
"That's part of being in two-a-days, being in preseason practice," he said. "It was an OK morning. Not the best we've had, but they did try to come back and practice a little better there at the end.
"You play 70 plays or so in a game. If you play 68 really well and two not very well, you've got a chance to get beat against a good team. That's what I want them to understand - we've got to play every play as hard as we can and as well as we can, regardless of if we're sore or banged up or hot or whatever."
Part of Wednesday morning's schedule at Lindsey Nelson Stadium was the "Tennessee Drill," a one-on-one competition that traditionally marks the start of full-contact practice.
"We had good intensity in that," Fulmer said. "All those young guys don't know quite what to expect when they come to that, so it was good for them to see a little bit of it.
"That drill is a lot more for the young ones and it's as good as it gets because there's no place to go. It's right there in front of everybody. We'll do that more as we go along."
The Vols practiced in full gear during the morning workout before changing to shorts and shoulder pads in the afternoon.
Tennessee practices again Thursday and Friday afternoon before staging its first full scrimmage Saturday afternoon at Neyland Stadium.
SURGERY SUCCESSFUL FOR VOLS FRESHMAN QUARTERBACK
Tennessee freshman quarterback Jonathan Crompton underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder Wednesday to repair a torn labrum. UT head athletic trainer Keith Clements said Crompton will miss the entire 2005 football season.
"Jonathan is prepared to begin his rehabilitation process with our sports medicine staff immediately," Clements said.
