University of Tennessee Athletics
Wide Receivers Make Early Impact During Vols' First Scrimmage
August 13, 2005 | Football
Aug. 13, 2005
| Photo Gallery Coach Fulmer's Comments Coach Fulmer with Bob Kesling J. Mahelona with Bob Kesling R. Clausen with Bob Kesling E. Ainge with Bob Kesling |
After the skies opened up over Neyland Stadium, Tennessee's offense found the airwaves a little smoother during the indoor portion of the preseason's first full scrimmage. Receivers Bret Smith, Josh Briscoe and Lucas Taylor were the beneficiaries to the delight of head coach Phillip Fulmer.
"There were some big plays on offense, which I was glad to see," Fulmer said. "It's night and day from this time last year with the quarterback position and being able to do a lot more things. It puts more pressure on the defense on the perimeter and it was good to see the guys make some plays."
Rick Clausen started the day at quarterback and completed 10-of-13 for 159 yards and two touchdowns. Erik Ainge completed 11-of-17 for 129 yards and a touchdown.
Smith, a junior, caught six passes for 111 yards, including scores of 65 and six yards. Briscoe added 99 yards on six receptions, while Taylor hauled in four catches for 95 yards and a 69-yard TD.
The latter two are true freshmen, as is Demetrice Morley, who led all defenders with five tackles from the defensive secondary. Sophomore linebacker Ryan Karl added four tackles, two of which were sacks, as did Daniel Brooks and Gerald Williams. Sinclair Cannon had the day's only interception.
"There were some good hits, some guys who came up and made some good solid tackles," Fulmer said of his defense. "Obviously, the two or three big plays we gave up, you don't really want to see that. We'll study the film and hopefully get better from it."
Redshirt freshman Arian Foster led the ground game with 54 yards on four tries. Starter Gerald Riggs Jr. carried three times early for 13 yards, while David Yancey added 31 yards on six attempts.
James Wilhoit was 3-for-3 on field goal tries, with a long of 52 yards on his first attempt.
Junior center David Ligon was injured on the scrimmage's first play, but Fulmer said the Germantown product suffered only a high ankle sprain and x-rays were negative. Receiver Jayson Swain and freshman linebacker Rico McCoy were held out.
The scrimmage was delayed 75 minutes and eventually moved into the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center because of severe thunderstorms.
Starters
Offense: WR Hannon, FB Anderson, TB Riggs Jr., QB Clausen, C Ligon, TE C. Brown, RT Toeaina, RG Douglas, WR Meachem, LG R. Smith, LT Sears.
Defense: DT Harrell, DT Mahelona, DE Haralson, DE Hall, SLB Gaither, MLB Simon, WLB J. Mitchell, LC Fellows, SS Stewart, RC Allen, FS Hefney.
STATISTICS
| Rushing | ||
| No. | Name | No.-Yds. |
| 22 | LaMarcus Coker | 11-16 |
| 43 | David Yancey | 6-31 |
| 10 | Erik Ainge | 4-(-21) |
| 27 | Arian Foster | 4-54 |
| 34 | Montario Hardesty | 4-1 |
| 6 | Ja'Kouri Williams | 4-13 |
| 21 | Gerald Riggs Jr. | 3-13 |
| 16 | Rick Clausen | 2-(-10) |
| 39 | Robert Williams | 2-3 |
| Receiving | ||
| No. | Name | Rec.-Yds.-TD |
| 9 | Bret Smith | 6-111-2 (TDs of six and 65 yards) |
| 81 | Josh Briscoe | 6-99 |
| 12 | Lucas Taylor | 4-95-1 (69-yard TD) |
| 17 | C.J. Fayton | 2-20 |
| 85 | Casey Woods | 2-21-1 (7-yard TD) |
| 22 | LaMarcus Coker | 1-21 |
| 86 | Brad Cottam | 1-4 |
| 82 | Bill Grimes | 1-17 |
| 3 | Robert Meachem | 1-8 |
| 84 | Austin Rogers | 1-7 |
| 39 | Robert Williams | 1-0 |
| Passing | ||
| No. | Name | Comp.-Att.-Yds.-TD-INT |
| 16 | Rick Clausen | 10-13-159-2-0 |
| 10 | Erik Ainge | 11-17-129-1-0 |
| 14 | Bo Hardegree | 2-6-89-1-1 |
| 15 | Jim Bob Cooter | 3-4-25-0-0 |
| Defensive Leaders/Big Plays: | |
| Demetrice Morley | 5 tackles, 1 TFL |
| Ryan Karl | 4 tackles, 2 sacks |
| Daniel Brooks | 4 tackles, 1 TFL |
| Gerald Williams | 4 tackles, 1 TFL |
| Turk McBride | 3 tackles, 1 recovered fumble |
| Robert Ayers | 3 tackles, 1 sack |
| Jonathan Hefney | 4 tackles |
| Antonio Gaines | 4 tackles |
| Inquoris Johnson | 2 tackles, 1 PBU |
| Jerod Mayo | 2 tackles, 1 caused fumble |
| Jarod Parrish | 3 tackles |
| Jon Poe | 3 tackles |
| Kevin Simon | 3 tackles |
| Antwan Stewart | 3 tackles |
| Jonathan Wade | 3 tackles |
| Sinclair Cannon | 1 interception (20-yard return) |
| Jason Hall | 1 sack |
| Justin Harrell | 1 sack |
| Kicking (Field Goals) | ||
| No. | Name | Made - Missed |
| 25 | James Wilhoit | 52, 42, 42 |
| 37 | Ryan Fusco | 42, 42 - 42 |
| 47 | Britton Colquitt | 42, 42 |
Injuries: C David Ligon-out indefinitely (left high ankle sprain, x-ray negative); OL Kirk Swearingen-to be evaluated (ankle).
Held out of scrimmage: LB Rico McCoy, WR Jayson Swain
