University of Tennessee Athletics
Thursday Q&A With WR Austin Rogers
October 18, 2007 | Football
Thursdays of every game week, UTsports.com sits down with a member of the Vols team or coaching staff to preview a key element of the upcoming game. This week, sports information graduate assistant Tony Williams speaks with sophomore receiver Austin Rogers about the Tennessee-Alabama rivalry and the Volunteers??? success this season in the passing game.
You grew up a Tennessee fan. What does this rivalry mean to you?
???It is a big game for me, because I grew up watching it on TV. As long as I can remember, it has always been a close game. No matter what the records or the rankings, it has always been a tough Saturday for both teams.???
Having watched the game through the years, what sticks out to you about the rivalry?
???It always ends up being decided in the fourth quarter. It always comes down to that. No matter what happens early, it always seems that both teams are capable of winning at the end. It is always a fight to the finish.???
Will the game feel any different this time, now that you figure to play a significant role in it?
???Yeah, I think it will feel different for me. I???ve known the last two years that I wasn???t going to play much in the game, so there will be a different mental approach going into the game knowing that I will be in on a lot of snaps.???
What do you think have been the keys to the passing game???s success this season?
???I think the biggest thing has been getting all of the receivers on the same page as Erik. We have put a lot of extra work into getting comfortable with each other. We came out and put a lot of work in during the summer, working on our timing. It has continued through two-a-days and thus far into the season. Erik knows where we???re going to be; that???s the biggest thing. We pride ourselves on being in the same place every time.???
The wide receiving corps was an area of concern coming into the season. Do you feel like you guys have done enough to prove the doubters wrong?
???I think we???ve proven some people wrong, but there is still work to be done. We have to continue to practice and keep pushing. A full season of production will speak for itself. Having a couple of big games doesn???t do it because there is no consistency.???
InSIDe the Vols -- FULMER NEARING NEYLAND???S MARK AGAINST TIDE
High atop Tennessee???s Mount Rushmore of coaching legends -- Phillip Fulmer, Gen. Robert Neyland, Doug Dickey and Johnny Majors -- the current Vols head coach would sport the broadest smile if results against Alabama were the model.
Fulmer enters Saturday???s game in Tuscaloosa having lost only three times in 14 overall tries against the Crimson Tide. And whether one credits the current dean of SEC coaches with 11 series victories -- the 17-17 result from 1993 later was forfeited to UT because of NCAA sanctions -- or 10 wins and a tie, it matters little.
Fulmer owns lots of wins against a key Big Orange protagonist.
???This game is always special to anybody that has ever played in it, to the Tennessee people and the Alabama people,??? Fulmer said earlier this week. ???To me, it is one of the greatest rivalries in college football.???
Fulmer???s career record versus Alabama is topped in wins only by Neyland, who went 12-5-2 during his three separate coaching tenures from 1926-52. Dickey finished 3-2-1 during his 1964-69 tenure and Majors was 4-12 from 1977-92.
Neyland and Fulmer may actually top the charts for any Alabama opponent when it comes to coaching victories over the Crimson Tide, which entered this season sixth in major college football wins with 780.
So forfeit or no forfeit, it???s still quite a success story. One that Fulmer and the Vols hope to continue Saturday afternoon.
AT&T OPENS VOTING FOR BEST SEC DEFENSIVE BACK OF ALL TIME
ATLANTA ??- The Southeastern Conference has produced some of the most disruptive defensive backs in the history of college football, and now fans can voice their opinions on the best of all time. It???s all a part of AT&T Inc.???s ???Best of 75 Years of SEC Football,??? an 11-week program that allows fans to vote for their favorite players, coaches and traditions from the past 75 years.
Fans can enter to vote on the ???Best of 75 Years of SEC Football??? after accessing SEC Mobile on their AT&T handsets by texting SEC to 234567. They will then receive a menu of options to choose from, which includes alerts, trivia, SEC video, news, downloads and sweepstakes.?? Voting began Sept. 4 and runs through Nov. 16 with results announced weekly.
Choosing the best of all time will be no easy task ??? just check out the list of nominees below:
Antonio Langham, Alabama; Steve Atwater, Arkansas; Carlos Rogers, Auburn; Louis Oliver, Florida; Terry Hoage, Georgia; Darryl Bishop, Kentucky; Tommy Casanova, LSU; Glenn Cannon, Mississippi; Walt Harris, Mississippi State; Dick Harris, South Carolina; Steve Johnson, Tennessee; Corey Chavous, Vanderbilt.
The three finalists to be chosen will be voted on during the last two weeks of the program in November. Every text message vote cast is an entry into a sweepstakes to win a trip to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game.
