University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Steady During Preseason's Second Scrimmage
August 19, 2007 | Football
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Vols head coach Phillip Fulmer seemed generally pleased with his units on a night when the offense scored twice through the air and twice on the ground. The coaching staff's continued emphasis on running the football appears to be paying dividends in the preseason.
???There were some exciting things that happened for the offense,??? Fulmer said. ???Those young running backs certainly looked good. I thought Arian (Foster) and Montario (Hardesty) ran with authority.
True freshmen Lennon Creer and Daryl Vereen paced all rushers, Creer carrying 11 times for 57 yards and Vereen 13 times for 47 yards. Vereen???s 17-yard touchdown run was a highlight and complemented another productive night from Foster -- 41 yards on just eight tries -- as well as Hardesty???s 30 yards on five carries.
In the passing game, quarterbacks Erik Ainge and Jonathan Crompton were productive. Ainge completed 14-of-25 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns against one interception, while Crompton was a handy 10-of-15 for 77 yards. ???Good things happened on both sides during the course of the scrimmage,??? Fulmer said. ???I think Erik is in complete command throwing the ball, although we dropped way too many passes.
???There was more consistency. You take away the drops and offensively you probably have a pretty good day.???
Austin Rogers, repeating his sophomore season after battles last year with a shoulder injury and mononucleosis, caught four passes for 56 yards to lead the first-unit receivers. Josh Briscoe and Gerald Jones added four receptions apiece, while the touchdowns went from Ainge to true freshman Denarius Moore for 27 yards and senior tight end Chris Brown for 1.
Tennessee???s secondary was in the defensive mix all night. True freshman Eric Berry had his second interception in as many scrimmages to go with five tackles, while junior college transfers Nevin McKenzie and DeAngelo Willingham added seven tackles apiece.
???Eric is a football player and a darn good football player, ???Fulmer said of Berry. ???He???s way ahead of his years. For a freshman to be that mature and do that well -- of course he dropped the first kickoff. We intentionally put those young guys back there to see how they would respond. It???s better to find out now than during the first game against Cal. I think it will be a great lesson for him.???
Another first-year player, defensive end Ben Martin, suffered a knee injury and was taken to the hospital for x-rays.
???We???re obviously real concerned about Ben,??? Fulmer said. ???He???s a heck of a young prospect and I would hate to see him out for any length of time.???
Tennessee practices again Monday morning before the preseason???s final scrimmage on Tuesday afternoon.
???We don???t have that much more to do,??? Fulmer said. ???After Tuesday???s scrimmage, we have to start being really careful and smart about the number of reps some guys get. We???ll try to work those younger guys to get them better.???
Offensive Starters: C Josh McNeil, OT Ramon Foster and Eric Young, OG Chris Scott and Anthony Parker, TE Chris Brown and Brad Cottam, WR Austin Rogers and Lucas Taylor, TB Arian Foster, QB Erik Ainge.
Defensive Starters: DE Xavier Mitchell and Antonio Reynolds, DT J.T. Mapu and Demonte Bolden, LB Rico McCoy, Jerod Mayo and Adam Myers-White, CB Marsalous Johnson and Antonio Gaines, S Jonathan Hefney and Jarod Parrish.
Rushing Leaders (Att.-Yds.-TD): Daryl Vereen 13-47-1; Lennon Creer 11-57-0; Josh Hawkins 10-29-0; Arian Foster 8-41-0; Roy Olasimbo 6-32-1; Montario Hardesty 5-30-0.
Passing Leaders (Att.-Comp.-Int.-Yds.-TD): Erik Ainge 25-14-1-146-2; Jonathan Crompton 15-10-0-77-0; Nick Stevens 12-5-1-47-0; B.J. Coleman 9-3-0-19-0.
Receiving Leaders (No.-Yds.-TD): Austin Rogers 4-56-0; Josh Briscoe 4-29-0; Gerald Jones 4-20-0; Jeff Cottam 3-20-0; Denarius Moore 2-48-1; Kenny O???Neal 2-17-0; Tyler Maples 2-15-0; Ahmad Paige 2-15-0; Chris Brown 2-6-1.
Defensive Leaders: Nevin McKenzie 7 tackles, 1 PBU; DeAngelo Willingham 7 tackles, PBU; Dorian Davis 7 tackles, 2 TFL (-6); Rico McCoy 6 tackles; Jerod Mayo 6 tackles; LaMarcus Thompson 6 tackles, 2 sacks (-17); Eric Berry 5 tackles, interception; Jarod Parrish 5 tackles; Jonathan Hefney 4 tackles; Chris Donald 4 tackles; Dan Williams 4 tackles, sack (-1), 1 PBU; Chris Walker 4 tackles, PBU; Xavier Mitchell 4 tackles, sack (-5); Art Evans 3 tackles, PBU; Michael Crain 3 tackles, TFL (-3); Marsalous Johnson 2 tackles, PBU; Savion Frazier 2 tackles, TFL (-3); Adam Myers-White 2 tackles, TFL (-3), PBU; Donald Langley 2 tackles, sack (-8); Walter Fisher 2 tackles, TFL (-3); C.J. Fleming tackle, interception; Antonio Gaines tackle, PBU.
Punting Leader (No.-Avg.-Long): Chad Cunningham 11-43.5-50.
Field Goal Leader: Daniel Lincoln 5-of-8, long 36.
Injury Holdouts: LB Ryan Karl (back) and LB Ellix Wilson (knee).
Scrimmage Injuries: LB Adam Myers-White (knee), DE Ben Martin (knee), P Britton Colquitt (quad; held after one series); DE Xavier Mitchell (head; held after one series).
