University of Tennessee Athletics
Coach Fulmer's Tuesday Media Day Comments
August 28, 2007 | Football
Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer said Tuesday that a slight finger injury on Erik Ainge???s throwing hand would limit the Vols senior at practice over the next couple of days. Fulmer said Ainge suffered the mishap during Monday???s workout.
???Erik was taking a snap from center and jammed his little finger,??? Fulmer said during his Tuesday press conference. ???We???re going to give me a couple days off because it is pretty darn sore for him. Hopefully, it will be fine for the game. If not, Jonathan Crompton will be ready to go and we???ll go from there.???
UT moved its Tuesday practice into the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center, preparing further for Saturday???s season opener at California. The Golden Bears??? Memorial Stadium has a similar playing surface to Tennessee???s indoor practice field.
Tennessee practices again Wednesday and Thursday before departing Thursday afternoon for the West Coast. The Vols and Bears meet Saturday at Berkeley in a 5:13 p.m. kickoff, with the Vol Radio Network and ABC Sports providing the coverage.
HEAD COACH PHILLIP FULMER???S TUESDAY MEDIA DAY COMMENTS
???Obviously, from our standpoint, we are very excited to play this football team and see where we are as a team. To this point it has been a fun team to be around, a fun team to coach and a responsive group. Our leadership has grown with our junior and senior class as we???ve gone through the spring and the summer and the fall. We added a group of young and exciting skill guys, of which I think you???re talking about eight that will help us to some degree during the course of the year.
???We start with a very tough opponent in Cal. I don???t think that there is any question, as you look at the tape and the improvement that they made during the course of the year, that they are an outstanding football team. The quarterback will be as good as we will play during the course of the year; he can make all the throws. A running back, Forsett, and a group of young guys that I understand they are playing are as good as we will face during the year. A group of wide receivers, led by DeSean Jackson, that are exceptional, and a big physical offensive line. Our defense, right out of the box, has a tremendous challenge ahead of them. I told the team yesterday, if we???re going to win this football game, it has to be as a team. Offensively, doing our part, making sure we don???t turn it over; try to keep it away from Cal to some degree. Our defensive goals are obviously stopping Cal and being able to pressure the quarterback and then winning all phases of the kicking game. That???s a tremendous challenge that we did a good job of last year.
???Defensively, Cal is replacing a number of guys much like us. We???re not quite 100 percent sure of the personnel the first game. It???s always that way, but we do know that we will get an eight-man front package and a lot of pressure. It???s certainly an advantage to have a senior quarterback available.
???Our team, I think is invested well in this season and is prepared. As far as condition, we???ve handled the heat extremely well. The demanding practices we???ve been through, the physicalness of it, I believe it has made our team better. We???re building on a bounce-back year in 06. Building on that this year is our goal and taking a run at the championship, which is always our goal.
???We???re pleased with the improvement we have made to this point, reasonably satisfied with the depth we???ve been able to build during the course of camp and spring. The defensive front, as I???ve said a number of times, has been a concern, particularly defensive tackle. I???m not ready to anoint him yet because I want to see him do it in a game, but Demonte Bolden has been a guy that has really made significant strides for us as a potential disrupter in the middle. We???ve been at our best on defense when we???ve had one of those. As I said, nobody could ever imagine how much we missed Justin Harrell last year after he got hurt. I hope Demonte continues on that path. Xavier Mitchell and Antonio Reynolds are huge to us this season if they play like they played the last half of spring practice and during the course of this camp. I???m really happy about the secondary and where we???ve come from their standpoint. That???s probably an area that we???re going to be the most tested in. We???ll find out a lot about where we are there.
???Kicking-wise, certainly I???m hopeful that Britton (Colquitt) will be 100 percent when we get to game time. My first thought right now is that he???ll only do the punting. Extra points, field goals and kickoffs will be done by Daniel Lincoln. Chad Cunningham will be available for either one if needed.???
LADY VOLS ASSISTANT HOOPS COACHES CRUISING ACROSS AMERICA
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| ??Holly Warlick and Nikki Caldwell |
Holly Warlick and Nikki Caldwell are accustomed to crossing the country scouting for the top recruits in women???s college basketball. This September, they are traversing the nation???s roads for a different reason.
The two assistant coaches for the national champion University of Tennessee women???s basketball team and four other individuals will depart Berkeley, Calif., on Sunday en route to Knoxville aboard Harley Davidson motorcycles to raise money for breast cancer awareness. Funds raised along the 2,700-mile journey, being billed as ???Cruisin??? for a Cause,??? will benefit The Wellness Community as well as other cancer charities.
???We???re really looking forward to traveling the country a little differently than we normally do, but more importantly we hope this trip will raise awareness and funds to fight a disease that could claim the lives of more than 40,000 women and 400 men this year,??? associate head coach Warlick said.
The two will leave from Berkeley on Sunday following a Saturday rally that precedes the football Vols??? first game of the season against California. Their route, being sponsored by FedEx/Kinko???s, takes them through Las Vegas; Flagstaff, Ariz.; Albuquerque, N.M.; Amarillo, Texas; Dallas; Little Rock, Ark.; Memphis and Nashville.
???The entire experience has been amazing,??? Caldwell shared. ???The team that we???ve put together to help get our foundation up and running has been very supportive. The corporate sponsorship that we???ve received has been huge. We want to make sure all the proceeds go to research for breast cancer.
???The main reason I???m doing this is because breast cancer has touched so many peoples lives that I know personally. A lot of people I???ve talked to about this have been touched by it as well. One of my best friends dear to me was diagnosed. It has hit home. Holly came up with the idea to ride cross country and approached me and I was definitely on board.???
During the 11-day trip, special events and rallies will be held in Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Dallas, Little Rock, Memphis and Nashville. A celebration concert and rally will welcome the voyagers back Sept. 12 to Knoxville???s Market Square from 5:30-9 p.m.
Businesses or individuals interested in supporting ???Cruisin??? for a Cause??? have the opportunity to do so through sponsorships or pledges. Pledges may be made at any of the rallies or through the Web site ??? www.VolunteersCruisin.com. Visit that site for more information or to follow the duo???s daily blog.
Contact: Susan Robertson (slrobertson816@earthlink.net, 865/604-4898) or Elle Butler (lcbutler84@yahoo.com).
