University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Defense Eager to Atone for Weekend
September 05, 2007 | Football
Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer certainly has challenged his defense this week after the Vols dropped a 45-31 decision Saturday at California. The third practice test since the weekend setback was Wednesday during a two-hour workout at Haslam Field.
???Coach (John) Chavis and all of us have challenged them considerably,??? Fulmer said. ???You can see that look in their eyes -- in Jon Hefney???s eye, in Ryan Karl???s eye and J.T. Mapu???s eye. They are eager to get a chance to play and get themselves back on track.???
The Vols never led the Golden Bears, although a late third- and early fourth-quarter rally closed what had been a 17-point gap to seven after three consecutive defensive stops.
Fulmer said improvements must be made before Southern Mississippi visits for a 7 p.m. kickoff Saturday at Neyland Stadium (Vol Network, VideoSeat).
???The most obvious to everybody would be our tackling, and not just tackling but being in the right position to make the plays,??? he said. ???Our front played reasonably well. Our linebackers played reasonably well, but we missed too many tackles in the secondary and a few at linebacker. We???re looking to make significant progress this week on that.???
A key to the Southern Miss offense is sophomore running back Damion Fletcher, who carried 19 times for 156 yards Saturday against UT Martin and already has topped 1,500 rushing yards for his young career.
???He is really good,??? Fulmer said. ???I would compare him to Arian Foster in that he is a good slasher who gets up field and is a very determined runner. We???ve got to be in the right place. Our speed and quickness has to show up and our tackling has to show up.???
InSIDe the Vols -- SCOTT THIS WEEK???S CAREacter ATHLETE; UT RANKED 24TH FOR FIRST TIME
Sophomore offensive guard Chris Scott is this season???s first CAREacter Star Athlete of the Week...Scott hails from Riverdale, Ga., and graduated from the same high school as junior Anthony Parker...The Georgia duo now teams as Tennessee???s starting guard tandem...Saturday???s opener in Berkeley was Scott???s first starting assignment, although he played in seven games last season...Scott was a Parade All-America in high school and helped Lovejoy to a 38-10 record during his four-year career...The Vols enter this week No. 24 in both polls, and Saturday marks the Vols first-ever game played as the nation???s 24th-ranked team...UT???s equipment truck made it back from the West Coast on Tuesday at 1 p.m., finishing about a 5,000-mile roundtrip.
TICKETS REMAIN FOR FOUR UT HOME GAMES, THIS SATURDAY INCLUDED
Tickets to four Tennessee home football games and a pair of road dates are available through the UTsports.com Web site, by phone or in person at Thompson-Boling Arena.
A limited number of pairs and selected singles can be purchased to see the Vols play Southern Mississippi ($50) this Saturday night.
Other home dates still available are Arkansas State (Sept. 22, $40), Homecoming against Louisiana-Lafayette (Nov. 3, $40) and Vanderbilt (Nov. 17, $40). Tickets in the Vols??? cheering section for road games against Mississippi State (Oct. 13, $40) and Kentucky (Nov. 24, $30) also are available.
Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. each business day
