University of Tennessee Athletics
Coach Fulmer's postgame comments
April 19, 2008 | Football
???I???m really happy to get through the game without an injury. I thought early, especially, we executed extremely well offensively. It was good to see John in that kind of rhythm. We held Arian Foster, obviously, who we think is going to be a heck of a back for us. It was great to get that kind of work for those other backs.
???We limited the defense a little bit as far as how much they could do with pressure, so that really wasn???t totally what our defense will be. But the ones kept knocking the ball loose and getting their hands on some balls, which certainly was a positive.
???I was pleased with the kickers and getting a chance to see our punter for the first five weeks (of the 2008 season), at least, punt live. Chad did a good job and it looked like he did the best job on kickoffs as well.
???It will be a good film study for us. There were some really big plays in the passing game. I thought we executed well, too. I???m not really happy right now with the way we ran the football overall, but generally it was a good day for us.
(On Jonathan Crompton): ???I thought he had a good day except for that last ball. We were actually going to put him back in so as to not end up on that interception, but decided it would have been stupid to get him hurt or something. I don???t know what his numbers were but they were outstanding, particularly the first two-thirds of the scrimmage.
(On Crompton???s strides this spring): ???His execution, the understanding of the offense, getting the ball out quick, getting the ball to playmakers, which is what we said we wanted to do from the very beginning. He???s had a tremendous spring and today kind of capped it off. I still pointed out to him that he???s got to take care of the football a little bit better than he did. It was great what he did in the early part of the scrimmage. To have that one play is kind of a downer, but he is definitely our quarterback and definitely a guy who has shown the ability to run the offense.
(On the reserve defensive line): ???That No. 2 defensive front didn???t challenge very much. It was very disappointing. They had better push during the course of the spring than they had today. It???s a credit to John getting the ball out too, much like we did last year when we only gave up four sacks in 14 games.
(On the receivers): ???A good day for the receivers.
(On the secondary): ???More of what we???ve seen all spring. The secondary is very talented and experienced enough now to get themselves in places where they can make plays. If they get their hands on the ball, then those two (Morley and Berry) especially can make big things happen.
(On B.J. Coleman): ???I thought he had a good day. I thought he managed the huddle for the most part extremely well. He had two or three plays where he missed the signals and kind of got things screwed up, but sometimes that happens with a young guy. B.J. and Nick both are good prospects for the future and we???ve got to keep them coming.
(On Lennon Creer): ???Looks like he had a good day. He had two or three chances to really stick it up in there. I want him to get his pads down better. That???s happened too many times this spring on a couple of short-yardage plays where we didn???t get it stuck in there like we wanted. Overall, I thought he had a good day.
(On Gerald Jones): ???Gerald???s a good player. He can line up in a lot of places in our offense and we???re going to get the football to him. When we get Lucas back and Austin Rogers back, that corps of receivers should be a good group to work with.
(On the team???s spring progression): ???I think the second team defensive line at the end of the spring got to where I thought they would start the spring. They started to understand how to give great effort, play every down hard, get off blocks and make plays. We???ve still got some real challenges in front of us to get through the summer. Obviously, we hope to get some of the freshmen who can help us in the mix really quickly, whoever can give us more depth. We???re not where we need to be.
(On the offense???s acclimation to Coach Clawson): ???I think really well. It???s been a process. It hasn???t happened overnight and you wouldn???t expect it to. Today was a good indication that when you operate, protect and throw on time. I???d like to have run the football better. If Arian had stayed in the game I think we probably would have seen some more big runs. I???d like to see us run the football better and have the same efficiency in the passing game.
(On Dave Clawson???s acclimation to Tennessee): ???I think really well. He???s a football junkie like I am. We had a scrimmage the other day and I had four pages of notes. There wasn???t one thing as we went through them that he took any exception to. I love that. We can sit there and discuss and argue -- there are a lot of good things to come out of that as we go along and as we continue to put this together.
(On today???s playbook): ???For the most part, we probably got 70 percent of it in. There are a lot of things they have heard this spring that we really haven???t had a chance to work on.
(On the end of spring practice): ???I???d like to have about 30 more days of spring practice. It???s the best time. Some of the guys are just now starting to understand how to play the game and now it???s over. I just told the guys that now Phase 3 starts, summer is so crucial for us, the leadership has got to grow. We???ve grown some in that area. Finals are coming up, coaches are recruiting and I will be in a fund-raising mode in different places. The leadership has to be there.
