University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols secondary expected to be big-time in '08
August 27, 2008 | Football
Aug. 27, 2008
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Demetrice Morley has waited an extra-long time to make his next hit as a Tennessee safety.
After serving a year suspension, the junior has returned to anchor what is potentially one of the best secondaries in the country with the help of star safety Eric Berry.
"I can't wait. I feel anxious. I feel like a little kid again," Morley said.
The defensive backs were the one of the biggest concerns entering the 2007 season and had a rough start in outings at California and Florida before improving tremendously.
Injuries forced the Vols to play a number of people at cornerback. This season, seniors DeAngelo Willingham and Antonio Gaines, junior Marsalous Johnson, sophomores Dennis Rogan and Brent Vinson and even freshman Art Evans could see playing time.
Willingham and Rogan are projected to start at cornerback Monday against UCLA. Vinson will serve a one-game suspension for a violation of team rules.
"Obviously it's a more experienced secondary, probably a more confident secondary," defensive backs coach Larry Slade said. "When you go out there and break in a lot of new guys ... they're learning on the job."
That's exactly what Berry, Willingham, Vinson and Rogan did last season after Johnson and Gaines had season-ending injuries early in the season.
Now they don't have to spend so much effort during a game thinking about different coverage packages and schemes. It's automatic now.
"We knew what we had last year. We knew the situation. I didn't make any excuses then. I won't make any excuses now," defensive coordinator John Chavis said. "We feel a lot better about where we are right now."
