University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Crisp on Offense; Morley's UT Career Over
April 07, 2009 | Football
April 7, 2009
On a day when Tennessee's offense was efficient and turnover-free throughout Tuesday afternoon, it was defense in the spotlight as head coach Lane Kiffin announced the departure of senior defensive back Demetrice Morley.
"Demetrice won't be part of our team anymore," Kiffin said after the 2 1/2-hour workout. "Like we have said from the beginning, this isn't easy. It's very demanding for guys to stay here and go through everything we do, to hold to our standards on and off the field, to be part of our culture. Demetrice could not do that and we wish him the best of luck."
Kiffin kept the Vols inside the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center on this day instead of facing what would have been an unusually cold April afternoon.
"I thought it was important to have a good day of ball security and have a good day with the passing game," Kiffin said. "To go out and mud around, to have three days this week on the same wet turf, wasn't worth it.
"I thought the guys came out with really good energy today. I thought the offense was really crisp. They had some backed-up situations where they won both the drills coming out. I thought the backs did great today. Toney (Williams) looked really good back there and had a number of big runs."
Williams, a true freshman from Alpharetta, Ga., is fresh off his 14-carry, 84-yard and two-touchdown scrimmage. He was the highlight of a UT running game that moved the ball well in live action Saturday -- except for two key turnovers that marred any final grades.
But there were no such problems Tuesday in the first practice since.
"We didn't have a turnover all day," Kiffin said. "To go through all the different situations and drills we had today and not have a turnover was huge for us. It was a big emphasis for us coming off the scrimmage and I'm proud of our offense.
"Obviously, that's not good enough on defense. We should never come out here, ever, and not get a turnover. So we've got to go back and work harder on defense to get that done."
TENNESSEE'S BERRY NAMED TO 2009 LOTT TROPHY WATCH LIST
Tennessee's Eric Berry has been named to the 2009 Lott Trophy Watch List, it was announced Tuesday by Ronnie Lott at a luncheon in Newport Beach, Calif. The Watch List is made up of 42 of the nation's top defensive players who have had the biggest IMPACT on their teams on and off the field. IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.
Berry, a 5-11, 195-pound junior from Fairburn, Ga., was a semi-finalist for the award last season when he was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore and a consensus All-American.
There are 14 repeat nominees, the most in the six years of the award, including seven quarter-finalists from a year ago and along with Berry, a semi-finalist last year.
The other quarter-finalists nominated this year are Boston College Linebacker Mark Herzlich, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year; South Carolina's Eric Norwood, who led the SEC in sacks, Florida's Brandon Spikes, Missouri's Sean Weatherspoon, Kentucky's Jeremy Jarmon, BYU's Jan Jorgensen and South Florida's George Selvie. Thirty-eight different schools are represented on the Watch List. Alabama, BYU, Georgia and UCLA each have two players nominated.
Named after Hall of Famer Lott, The Lott Trophy is awarded to college football's Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. Now in its sixth year, The Lott Trophy is the only college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player.
Sponsored by The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation, the award is given to a player who exhibits the same characteristics Lott embodied during his distinguished career: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.
David Pollack of Georgia won the initial Lott Trophy in 2004. DeMeco Ryans of Alabama won the award in 2005, Daymeion Hughes of Cal was the recipient in 2006, Glenn Dorsey of LSU in 2007 and James Laurinaitis of Ohio State last year. Georgia, Alabama, Cal, LSU and Ohio State have each received $25,000 for their general scholarship funds. In five years, the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation has now donated nearly $650,000 to various charities, including the four universities.
In addition to Berry and Herzlich, Jerry Hughes (TCU, Mountain West) and Alex Carrington (Arkansas State, Sun Belt) were named the Defensive Players of the Year in their respective conferences.
Voters for the award include selected members of the national media, previous finalists, the Board of Directors of the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation, The IMPACT Foundation Board of Advisors comprised of many retired NFL players and Legends Coaches, a distinguished group of former head college coaches.
The winner will be announced at a gala black-tie banquet at The Pacific Club in Newport Beach, Calif., on Dec. 13, 2009. For further information on The Lott Trophy, the Web site at Lotttrophy.com.
The 2009 Lott Trophy Watch List
Mike Anello, DB, Notre Dame; Pat Angerer, LB, Iowa; Matthew Bauman, LB, Brigham Young; Patrick Benoist, LB, Vanderbilt; Eric Berry, DB, TENNESSEE; Alex Carrington, DE, Arkansas State; Terrence Cody, DT, Alabama; Reggie Carter, LB, UCLA; Harry Coleman, LB, LSU; Kurt Coleman, S, Ohio State; Rennie Curran, LB, Georgia; Brian Duncan, LB, Texas Tech; Brandon Graham, DE, Michigan; Mark Herzlich, LB, Boston College; Jerry Hughes, DE, TCU; Jeremy Jarmon, DE, Kentucky; Greg Jones, LB, Michigan State; Jan Jorgensen, DE, Brigham Young; Keaton Kristick, LB, Oregon State; Sean Lee, LB, Penn State; Taylor Mays, S, Southern California; Rolando McClain, LB, Alabama; Gerald McCoy, DT, Oklahoma; Bo McNally, S, Stanford; Derrick Morgan, DE, Georgia Tech; Roddrick Muckelroy, LB, Texas; Mike Nixon, LB, Arizona State; Eric Norwood, DE, South Carolina; Vince Oghobaase, DT, Duke; Jeff Owens, DT, Georgia; Joe Pawelek, LB, Baylor; George Selvie, DE, South Florida; Brandon Spikes, LB, Florida; Darrell Stuckey, DB, Kansas; Ndamukong Suh, DE, Nebraska; Syd'Quan Thompson, DB, California; Alterraun Verner, DB, UCLA; T.J. Ward, DB, Oregon; Sean Weatherspoon, LB, Missouri; Ryan Winterswyk, DE, Boise State; Reed Williams, LB, West Virginia; Corey Wootton, DE, Northwestern.
