University of Tennessee Athletics
Big Target Makes Big Plays
November 15, 2014 | Football
By Brian Rice
UTSports.com
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- At 6'5, 243 pounds, Jason Croom is a big target for the Tennessee offense. But head coach Butch Jones has been imploring Croom to play even bigger.
Saturday against Kentucky, Croom played up to that size. The redshirt sophomore made three catches for 87 yards, including a 52-yard TD catch on the first play of the second half that that cemented the game for the Volunteers.
"Every day I'm working at it and learning just to use my body," Croom said. "[Coach Jones] has been preaching to us about using our bodies and making big plays and that's what we were able to do tonight."
His first catch of the might not make the highlight reel, but the effort that followed to carry multiple defenders downfield to pick up a first down will.
"That was at a critical stage of the game," Jones said. "We thought he was short, but he just kept driving the pile."
Croom's second-quarter grab was perhaps the best illustration of using his size to make a play. On a long ball thrown a little high by Joshua Dobbs, Croom went skyward, spinning in the air to pull the ball in over a Kentucky defender for a 32-yard gain to the 14 that set up an Aaron Medley field goal.
On the first offensive play of the second half, Croom's physicality struck again. He fought off traffic to take a short pass from Dobbs out of a crowd of UK defenders and then hit the afterburners for the 52-yard score, the longest catch of his career and the longest pass of Dobbs'.
"We came out of halftime with fresh legs and I was able to make a play," Croom said.
Both players clearly like facing the Wildcats. The previous long play for both players was a 43-yard pass from Dobbs to Croom in the first quarter of last season's 27-14 Tennessee win over Kentucky.
The performance built on Croom's recent surge, which included the game-tying reception with 0:11 left against South Carolina two weeks ago.
"Jason did a great job of stepping up, but he has been doing it all year," Jones said. "Sometimes, he may not have the catches, but he still impacts the game. We have challenged him. Coach Azzanni has challenged him. We have challenged him to play big. He has responded, and that is a tribute to his work ethic."
Croom's attitude has been to make the most of every ball thrown his way.
"It's just taking advantage of opportunities," Croom said. "Every time I get a chance to have a ball my way, I have to take that ball out of the air because you never know how many chances you'll have to have the ball come your way."
The win puts Tennessee one victory away from the bowl game that has eluded the program since 2010. The next step is one that Croom has been motivated to take.
"We haven't had the chance to go to a bowl game since I've been here," he said. "Now that the opportunity has presented itself, we have to go get it."
