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Hefney drawing praise from Vols coaches
By CHRIS LOW
Staff Writer
KNOXVILLE While the debate rages on the chances of a true freshman starting at quarterback this season for Tennessee, there's a similar scenario brewing on defense.
Keeping true freshman cornerback Jonathan Hefney off the field will prove difficult.
''I've told him to be ready,'' defensive coordinator John Chavis said.
''We need him to be ready. He's going to play a lot, and he may start.''
Hefney is battling sophomore Jonathan Wade for the starting cornerback job opposite Jason Allen. Wade has received the bulk of the first-team snaps.
Regardless of who emerges as the starter, Chavis' fondness for utilizing his Mustang package with six defensive backs means both Jonathans will play plenty.
''That's why I came here, to be in these kind of situations,'' Hefney said. ''I like the pressure, and I like the high expectations.
''I know other teams will come after me, but that's what I want. I want the guys on this team to know that they can trust me, that I'm going to make the plays to help this team win.''
Hefney was one of the stars of the 7-on-7 voluntary workouts this summer. He has uncanny instincts, the kind of hips secondary coaches love and ultra-quick recovery speed.
He was measured at 5-feet-10 this summer, but even Hefney jokes that he was standing on his tiptoes at the time. He's closer to 5-9 and weighs 178 pounds.
Of course, it doesn't hurt that he flirted with a 40-inch vertical leap during the Vols' testing.
''From the first day, you could tell he was a player,'' senior linebacker and team captain Kevin Burnett said. ''He came out there and was ready to go. He's just always around the ball.''
Hefney has been equally impressive to open preseason practice. Coach Phillip Fulmer offered some unsolicited praise for Hefney each of the past two days.
''He just keeps showing up,'' Fulmer said.
Even a few of the offensive coaches made it a point to shake Hefney's hand after he swooped in to break up a deep pass on the goal line intended for Robert Meachem Saturday.
Naturally, Hefney will also have to endure his share of growing pains. He was burned yesterday by Meachem, who beat him on a stop-and-go pattern.
''It was important to make an impression in the summer, but this is where you really prove it,'' Hefney said. ''Now, I have to prove that I can hit and do everything they're looking for on the field.
''I know they've seen that I'm an athlete, but I have to show it when it's real.''
It's been a long wait for Hefney, who spent last year at Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy after failing to qualify academically out of high school in Rock Hill, S.C.
There were times when weeks seemed like years in the small town of Chatham, Va., but Hefney was determined to persevere.
And on the field, he was nothing short of sensational. He returned six kicks for touchdowns last season, and teams rarely threw to his side of the field.
His coach at Hargrave, Robert Prunty, joked that you had better not get up to go for popcorn any time the other team was kicking to Hefney.
He's one of the top candidates to be the Vols' deep man on punt and kickoff returns this season.
''We might have a dimension back there that maybe we haven't had the last couple of years,'' said Fulmer, adding that Wade and freshman Ja'Kouri Williams would also factor into the return game.
Should Hefney earn one of the cornerback jobs this season, he would become the first Tennessee true freshman since Terry Fair in 1994 to start at cornerback.
''He listens and learns,'' junior receiver Chris Hannon said. ''Plus, he has the speed and quickness.
''I might do him up and score on one play. But the next time, that changes. He's right there. He's going to be a good one. He already is.''
By CHRIS LOW
Staff Writer
KNOXVILLE While the debate rages on the chances of a true freshman starting at quarterback this season for Tennessee, there's a similar scenario brewing on defense.
Keeping true freshman cornerback Jonathan Hefney off the field will prove difficult.
''I've told him to be ready,'' defensive coordinator John Chavis said.
''We need him to be ready. He's going to play a lot, and he may start.''
Hefney is battling sophomore Jonathan Wade for the starting cornerback job opposite Jason Allen. Wade has received the bulk of the first-team snaps.
Regardless of who emerges as the starter, Chavis' fondness for utilizing his Mustang package with six defensive backs means both Jonathans will play plenty.
''That's why I came here, to be in these kind of situations,'' Hefney said. ''I like the pressure, and I like the high expectations.
''I know other teams will come after me, but that's what I want. I want the guys on this team to know that they can trust me, that I'm going to make the plays to help this team win.''
Hefney was one of the stars of the 7-on-7 voluntary workouts this summer. He has uncanny instincts, the kind of hips secondary coaches love and ultra-quick recovery speed.
He was measured at 5-feet-10 this summer, but even Hefney jokes that he was standing on his tiptoes at the time. He's closer to 5-9 and weighs 178 pounds.
Of course, it doesn't hurt that he flirted with a 40-inch vertical leap during the Vols' testing.
''From the first day, you could tell he was a player,'' senior linebacker and team captain Kevin Burnett said. ''He came out there and was ready to go. He's just always around the ball.''
Hefney has been equally impressive to open preseason practice. Coach Phillip Fulmer offered some unsolicited praise for Hefney each of the past two days.
''He just keeps showing up,'' Fulmer said.
Even a few of the offensive coaches made it a point to shake Hefney's hand after he swooped in to break up a deep pass on the goal line intended for Robert Meachem Saturday.
Naturally, Hefney will also have to endure his share of growing pains. He was burned yesterday by Meachem, who beat him on a stop-and-go pattern.
''It was important to make an impression in the summer, but this is where you really prove it,'' Hefney said. ''Now, I have to prove that I can hit and do everything they're looking for on the field.
''I know they've seen that I'm an athlete, but I have to show it when it's real.''
It's been a long wait for Hefney, who spent last year at Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy after failing to qualify academically out of high school in Rock Hill, S.C.
There were times when weeks seemed like years in the small town of Chatham, Va., but Hefney was determined to persevere.
And on the field, he was nothing short of sensational. He returned six kicks for touchdowns last season, and teams rarely threw to his side of the field.
His coach at Hargrave, Robert Prunty, joked that you had better not get up to go for popcorn any time the other team was kicking to Hefney.
He's one of the top candidates to be the Vols' deep man on punt and kickoff returns this season.
''We might have a dimension back there that maybe we haven't had the last couple of years,'' said Fulmer, adding that Wade and freshman Ja'Kouri Williams would also factor into the return game.
Should Hefney earn one of the cornerback jobs this season, he would become the first Tennessee true freshman since Terry Fair in 1994 to start at cornerback.
''He listens and learns,'' junior receiver Chris Hannon said. ''Plus, he has the speed and quickness.
''I might do him up and score on one play. But the next time, that changes. He's right there. He's going to be a good one. He already is.''
