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Vols Pound It
Tennessee going for bulk, leading SEC in weight on offensive line
By CHRIS LOW
Tennesseean
Staff Writer
KNOXVILLE Is bigger really better when it comes to the offensive line?
The short answer: It depends on who you ask.
Tennessee's football team heads into its showdown with Florida on Saturday with its biggest offensive line in school history.
The Vols averaged 334 pounds across the front in their season-opening 17-10 victory over Alabama-Birmingham. That's nearly 1,700 pounds of beef coming at you.
For perspective, they're larger than everybody else in the Southeastern Conference and larger than many NFL teams.
They will outweigh the Gators' defensive front by more than 50 pounds per man.
Tennessee Coach Phillip Fulmer, a former offensive lineman and former offensive line coach, says the Vols' girth this season "just sort of happened that way" and was not necessarily by design.
"If you can't run and move your feet, then you're useless," said Fulmer, who relishes in wearing teams down with a physical running game. "I don't want to be known as the biggest. I want to be known as the best."
Against the Gators, the Vols may actually get smaller.
Senior Richie Gandy is expected to step in at center after missing the first game with a knee injury. He's listed at a "svelte" 312 pounds and is the lightweight of the group.
Senior guard Rob Smith is 318. Senior guard Cody Douglas and junior tackle Arron Sears are both hovering around 330, while senior tackle Albert Toeaina weighs in at 355. Ramon Foster started at left guard and is pushing 340.
"The funny thing is that those numbers you guys (the media) have a lot of them are under weight," Smith joked. "There's probably not a one of those numbers that are right on us.
"It just seems like the standards keep going up and up if you want to play at this level. I saw a thing on ESPN recently about high school linemen all trying to be 300 pounds."
Fulmer has made no secret of the fact that he likes big, physical guards, or "road graders," as he calls them.
But often times, there's a fine line that separates being big enough to move out those opposing defensive tackles and being so big that simply getting out of your stance on time can be a chore.
Bubba Miller, who played seven years in the NFL and was a fixture on Tennessee's offensive line from 1992-95, thinks the Vols are too big.
"The thing is that the game has evolved to this point where these guys are so big," said Miller. "Consequently, these guys are a lot more athletic than some of the lines I played on. But at the same time, I don't think they ask these guys to do as much stuff, like pulling. A lot of what they do is straight-line stuff. "I just don't think a guy should be 340 pounds."
In fact, Miller said he could remember when Fulmer used to run Jeff Smith ragged for being 320 pounds. Smith started 47 consecutive games for the Vols and Miller 46 games in a row, both in some combination of guard and center.
"The problem with some of these weights is all the ankle injuries and foot injuries you see now," Miller said. "Look at the number of those type things Tennessee has had the last few years and how many games guys have missed in the offensive line. You can't tell me there's not a direct correlation to some of these huge weights and those injuries.
"When I played, we basically had the same line for three or four years."
Douglas and Sears have both struggled with knee and/or foot injuries the last couple of years. Smith was the Vols' only lineman who started every game a year ago.
Douglas' mid-foot sprain was especially frustrating for him. It got to the point where he couldn't condition because of the pain and shot up to nearly 360 pounds at the end of last season.
"When I came in here, it was kind of a sin to be over 320," Douglas said. "We had guys like Scott Wells at 295, Anthony Herrera and Jason Respert around 300 and Michael Munoz around 310.
"It's really kind of shifted the last two years. It's kind of becoming more acceptable because defensive linemen are getting bigger, too. If you don't have weight or are not strong enough, you're not going to be able to anchor in and hold up in there."
Still, Douglas admits he was way too big last season.
"I got on a kick of being heavy," Douglas said. "I got up to around 345, and it back-fired after I hurt my foot, because I ended up going even higher. When I couldn't practice and do any of the cardiovascular stuff, and already being down about not being able to play, that's when I ballooned.
"Everybody has to have the optimum weight they can play at. Personally, I think I play better heavier as opposed to playing around 310 or 315."
Florida tackle Lance Butler is just the opposite. "They were making me weigh 315," said Butler, who stands 6 feet 7. "I kept telling them that's too much, and they let me drop down to 310. It's not always like I've got to stuff my face to keep up my weight."
Sears is also down from the nearly 345 pounds he ended the season at a year ago. Part of the reason he got so big was that he was injured and also couldn't condition. He can tell a difference now that he's lighter.
"I thought I had to be a lot bigger to move around and play with the bigger guys down inside at guard, which I thought I was going to have to play when I first got here," Sears said.
"But then I got that big and felt my knees and ankles were going on me because of my size, and that's when I dropped. I realized you could be 305 or 310 and still play with those guys. It's more about strength and technique."
Jimmy Ray Stephens, Tennessee's offensive line coach, stops short of saying the Vols are too big. But he says there's no question that a few guys need to lose some weight.
"There's always another level that we're trying to get everybody to take their game to," Stephens said. "If all of them could lose 10 pounds, they would be quicker and more agile players and I can tell you that they're constantly trying."
Bruce Wilkerson, an offensive tackle on Tennessee's 1985 SEC championship team, thinks the Vols are immensely talented up front this season.
But his advice is for all of them to get their weight down now and not wait. Wilkerson was 295 his last season at UT. He played 12 years in the NFL and was around 317 his last few seasons.
"I think there's a push in football for bigger, period," Wilkerson said.
"I guess that's OK if you can move laterally and are conditioned enough to hold up in the fourth quarter. It's when you see a guy that's 330 pounds and spongy that poses a problem.
"Being a former player there, I'd be trying to push all their weights down. If you're 330 pounds in college, how big are you going to be when you get to the league? With us big guys as we age, you've got to be careful that you don't let it get out of control."
Tennessee going for bulk, leading SEC in weight on offensive line
By CHRIS LOW
Tennesseean
Staff Writer
KNOXVILLE Is bigger really better when it comes to the offensive line?
The short answer: It depends on who you ask.
Tennessee's football team heads into its showdown with Florida on Saturday with its biggest offensive line in school history.
The Vols averaged 334 pounds across the front in their season-opening 17-10 victory over Alabama-Birmingham. That's nearly 1,700 pounds of beef coming at you.
For perspective, they're larger than everybody else in the Southeastern Conference and larger than many NFL teams.
They will outweigh the Gators' defensive front by more than 50 pounds per man.
Tennessee Coach Phillip Fulmer, a former offensive lineman and former offensive line coach, says the Vols' girth this season "just sort of happened that way" and was not necessarily by design.
"If you can't run and move your feet, then you're useless," said Fulmer, who relishes in wearing teams down with a physical running game. "I don't want to be known as the biggest. I want to be known as the best."
Against the Gators, the Vols may actually get smaller.
Senior Richie Gandy is expected to step in at center after missing the first game with a knee injury. He's listed at a "svelte" 312 pounds and is the lightweight of the group.
Senior guard Rob Smith is 318. Senior guard Cody Douglas and junior tackle Arron Sears are both hovering around 330, while senior tackle Albert Toeaina weighs in at 355. Ramon Foster started at left guard and is pushing 340.
"The funny thing is that those numbers you guys (the media) have a lot of them are under weight," Smith joked. "There's probably not a one of those numbers that are right on us.
"It just seems like the standards keep going up and up if you want to play at this level. I saw a thing on ESPN recently about high school linemen all trying to be 300 pounds."
Fulmer has made no secret of the fact that he likes big, physical guards, or "road graders," as he calls them.
But often times, there's a fine line that separates being big enough to move out those opposing defensive tackles and being so big that simply getting out of your stance on time can be a chore.
Bubba Miller, who played seven years in the NFL and was a fixture on Tennessee's offensive line from 1992-95, thinks the Vols are too big.
"The thing is that the game has evolved to this point where these guys are so big," said Miller. "Consequently, these guys are a lot more athletic than some of the lines I played on. But at the same time, I don't think they ask these guys to do as much stuff, like pulling. A lot of what they do is straight-line stuff. "I just don't think a guy should be 340 pounds."
In fact, Miller said he could remember when Fulmer used to run Jeff Smith ragged for being 320 pounds. Smith started 47 consecutive games for the Vols and Miller 46 games in a row, both in some combination of guard and center.
"The problem with some of these weights is all the ankle injuries and foot injuries you see now," Miller said. "Look at the number of those type things Tennessee has had the last few years and how many games guys have missed in the offensive line. You can't tell me there's not a direct correlation to some of these huge weights and those injuries.
"When I played, we basically had the same line for three or four years."
Douglas and Sears have both struggled with knee and/or foot injuries the last couple of years. Smith was the Vols' only lineman who started every game a year ago.
Douglas' mid-foot sprain was especially frustrating for him. It got to the point where he couldn't condition because of the pain and shot up to nearly 360 pounds at the end of last season.
"When I came in here, it was kind of a sin to be over 320," Douglas said. "We had guys like Scott Wells at 295, Anthony Herrera and Jason Respert around 300 and Michael Munoz around 310.
"It's really kind of shifted the last two years. It's kind of becoming more acceptable because defensive linemen are getting bigger, too. If you don't have weight or are not strong enough, you're not going to be able to anchor in and hold up in there."
Still, Douglas admits he was way too big last season.
"I got on a kick of being heavy," Douglas said. "I got up to around 345, and it back-fired after I hurt my foot, because I ended up going even higher. When I couldn't practice and do any of the cardiovascular stuff, and already being down about not being able to play, that's when I ballooned.
"Everybody has to have the optimum weight they can play at. Personally, I think I play better heavier as opposed to playing around 310 or 315."
Florida tackle Lance Butler is just the opposite. "They were making me weigh 315," said Butler, who stands 6 feet 7. "I kept telling them that's too much, and they let me drop down to 310. It's not always like I've got to stuff my face to keep up my weight."
Sears is also down from the nearly 345 pounds he ended the season at a year ago. Part of the reason he got so big was that he was injured and also couldn't condition. He can tell a difference now that he's lighter.
"I thought I had to be a lot bigger to move around and play with the bigger guys down inside at guard, which I thought I was going to have to play when I first got here," Sears said.
"But then I got that big and felt my knees and ankles were going on me because of my size, and that's when I dropped. I realized you could be 305 or 310 and still play with those guys. It's more about strength and technique."
Jimmy Ray Stephens, Tennessee's offensive line coach, stops short of saying the Vols are too big. But he says there's no question that a few guys need to lose some weight.
"There's always another level that we're trying to get everybody to take their game to," Stephens said. "If all of them could lose 10 pounds, they would be quicker and more agile players and I can tell you that they're constantly trying."
Bruce Wilkerson, an offensive tackle on Tennessee's 1985 SEC championship team, thinks the Vols are immensely talented up front this season.
But his advice is for all of them to get their weight down now and not wait. Wilkerson was 295 his last season at UT. He played 12 years in the NFL and was around 317 his last few seasons.
"I think there's a push in football for bigger, period," Wilkerson said.
"I guess that's OK if you can move laterally and are conditioned enough to hold up in the fourth quarter. It's when you see a guy that's 330 pounds and spongy that poses a problem.
"Being a former player there, I'd be trying to push all their weights down. If you're 330 pounds in college, how big are you going to be when you get to the league? With us big guys as we age, you've got to be careful that you don't let it get out of control."
