We are just a few days away from the beginning of Spring practice, which, for a lot of us, is the beginning of the football season. Daily practice reports, injuries, and endless speculation will begin the countdown to the greatest time of the year. Spring practice always provides promising news about our guys, so I’m going to list five kids who need to have great springs to help our chances in the fall.
1. Jonathan Crompton – “No brainer, Doug,” is being yelled in unison right now, and that’s okay. Sometimes, you have to state the obvious. Crompton, pre-2008, was viewed as the future of our football team, and sometimes built up to be arguably better than Erik Ainge. In fact, a cutsey nickname for his fans was born – Cromptonites. However, the fan buzz for B.J. Coleman has quietly built to a rumble, and could get louder if Coleman just lives up to the coaches’ hype just a little bit. In my mind, if Crompton doesn’t quell the controversy with his play in the spring, then this team could be in some trouble come September 6th in Pasadena. The hiring of Dave Clawson was a double-edged sword for Crompton, because former OC, David Cutcliffe, didn’t recruit Jon Crompton, he recruited B.J. Coleman. Crompton has the opportunity to start with a clean slate with a new coach, but on the downside, so does everybody else. This team has shown since January 1st that they are in desperate need of leadership, and who better than the starting quarterback? Word is that Crompton has been tirelessly trying to provide it. Good for him, now gain their confidence in March and April.
2. Ahmad Paige – You could insert Denarious Moore, Gerald Jones, or Kenny O’Neal here, but I believe if Tennessee wants to accomplish a tangible goal (i.e. a championship), they need someone like Ahmad Paige to take control at a receiver spot. Paige provides the most pure receiving skills on the entire roster. He’s got the combination of speed, hands, route running, and now, size, of any receiver in Knoxville. Gerald Jones, as great as he will be, is an Early Doucet-type receiver, whereas Ahmad Paige is a Peter Warrick-type receiver. With Crompton’s cannon, a mix of Paige and Jones’s athleticism, and Lucas Taylor’s sure hands, the passing game would become a dangerous machine that couldn’t be held down for 60 minutes. Paige has added 20 pounds to his frame since he arrived on campus, and remember, in fall practice last year, he was heralded as the best route runner amongst all the guys. With bulk no longer being an issue, he needs to provide the deep threat the Vols lacked in 2007.
3. Ben Martin – Everybody has high hopes for Martin, and I have little doubt he’ll become a great defensive end in the SEC. However, he doesn’t have the luxury of another learning year. The Vols need him in 2008, immediately. Thus, the spring will be where he makes his move. Robert Ayers is going to be a capable end, but when someone is labeled “dynamic,” that usually means there is an inconsistency in play. Ayers has shown insane ability some weeks, then disappeared the next. Ayers will be starting, and right now, on the other side is Wes Brown. Brown has some great measurables, and played decent against the run in 2007. I don’t know if the coaches are considering it, but if Martin makes a strong push at DE this spring, Brown could become a Turk McBride-esque tweener. His size hinders him from being a fulltime DT, but he’s big enough at 6’4″, 260 to slide around the line and become very versatile. Like I said, there is no doubt that Ben Martin has the measurables to excel, and coaches loved his output before hurting his knee. He just needs to know that now is the time to step up and become a starter, and in the process, show his teammates how to take responsibility when needed.
4. Adam Myers-White – He’s one of the members of the highly-rated 2005 recruiting class, and he needs to make good this season. For most teams, he’d be undersized for a linebacker at 6’2″, 215 pounds, but as we all know, Chief likes his linebackers smaller and faster. With Rico McCoy a surefire WLB starter in the fall, and Ellix Wilson getting all of my, and more importantly the coaches’, confidence at MLB, the glaring need is at SLB. Ryan Karl, the Dane Bradshaw of the 2007 football team, has graduated, and Nevin McKenzie played for Karl in the bowl game. The reason Myers-White needs to have a great spring is for a safety valve. McKenzie still doesn’t have very much experience at SLB in actual playing environments, and he hasn’t had to go through the rigors of starting an entire schedule at SLB. Also, with the departure of Karl and Mayo, the linebacking corps desperately needs someone who can make the pre-snap calls. McCoy can do it, but at WLB, it might be optimal. Myers-White is in his 4th year at Tennessee and should know the playbook inside and out. McKenzie hasn’t been on campus for more than 7 months, so Myers-White can not only contribute on the field, but help McKenzie get up to top mental form before the season starts.
5. Walter Fisher – I know many Vol fans are pointing at Donald Langley to become a reliable defensive tackle, but with the possibility of Wes Brown being an situational option at DT, the defense really just needs a reliable #3 tackle, and Fisher hasn’t proven he can do that, yet. When J.T.Mapu entered games in 2007, an obvious dropoff occurred, and that can’t happen again if the defense wants to be a complete unit. Fisher had 16 tackles and 1 tackle for loss in 2007, but dig a little deeper, and you’ll see that 9 of those tackles came against Southern Miss and Louisiana-Lafayette. Also, if you’ve reviewed the games from 2007, he never really was a force in clogging gaps to enable linebackers to make plays. His problem isn’t that he doesn’t give it his all, it’s that he’s a bit undersized. 6’3″, 265 is generally not the best size for a full time DT, and Fisher fits the McBride role of being a tweener. However, the Vols need him to perform at a high level when he steps in for Demonte Bolden or Dan Williams. Those two create an above average pair of tackles, but as we’ve all figured out – depth is an issue. If Fisher can double his output from 2007, the rush defense should improve.
Certainly, there are other players that can help this team become a better one come Autumn (players like Lennon Creer, Savion Frazier, Demetrice Morley, etc), but the five listed above will go a long way to determining the success of the 2008 Volunteer squad. Here’s to hoping that spring brings them closer to that goal.