Guitar Shots To The Head: Straight Outa’ Crompton

When he was recruited Jonathan Crompton was the next big thing.  Sitting near the top of every recruiting service’s list, he was 6 foot 4 inches of potential, and it didn’t stop there.  Once he committed to the Vols he became an immediate extension of the Tennessee recruiting staff.  Every time a Vol fan got online he or she read about another recruit being swayed by Crompton’s own recruiting pitches. The fans of the Big Orange immediately took notice.

Crompton comparisons sprang up faster than one of T. Boone’s wind farms.  Will he be the next Peyton Manning or Heath Shuler?  Will the Mountain Man help the Vols reclaim their spot atop the SEC East?  Is this our new leader?

In many ways it was hard to blame them for the hysteria.  If there was ever a kid born and raised to be the quarterback of this UT football team, by all accounts Crompton fits that description. Born and raised in the fertile Tennessee recruiting grounds in the western region of North Carolina, Crompton was a kid with all the tools.  He had the size, the legs, and the arm to make a difference on the football field.  As an added bonus his blood ran with the same orange blood shared by Vols across the country.

As we sit on the precipice of a new season perceptions of his potential and ability have been drawn into question.  Fans worried about the recent productivity of the quarterback position are repetitive with their concerns.

The question on everyone’s mind is simple.  How can Crompton be that good?  He had two real opportunities to beat Ainge out of a starting position and he wasn’t able to do it.

Admit it…..you have thought the same thing.  As good as Ainge looked at times, he was never one of those quarterbacks that fans could get completely comfortable with, mostly because he never really seemed to look very comfortable in the position.  With the game on the line Ainge was always a mixed bag.  You never knew if the “LSU end zone” Ainge would show up, or if the “Kentucky overtime” Ainge would be playing.  If Crompton wasn’t any better then, how can we trust him now?

As legitimate as the question may appear, I don’t think it is fair to judge Crompton on his inability to beat Erik Ainge out of the position.  Phillip Fulmer is notorious for making the comfortable personnel decision.  After the disastrous QB quandary of 2005, Cutcliffe and Fulmer were determined to pick a quarterback and avoid anything similar to that losing season.  There is little doubt that Ainge benefited greatly from the offensive coordinator change.

Don’t mistake me for a member of the Crompton “Legion” either.  In many ways, the more skeptical fan has been pushed to the limit by the pro-Crompton crowd.  Those are the people who have sung his praises, and have insisted that he was the second coming of Heath Shuler from day one.  I’m not saying that Crompton will be the next best thing, but I am asking fans to give the guy a break.  He has made the best of a tough situation.  You must admit that aside from the occasional “internal rumble”, Crompton has said and done all of the right things to take the helm of the UT offense.

I’m simply saying that it is not Crompton’s fault that he was highly recruited.  Nor can you fault him for the hopes that fans have placed upon him.  He has worked hard for this opportunity, and there is no sense in knocking him until he has tried it.

Now, as Volunteer land is abuzz in the media acclaimed year of Dawg and the Gator,  the “chosen one” will buckle his chin strap as a Vol starter for the first time.  There is no doubt that the first snap will be one of the happiest moments in Crompton’s life.  Hopefully he will have Tennessee fans, skeptical and optimistic alike, grinning from ear to ear as well.