UT stuff for Stripes, NSSBob, and anyone else....

[Ironlung]

First a good article on Stanley Asumnu the b-ball player who is working with the football team now. I know he's already blocked one field goal in practice.

Asumnu thinks he can help football Vols
By Leonard Butts of The Daily Times Staff
August 08, 2006

KNOXVILLE "? Stanley Asumnu used to sit in the end zone of Neyland Stadium and wonder if he couldn't help the Volunteer football team.

Although the Tennessee basketball player didn't participate in high school football, he thought his athletic ability might be an asset on the gridiron.

"I used to come here and watch the games, and I'd feel like I was a part of it,"? Asumnu said recently. "And I thought sometimes I could jump over a defensive back and make a play."?

When his basketball eligibility ended with the Vols' loss to Witchita State at the NCAA Tournament last March, Asumnu decided to see if his hoops skills would translate into a football contribution.

"I just wanted to give it a try and see what would happen,"? he said. "It's been a great experience."?

Asumnu participated in spring practice and was a crowd-pleaser at scrimmages and in the Orange and White game when coaches allowed him to try and make a play or two.

UT head coach Phillip Fulmer has praised Asumnu for his positive attitude and work ethic, and it became clear in the spring that the 6-foot-5, 205-pound forward-turned-receiver not only could leap higher than the rim over a DB but also could catch a football.
With the pigskin initiation behind him, Asumnu spent the summer working out and preparing for fall drills.

"I came into the office one weekend, and I don't know how he got in there, but he was working out (on the indoor practice facility turf),"? Fulmer said. "And when I left, he was still here, catching tennis balls out of the machine (to improve hand-eye coordination)."?

Asumnu says the other members of the football team may give him a hard time about being a basketball player but they have also given him as much help as they could.

"I feel like they want to see me do well,"? he said.

Wide receivers Jayson Swain and Robert Meachem, especially, have taken Asumnu into the fold.

"I stayed here both mini-terms (this summer) and only went home for a week,"? Asumnu said. "Me and Swain would catch balls in the mornings and work on routes. Then we'd meet with the team. Then me and Meachem would work on routes in the afternoon.

"Swain and Meachem have really tried to help me. I get help from other guys too, but they pull me aside and work with me."?

Asumnu was persuaded not to play high school football by his prep basketball coach, but like the football players at UT who think they could play for Bruce Pearl, Asumnu knows certain abilities can bridge the gap between sports.

"Some of these guys have played basketball in high school,"? he said. "Meachem did and Swain played some and some of the offensive linemen."?

"I love basketball, but I'm here for the football team. I just want to continue to try and help the team."?


This is a video from Fox Sports about the offense. If Cutcliffe doesn't get you fired up, there's something wrong with you. The part at the end where he calls Ainge, "Forrest" is hilarious. [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[TheBeast]

There you go gettin me fired up for the Vols, as if I need any help. The link for the video isn't working only brings up a screen with an msn-video logo.

[Ironlung]

I'll look for the link and see what I can find for you. They had a scrimmage last night too and the offense looked really good. Both sides O & D (coaches were very pleased). Back soon...

[Ironlung]

Here's a better link to the video. Vid. Just scroll down and there is a video on the right with Cut's picture. Click there.


Here's a story from the scrimmage last night...

"We are playing real football tonight," head coach Phillip Fulmer said to his Vols Tuesday night as they started their first full contact practice of the pre-season. At Tennessee that that first day of contact is synonymous with the 'Tennessee Drill' to kick things off and this year for at least a moment, the offense made a statement.


Now, to be perfectly honest, the Tennessee Drill, which is a man on man effort drill, (known around the country as the Oklahoma Drill) is overrated when it comes to net results on the field, but Tuesday night, it was the offense that doing the hollering and jumping around as they appeared to win more of the battles then the defense did. To those who have been around the program for the last few years, that is a definitive change in the atmosphere. It wasn't so much that the offense dominated, that didn't appear to be the case, but for a change on the Tennessee practice field, it wasn't the defense that was setting the tempo.

One defensive guy who stood out in his first drill was linebacker Dorian Davis who won his first battle against Ramon Foster, but overall it was the offense winning the man to man battles with Arron Sears starting things off with a win over Antonio Reynolds. Jeff Cottam got a notable win over linebacker Jarrod Mayo and Eric Young looked to win the leverage battle as well.

David Cutcliffe was definitely pleased with what his offensive front got done in Tuesday's work.

"I think our offensive front has really become more physical and they have taken that attitude everyday in practice," Cutcliffe said. "Rome was not built in a day so we still have a lot of work to do. I am anxious to see the tape and how we played as a team."

Tennessee's 55-play scrimmage to end practice saw the offense came out running and found success. Running back Arian Foster was the talk coming off the practice field as he ended any concerns about his health. Foster clearly showed himself early with a big run on the first series of the scrimmage. Robert Meachem made a couple of plays, including one that Trooper Taylor said particularly impressed him when he went up and outfought a couple of defenders for the ball. Taylor also singled out Lucas Taylor for making a deep catch during Tuesday night's work.

Overall, Fulmer was pleased with his first day in pads.

"We had about a 55-play scrimmage," Fulmer said. "Everybody got in. it will be great film study. The defense got their hands on some balls during some third-down situations. That's not an accident, they've been working really hard at that. Offensively we've been working hard at being more physical and being able to run the ball better and there were some good looking moments there. We got through without getting anybody hurt that I know of, and it's something to build on."

Fulmer was not interested in pointing out any specific plays or singling out any players. It's pretty clear that the Vols' head coach is taking care not to try and build up any stars on his team. He's censured himself to some degree after publicly blaming himself for talking up last year's squad too much in the preseason, a move that came back to haunt him.

"In the spring I tried not to single out guys and I don't think it's the thing to do right now," Fulmer offered. "We're learning to play as a team, we're taking the thought process that if a guy makes an outstanding run then he got some great blocking. If someone makes a big catch then the quarterback probably made a great throw and somebody ran a great route. Right now we're not into individuals. We're into playing as a football team with everyone doing their part."

But there was no question, that Fulmer was pleased with what his offense showed in practice number.

"They've been kicked around here pretty good and they're trying to hold up their end on this football team and establish themselves," Fulmer explained. "I've told them that we have an obligation and a responsibility to carry the tradition of Tennessee football to where it's supposed to be. We want to be known as the team that got it back on track after one bad year, not a team that continued on that track."

Foster's big run early in the scrimmage was a head turner, but running backs coach Kurt Roper said the most impressive thing he saw from his backs is that they were all hard to tackle.

"The highlight for me tonight was that they were hard to tackle," Roper said. "You didn't see the first guy make the tackle on many occasions."

"I thought Arian and LaMarcus Coker both looked good," Cutlcliffe said. "It was evident that we made some plays in the running game."

Defensively, John Chavis was not displeased with his unit's play, but he was disappointed that they just did not finish some plays.

"I did not think we tackled particularly well, Chavis said. "We had some things that should have been stopped at the line of scrimmage and we let them get outside of us. Other than that, I thought we competed good. But we have to do a better job of tackling then we did tonight."

Chavis' troops have been devoting significant practice time to fundamental tackling drills, and after his comments tonight you can bet that the approach will continue unabated.

Inky Johnson had the play of the night with an interception where he reportedly batted the ball to himself and took it to the endzone. One of the other defensive highlights was Jonathan Wade who got a good shot in on Lucas Taylor which was easily the biggest hit. Chavis said he was pleased with how the secondary has played to this point.

"They have done a great job in the five days we have had," Chavis said. "They are catching a bunch of balls which is good to see, we got our hands on two or three tonight. We just have to do some things better up front."

Freshman, Chase Nelson got some second team work tonight because Xavier Mitchell and Walter Fisher are not getting any contact and Turk McBride did not practice. McBride did not practice because he had a class.

The speculation is that freshman Victor Thomas, who is a promising looking prospect, may eventually find himself a home at defensive tackle, but Nelson looks like he's staying at end for a bit.

With several veterans sitting this one out, defensive ends coach Steve Caldwell said he was pleased with what he saw from the defensive line.

"It was exciting, the first day in pads, and it sounded like football out there which is what we were looking for. We know we have to get better in the defensive front, and tonight the young guys went out there and competed today," Caldwell said.

"I don't want to say too much before I see the film but I saw them turn it on and do some things that we wanted them to do."

Robert Ayers was one player who Caldwell said 'was running around pretty good out there'. Ayers is a physical specimen who is trying to carve himself out a spot at defensive end. The challenge for Ayers this fall is to be more physical against the run, something he should have a chance to prove with Mitchell and Fisher both being held out of contact at the moment.

Mum's the Word

Fulmer did not grant media access to any players following Tuesday night's work. The Vols' head coach cited a 6:45 a.m. team meeting and the late hour as the reason for his decision.

A case of the drops

It was not the best night for a couple of offensive guys when it came to catching the football. Lucas Taylor had a handful of drops early on in practice. Stanley Asumnu had his struggles catching the football early on as well. And out of the backfield, Montario Hardesty seemed to struggle catching the football at times as well.

David Yancey did have a nice catch and run on a screen pass and freshman Quentin Hancock made an impressive fingertip grab during the early portion of practice.

Receiver improvement

Receivers coach Trooper Taylor said that right now Swain, Meachem, Bret Smith, and Lucas Taylor are his top four receivers with Austin Rogers and Josh Briscoe battling for the fifth spot. Taylor said he was pleased with how his group has improved.

"They are working their tail off, I'm telling you," Taylor said. "The best thing you see is the quarterback letting that football go before they ever come out of their break, and that's how you create separation, that's what we have to do."

More first team work for Josh McNeil

Josh McNeil continues to get more and more work with the first team. But he is not getting all the work. Michael Frogg continues to split work with McNeil at the center spot as that battle continues to increase. Elsewhere, on the offensive line, Phillip Fulmer and Greg Adkins were both drilling into the lineman about leverage and finishing as that has been an early concern this pre-season for Adkins.

Kickoff returns

Tennessee got their first work with the kickoff return game on Tuesday night. In the first group was Demetrice Morley and Lucas Taylor. Inky Johnson, Jonathan Wade, and Robert Meachem also got work in the return game.

[Ironlung]

Hey beast, here's another one. This link is to utsports.com. Under the picture click on Tennessee drill. It's from last night. Notice the #65 man handling people. He's a true freshmen Jacques McClendon. He had a bench press the other day of 525. He's supposed to get some playing time this year.

[imported_trio]

Ironlung are you going to any UT games this year?

[NotSoSilentBob]

Call me a glutton for punishment, but I'm ready. Hell, I'm thinking about making an attempt to get the Air Force game on TV.

Maybe it was that 28-0 shellacking I put on Cal the other day at Wal Mart on the demo NCAA 07.

[TheBeast]

Call me a glutton as well, but I am pumped and ready for some Vols football. Thanks for the new links I will check out the new vid.

[TheBeast]

I always loved doing those drills. I usually follow UT better and know all this stuff sllready but I have been keepin track of my Skins more this year.