Handicapping the 2008 Volunteer Offense

With the kickoff of the 2008 college football season just over a month away, this is the time of year where fans are boasting with pride about their team and talking smack to their rivals. Everyone is undefeated. Everyone is good. Optimism reigns supreme. Many games for 2008 have already been won or lost, as they have been played out countless times during the offseason on fansite message boards across the nation. Reality though, is that everyone can't be undefeated. Everyone can't be good. And some are sure to be disappointed as they look back and try to piece together what went wrong along the way.

With all of that in mind, let's jump in and take a look at the 2008 Volunteer Offense:

QB - Jonathan Crompton
Pre-season grade - C+

Physically, Crompton appears capable of leading the offense. But we have seen very little of this redshirt junior in live game action. Crompton, as you may recall, was thrust into action in 2006 when starter Erik Ainge was injured against LSU. Crompton did come in an throw for 2 TDs, but struggled (11-24) to establish any semblance of consistency. In fairness, that was a very good LSU defense. But Crompton is sure to see great defenses almost every week in the SEC. Somewhat concerning, is that Crompton saw very limited action in 2007. And this with Erik Ainge nursing a broken pinky on his throwing hand for the entire season. Some have speculated that former UT Offensive Coordinator, David Cutcliffe (now the Head Coach at Duke University), lacked confidence in Crompton's decision-making abilities. Word coming out of Knoxville was that Crompton struggled somewhat during Spring practice to gain a complete grasp of the terminology and thought processes that new Offensive Coordinator, Dave Clawson, was teaching. But Crompton rebounded and looked good in the Spring game, albeit these type games are generally nothing more than an organized display of offense. Very vanilla defensive alignments with zero or limited blitzing. One thing is for sure - Crompton won't have much time to settle in and learn on the fly. The UCLA defense is both talented and speedy. Crompton's ability will be challenged from the opening snap of 2008

RB - Arian Foster, Montario Hardesty, Lennon Creer
Preseason Grade - B

Barring injury, Foster is certain to leave Tennessee as the leading rusher in the history of the program. And that is somewhat baffling, considering that he has only turned in a 100+ yard rushing performance vs. a Top 20 opponent one time during his career (#8 Notre Dame - 2005 - we lost). Foster has 10 100 yard games on his resume. None came against teams named Georgia, Florida, LSU, or Alabama. Still, Foster has been a steady commodity during his time on The Hill. The California native had a breakout season in 2007, rushing for over 1100 yards and 12 TDs. Foster is also a dependable receiver out of the backfield, with over 500 career receiving yards during his first three years. He's easily the best offensive weapon that new OC, Dave Clawson, has in his arsenal. Montario Hardesty has shown flashes during the few times we have seen him healthy for a stretch. Lennon Creer may be the most explosive of the bunch. Collectively, this is a good stable of SEC caliber backs.

WR - Lucas Taylor, Josh Briscoe, Austin Rogers, Gerald Jones, others.
Preseason Grade - C

Gerald Jones is clearly our biggest threat as a gamebreaker among this group. But assuming that Fulmer stays true to his roots, Jones will not start for the Vols. Lucas Taylor had a good years in 2007, catching 73 balls and netting 1000 yards on the nose. But his lack of TD's (5) for a #1 WR is a concern for an offense that needs big plays in order to help out its defense as much as possible. Briscoe and Rogers, while productive, are more possession-type receivers as well. Other than Jones, I don't see a big play threat on the sidelines. Ainge was able to spread the ball around a lot last year because he was experienced enough to find his 2nd and 3rd options when necessary. For the 2008 Vols to be deemed a successful offense, it is critical that more dynamic WR's emerge. And from a roster standpoint - I don't see a lot of options. We are far removed from being known as Wide Receiver U.

OL - Ramon Foster, Anthony Parker, John McNeil, Jacques McClendon, and Chris Scott. R - Vlad Richard and others
Preseason Grade - B

This is likely the best offensive line the Vols have trotted out since 2004. But I am not as sold on them as some people are. They were a good pass blocking unit under David Cutcliffe. But some of that can be attributed to 3 step drops and timing routes. In other words, we were getting rid of the ball quickly on purpose. That may be due to the fact that Erik Ainge did not like to be hit. It may be that our offensive line struggled to pass block for much longer. Or it may have been a combination of both. Tennessee ranked #9 in the SEC last year in rushing offense. And that was with a 4-year starting senior QB who DC's around the league had to gameplan to stop from a passing standpoint. What happens in 2008 when you have a new starting QB that the same DC's will gameplan to MAKE beat them by stacking the line in order to stop the run? The biggest question mark concerning this offensive line is - Can they block effectively in the running game? If they can't, then it is going to be rocky start to 2008 and an even longer season.

TE - Jeff Cottam and Luke Stocker
Preseason Grade - C+

Gone is Chris Brown (undrafted) with 41 receptions and 6 TD's. For those counting at home, our leading WR had 6 TD's as well. Cottam and Stocker have combined to catch 8 passes for 30 yards and 2 TD's. Not a bad catch/TD ratio. On one hand, we could say we expect these two to be additional offensive linemen. But on the other hand, we don't know how much of a safety valve the TE slot will be for new QB J. Crompton or how Dave Clawson will employ the use of the TE in the Vol sets.

Coaching - Dave Clawson
Preseason Grade - C

Dave Clawson makes his first appearance in Division I college football in 2008 as the offensive coordinator of the Vols. Not only has Clawson not ever coached in D1 as a coordinator. He's never coached in D1 as an assistant of any kind either. His entire playing (defensive back) and coaching career to date has been in lower tier Ivy League and DII football. Having said that, I really like Dave Clawson and I think he's well-spoken and a great ambassador for UT Football based on all I have seen to date. But........The SEC East is NO PLACE for learning on the job. Just ask Randy Sanders, who had at least played in the SEC and been an assistant coach for several years. Clawson is going to see more speed on defense than he's ever seen in his career when the Vols trek to the Rose Bowl to take on UCLA. And then he's going to see warp speed on defense when the Vols face off against the Florida Gators a few weeks later. There is going to be a learning curve in 2008 for Mr. Clawson. Not to mention that this is still Phillip Fulmer's team and Phillip Fulmer's offense. For those expecting Clawson to roll out some grandiose form of offense never before seen in the league, I hate to be the one to burst your bubble. But it won't happen. Instead, look for the Vols to play "Tennessee Football" and try to keep our inept defense off the field and speed up the games. Minimize mistakes, don't take risks, and protect the football.

Overall - C+

Too many questions to be answered. How will Crompton fare? How can Clawson adjust? Who are the playmakers on the edge? What about depth? The schedule, though not as difficult in some regards, does us no favors in a year with so many variables that need to be defined. Looking down our roster, it is clear that our talent on offense is not what it has been in year's past. The lack of gamebreakers, lack of depth, and unknown commodities in Clawson and Crompton may prove to be too much to overcome for the Vols in 2008.

One thing is for sure though - the season cannot get here soon enough.


Sheep Dog is a freelance writer for the Vol Blog. He lives in Western Vermont with his wife, children, and their two sheep dogs. He holds a PhD. in clinical psychology from the University of Tennessee and is a proud supporter of the VASF.