UTVols News and Opinions

Hello Coach Fulmer, congratulations on a great win on Saturday. It was a pressure cooker for everyone involved, wasn't it?

Well, I haven'’t been in one that wasn't. (Laughing)


What has made the difference this year in terms of the success the Vols have had as opposed to the struggles the 2005 team?

Well, I think out team has a great attitude, and they have been much more responsive. They have been hungry and humble, plus they are not assuming anything and are much more disciplined. They also have a higher confidence level and that's important on both sides of the ball.

The addition of Coach Cutcliffe had made an impact on the offense, and in particular, Erik Ainge. What has Coach Cutcliffe done to make such drastic improvement in both areas?

Well, with Erik, he has worked with him a lot fundamentally from the neck up, and boosted his confidence level and they have a good trust with each other. As far as the offense, we are getting back to practicing better, better discipline and having a higher energy and higher tempo and look for places where we can make big plays. Coach Cutcliffe has done a great job of that.

Have you ever experienced such a tough five game stretch as the one the Vols are in the middle of right now?

Ever? (Laughing) I would have to go back and see if we have ever been through a tougher stretch than the one we are playing in right now.

What did you think about the special teams from last week? It looked as if there was improvement from the Georgia game to the Alabama game.

Yes, we definitely showed some improvement there which I was happy to see because special teams are a critical part of the game that be the difference between winning and losing.

Tell me what the losses of Justin Harrell and Inky Johnson have meant to the defense and how they have responded to the challenge.

Well, you don'’t lose two players like that and not have a drop off. Justin was our best pass rusher, a great run stopper and was a pre-season All-America. Inky was our most consistent corner and that’s two positions in our defense that are very crucial. We miss them both a lot, and just now our defense is starting to get better. We have some things that our defense needs to get done, and our kids have had the wherewithal to fight through all that. The kids continue to try hard.

How are Justin and Inky doing right now with their rehab?

Justin is doing fine. He has recovered from the surgery. However, Inky has some work to do, but he has a great attitude.

Coach, thanks for taking time with me today and good luck in Columbia on Saturday night.

Thank you, I appreciate it!

Special thanks to Coach Fulmer for his time, especially since he was running late to a team meeting, and was gracious enough to answer all of my questions. Special thanks also goes to SID Bud Ford, John Painter and Mary Jo Fox for all their help in setting up this interview for www.utvols.com

Coach Fulmer added these comments after the team's workout at Haslam Field:

"I wish we were healthier than we are at some spots. I'm not sure what Jayson Swain is going to be able to do at all, and LaMarcus (Coker) being out -- those are challenges for other guys to step up, other positions to step up."

He added, "I've got significant concerns, but from an attitude standpoint and preparation standpoint I think we're where we need to be."

Swain, who has 25 catches this season for 415 yards and five touchdowns, suffered his injury in Tennessee's Oct. 7 win at Georgia and, although he played in Saturday's win over Alabama, the ankle is not close to 100 percent. Coker had claimed the starting tailback spot heading into Georgia and is UT's leading ground gainer with 393 yards and a 6.3-yard average. But the redshirt freshman sprained his knee on a kickoff return against the Crimson Tide and will be sidelined 3-6 weeks, according to the Vols coach.

"I'm very excited about this weekend," Fulmer claims nonetheless. "The guys have prepared well."

The captains were announced on Friday, and they are: Offensive linemen David Ligon and Arron Sears, defensive tackle Turk McBride, linebacker Marvin Mitchell, cornerback Jonathan Wade and placekicker James Wilhoit.

Kickoff is set for 7:45 p.m. Eastern time.

Thursday

#10 Clemson at Virginia Tech

Branden Ore shredded Clemson for 203 yards rushing and two touchdowns, while the Virginia Tech defense held the Tiger's vaunted running game to just 80 yards as the Hokies pummeled #10 Clemson 24-7.

What a difference five days make as Clemson did their best Michigan State impression, which could not have come at a worse time as their hopes of winning the ACC's Atlantic Division might have just ended.

What's funny is all week long, everyone had Clemson penciled into the ACC title game, including the walking hot air balloon, Mark May. "Without a doubt, Clemson is the best one loss team in the country," he said, then warmed up a snowed in family Colorado by talking to them for an hour. The best one loss team in the country? Even if Clemson had won out, they still did not control their own destiny in the division since Boston College was in first and held the tiebreaker. Did May ever think about the best one loss team in the country did not control its own destiny? He gets Coach Scooter's CFD Award for bringing heat to every microphone is talks into. Hey Hot Lungs, what's your angle next week?

Saturday Preview

Miami at #21 Georgia Tech

ABC - 3:30 - Brad Nessler/Bob Griese/Paul McGuire

The Jackets and Canes play for the lead in the Coastal Division, and in all probability, the winner will take the division. The thing to watch for here is which Tech team will show up, and is an underachieving Miami team good enough to beat the Jackets? I think GT should win the game, unless you see Mike Tyson on the sidelines...

Georgia vs. #9 Florida (Jacksonville)

CBS - 3:30 - Verne Lundquist/Gary Danielson

Watching SEC football for years, I have seen this type of matchup many times. You have a bitter rivalry game where one team is ranked high and really good, while the other team is unranked and searching to find itself. In more cases than not, the team that has no chance of winning usually puts up a great fight. And sometimes its enough to....well, I don't want to jinx the Dawgs. By the way, as I was driving into work today, I heard that my buddy, Gary Danielson, was going to be on 680 The Fan here in Atlanta. Immediately, I pulled my Vol Mobile off the road, jerked out my radio and tossed it on to Interstate 75. I don't want any Court Jester looking goofs on my radio...

Florida State at Maryland

ESPN2 - 7:00 - Ron Franklin/Ed Cunningham

Good to see the King back at a real game this week. I was worried he would go out to Las Cruces for the New Mexico State game, get stampeded by a rodeo bull, and never be heard from again. FSU is dead last in the ACC's Atlantic Division, while Maryland has rebounded from their narrow loss to Georgia Tech to be right in the middle of the race, and could be playing in Jacksonville in December. There is a rumor FSU burned their all black uniforms after the loss to BC last week, and replaced them with all pink. Give 'em credit, they got the jump on whatever the Pac-10 was going to try...

#8 Tennessee at South Carolina

ESPN - 7:45 - Mike Patrick/Todd Blackledge

Tennessee is in week three of a brutal five game stretch, with this week's road show coming to Columbia to take on South Carolina. The Vols are banged up on both sides of the ball, while the Gamecocks feature the eighth ranked pass defense in the nation, as well as a stud at linebacker named Jasper Brinkley. ESPN's College Gameday will be there first hand, and chances are good Corso will put a Cocks hat on his head to predict a Carolina victory. In addition to that being a good omen, I will let you all come up with a clever line for that last sentence...

Idaho at Hawaii

Game Plan - Midnight - Announcers TBA

Thank God for the WAC! What else would we do after the 7:45 ESPN game ends and we are still wound up? I have it on good opinion the play by play announcer for this game will be Jack Lord, with James MacArthur handling the color. The sideline reporters are Kam Fong and Zulu. Pull out those hula skirts, let's rumble!

Weekly Observations

Charlie Weis looks like he has slimmed down this week, probably because he has been using his mouth to complain about the polls instead of using it at the South Bend all you can eat buffets. He was quoted as saying:

"One of the teams [Tennessee] that jumped us had the same game that we had. They're down, they're playing at home and they win by a field goal. Another team [Florida] that jumped us wasn't even playing. They were at home eating cheeseburgers and they end up jumping us. That befuddles me."

Hmm, first off, Slim, I wouldn't talk about eating cheesburgers since it looks like you are a lifetime member of the Big Mac Secret Circle. And second, if your schedule didn't feature such BCS brutes as Stanford (0-8), Michigan State (4-4), and UCLA (4-3), maybe you would have a legitimate claim. Also, don't expect your climb up the BCS ladder anytime soon since the Irish still have to play all three serviace academies, plus North Carolina, who is 1-6. If Notre Dame slips behind Prarie View this week, which could happen with the gauntlet of a schedule they have to play, then I might raise an eyebrow. But until then, Chuckles, I have to ask, when are you going to put the skinny post into the Notre Dame playbook?

He also uttered this nugget (Hmm, he also probably ate it too)

"We go into a game with 27 seconds to go, come from behind, win a thrilling game, and because we win a thrilling game, let's move us down because one team is not playing and the other team had the exact same game, exactly the same. Tell me how that works. Maybe I'm just stupid. Just tell me how that works. You're [a voter], tell me how that works."

The reason why that works, Chubs, is the Vols played a quality opponent from the best conference in America, and the Irish played a 4-3 UCLA team from the weak Pac-10. You mentioned being stupid, which is interesting because you have one of the great minds in football, yet you are blustering over the polls in October. Why don't you reserve your final thoughts once late November rolls around? You should know the polls don't mean anything in October, so why all the hostility? Chuck, worry about the cupcakes on your schedule and the polls will take care of themselves. And I am certain you have worried about cupcakes before...