After winning the national championship in 1998, Tennessee’s reputation as one of the Southeastern Conference’s most dominant teams has fallen.
In 2001 the Vols finished No. 4 in the polls, but dropped the SEC Championship game to LSU. In 2002 they struggled to an 8-5 record. However, Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer is focused on the future and says he is ready to improve upon last year’s disappointing season.
“I think we will have a really fine football team, but I am also eager to get the taste out of my mouth concerning last season,” said Fulmer in a press release. “I’m looking forward to getting started.”
Senior Casey Clausen returns as the starting quarterback. Clausen holds 6,497 career passing yards to rank second in school history behind Peyton Manning.
“Casey does rank with the best quarterbacks in the country,” Fulmer said in a press release .
“It’s unfortunate that an injury last year limited his production, or he would be further along statistically than he already is. He’s closing in on several SEC and Tennessee records. It’s not only statistically that Casey is so valuable, but also in terms of leadership.”
Clausen also ranks No. 2 on Tennessee’s career record books for completions with 519, passing touchdowns with 48 and total offensive yards at 6,654.
Another key offensive player for the Vols is sophomore James Banks. Banks saw action last season as both wide receiver and quarterback, but will likely see the most playing time this season at receiver. He was UT’s leading receiver against Fresno State in the season opener with seven catches for 80 yards and one touchdown. Two junior running backs, Cedric Houston and Jabari Davis, will combine efforts to gain rushing yards for UT.
Houston fought injuries last season, and in eight healthy games racked up 763 rushing yards. Houston also has been working with the passing game.
“Ced should be the No. 1 starter,” said Woody McCorvey, running backs coach for UT. “His improvements in the passing game give him a second dimension and only help our offense.”
Davis had a successful sophomore season earning SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors last October for his performance against Arkansas, where he gained 135 yards on 25 carries.
“(Davis) is someone we can depend on to get the ball in the endzone,” McCorvey said.
Defensively the Vols will look to several rehabilitated players who missed most of the 2002 season due to injuries.
At linebacker, sophomore Kevin Simon and junior Kevin Burnett both underwent surgery last year, but were healthy enough to play in this year’s season opening 24-6 win over Fresno State.
Burnett, a junior from Carson, Calif., played in 12 games in 2001. His best performance came against Notre Dame, where he recorded 11 tackles, eight of which were solo.
Defensive end Constantin Ritzmann also underwent surgery last year but played in the 2003 season opener recording one sack. In 2001 the Germany native played in 13 games and showed his big playmaking ability by scoring three times for the Vols.
Tennessee back in title hunt
September 11, 2003