|
Saturday in Knoxville, University of Tennessee head
football coach Phillip Fulmer addressed reporters during
the team's media day, looked at us with a straight face
and said, "we are going to see who we can put on the
field who will win us an SEC championship." He said it. He believes it. The Vols don't have a proven running game. The Vols
don't have a quarterback. The Vols need help in the
secondary. Even with the problems facing the Vols on the field (we
won't even address the problems off the field), Fulmer
believes it. And after talking to the players following Fulmer's
remarks, one gets the idea that the players believe it
too. And they believe in whoever takes the snaps this
year. That's important. If the players buy into such a notion,
then great things can happen. I've been covering Tennessee's media day since 1993 and
I haven't seen so much enthusiasm and focus with the
Vols since 1996. And Tennessee's sports information
staff, normally accommodating, was even more so
Saturday. Fulmer announced that pre-season practices
would be open for media coverage, but would be closed
during the regular season, except for the first 30
minutes. I don't think Vol practices have been closed
since the waning days of Bill Battle's tenure. Yet, they will avail players to the media twice a week
instead of once. I also noticed some change on The Hill. Not as many
media took part, in my estimation (only one TV station
from Nashville was there, that I could see, which
stunned me). Let's face it: the Vols have been less than entertaining
with the fold. The expectations are high and the
performance has been poor. That was reflected in the
attendance last year. Before I went up there for the 12th straight year (the
only West Tennessee reporter to do so, I might add), I
thought the Vols were in danger of a 4-7 mark. I still
think that's a distinct possibility. But after talking
to the players, the enthusiasm could carry the team. Vol fans point out that the Vols didn't have a clear-cut
quarterback going into the 1998 season (the national
championship season). But Tee Martin had Jamal Lewis to
lean on. The five quarterbacks Tennessee hopes to audition don't
have such a luxury...unless Gerald Riggs gets in the
mix. With LSU, Georgia and Florida all packing this year,
it's hard to think Tennessee could match up. But Fulmer believes it. Perhaps that's enough. I still say the Vols will be a 7-4 team, maybe even
6-5...or worse. * * * I read with great joy the hiring of Tara Tansil as the
Tennessee-Martin women's basketball coach. I got to cover Tara when she played for Greenfield
Junior High, when she was an all-stater for Greenfield
High School (she was a two-time all-stater, but could
have been a three-timer) and when she tormented
opponents as a member of the UTM team. Even with two
knees, she became the Lady Pacers/Skyhawks all-time
leading scorer, passing Pat Summitt and Mary Kate Long.
I remember when she was in seventh grade, her junior
high coach told me she was the fast kid in school,
including the boys. Tara has a great basketball mind, a great personality
and will do it right at UTM. I sure hope UTM does right
by her. She can be such a great asset for the Skyhawk
women's program. More than anything else, I'm proud that
Tara is my friend.
* * * Twenty years ago on Aug. 1, I turned in my broadcast
headsets for a camera, pen and notepad. Last week, I
finished my second anniversary at the McKenzie Banner
and embarked on my 21st year in print, my 28th overall
in media. In these past two years, we've had much to celebrate
with all-staters, top-flight collegians and numerous
champions on all levels. We've seen a lot of things these past few years. I'm
glad to have been able to document those fun times for
you. It's an honor and a privilege to share this corner
of the paper with you each week and am humbled that
someone besides my mom and dad read it. I offer my
sincere thanks for letting me share the fun times with
you. |
