After 9 tough games in 2006, the Tennessee Volunteer football team only has one more hurdle remaining to speak of, at Arkansas in Fayetteville this coming Saturday. They have far exceeded expectations in turning things around after a rare losing season last year, even after this weekend's heartbreaking loss. Here are the grades they have earned so far:

QUARTERBACK (A)

Erik Ainge's improvement under Offensive Coordinator David Cutcliffe has been remarkable. He has the confidence of his teammates and coaches, and his receivers are sure-handed, with an offensive line that protects him well. He is a leader in the SEC in passing offense. Crompton stepped up & did well with 2 great TD throws vs. LSU.

RUNNING BACKS (C)

Injuries to both LaMarcus Coker and Arian Foster have left this unit decimated. Montario Hardesty combines power & speed nicely & has potential, but he is recovering from past injuries, too.

WIDE RECEIVERS (A)

Robert Meachem is a gifted athlete who is far more menacing after the catch. He is a leader nationally in receiving yards. He will most likely go to the NFL early. Jayson Swain is a money man. Bret Smith is a notch below them, but is sure-handed, too.


OFFENSIVE LINE (C)

While they give good pass protection, their run blocking is abysmal. Is that because they are more mobile & less beefier, something everyone cried out for them to be last year? They had minus rushing yardage vs. Florida for that game & minus rushing yardage for LSU for a good part of that game, both losses, of course. If Ainge didn't have such a quick release, there would've been more sacks this year. Crompton is more mobile & rolls out & moves the pocket or he would've been sacked more, too. Sears is great & McNeil is good, but the others are just average.

DEFENSIVE LINE (C)

The Vols' front 4 is weak now that Justin Harrell is gone, and they give up too many 3rd down conversions to opponents. They also don't get enough sacks. They have given up far more rushing yards than Chavis' units usually do. LB Ryan Karl is having to make tackles that ends Xavier Mitchell and Antonio Reynolds should be making. The youth of the line means it will be much better in 2007.

LINEBACKERS (B)

Ryan Karl, Jerod Mayo and Marvin Mitchell have all stepped in to fill the shoes of 3 stars who are gone from last season & done very well for themselves. Mitchell & Mayo are among leading tacklers in the SEC. Rico McCoy is also a rising star-to-be in this corps.

DEFENSIVE BACKS (C)

Inky Johnson's injury forced Antwan Stewart and Demetrice Morley to both step up, but their weaknesses have been exposed. Talent is there, but no depth, resulting in spotty play when the starters tire. Jonathan Wade is a star and Morley is becoming one after his LSU game heroics. Jonathan Hefney had a big INT in that game & is a great tackler, too, but he is making tackles the DL should be making.

SPECIAL TEAMS (C)

Place-kicker James Wilhoit & punter Britton Colquitt are at the top of the SEC in talent. Kick coverage has improved somewhat but is still poor, and return yardage is still not good, either. Wilhoit is doing well on FG's, but missed a key one vs. LSU. Colquitt has a great average, but his net average is just average due to the fact that we can't cover.

COACHING (B)

They didn't keep enough fresh players rotated throughout the game against either Florida or LSU, resulting in blowing 10-point second-half leads in both games & bitter league home losses. Credit Fulmer for bring back Cutcliffe, who has certainly turned around the offense, doubling its output. Inexperience and injuries make Chavis' job very tough.

OVERALL (B)

No question this group is talented & capable of ringing up points if Ainge recovers from his injury, or even if he doesn't. Scoring 3 TD's on LSU is impressive. It's as much as Florida did & far more than Auburn did. Putting up 51 points on Georgia was no fluke, either. This team has improved markedly over last year but for the 8th year in a row, UT won't be playing for a championship of any kind. They will be a decided underdog at Arkansas. However, with a bowl win, they can lose to the Hawgs & still finish 10-3, doubling their win total in 2005. Fans will expect even more improvement for 2007, though, as it is time for UT to get back to Atlanta for sure.

After 9 tough games in 2006, the Tennessee Volunteer football team only has one more hurdle remaining to speak of, at Arkansas in Fayetteville this coming Saturday. They have far exceeded expectations in turning things around after a rare losing season last year, even after this weekend's heartbreaking loss. Here are the grades they have earned so far:

QUARTERBACK (A)

Erik Ainge's improvement under Offensive Coordinator David Cutcliffe has been remarkable. He has the confidence of his teammates and coaches, and his receivers are sure-handed, with an offensive line that protects him well. He leads the SEC in passing offense. Crompton stepped up & did well with 2 great TD throws vs. LSU.

RUNNING BACKS (C)

Injuries to both LaMarcus Coker and Arian Foster have left this unit decimated. Montario Hardesty combines power & speed nicely & has potential, but he is recovering from past injuries, too.

WIDE RECEIVERS (A)

Robert Meachem is a gifted athlete who is far more menacing after the catch. He leads the nation in receiving yards. He will most likely go to the NFL early. Jayson Swain is a money man. Bret Smith is a notch below them, but is sure-handed, too.


OFFENSIVE LINE (C)

While they give good pass protection, their run blocking is abysmal. Is that because they are more mobile & less beefier, something everyone cried out for them to be last year? They had minus rushing yardage vs. Florida for that game & minus rushing yardage for LSU for a good part of that game, both losses, of course. If Ainge didn't have such a quick release, there would've been more sacks this year. Crompton is more mobile & rolls out & moves the pocket or he would've been sacked more, too. Sears is great & McNeil is good, but the others are just average.

DEFENSIVE LINE (C)

The Vols' front 4 is weak now that Justin Harrell is gone, and they give up too many 3rd down conversions to opponents. They also don't get enough sacks. They have given up far more rushing yards than Chavis' units usually do. LB Ryan Karl is having to make tackles that ends Xavier Mitchell and Antonio Reynolds should be making. The youth of the line means it will be much better in 2007.

LINEBACKERS (B)

Ryan Karl, Jerod Mayo and Marvin Mitchell have all stepped in to fill the shoes of 3 star who are gone from last season & done very well for themselves. Mitchell & Mayo are among leading tacklers in the SEC. Rico McCoy is also a rising star-to-be in this corps.

DEFENSIVE BACKS (C)

Inky Johnson's injury forced Antwan Stewart and Demetrice Morley to both step up, but their weaknesses have been exposed. Talent is there, but no depth, resulting in spotty play when the starters tire. Jonathan Wade is a star and Morley is becoming one after his LSU game heroics. Jonathan Hefney had a big INT in that game & is a great tackler, too, but he is making tackles the DL should be making.

SPECIAL TEAMS (C)

Place-kicker James Wilhoit & punter Britton Colquitt are at the top of the SEC in talent. Kick coverage has improved somewhat but is still poor, and return yardage is still not good, either. Wilhoit is doing well on FG's, but missed a key one vs. LSU. Colquitt has a great average, but his net average is just average due to the fact that we can't cover.

COACHING (B)

We didn't keep enough fresh players rotated throughout the game against either Florida or LSU, resulting in blowing 10-point second-half leads in both games & bitter league home losses. Credit Fulmer for bring back Cutcliffe, who has certainly turned around the offense, doubling its output. Inexperience and injuries make Chavis' job very tough.

OVERALL (B)

No question this group is talented & capable of ringing up points if Ainge recovers from his injury, or even if he doesn't. Scoring 3 TD's on LSU is impressive. It's as much as Florida did & far more than Auburn did. Putting up 51 on Georgia was no fluke, either. This team has improved markedly over last year but for the 8th year in a row, UT won't be playing for a championship of any kind. They will be a decided underdog at Arkansas. However, with a bowl win, they lose to the Hawgs & still finish 10-3, doubling their win total in 2005. Fans will expect even more improvement for 2007, though, as it is time for UT to get back to Atlanta for sure.

The Tennessee Volunteers make their biennial trip south across the Great Smoky Mountains with Smokey, their Blue Tick Coonhound, to tussle with the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens this Saturday night. It is a make or break game for UT in terms of the Southeastern Conference football  championship race in 2006.

A loss by the Big Orange will be the death knell for any championship hopes they may hope to have, as that would make the Vols 0-2 in the SEC with October barely starting, and with a gauntlet of 6 straight league games to follow, front-end loaded with the best teams remaining on the schedule for 3 consecutive Saturdays, Alabama at home and South Carolina on the road, both of whom beat UT last year, and then revenge-minded LSU back at home as November begins.

On the other hand, a win against their conference rival in Athens could propel the Vols to a chance at their first SEC Championship since 1998. It has certainly been a long and arduous road back to prosperity for Tennessee, and they must make this step this weekend if they are to make it back at all this season.

Now that David Cutcliffe is back in Big Orange Country directing the offense, things have noticeably improved on that side of the ball, with the intensity and mental toughness to match what the defense has had for some time. No longer is the offense inept and plodding, even though there were 3 key turnovers at Memphis last Saturday that a team like Georgia that is much more talented than the Tigers would surely take advantage of if those mistakes are repeated this coming weekend.

Poor showings in the kicking game still plague this year's edition of the Volunteers and are  perhaps the most glaring hangover from last year's losing season. UT is virtually last in the nation in kickoff return yardage and their punt returns aren't much better. They were continually pinned deep in their own territory in Memphis, giving the field position advantage to their opponent.

Erik Ainge will certainly be under more pressure in Athens Saturday night in front of a national TV audience on ESPN than he was since the last time he had such prime time exposure in Baton Rouge last season. That was when he made an ill-advised toss deep in his own territory that resulted in an easy LSU touchdown that almost got the Vols beat. It was the only big game they finally won last year, once backup QB Rick Clausen, now a UT graduate assistant coach, bailed him out.

Ainge has yet to be tested in tough battle conditions on the road since last season. Memphis was absolutely no match for the Vols. None of their players would have a chance to start at Tennessee. Their talent was simply outclassed at every position.

That will certainly not be the case with Georgia. While the Bulldogs may be having quarterback woes and uncertainty of their own with youthful signalcallers at their helm, they still boast a stout defense.

Tennessee's failure to punch in a touchdown on several consecutive tries inside the 2-yardline against Memphis proves that the offensive line still doesn't have the necessary punch to rush the ball at will against good teams. A one-dimensional air attack won't win championships at any level.

The Vols are blessed with perhaps the best wide receiver tandem in the nation with Robert Meachem and Jayson Swain. That has made Ainge's life a lot easier so far this season. The emergence of tailback LaMarcus Coker to replace the injured Arian Foster, who may or may not be able to play Saturday night, has helped give them necessary speed in the backfield, but fellow TB Montario Hardesty has not proven himself as a power back as yet.

A look at the UT roster shows the importance and necessity of the nationwide recruiting that Head Coach Phillip Fulmer has established on The Hill. Of the starting 22 on the team, only 4 are native Tennesseans, David Ligon on the OL from Memphis, Coker and LB Ryan Karl from the Greater Nashville area, and Corey Anderson, who played only sparingly at FB Saturday, from Knoxville. All of the rest of the top players on the squad hail from several states coast-to-coast. Without the stellar recruiting that Fulmer has achieved in the past, UT's dropoff in talent would be enormous.

Tennessee still has an opportunity to have a great season. It all rests on the outcome of this upcoming game. With a win, there is a real possibility of running table and going 13-1, with an SEC Championship and BCS bowl win. Even the National Championship would be an outside possibility with some luck. A loss Saturday night, however, could mean a mediocre year barely better than last season, which would be wholly unacceptable to Vol faithful.

Longterm, recruiting appears to have been not up to par last season and not off to the best of starts this year, either. Whether Fulmer's changes made in his offensive coaching staff were too little too late to get his program turned around may indeed be shown by the outcome of this one big game in Athens. It has more riding on it than probably any Tennessee-Georgia game in UT football history.

One of the big feathers in Fulmer's cap as Tennessee's head coach had been the string of 9 consecutive Vol victories over the Dawgs, begun by his predecessor Johnny Majors, from  1989 to 1999. However, since that time, Georgia has won 5 of the last 6, with UT's only win coming in the last game in Athens 2 years ago, a surprise victory to say the least.

You can bet that those in red and black will be ready and waiting when the Big Orange comes calling Saturday night. It could very well be a classic game and defensive struggle that will decide the SEC East's representative in Atlanta on December 2 a few miles down the road in the Georgia Dome.