AJT Sports Blog Exclusive
If Saturday’s Orange and White game was any indication, Volunteer fans will enjoy Coach Lane Kiffin’s debut season in Knoxville.
Tennessee wrapped up their first spring practices under Kiffin with the annual Orange and White game as the offense dressed in UT’s road white uniforms defeated the Orange clad defense 41-
23.
"We just wanted to execu
te," Kiffin said. "We made some throws, we made some catches and we made some great runs. It was real fun. We got in a rhythm, and we just flowed with it."
The second largest UT spring game crowd, attendance was announced at 51,488, saw a trio of running backs turn in impressive performances as Montario Hardesty, Tauren Poole and
Toney Williams started a battle for playing time. Hardesty ended the game with the only rushing touchdown as he scored from five yards out and had 45 yards on the day. Poole and Williams both had 78 yards apiece.
Tennessee’s quarterback situation, however, did not change from last season as there is no clear cut winner heading into the fall. B.J Coleman added two scores for the Vols with a nine yard throw to Brandon Warren and four yard touchdown to Quintin Hancock. Warren also scored on a five yard pass from Nick Stephens while Jonathon Crompton hit Austin Rogers for a 16 yard touchdown.
Coleman ended the 
game 13 of 22 for 160 yards while Crompton was 14 of 27 for 143 yards and Stephens was 11 of 21 with 131 yards.
Rico McCoy forced the only turnover of the game as he picked off a Crompton pass. In the scoring system used, the defense received five points for forcing a turnover and three points for
stopping an offensive drive. The defense recorded six stops plus the turnover.
Despite the success on the field, both squads played the game with limited play books due to the fact the game was being broadcast on tape delayed. Kiffin estimated that the offense only used about 20 percent of the playbo
ok to keep from handing opponents information.
Former Coach Phillip Fulmer was also at Neyland on Saturday as he was honored as he received the General Robert Neyland Trophy from the Knoxville Quarterback Club. UT historian Haywood Harris was also honored before the contest. However, Saturday was an experience in itself for Kiffin and his assistants.
The Orange and White Game was also an opportunity for the new coa
ching staff to experience football on Rocky Top. The coaches put the players through the normal game day activities. During the traditional Vol Walk, Kiffin appeared to soak in the atmosphere as he calmly walked to Neyland Stadium. Defensive Line Coach Ed Orgeron, however, excited the crowd with arm pumps and giving fans high fives. The elder Kiffin Monte was a
lso treated to a friendly Rocky Top welcome as fans chanted his name along the route.
“Most of
our players have been through this,” Kiffin said. “But for our staff, and I tell you, we’ve had a lot of coaches that have been to a lot of really good places and won a lot of games, but when we got done with that Vol Walk and came in the locker room I had some guys come up to me and say, ‘Man, I’ve never seen anything like that.’ And these are guys that have been to some really special places, so it was really neat.”
Kiffin also couldn’t help but notice the enthusiasm of the Vol fans and the energy they brought to Neyland Stadium.
“The energy out t
here was unbelievable. I really want to thank our fans. That was exactly what we needed today. We needed that environment, because we needed to find out, amongst our players, who was going to thrive in that environment.”
Despite the success of sprin
g, the coaching staff knows that their work is not done. UT also has ques
tions to answer entering fall camp, including who will be the starting signal caller.
“I’ve got to go to the film to really break them down, exactly, because there’s so much going on out there that you’re watching,” Kiffin said of Saturday’s quarterback play. “But I thought they protected the ball well, and it seemed like the
y made good decisions, for the most part.”
