The 2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

in the

2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 28, 2008 and ended on D ...

. The team was led by head football coach Phillip Fulmer in his 16th and final season as head coach. The Vols played their home games in

Neyland Stadium Neyland Stadium ( ), is a sports stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. It serves primarily as the home of the Tennessee Volunteers football team, but is also used to host large conventions and has been a site for several National Foot ...

and competed in the Eastern Division of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC). The 2008 campaign followed a 10–4 2007 season, which saw the Vols win the Eastern Division of the conference and the

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. This season marked the ten year anniversary of Tennessee's 1998 BCS National Championship. On November 3, Fulmer announced that, after winning some 150 games over his career, he would step down from coaching his alma mater at the end of the season.

Before the season

Recruiting

The Vols followed the previous year of a top 5 class, with an effort that found the team ranked outside of the top 25 by both major recruiting websites,

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and Scout.com. The top players of the class were considered to be tight end Aaron Douglas out of

Maryville, Tennessee Maryville is a city in and the county seat of Blount County, Tennessee, and is a suburb of Knoxville. Its population was 31,907 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area and a short distance from popular tourist de ...

and wide receiver/linebacker E.J. Abrams-Ward out of

Thomasville, North Carolina Thomasville is a city in Davidson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 27,183 at the 2020 census. The city was once notable for its furniture industry, as were its neighbors High Point and Lexington. This Piedmont Triad commu ...

. Douglas played at Tennessee as a

redshirt freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

2009, transferred to

Arizona Western College Arizona Western College (AWC) is a public community college in Yuma, Arizona. It offers associate degrees, occupational certificates, and transfer degrees. AWC also offers classes in Dateland, La Paz, San Luis, Somerton, and Wellton. Aca ...

in the 2010 season and winter of 2010 signed with Alabama, where he participated in spring drills. Douglas was recruited to Tennessee as a tight end, and was moved to tackle by then first year coach Lane Kiffin. When Kiffin left Tennessee for USC, Douglas failed to report for spring drills under new coach Derek Dooley (American football) and eventually transferred to Arizona Western. Douglas redshirted his first season at Tennessee under then coach Phillip Fulmer, and a year later developed into an elite offensive lineman under Kiffin and line coach

James Cregg James Cregg (born August 18, 1973) is an American football coach who is an assistant offensive line coach for the San Francisco 49ers. He previously was the offensive line coach at LSU. High school career Cregg attended and played high school ...

. Douglas told the News Sentinel in May 2010 that a third coach in three years flipped the plan he had mapped out for himself “upside down.” On Thursday, May 12, 2011 Police received a call at 8:13 a.m. Thursday and, upon investigation, they found Douglas' body on the second-floor balcony of a Fernandina Beach, Florida residence. Douglas was pronounced dead at the scene. Of what was characterized as an accidental drug overdose. Abrams-Ward, a receiver redshirted for the 2008 season, selecting UT over North Carolina in a heated recruiting battle. On January 22, 2009 UT announced that E.J. Abrams-Ward and Ramone Johnson where no longer members of Tennessee's football team. UT said that the two were dismissed from the team for disciplinary reasons.

Coaching changes

Tennessee lost 4 members of their offensive staff. Offensive Coordinator

David Cutcliffe David Nelson Cutcliffe (born September 16, 1954) is the Special Assistant to the Commissioner for Football Relations at the Southeastern Conference and former college football coach, most recently head coach of the Duke University Blue Devils. ...

accepted the head coaching position at

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

. Cutcliffe took along OL/TE coach Matt Luke, and RB coach Kurt Roper. Roper joined the Blue Devils' staff as Offensive Coordinator. WR coach Trooper Taylor also left the Vols for a coordinator position, accepting a job as Co-Offensive Coordinator at

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. Cutcliffe was replaced by

Dave Clawson David Paul Clawson (born August 16, 1967) is an American football coach and former player. He currently serves as the head football coach at Wake Forest University, where he was named the 2021 ACC Coach of the Year. Clawson previously served a ...

, who comes to Tennessee from the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...

, where he was the head coach. Joining Clawson from Richmond is Latrell Scott, who replaced Taylor as the wide receivers coach. Stan Drayton, formerly the running backs coach at

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, was hired to replace Roper as the running backs coach. Jason Michael, formerly on the staff for the New York Jets, was hired to coach the tight ends, replacing Matt Luke. Defensive coordinator John Chavis interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons but chose to stay at Tennessee. This decision followed a similar decision by defensive ends coach Steve Caldwell. In December 2007 Caldwell chose to stay with Tennessee and turned down an offer to be the Defensive Coordinator at

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Player news

Tennessee was bolstered by the return of safety Demetrice Morley. Morley was a five star recruit out of

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who played for the Vols in 2005 and 2006 before being dismissed from the football team and leaving school for academic reasons. After sitting out the 2007 season, Morley was readmitted to the University in January 2008 and will rejoin the team. Morley told the media that he had been living in his car following his dismissal from the team, but that the birth of his son motivated him to return. Another defensive back, Antonio Gaines, was awarded a sixth year of eligibility by the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

in February. Gaines had missed the majority of both the 2003 and 2007 seasons due to injuries. The Vols are also welcoming two major transfer student athletes. Gerald Williams, who originally signed with Tennessee in 2005 has been cleared to join the team after spending finishing up at San Francisco Junior College. Brandon Warren, a Freshman All American at Florida State has been cleared to play by the NCAA.

Discipline

The Volunteer football team has also seen its share of off of the field issues since the close of the 2007 season. The first incident of the offseason occurred during a recruiting weekend. Wide receivers Gerald Jones and Ahmad Paige were cited for a misdemeanor possession of marijuana while hosting a recruit. Neither were suspended, but both were required to undertake more frequent drug testing and participate in a police ride along program. Another incident involved redshirt freshman running back Daryl Vereen. Vereen was arrested and charged with public intoxication and underage consumption after an on campus fight. Vereen was required to perform community service and was under a semester-long curfew. Fulmer also required the entire team to attend 6 A.M. running as punishment for the offense. Offensive lineman Anthony Parker was arrested and charged with

disorderly conduct Disorderly conduct is a crime in most jurisdictions in the United States, the People's Republic of China, and Taiwan. Typically, "disorderly conduct" makes it a crime to be drunk in public, to " disturb the peace", or to loiter in certain are ...

in January. Parker's punishment included morning runs,

curfew A curfew is a government order specifying a time during which certain regulations apply. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to ''not'' be in public places or on roads within a certain time frame, typically in the evening and ...

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and the police ride along program. Parker was charged after failing to obey the commands of a Knoxville

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with whom he had previous run-ins. This incident was followed by the arrest of incoming walk-on Vincent Faison for DUI. Faison was suspended for two games. In February, linebacker Dorian Davis and defensive back Antonio Wardlow were dismissed from the team for a violation of team rules. The most recent incident of the offseason involved decorated punter Britton Colquitt. Colquitt was suspended for five games after being arrested and charge with both DUI and leaving the scene of an accident. Colquitt also had his scholarship revoked.

Schedule

Players

Starting lineups and coaches

Head coach: Phillip Fulmer

Offense

Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks:

Offensive Scheme: Multiple Wide Receivers:

Latrell Scott Latrell Scott (born July 17, 1975) is an American football coach who is currently the running backs coach at Maryland. He was previously the head football coach of Norfolk State University, a position he held from 2015 through 2020 season that w ...

Offensive Line: Greg Atkins
Running Backs: Ronald Gallant Jr.
Tight Ends: Jason Michael

Offensive outlook

Coaches
Head Coach Phillip Fulmer hired

, formerly the head coach at the

, to replace

as offensive coordinator. Greg Atkins (offensive line) is the only returning coach on the offensive staff. Joining him are newly hired assistants Stan Drayton (running backs), Jason Michael, and Latrell Scott (wide receivers). Quarterbacks
The Vols must replace graduate Erik Ainge, a 5th-round selection of the New York Jets in the 2008 NFL Draft. The leading candidates are Jonathan Crompton, who started one game as an injury replacement for Ainge in 2006, redshirt freshman B. J. Coleman and redshirt sophomore Nick Stephens. After spring practices, Crompton had minor elbow surgery but should be ready for the season opener and all reports are that Crompton will be the starting quarterback. Running backs

Arian Foster Arian Isa Foster (born August 24, 1986) is a former American football running back and current musical artist under the name Bobby Feeno. He played college football at the University of Tennessee, and was signed by the Houston Texans of the Nati ...

saw the majority of time at tailback last season, with relief appearances by LaMarcus Coker, Montario Hardesty, and Lennon Creer. Coker was eventually dismissed from the team following the South Carolina game for a violation of team rules. Foster finished the season with 1193 rushing yards and 12 TDs. Foster, Hardesty and Creer all return and look to see significant time in the backfield. Looking to work his way into the rotation will be Daryl Vereen, a highly touted redshirt freshman. The fullback position may also be used more under Clawson. The starter was supposed to be David Holbert, but he has suffered another ACL injury and is out for the year. To honor Holbert, Arian Foster will wear Holbert's #30 jersey in the season opener at UCLA. With the injury to Holbert, sophomore Kevin Cooper looks to be the starter but true freshman Austin Johnson, who just recently moved from linebacker to fullback, will also compete for playing time. Receivers
The wide receivers were led by Lucas Taylor and Austin Rogers last season. Taylor had 73 receptions for 1,000 yards, while Rogers caught 56 passes for 624 yards. Both return for their senior season in 2008. Joining them will be Senior Josh Briscoe, Junior Quintin Hancock, Sophomores Gerald Jones, who many said was the star of the spring and will also see time at quarterback, Denarius Moore, and redshirt freshman Ahmad Paige. Offensive line
The offensive line returns the entire starting group from late in the 2007 season. The line was shuffled after an injury to Eric Young. Josh McNeil will anchor the line at center, with guards Anthony Parker and Jacques McClendon. Ramon Foster and Chris Scott will be the starters at tackle. This line allowed only 4 sacks during the 2007 season. Many experts predict Anthony Parker to be a First team All-American and for this unit to be the strongest in the SEC. Tight Ends
The tight end position is up in the air following the losses of Chris Brown and Brad Cottam. Brad's brother Jeff Cottam and

Luke Stocker Lucas Aaron Stocker (July 17, 1988) is an American football tight end and fullback who is a free agent. He played college football at the University of Tennessee, and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL D ...

are the leading candidates for the starting job. Because of the depth issues at tight end, offensive lineman Cody Pope was moved to play the position ---- Current starters (as of October 6, 2008) * * – Denotes returning starter. * ↑ – Denotes number of games started by the player at the listed position during the 2008 season.

Defense

Defensive coordinator / linebackers / associate head coach: John Chavis (20th year)
Base Defense: Multiple ( 4–3 and 3–2–6 "Mustang") Defensive line: Dan Brooks
Defensive ends: Steve Caldwell
Defensive backs: Larry Slade ---- ''Position outlook'' Coaches
2008 will be the 14th season as defensive coordinator for John Chavis. The defensive staff had been together and unchanged since the 1999 season, with Dan Brooks, Steve Caldwell and Larry Slade. Defensive line
On the defensive line, the Vols must replace two starters at end. Senior Robert Ayers and Junior Wes Brown are the leading candidates at those two spots. Tackles Dan Williams and DeMonte Bolden return after starting for the majority of the 2007 season. Providing depth will be tackles Walter Fisher, Chase Nelson, Donald Langley and Victor Thomas along with ends Ben Martin, Andre Mathis, and Chris Walker. Linebackers
The Vols replace two starters in the linebacker corps. Junior Rico McCoy returns to man one of the outside spots. Ellix Wilson, who started the 2008

at the middle linebacker looks to earn that job for the 2008 season. The other outside spot is up in the air, with Nevin McKenzie seeing the most time there the previous year. Defensive backs
The defensive backfield saw a slew of injuries and changes in 2007, but looks to be much more stable and seasoned in 2008. The Vols must replace departing safety Jonathan Hefney. Sophomores

Eric Berry James Eric Berry (born December 29, 1988) is an American former football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers, where he was a two-time unanimous All-American and rec ...

(SS), Brent Vinson and DeAngelo Willingham (Cornerbacks) should return to their spots with special teams phenom, Dennis Rogan expected to see plenty of snaps at both cornerback and safety. SS Demetrice Morley was reinstated in school after academic trouble caused him to miss the 2007 season. He is the leading candidate at the vacant free safety spot. It has also been stated during the off season that

could see time on the offensive side of the ball, as he has lined up at quarterback multiple times during spring practice. ---- Projected starters (Note: Does not include incoming freshmen). * * – Denotes returning starter * ↑ – Denotes number of games started by the player at the listed position during the 2008 season.

Special teams

''Position outlook''
Sophomore Daniel Lincoln (kicker) replaced departing Senior James Wilhoit in 2007 and earned All American Honors. Britton Colquitt returns as punter and will handle kickoffs. Sophomores Dennis Rogan emerged as the main kick and punt returner last, with Lennon Creer joining him as kick returner. Both players return. ---- Projected starters (Note: Does not include incoming Freshmen). * * – Denotes returning starter * ↑ – Denotes number of games started by the player at the listed position during the 2008 season. * ‡ – Note: Cunningham will be the starter during Colquitt's suspension.

Rankings

Team players drafted into the NFL

*Reference:2009 NFL Draft
Retrieved: November 15, 2013.

References

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Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Tennessee Volunteers football seasons

Tennessee Volunteers football The Tennessee Volunteers football program (variously called "Tennessee", "Vols", "UT", or "Big Orange") represents the University of Tennessee (UT). The Vols have played football for 130 seasons, starting in 1891; their combined record of 862� ...