Here’s all you need to know about Tennessee: The Vols ran a flea-flicker to throw the ball to a tight end on an out route.
Every 9-year-old with two friends and a Nerf ball knows you don’t break out that trick unless you’re taking a shot at a big play, and the moment will be my lasting memory of UT’s likely awfulness this season.
But while I left Knoxville convinced 2010 will be a long season for new coach Derek Dooley and the Vols, I was also impressed with the framework surrounding them.
Few football schools have as much to offer as Tennessee.
Neyland Stadium, with its 100,000-plus seats and riverfront location, is one of the best in the nation.
As a city, Knoxville has more going for it than most SEC towns, and the Vols are the biggest program in their state, bringing along a huge fan base and what should be an easy sell to in-state recruits.
And UT has the well-known traditions — ‘’Rocky Top,’’ the checkerboard end zones, players running through the T before games — to keep it relevant on a national stage.
All these things, along with recent renovations to the facilities, make Tennessee a powerhouse-in-waiting.
And there’s the problem. UT is dormant.
With a law degree and famous SEC last name, Dooley’s an intriguing guy, and maybe he’ll restore the Vols to their rightful place as perennial contenders.
But it’s baffling to think the keys to this souped-up sports car were handed to a guy whose only head-coaching experience is a 17-20 record at Louisiana Tech.
A large reason why that happened is 2009 coach Lane Kiffin’s hasty departure for USC, which former UT coach Phil Fulmer blasted on the CBS show “College Football Today” this weekend.
“[Kiffin] left Tennessee with basically his hat in his hand and a bunch of NCAA compliance questions,” Fulmer said. “Many in our community are glad that he is gone. He never really embraced the traditions, the values of the program or the community for that matter. And often his arrogant attitude turned people off.”
But before that happened, Kiffin re-energized a fan base that had been slumping.
He didn’t leave the cupboard stocked with talent, but he did put the Vols back on the map with all his trash talk and self-promotion.
Whether Dooley can capitalize on that remains to be seen, but how did he — and even Kiffin, whose only experience as top man was going 5-15 with the Oakland Raiders — end up on Rocky Top?
Tennessee is better than botched flea-flickers, experimental coaches and punch lines.
And if the Vols ever get the ship righted, Florida will have a tougher road, and a rival, again.
