University of Tennessee Athletics
Game Preview: Tennessee vs. Florida
September 10, 2007 | Football
Tennessee-Florida Series History/Notes
Tennessee leads the all-time series with the Gators 19-17 and owns a 5-8 record in Gainesville. The Vols won two of their last three contests in ???The Swamp,??? claiming a 34-32 win in 2001 and a 24-10 triumph in 2003.
UT head coach Phillip Fulmer owns a 5-10 career mark against Florida.
Five players on Tennessee???s 2007 roster???Michael Crain (Jacksonville), Art Evans (Lakeland), Quintin Hancock (St. Augustine), Daniel Lincoln (Ocala), Vladimir Richard (Sunrise)???hail from the state of Florida. Vols defensive line coach Dan Brooks received his Master???s degree from UF and was an assistant coach with the Gators from 1983-87.
This series recently has been dictated by the running game, as the team with the most rushing yardage has won 15 of the last 17 meetings (UF won in 2000 and 2002 despite being outgained on the ground). Over the last five games in this series in Gainesville, Tennessee has averaged 117.4 rushing yards per game and Florida has averaged 78.8.
Injury to Gaines Presents Challenge
Tennessee defensive backs coach Larry Slade entered this season with a unit that boasted just one player who had more than one game of starting experience (free safety Jonathan Hefney). And excluding Hefney, UT???s defensive backs combined for just two starts entering this year.
The challenges for such an untested and relatively young group were multiplied last Saturday against Southern Miss when senior cornerback Antonio Gaines went down with a knee injury.
With Gaines out indefinitely, Slade and UT head coach Phillip Fulmer will look for true freshman Eric Berry to step in as the starter at left cornerback, with senior Jarod Parrish returning to the starter???s spot at strong safety. True freshmen Art Evans and Dennis Rogan will serve as backups Berry and Parrish, respectively.
Foster Taking Charge of Deep Tailbacks Corps
Junior tailback Arian Foster has played extremely well in Tennessee???s two opening games this season, evoking memories of his breakout 2005 campaign, during which he rushed for at least 100 yards in each of his five starts.
Foster leads the Vols deep corps of tailbacks this year, averaging 107.0 rushing yards per game. He is averaging 5.9 yards per carry and has a pair of rushing touchdowns so far.
Foster also has made his presence known in other capacities. The San Diego, Calif., native has caught three passes in each of UT???s first two games and caught his first career touchdown pass in the opener at California. During the strong showing in his home state, Foster also enjoyed a career day as a kick returner. He totaled 117 yards on three kick returns against the Golden Bears, including a career-long 68-yarder.
For his all-around efforts this season, Foster ranks tied for fourth in the SEC and tied for 20th among NCAA FBS players with 173.0 all-purpose yards per game. His 107.0-yard rushing average ranks sixth in the league and tied for 34th nationally. And while he will not likely be used extensively in UT???s kick-return game, he does rank fourth nationally with a 39.0-yard kick-return average through the first two weeks of play.
Lincoln Starting Career on Right Foot, Returns Home Saturday
Redshirt freshman Daniel Lincoln has performed nearly flawlessly in his first two games as Tennessee???s new placekicker. The Ocala, Fla., native has been perfect on field-goal attempts???nailing all four tries, including a long of 51 yards vs. Southern Miss???and is 8-for-8 on extra-point tries.
Lincoln is replacing departed four-year starter James Wilhoit, who ranks second on Tennessee???s all-time scoring chart with 325 career points from 2003-06.
Saturday???s trip to Gainesville provides Lincoln with an opportunity to showcase his talents in his own backyard, as he grew up approximately 44 miles from the University of Florida campus. Lincoln graduated from Forest High School and was a three-year class president.
2005 Wide Receivers Signees Coming of Age
Tennessee wideouts Josh Briscoe, Austin Rogers and Lucas Taylor were all members of UT???s 2005 signing class. Their collective impact on the Vols??? offense had been minimal prior to this season, but they have been clutch thus far in 2007.
Briscoe, Rogers and Taylor have combined to catch 33 passes for 421 yards and two TDs through the first two games of 2007. Through two games last season, UT???s season-ending top-three receivers (Robert Meachem, Jayson Swain and Bret Smith ) had caught 22 passes for 445 yards and six touchdowns.
All three players have already set new career-highs for catches and yards (Briscoe has tied his yardage mark).
In the first 22 games of his career, Taylor caught 14 passes for 101 yards. In the first two games of this season, Taylor has 11 catches for 221 yards.
In the first six games of his career, Rogers caught six passes for 87 yards. In the first two games of this season, Rogers has 13 catches for 150 yards and one touchdown.
In the first 23 games of his career, Briscoe caught nine passes for 123 yards. In the first two games of this season Briscoe has caught nine passes for 50 yards.
Tennessee 8-7 Under Fulmer in SEC Openers
Under head coach Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee owns an 8-7 mark in SEC openers, including wins in two of the last four conference lidlifters. Of those eight victories, three have come against Florida.
The Vols average 24.2 points per game in SEC openers with Fulmer at the helm. Meanwhile, UT???s opponents average 22.0 points per game in those contests.
Opposing Rushers Struggle to Hit 100
Tennessee???s defense has allowed just six opposing ballcarriers to rush for at least 100 yards in the last 39 games. During that span, the opponents??? top rusher has averaged 78.5 yards per game.
Penn State???s Tony Hunt is the most recent back to hit the 100-yard mark in a game against Tennessee, gaining 158 yards on 31 carries in the 2007 Outback Bowl.
UNLV???s Dominique Dorsey (121 yards in the 2004 season-opener), current NFL standout Carnell ???Cadillac??? Williams (100 yards in the 2004 SEC Championship Game), Florida???s DeShawn Wynn (104 yards in 2006), Arkansas??? Darren McFadden (181 yards in 2006) and Kentucky???s Rafael Little (119 yards in 2006) are the only other backs to reach 100 yards against UT in the last 38 games.
Among the backs who recently came up short in their quest for 100 yards are such names as Ronnie Brown, Kenneth Darby (twice), Joseph Addai, Thomas Brown, Darius Walker and Marshawn Lynch.
Career Starts Record Within Reach For Hefney
Senior free safety Jonathan Hefney has a chance to stand atop Tennessee???s all-time list for starts by a position player,* as he currently owns a streak of 38 consecutive starts.
Former center and current Green Bay Packer Scott Wells (2000-03) made a school-record 49 straight starts, but Hefney could potentially tie that mark if Tennessee makes a bowl appearance.
Should the Vols play in the SEC Championship Game prior to a bowl appearance, Hefney would have a shot at 50 straight starts.
Hefney has played in 39 career games. The 2004 season-opener against UNLV is the only game during his career in which he did not start.*Placekicker Jeff Hall started 50 straight games from 1995-98
Berry Just Third Fulmer True Freshman to Start Collegaite Debut
With his start at Cal in the season-opener on Sept. 1, rookie defensive back Eric Berry became the first defensive player and only the third player overall in the Philip Fulmer era to start a season-opener as a true freshman.
The Vols??? first defensive alignment against the Golden Bears was a nickel package with just three down linemen. Berry served as the fifth defensive back, and he went on to total seven tackles in his college debut on national television.
True freshman Michael Munoz started the 2000 season opener against Southern Miss at right tackle and went on to claim Freshman All-SEC honors that season as well as All-SEC and All-America honors in his senior campaign (2004).
The only other true freshman to start a season-opener under Fulmer was quarterback Brent Schaeffer in 2004. Schaeffer gave way to Erik Ainge in the fourth game of that season.
16 Vols Have Made UT Debut This Season
A total of 16 Vols have made their Tennessee debuts so far this season. Included in that group are seven true freshmen: starting defensive back Eric Berry, tailback Lennon Creer, wide receiver Gerald Jones, wide receiver Denarius Moore, defensive back Dennis Rogan, wide receiver Brent Vinson and defensive end Chris Walker.
The other Vols who have taken the field for the first time in Orange & White this year are: punter/kicker Chad Cunningham, fullback Ryan Hill, placekicker Daniel Lincoln, defensive back Nevin McKenzie, wide receiver Kenny O???Neal, linebacker Nick Reveiz, tight end Luke Stocker, linebacker LaMarcus Thompson and defensive back DeAngelo Willingham.
