D6
NEWS
SENTINEL
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2006
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
UT vs.
Memphis
on ESPN
2006 SEC FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Dates and sites subject to change. SEC Championship Game — Dec. 2, 2006 in Atlanta. Source: secsports.com
From wire reports
Staff and wire reports
Memphis will play host to
Tennessee in a nationally televised football game Sept. 30.
The game will be carried by
either ESPN or ESPN2 and will
be played at night. Kickoff has
not been set.
Spurrier Reorganizes: South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier reorganized his coaching staff.
“We’re not getting rid of anybody,” Spurrier said. “We are
readjusting the defensive coach
and we are going to hire a defensive line coach.”
Some of the coaches will assume new responsibilities.
Fred Chatham has been
named special teams coordinator along with coaching the tight
ends. David Reaves will be recruiting coordinator in addition
to assistant quarterbacks coach.
Ron Cooper will move from
linebackers to secondary coach
and was named assistant head
coach.
Dave Wommack will switch
from the secondary to the outside linebackers.
Tyrone Nix will remain defensive coordinator and will
coach the inside linebackers.
The announcements came
two days after Spurrier flew to
Alabama to meet with former
Auburn and Alabama defensive
coordinator Bill “Brother” Oliver about the coordinator’s job.
The 66-year-old Oliver, who has
been out of coaching for seven years, was intrigued by the
opportunity to work with a
coach he had long admired.
Alabama Injuries: Two of Alabama’s youngest, most promising players will not take part
in spring practice, which begins
Feb. 24.
Linebacker Chris Keys and
left tackle Cody Davis, who will
be sophomores this fall, recently
underwent surgery, Tide coach
Mike Shula said.
Keys, who had five tackles in
11 games last season, had successful surgery on his right ankle. His rehabilitation time is 12to-14 weeks. He should be back
in time for summer workouts.
Bamaonline.com reported
that Keys suffered the injury
during a scuffle with a teammate on Monday, but Alabama
officials would not specify how
the injury occurred.
Davis, who played in eight
games last season, had arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder.
All-star
game
needs site
BY DREW EDWARDS
[email protected]
The roster is set for this year’s
annual Tennessee-Kentucky AllStar Football Classic. The venue,
on the other hand, is still up in
the air.
Several area players were
named to the roster.
Set to participate from the
PrepXtra area are: Fulton linebacker/fullback Tyrone Cobb,
Oak Ridge receiver/defensive
back Revel Coffey and running
back/linebacker Spencer Gulmire, Alcoa running back Dustin
Lindsey and defensive end/tight
end Brandon Warren, Central
kicker Lones Seiber, Morristown
West offensive lineman Dylan
Stevens, Maryville lineman Gary
Tucker and running back/defensive back Ryan Tallent and Powell quarterback/safety Cody
Watts.
Catholic lineman Davis Bodie,
Alcoa quarterback Joei Fiegler,
Morristown West lineman/linebacker Blake Garretson, Central
quarterback/defensive back Zach
Helton, Farragut linebacker Nick
Reveiz, Powell tight end/defensive end Lee Smith and Alcoa
lineman Martin White were
named as alternates.
Morristown West coach Don
Woods was named assistant head
coach to head coach Jeff Rutledge
of Montgomery Bell Academy.
Georgia’s
Smart to
Dolphins
TENNESSEE
12th game could add up to a 13th (bowl)
Once the NCAA approved a 12th
regular-season game for college football,
you knew the phones would start ringing
at places like Louisiana-Monroe.
Any college football coach worth the
incentives in his contract hears “extra
game” and thinks “extra win.” And any
athletic director who isn’t itching to
make a change at the top of his football
program would concur
with his coach.
So it’s hardly
shocking to see all the
hyphens and directional
schools on the SEC
football schedule for
2006.
Alabama plays
Louisiana-Monroe and
Florida International.
JOHN
Kentucky plays Texas
ADAMS
State, Central Michigan
and Louisiana-Monroe.
Arkansas plays Utah State, Southeast
Missouri State and — you guessed it —
Louisiana-Monroe.
But don’t get the wrong idea. Just
because so many lower-echelon teams
will be coming to an SEC stadium near
you this fall, that doesn’t mean
conference teams will breeze through
their non-conference schedules.
The SEC’s non-conference opponents
will range from sure wins to huge
challenges. Call it “extreme scheduling.”
Take the season openers, for example.
Arkansas will open at home against
Southern Cal, which edged the
Razorbacks 70-17 last fall. The Trojans
lost many outstanding players, but it’s
questionable whether they lost 53 points
worth.
Tennessee will open against California
at home. The Golden Bears will be a
consensus top-25 team next fall and
probably will show up in a few top 10s as
well.
Vanderbilt will open against Michigan
at Ann Arbor, where — this just in — the
Commodores won’t be favored. Kentucky
will play at Louisville in its season
opener.
The finales will be tougher than the
openers for other SEC teams. Florida will
close at Florida State, Georgia will be at
home against Georgia Tech, and South
Carolina will be at Clemson.
Those aren’t the only top-25
candidates on the SEC’s non-conference
schedule. West Virginia, which is
expected to contend for the national
championship, will play Mississippi State
in Starkville on Oct. 7. LSU has added
Fresno State, which will play in Baton
Rouge on Oct. 21.
There’s also an atypical Pac-10
presence on the SEC schedule.
In addition to USC vs. Arkansas and
Cal vs. UT, you have Auburn and
Washington State playing Sept. 2 in
Auburn; LSU will play Arizona at Tiger
Stadium on Sept. 9.
Those matchups will have similar
themes. The Pac-10 is the most-offensiveminded conference in Division I-A. The
SEC is all about defense.
In 2005, seven Pac-10 teams ranked in
the top 34 in total offense. Auburn, which
had the SEC’s best offense, ranked 37th.
Conversely, nine SEC teams ranked in
the top 34 in total defense. Oregon,
which led the Pac-10 in total defense,
ranked 44th nationally.
Florida probably has the toughest
overall schedule in the SEC. Nine of its 12
opponents played in bowl games last
season.
Alabama has the easiest nonconference schedule. The Tide will play
Hawaii, Louisiana-Monroe, Florida
International and Duke. All four had
losing records last season.
The addition of a 12th game will
benefit every team in the SEC, but not
just because it assures them of an extra
home game. It also will enhance their
chances of a sixth victory, the magic
number for a bowl bid.
Although the conference has
contractual ties to eight bowls, it
qualified only six teams last season.
Sports editor John Adams may be reached
at 865-342-6284 or [email protected].
Kirby Smart is leaving as
Georgia’s running backs
coach after one season to
coach safeties for the NFL’s
Miami Dolphins, where he
will rejoin Nick Saban.
“It’s an opportunity for me
to advance professionally and
get back on the defensive side
of the ball, which is where I
played, where all my knowledge is and where my love of
the game is,” Smart told the
Athens Banner-Herald.
Smart’s departure means
Georgia running backs
Thomas Brown and Danny
Ware will have their third position coach in as many seasons. Ken Rucker left last
winter to coach at Texas.
Georgia coach Mark Richt
said defensive line coach/recruiting coordinator Rodney
Garner’s status with the Bulldogs will be resolved “hopefully soon.”
Garner, who talked to the
New Orleans Saints last week
about a defensive assistant
job, is back in town after joining Richt and other staff
members and their wives on
a cruise.
Smart, 30, a former AllSEC safety at Georgia who
coached defensive backs for
Saban at LSU in 2004, also
interviewed in New York
with the Jets.
Willis Back At Auburn: When
James Willis left Auburn two
years ago, he knew he would
be back some day.
He just didn’t believe it
would happen this soon.
Willis, 33, a seven-year
NFL veteran and former
Auburn player and graduate
assistant, was announced as
the Tigers’ new linebackers
coach.
He replaces Joe Whitt,
who retired last week after
25 years on Auburn’s coaching staff.
“I can remember the day
I left I told (team chaplain)
Chette Williams, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be back one day,’ ’’
Willis told The Mobile Register. “Thank God it worked
out this way.”
Willis, who served as a student assistant and graduate
assistant at Auburn from
2001-03, has moved quickly
through the ranks of the
coaching world, reaching a
top-tier school in only his
third season as a paid staff
member.
ALL-STAR TEAM
The 2006 Tennessee Athletic Coaches Association All-Star football team that has
been selected to compete against Kentucky on June 16, 2006. Game site is to be
announced at a later date.
Player
Off.
Def.
Ht.
Wt.
High school
Leroy Banks
WR
CB
6-3
205 Whitehaven
Daniel Becker
FB
MLB 6-3
215
Ravenwood
Mike Berry
OT
DT
6-4
301
Brentwood Academy
Cameron Boga
WR
CB
5-11
178
Memphis East
Wilson Cates
WR
FS
6-0
185
Livingston Academy
Tyrone Cobb
FB
LB
6-1
231
Fulton
Tremayne Coger
TB
CB
6-0
185
Columbia
Revel Coffey
WR
CB
6-1
167
Oak Ridge
Keelyn Craddock
ATH
CB
6-0
180
Tyner
Malcolm Crawford
OT
DT
6-1
285 Kingsbury
JohnnyDouglas
WR
FS
6-1
190
Brighton
Marlon Douglas
WR
CB
5-10
175
White Station
Charles Green
DE
6-3
235 McCallie
Spencer Gulmire
TB
LB
5-10
190
Oak Ridge
Drew Hayes
QB
6-0
203 McKenzie
Brandon Jackson
FB
LB
6-3
235 Briarcrest
T.C. Jennings
QB
FS
6-2
190
Ravenwood
Charlie Jordan
RB
LB
5-8
190
White Station
Justice Joslin
WR
FS
6-2
180
Science Hill
Daniel Kilgore
C/LS DT
6-3
280 Dobyns-Bennett
Ricky Ladd
RB
CB
5-9
160
White House
Dustin Lindsey
RB
OLB
6-1
225 Alcoa
Ricky Lumpkin
OT
DE
6-4
255 Kenwood
Greg Magnifico
OT/LS DT
6-4
270 Cordova
Lane Maynard
PK
FS
6-0
165
Collierville
Also on the roster is Baylor
lineman and Tennessee signee
Jacques McClendon. Lindsey,
Smith and Garretson also signed
with the Vols on Feb. 1.
Just where those standouts
will face Kentucky on June 16,
though, remains up in the air.
Neyland Stadium, the traditional home venue for the Tennessee All-Stars, is unavailable
because of construction upgrades.
Sevier County coach Steve
Jacques McClendon
OT
DT
6-3
295 Baylor
Gaston Miller
RB
5-9
170
Riverdale
Russell Nenon
OL
DL
6-4
278 Memphis University
Russell Noles
OT
DT
6-6
310
Bruceton
Antonio Robinson
WR
FS
6-5
200 South Pittsburg
Lones Seiber
PK
P
5-9
167
Central
Charlie Seivers
TE
DE
6-2
240 Webb
Tyler Sinclair
G
MLB 6-3
215
Brentwood
Adam Smotherman
OT
DE
6-4
265 Smyrna
Dylan Stevens
OL
DL
6-4
300 Morristown West
David Sutton
OG
OLB
5-11
220 Houston
Ryan Tallent
RB
CB
5-10
200 Maryville
Will Truitt
OL
DL
6-5
275
Briarcrest
Gary Tucker
OT
DT
6-3
250 Maryville
LaDerrick Vaughn
WR
OLB
6-2
215
Manassas
Brandon Warren
TE
DE
6-3
230 Alcoa
Cody Watts
QB
FS
6-1
187
Powell
Coaching staff
Head coach: Jeff Rutledge, MBA
Assistant head coach: Don Woods, Morristown West
Assistant coaches: Jim Fisher, Union City; Dennis Goodwin; Paul Wade, Davidson
Academy; Charlie White, Germantown; Charlie Wiggins, Notre Dame.
Alternates
Blake Alexander (Westview); Davis Bodie (Catholic); Ricky Bonner (Jackson CentralMerry); Josh Boyd (Camden); Dewayne Caldwell(Ooltewah); Joey Fiegler (Alcoa);
Blake Garretson (Morristown West); John Graham (Union City); Dontaye Hall
(Gallatin); Kevin Hamby (Polk County); Zachary Helton (Central); Mike Jones (Hunters
Lane); Rob Meadows (Jackson Christian); Bruce McCurdy (Brentwood); Darrius
McDonald (Howard); Nick Reveiz (Farragut); Lee Smith (Powell); Michael Sweatt
(MBA); Phillip Weathers (Huntingdon); Martin White (Alcoa); Tyler Wolf (Cookeville).
Brewer, a member of the Tennessee Athletic Coaches Association board, said the group is
meeting today to discuss the use
of Chattanooga’s Finley Stadium.
“That’s a nice stadium,” Brew-
er said. “It’s obviously not the
size of Neyland Stadium. But one
of the nice things about this game
is you get to play in a great venue.”
Brewer said the University of
Louisville has made Papa John’s
Stadium, the site of last year’s
game, available for use this year
as well.
“We’d like to keep it in Tennessee, we just want to do what’s
best for the players and best for
the game,” Brewer said.