By Danny Parker
The college football season, from
preseason camp through the bowl game, relinquishes no time for head
coaches to sit down and talk about the state of things with the media.
With
spring workouts complete and the Orange & White game in the books,
Tennessee head man Derek Dooley granted some time to FOX Sports
Tennessee to talk Volunteer football.
Here is a look at a portion of that sitdown interview:
FST:
You have a total of three scholarship players on the current roster
from the Carolinas. Obviously things are changing with the efforts of
the staff, most notably Jay Graham, Josh Conklin and Sam Pittman, but
what has taken Tennessee so long to get back to recruiting the Carolinas
hard again?
Dooley: Every state that is within 3-6 hours
from our home is important and North Carolina is one of those. We have a
history of having good players from that state. We need to continue to
do a better job in that state because at the end of the day it's easier
to get guys who are close to Knoxville than far away from Knoxville. We
want to get them here and the more they come the better chance you have
to get them. They get immersed in what you're about. So, all that's
important.
We have a circle around Knoxville about 3 hours and about 6 hours and that's our home state, that's how we've got to view it.
FST:
I could see the excitement on your face last summer when the Class of
2011 signees were on the field at Haslam with you. Some of that has to
come from having a full class of "your guys" and 20-something young men
that are bought into this organization. How helpful is it to be one step
closer to having an 85 scholarship roster of "your guys?"
Dooley:
As long as you're operating over the 80. I think the oversigning rule
that went into place this year is probably going to make it a little
tougher for programs to be right at 85 without giving some walk-ons
(scholarships). For the most part, this will be the first time we feel
like we have a full roster where you've got some guys with experience,
you're a little deeper at every position and it's a good roster to begin
to build on. Yeah, it's very encouraging."
FST: You'll
have many more third-year guys on the field this fall, probably a few
fourth- and fifth-year guys too, but many more third year guys than
first- or second-year players.
Dooley: We only have 12 or 13 seniors. So, we still haven't completely turned the roster.
FST: Among those seniors, it looks like slightly over half of those will see the field much at all.
Dooley: It's a good senior class, but…
FST: It's not what you're trying to get to from a contributing numbers standpoint?
Dooley:
We have eight guys who I guess were part of coach Fulmer's signing
class, eight that were part of Lane's. We have 20 guys here from the
two-week deal that we had our first class. Then, our first full class we
have 25 guys here and then have 22 coming in. So far, knock on wood, I
feel good about our attrition levels of the guys that we've signed,
which means A. We're picking the right guys, B. We're doing a good job
developing them and keeping them in the program. Hopefully over time
it's going to produce results.
I forgot what your question was. You were talking about third-year guys…
FST:
How different, on average, is the body of a 19-year-old freshman to
that of a 21- or 22-year old player in his third year or so of your
organization?
Dooley: Well it's something you ought to
talk to Mac about. But, there is a significant difference in their
strength levels, there's a significant difference in their physical
stamina, there's s a significant difference in their body fat and core
strength. But, then there is also a significant difference in their
mental toughness and mental stamina.
Think about it this way, why do you think that we have a three-year rule to go to the NFL and nobody really has challenged it?
FST: Because they're not ready.
Dooley:
Because they're not ready. Because they're not ready physically,
they're not ready emotionally, they're not ready intellectually, they're
not ready. It's not like basketball. In basketball, who's 17 years old a
guy can go out there and be one of the best guys in the NBA if he's
blessed with the right skills and size. That's not gonna happen. It
doesn't matter how good you are as far as skill sets and size. It takes
development.
