ESPN.com - No. 5: Tennessee

ESPN.com: ESPNMagazine

Tuesday, August 20, 2002
Updated: August 22, 2:05 PM ET
No. 5: Tennessee

By By Bruce Feldman

At a 7-on-7 session this July, the Vols shared their indoor facility with a cheerleader camp. As a flock of high school kids yelled and clapped in unison, a quintet of UT DBs counterprogrammed with a series of synchronized backflips, capped by S Rashad Baker backflipping the entire width of the field. Yep, the Vols still have athletes, probably more than any other program in the country.

They also have an established leader, QB Casey Clausen, who finished last season as the nation's hottest passer. "My first two years were fun," says Clausen, "but I'm a junior now. It's time for me to take it to the next level."


	Clausen finished last season as the nation's hottest passer.

In 6'4", 225-pound WR Kelley Washington, Clausen has a 4.3 speedster with the ball skills and brute strength to dominate short and long. Losing TB Travis Stephens hurts. Stephens rushed for 1,464 yards last year; the rest of the team totaled 385. But Washington calls soph Jabari Davis "another Jamal Lewis, only bigger." RBs Cedric Houston and Derrick Tinsley are game-breakers as pass-catching weapons.

Defensively, UT is hungry but could be shaky if DTs Rashad Moore and Demetrin Veal don't blossom. Remember, UT was a win from the Rose Bowl before getting upset by LSU. "Not a day goes by that we don't think about it," LB Eddie Moore says. "We learned you don't count your roses until you've got them." Same goes for Tostitos.

HOT WIRE

Before last season, the Volunteers staff conferred with Tennessee Titans coaches about how to get their tight end more involved in the offense. The result: Jason Witten snagged 28 passes as a sophomore, the most by a Vols TE in 20 years. That total could double this season. "The guy is a monster," says Washington of the 6'5", 265-pound Witten. "And he runs a legit 4.5."

TRIP WIRE

The Vols D feels a draft. They lost two DTs in the first round and DE Will Overstreet -- the guts of the defense -- in the second. UT led the SEC in sacks (34, down from 50 in 2000) and must get a hoss in the middle to keep O-linemen off the speedy Vols linebackers. Expect more blitzing to put heat on QBs.

WIRE TAP

"Follow Florida's lead. Keep eight men back so Tennessee doesn't kill you with combination routes. Washington scares me all over the field. You've got to keep two men on him all the time, and you can't underestimate Witten's speed. Florida made Travis Stephens beat 'em -- and he did. But he's gone, so let's find out how good the new kid Davis really is."

BRISTOL WIRE

Bill Curry: "Can the poor kicking game improve? Can an MIA D-line be replaced? Can Clausen be consistent? Can the SEC Title Game Hangover be soothed?"

The ESPN Power 16
1	Oklahoma	9	Colorado
2	Florida State	10	Washington State
3	Miami	11	Washington
4	Texas	12	Oregon
5	Tennessee	13	Nebraska
6	Florida	14	Michigan State
7	Georgia	15	Virginia Tech
8	Ohio State	16	LSU

This article appears in the September 2 issue of ESPN The Magazine.

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