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Article published Aug 3, 2008 Like their stadium, Vols in process of rebuilding
KNOXVILLE — The view from the East Club Seats in Neyland Stadium on Saturday revealed a facility undergoing a gradual resurrection.
In many ways, it is an historic structure as well as one of the best venues for college football in the country.
Parts of the original contruction from the 1920s-1940s are embedded in what you see of the stadium today. Those are being primed and polished to support additions that will impress fans and foes alike when the renewal is eventually completed.
In a similar manner, the tradition of Tennessee football is as much a part of the 2008 team that took the field for Media Day as the players who will contribute this season.
No one understands that more than head coach Phillip Fulmer, who has been working on his own rebuilding project for quite some time now.
Anyone who follows UT football knows that the 1998 national title and SEC Championship established the standard by which all of the following seasons have been measured, and so far the Vols have come close to playing for a second NCAA crown only once and have lost multiple opportunities to win another SEC trophy.
No wonder then that Fulmer projects a sense of urgency as practices get under way to prepare the Vols for their opener at UCLA on Sept. 1.
“We — and I expressed this to the team (Friday) night — can waste no opportunity to improve as a team, whether it be in the meeting rooms, mentally getting ourselves ready or in our individual work early in practice,” Fulmer said.
And just as there is a question about whether the current phase of construction on Neyland Stadium will be complete by the home opener against UAB on Sept. 13, there is also a question about how quickly the Vols will adapt to a new offense, directed by coordinator Dave Clawson and equally-new offensive position coaches.
That offense will be guided by Jonathan Crompton, a junior, who came to UT in 2005 and has started only one game. That’s another component of the building job Fulmer will have to ensure is solid before the run through the SEC begins on Sept. 20.
“He looks great physically,” Fulmer said of his starting quarterback. “I like what he brings to the table from a toughness standpoint.”
Crompton also brings an attitude that his head coach would appreciate, refusing to talk about last season or the one before that and instead considering only the present.
“To start fresh, that’s the main thing,” Crompton said. “A new offense and a new quarterback.”
But for fans, that’s the scary part. There’s no escaping what has come before — the successes and the failures — and for a new beginning to be fully appreciated, it must result in a celebratory ending.
Tennessee has proven it can win the East, but that next step to an SEC Championship has been much tougher than anyone expected.
Whether this rebuilding project takes more than one phase will be determined by how the Vols deal with the unexpected rather than with what’s expected in the weeks ahead.
Leonard Butts is sports editor of The Daily Times. Write to him at The Daily Times, P.O. Box 9740, Maryville, TN 37802, or e-mail to leonard.butts@thedailytimes.com.