Vols still undecided on quarterback

KNOXVILLE — As the week of announced competition between quarterbacks Jonathan Crompton and Nick Stephens drew to a close on Thursday, Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer prolonged the suspense one more day by refusing to name a starter against Northern Illinois until after watching film of the practice.

“So many people are here for one reason and that’s to see who we’re going to start at quarterback,” Fulmer said to a larger media contingent than usual at Haslam Field.

“We haven’t made that decision yet. We’ll take this film and look at it, talk as a staff tomorrow and let our football team know first and then announce it after the walkthrough. That’s another day to be completely thorough.”

Fulmer refused to say if the inability to name either Crompton or Stephens sooner was an indication of the closeness of the competition this week. 

“If it was clear-cut, we’d already have made the decision, so we’re going to evaluate the film and see where we are,” he added. “It’s been a good competition. Both of them have taken that challenge. That’s what you like to see. Jonathan has taken it and Nick wants to seize the opportunity.”

Offensive coordinator Dave Clawson was just as noncommittal. 

“We’ve got to consider what’s best for the team,” Clawson said. “All three quarterbacks (including B.J. Coleman) — their demeanors are great. their huddle management is great, they work hard.  You’ve got three super student-athletes, but you’ve got to make decisions that are best for the team and help you win on Saturday.”

Clawson said the publicly-announced competition was aimed at “trying to light a fire under one guy and trying to give another guy an opportunity,” since one more week of practice wasn’t likely to elevate either of them.

“Hopefully, that spark or that hope does something. What happens in practice to a point matters, but it has to happen in games.” Clawson said.

Fulmer and Clawson agreed that if the starter on Saturday has a hot hand, there would be no reason to split playing time with the backup. What neither coach wants to do is end up in a shuffle similar to the 2005 season, when Erik Ainge and Rick Clausen alternated in the starting role and the team finished with a losing record.

“Anytime your quarterback position is in flux during the season, it’s rarely a good thing,” Clawson said. “You want it to be settled, but it can’t be settled just for the sake of being settled. 

“It’s got to be settled on its own. If it’s not happening, you can’t pretend it’s happening. I think they both had good weeks.” 

Fulmer emphasized that point.

“It’s not about an easy decision. It’s about who is going to help us win,” he said. “If there was that much difference, we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation. We’ve practiced well, but we’ve got to take it to the game.”

INJURY REPORT: Tight end Jeff Cottam is expected to see playing time on Saturday after several weeks of recovering from back surgery.  Cottam returns just as tight end Luke Stocker is recovering from a shoulder injury and hasn’t seen much practice time this week, which could limit his minutes against the Huskies, Fulmer said.

Offensive lineman Vladimir Richard is limited and may not play on Saturday. Sophomore offensive tackle Jarrod Shaw has made significant progress this week, however, and could see playing time this week. Starting linebacker Ellix Wilson is healthy and ready to play.