The 2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by head football coach Phillip Fulmer in his 16th and final season as head coach. The Vols played their home games in Neyland Stadium and competed in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The 2008 campaign followed a 10–4 2007 season, which saw the Vols win the Eastern Division of the conference and the Outback Bowl. This season marked the ten year anniversary of Tennessee's 1998 BCS National Championship. On November 3, Fulmer announced that, after winning some 150 games over his career, he would step down from coaching his alma mater at the end of the season.
Before the season
Recruiting The Vols followed the previous year of a top 5 class, with an effort that found the team ranked outside of the top 25 by both major recruiting websites, Rivals.com and Scout.com. The top players of the class were considered to be tight end Aaron Douglas out of Maryville, Tennessee and wide receiver/linebacker E.J. Abrams-Ward out of Thomasville, North Carolina.
Douglas played at Tennessee as a redshirt freshman 2009, transferred to Arizona Western College in the 2010 season and winter of 2010 signed with Alabama, where he participated in spring drills. Douglas was recruited to Tennessee as a tight end, and was moved to tackle by then first year coach Lane Kiffin. When Kiffin left Tennessee for USC, Douglas failed to report for spring drills under new coach Derek Dooley (American football) and eventually transferred to Arizona Western.
Douglas redshirted his first season at Tennessee under then coach Phillip Fulmer, and a year later developed into an elite offensive lineman under Kiffin and line coach James Cregg. Douglas told the News Sentinel in May 2010 that a third coach in three years flipped the plan he had mapped out for himself “upside down.”
On Thursday, May 12, 2011, Police received a call at 8:13 a.m. Thursday and, upon investigation, they found Douglas' body on the second-floor balcony of a Fernandina Beach, Florida residence. Douglas was pronounced dead at the scene. Of what was characterized as an accidental drug overdose.
Abrams-Ward, a receiver redshirted for the 2008 season, selecting UT over North Carolina in a heated recruiting battle. On January 22, 2009, UT announced that E.J. Abrams-Ward and Ramone Johnson where no longer members of Tennessee's football team. UT said that the two were dismissed from the team for disciplinary reasons.
Coaching changes
Tennessee lost four members of their offensive staff. Offensive Coordinator David Cutcliffe accepted the head coaching position at Duke. Cutcliffe took along OL/TE coach Matt Luke, and RB coach Kurt Roper. Roper joined the Blue Devils' staff as offensive coordinator. WR coach Trooper Taylor also left the Vols for a coordinator position, accepting a job as Co-Offensive Coordinator at Oklahoma State.
Cutcliffe was replaced by Dave Clawson, who comes to Tennessee from the University of Richmond, where he was the head coach. Joining Clawson from Richmond is Latrell Scott, who replaced Taylor as the wide receivers coach. Stan Drayton, formerly the running backs coach at Florida, was hired to replace Roper as the running backs coach. Jason Michael, formerly on the staff for the New York Jets, was hired to coach the tight ends, replacing Matt Luke.
Defensive coordinator John Chavis interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons but chose to stay at Tennessee. This decision followed a similar decision by defensive ends coach Steve Caldwell. In December 2007 Caldwell chose to stay with Tennessee and turned down an offer to be the defensive coordinator at Arkansas.
Player news Tennessee was bolstered by the return of safety Demetrice Morley. Morley was a five star recruit out of Miami, Florida who played for the Vols in 2005 and 2006 before being dismissed from the football team and leaving school for academic reasons. After sitting out the 2007 season, Morley was readmitted to the university in January 2008 and will rejoin the team. Morley told the media that he had been living in his car following his dismissal from the team, but that the birth of his son motivated him to return.
Another defensive back, Antonio Gaines, was awarded a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA in February. Gaines had missed the majority of both the 2003 and 2007 seasons due to injuries.
The Vols are also welcoming two major transfer student athletes. Gerald Williams, who originally signed with Tennessee in 2005 has been cleared to join the team after spending finishing up at San Francisco Junior College. Brandon Warren, a Freshman All American at Florida State has been cleared to play by the NCAA.
Discipline The Volunteer football team has also seen its share of off of the field issues since the close of the 2007 season. The first incident of the offseason occurred during a recruiting weekend. Wide receivers Gerald Jones and Ahmad Paige were cited for a misdemeanor possession of marijuana while hosting a recruit. Neither were suspended, but both were required to undertake more frequent drug testing and participate in a police ride along program.
Another incident involved redshirt freshman running back Daryl Vereen. Vereen was arrested and charged with public intoxication and underage consumption after an on campus fight. Vereen was required to perform community service and was under a semester-long curfew. Fulmer also required the entire team to attend 6 A.M. running as punishment for the offense.
Offensive lineman Anthony Parker was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct in January. Parker's punishment included morning runs, curfew, community service and the police ride along program. Parker was charged after failing to obey the commands of a Knoxville police officer with whom he had previous run-ins. This incident was followed by the arrest of incoming walk-on Vincent Faison for DUI. Faison was suspended for two games.
In February, linebacker Dorian Davis and defensive back Antonio Wardlow were dismissed from the team for a violation of team rules. The most recent incident of the offseason involved decorated punter Britton Colquitt. Colquitt was suspended for five games after being arrested and charge with both DUI and leaving the scene of an accident. Colquitt also had his scholarship revoked.
Schedule
Rankings
Game summaries At UCLA
Statistics TENNUCLA First downs 20 20 Total yards 366 288 Rushing yards 177 29 Passing yards 197 268 Turnovers 2 4 Time of possession 29:51 30:09 Team Category Player StatisticsTennessee Passing Jonathan Crompton 19/41, 189 yards, INT Rushing Arian Foster 13 rushes, 96 yards Receiving Josh Briscoe 1 reception, 41 yardsUCLA Passing Kevin Craft 25/43, 259 yards, TD, 4 INT Rushing Raymond Carter 15 rushes, 14 yards, TD Receiving Ryan Moya 7 receptions, 65 yards, TD
UAB
Statistics UABTENN First downs 14 25 Total yards 275 548 Rushing yards 108 266 Passing yards 174 291 Turnovers 3 2 Time of possession 28:46 31:14 Team Category Player StatisticsUAB Passing Joe Webb 19/34, 167 yards, 3 INT Rushing Joe Webb 14 rushes, 78 yards Receiving Frantrell Forrest 8 receptions, 83 yardsTennessee Passing Jonathan Crompton 19/31, 240 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT Rushing Arian Foster 12 rushes, 100 yards Receiving Lucas Taylor 9 receptions, 132 yards
No. 4 Florida
Statistics FLATENN First downs 16 16 Total yards 243 258 Rushing yards 147 96 Passing yards 98 162 Turnovers 0 3 Time of possession 29:58 30:02 Team Category Player StatisticsFlorida Passing Tim Tebow 8/15, 96 yards, 2 TD Rushing Emmanuel Moody 9 rushes, 55 yards Receiving Percy Harvin 2 receptions, 49 yards, TDTennessee Passing Jonathan Crompton 18/28, 162 yards, INT Rushing Arian Foster 14 rushes, 37 yards Receiving Gerald Jones 5 receptions, 40 yards
At No. 15 Auburn
Statistics TENNAUB First downs 9 15 Total yards 191 226 Rushing yards 124 97 Passing yards 72 139 Turnovers 1 1 Time of possession 27:15 32:45 Team Category Player StatisticsTennessee Passing Jonathan Crompton 8/23, 67 yards Rushing Montario Hardesty 10 rushes, 35 yards, TD Receiving Austin Rogers 1 reception, 14 yardsAuburn Passing Chris Todd 14/23, 93 yards, TD, INT Rushing Ben Tate 19 rushes, 70 yards Receiving Robert Dunn 6 receptions, 54 yards, TD
Northern Illinois
Statistics NIUTENN First downs 12 9 Total yards 190 225 Rushing yards 72 69 Passing yards 128 184 Turnovers 1 3 Time of possession 33:05 26:55 Team Category Player StatisticsNorthern Illinois Passing Dan Nicholson 10/15, 79 yards, INT Rushing DeMarcus Grady 14 rushes, 41 yards Receiving Landon Cox 3 receptions, 36 yardsTennessee Passing Nick Stephens 10/17, 156 yards, TD Rushing Arian Foster 18 rushes, 75 yards Receiving Denarius Moore 3 receptions, 65 yards, TD
At No. 10 Georgia
Statistics TENNUGA First downs 10 29 Total yards 209 458 Rushing yards 1 148 Passing yards 208 310 Turnovers 0 2 Time of possession 17:56 42:04 Team Category Player StatisticsTennessee Passing Nick Stephens 13/30, 208 yards, 2 TD Rushing Montario Hardesty 6 rushes, 20 yards Receiving Gerald Jones 4 receptions, 68 yards, TDGeorgia Passing Matthew Stafford 25/36, 310 yards, TD, 2 INT Rushing Knowshon Moreno 27 rushes, 101 yards Receiving Mohamed Massaquoi 5 receptions, 103 yards, TD
Mississippi State
Statistics MSSTTENN First downs 13 16 Total yards 189 275 Rushing yards 69 139 Passing yards 150 139 Turnovers 3 0 Time of possession 30:55 29:05 Team Category Player StatisticsMississippi State Passing Tyson Lee 12/23, 114 yards, 3 INT Rushing Boobie Dixon 15 rushes, 46 yards Receiving Brandon McRae 2 receptions, 28 yardsTennessee Passing Nick Stephens 10/20, 136 yards Rushing Lennon Creer 17 rushes, 68 yards, TD Receiving Denarius Moore 1 reception, 45 yards
No. 2 Alabama
Statistics ALATENN First downs 23 10 Total yards 366 173 Rushing yards 178 36 Passing yards 188 137 Turnovers 1 0 Time of possession 35:32 24:28 Team Category Player StatisticsAlabama Passing John Parker Wilson 17/24, 188 yards Rushing Roy Upchurch 14 rushes, 86 yards, TD Receiving Julio Jones 6 receptions, 103 yardsTennessee Passing Nick Stephens 16/28, 137 yards, TD Rushing Arian Foster 6 rushes, 21 yards Receiving Josh Briscoe 4 receptions, 46 yards, TD
At South Carolina
Statistics TENNSCAR First downs 11 11 Total yards 207 255 Rushing yards 34 101 Passing yards 173 154 Turnovers 3 1 Time of possession 27:30 32:30 Team Category Player StatisticsTennessee Passing Nick Stephens 10/24, 134 yards, INT Rushing Arian Foster 14 rushes, 56 yards, TD Receiving Austin Rogers 3 receptions, 72 yardsSouth Carolina Passing Stephen Garcia 9/19, 139 yards, TD, INT Rushing Mike Davis 26 rushes, 58 yards Receiving Kenny McKinley 4 receptions, 50 yards, TD
Wyoming
Statistics WYOTENN First downs 15 15 Total yards 266 219 Rushing yards 167 101 Passing yards 99 118 Turnovers 1 2 Time of possession 31:03 28:47 Team Category Player StatisticsWyoming Passing Chris Stutzriem 8/16, 95 yards, TD Rushing Devin Moore 32 rushes, 98 yards Receiving Chris Johnson 1 reception, 26 yardsTennessee Passing Jonathan Crompton 11/27, 91 yards, TD Rushing Lennon Creer 16 rushes, 82 yards Receiving Gerald Jones 5 receptions, 37 yards, TD
At Vanderbilt
Statistics TENNVAN First downs 15 16 Total yards 243 213 Rushing yards 222 25 Passing yards 21 188 Turnovers 3 3 Time of possession 35:14 24:46 Team Category Player StatisticsTennessee Passing B. J. Coleman 4/8, 21 yards, INT Rushing Lennon Creer 13 rushes, 80 yards Receiving Austin Rogers 1 reception, 7 yardsVanderbilt Passing Mackenzi Adams 18/38, 192 yards, INT Rushing Jeff Jennings 7 rushes, 19 yards Receiving George Smith 5 receptions, 46 yards
Kentucky
Statistics UKTENN First downs 11 16 Total yards 193 311 Rushing yards 96 210 Passing yards 97 101 Turnovers 0 0 Time of possession 25:42 34:18