That the Tennessee football team is kicking up its heels over the return of punter Britton Colquitt from his five-game suspension for last winter's DUI is without argument. With Colquitt in the lineup last season the Vols ranked fourth in the Southeastern Conference in net punting and 34th nationally. Without him this season the Big Orange ranks last in the 12-team SEC and 115th of 119 Bowl Championship Series schools overall.
Moreover, a case could be made that punting has dealt UT losses against both UCLA and Florida. The Bruins blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown in the first half of their eventual overtime win. The Gators used a first-quarter punt return for a touchdown to emotionally cripple the Big Orange. That return almost certainly would not have occurred if Colquitt had been kicking.
And given all that, it's no wonder that UT coach Phil Fulmer said of both the suspension and Colquitt's return for Saturday's Georgia game: “I hope he's learned a heck of a lesson because our team has played a pretty big price.”
But given the seriousness of any DUI and Colquitt's past problems with alcohol, was the price steep enough? Beyond that, was this really in Colquitt's best long-term interest?
Was this sincerely a case of — as Fulmer suggested on Tuesday — “(Britton's) future to consider,” or was this a public relations decision geared to showing the coach's tough side but also giving the Vols the best chance to win crucial mid-season games against Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina?
“I came real close (to kicking him off the team),” said Fulmer, who did remove Colquitt from scholarship and announced the five-game suspension last spring, long before anyone thought a 2-3 start possible.
“That was my initial inclination. Then I thought about it and I calmed down a little bit. I talked to his dad. We talked about what was best for Britton's future. This isn't just about our football team. This is a young man's career. Possibly a young man's pro football career.”
Nor was Craig Colquitt just any old dad. He was a two-time All-SEC punter at Tennessee in the mid-1970s who wound up winning Super Bowl rings with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Beyond that, Britton's older brother Dustin punts for the Kansas City Chiefs, and their cousin, Jimmy, is the Vols' all-time leading punter.
“I'm sure in some way it had an impact,” Fulmer said of the family's UT ties. “Not consciously maybe, but it probably played a role.”
So did Craig's promise to, “Be on (Britton's) case a lot more aggressively. Phillip and I are friends. Just as important, we're both fathers. As a father, I think he felt like it was in Britton's best interest to stay involved in football.”
Here's where any opinion on Colquitt's situation gets tricky. Yes, he's had alcohol problems before. In fact, multiple alcohol-related incidents caused a team suspension in 2004. His own father said, “Britton's always liked to live on the edge.”
But Craig Colquitt also blames himself.
While admitting that, “I spoke words that I couldn't believe were coming out of my mouth,” when he first learned Britton had hit a parked car while driving drunk last February, also said, “but I kick myself for not taking his car away earlier.”
Possibly to correct that, Craig Colquitt forced his son to meet the owner of the car he struck, then told him, “This is the guy you could have killed.”
And maybe stiffer penalties earlier might have saved this awkward and controversial situation today. Maybe Colquitt doesn't deserve this third or fourth or fifth chance, depending on how you count his previous mistakes.
Just don't expect David “Boomer” Brown to agree that one punishment fits all. The longtime director of transitional living at CADAS alcohol and drug treatment center has seen it all through the years, including more than a few college athletes with substance abuse issues.
“There's a perception that a lot of universities coddle athletes,” he said. “And in many cases they do. But a lot of times the only way to save them is to keep them involved in something they love. When we deal with UTC athletes, it's three-step program. They're warned the first time. They're given help the second time. The third time, they're off the team.”
Colquitt isn't off the team, of course. He'll play on Saturday, and the Vols will surely benefit. Whether that's a good thing for the rest of his life only time will tell.
But at least he's saying all the right things, telling the media this week, “I just want to honor Coach Fulmer by doing what he wanted me to do, which was serve my suspension, go through the rehab … just become a better person.”
Because to do otherwise could cause someone to pay the ultimate price the next time Colquitt decided to drink and drive.
