strongtower
Vols To The Walls
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Quarterback put his ego before Vols
Commentary by David Climer THE TENNESSEAN April 24, 2009
I'll say this for Byron Elwyn Coleman Jr.: He caused more of a stir by leaving the University of Tennessee football team than he ever created when he was a Vol.
On Thursday, B.J. Coleman quit in a snit and attempted to throw new UT Coach Lane Kiffin under the bus. Speaking to his hometown newspaper, the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Coleman called his decision to transfer from UT "the best move for me."
"What changed my mind is, after this spring, I don't see myself getting a fair shake. Based on conversations with coaches and things that happened this spring, I feel the staff has goals that do not include me.
"I couldn't have had a better spring or made it more obvious to them that I was their guy. I proved it on the field and off."
This qualifies as one of the better parting shots ever by a Vol. Quarterbacks come and quarterbacks go (Remember Branndon Stewart, Joey Mathews, A.J. Suggs, et al?), but seldom are bridges burned so quickly or so completely. Hey, if you're going to cut ties anyway, why not suggest your coach can't chew gum and grade his quarterbacks at the same time?
Now, I'm all for self-confidence, especially out of a quarterback. But there's also such a thing as an inflated view of yourself, your abilities and your importance.
Many things have changed at UT in the transition from Phillip Fulmer's tenure to the Kiffin era, but one thing hasn't: The coaches' assessments of Coleman.
The Vols were 3-7 in '08 before Coleman, then a redshirt freshman, finally hit the field. If he was really so good, why didn't he emerge sooner in an offense that was desperate for any hope?
And everybody started with a clean slate under Kiffin but Coleman never made any real headway this spring.
Coleman looks the part until the ball is snapped. He has a confident air. He commands the huddle. And after the spring game, Coleman won the press conference.
Asked if he thought of himself as a starting quarterback at UT, Coleman said:
"Absolutely 100 percent. My goal is to be a leader. The quarterback has to handle adversity. You've got to walk the walk and talk the talk."
But it doesn't help to talk like Peyton Manning if you play like C.J. Leak. SEC games are not won with sound bytes. Neither the deposed coaching staff nor the one that replaced it thought Coleman was up to the task.
And that's the bottom line.
Coleman's exit assures senior Jonathan Crompton of the starting quarterback position. The only other options are junior Nick Stephens, who missed much of spring with a broken wrist, and former minor league pitcher Mike Rozier, who is eschewing the Red Sox organization for Vols football.
But to the surprise of no one, except perhaps Coleman and his family, Crompton already was penciled in as the Vols' No. 1 quarterback. He held that spot through spring practice and nothing happened in the Orange & White Game on Saturday to change things.
While Kiffin never made it official, the sense within the UT program is that Crompton is by far the best fit for this offensive system. Despite what they may think in Gainesville and Tuscaloosa, Kiffin is no fool. He is going to use the players who he thinks can help him win. For better or worse, Crompton is his guy.
B.J. Coleman just never got the memo.
Commentary by David Climer THE TENNESSEAN April 24, 2009
I'll say this for Byron Elwyn Coleman Jr.: He caused more of a stir by leaving the University of Tennessee football team than he ever created when he was a Vol.
On Thursday, B.J. Coleman quit in a snit and attempted to throw new UT Coach Lane Kiffin under the bus. Speaking to his hometown newspaper, the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Coleman called his decision to transfer from UT "the best move for me."
"What changed my mind is, after this spring, I don't see myself getting a fair shake. Based on conversations with coaches and things that happened this spring, I feel the staff has goals that do not include me.
"I couldn't have had a better spring or made it more obvious to them that I was their guy. I proved it on the field and off."
This qualifies as one of the better parting shots ever by a Vol. Quarterbacks come and quarterbacks go (Remember Branndon Stewart, Joey Mathews, A.J. Suggs, et al?), but seldom are bridges burned so quickly or so completely. Hey, if you're going to cut ties anyway, why not suggest your coach can't chew gum and grade his quarterbacks at the same time?
Now, I'm all for self-confidence, especially out of a quarterback. But there's also such a thing as an inflated view of yourself, your abilities and your importance.
Many things have changed at UT in the transition from Phillip Fulmer's tenure to the Kiffin era, but one thing hasn't: The coaches' assessments of Coleman.
The Vols were 3-7 in '08 before Coleman, then a redshirt freshman, finally hit the field. If he was really so good, why didn't he emerge sooner in an offense that was desperate for any hope?
And everybody started with a clean slate under Kiffin but Coleman never made any real headway this spring.
Coleman looks the part until the ball is snapped. He has a confident air. He commands the huddle. And after the spring game, Coleman won the press conference.
Asked if he thought of himself as a starting quarterback at UT, Coleman said:
"Absolutely 100 percent. My goal is to be a leader. The quarterback has to handle adversity. You've got to walk the walk and talk the talk."
But it doesn't help to talk like Peyton Manning if you play like C.J. Leak. SEC games are not won with sound bytes. Neither the deposed coaching staff nor the one that replaced it thought Coleman was up to the task.
And that's the bottom line.
Coleman's exit assures senior Jonathan Crompton of the starting quarterback position. The only other options are junior Nick Stephens, who missed much of spring with a broken wrist, and former minor league pitcher Mike Rozier, who is eschewing the Red Sox organization for Vols football.
But to the surprise of no one, except perhaps Coleman and his family, Crompton already was penciled in as the Vols' No. 1 quarterback. He held that spot through spring practice and nothing happened in the Orange & White Game on Saturday to change things.
While Kiffin never made it official, the sense within the UT program is that Crompton is by far the best fit for this offensive system. Despite what they may think in Gainesville and Tuscaloosa, Kiffin is no fool. He is going to use the players who he thinks can help him win. For better or worse, Crompton is his guy.
B.J. Coleman just never got the memo.
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