VolfanMike
Make em Gobble
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interesting read off Govolsextra...
Almost anything can find its way onto the famed bulletin board in college football.
Quotes. Stats. Stories. Columns.
They all have their role in the tactics coaches employ from week to week to gain a motivational edge.
But for Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom's name to find its way to the old bulletin board in advance of No. 25 Tennessee's game Saturday (TV: Pay-per-view, 2:30 p.m. EDT) at Starkville raised a few eyebrows in the Vols' locker room.
"It is a little bit (surprising)," junior linebacker Jerod Mayo said Tuesday. "We don't do things like that at Tennessee, give what do you call it? Post board material?
"You know he's a coach, and whatever he wants to say he can say."
Tennessee's players are already well aware of what was said last Saturday following the Bulldogs' come-from-behind victory over UAB.
"Tennessee knows we're going to run the football," is how Croom was quoted in the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. "Clear and simple. That's the way we're going to start the football game. So they better get nine of 'em at the line of scrimmage."
It didn't get too garbled, either, from Croom's mouth to Tennessee's ears.
"I heard what he said," Mayo said. "'Put nine in the box.'
"They challenged our manhood, saying they're going to run the football, we better put nine people in the box, things like that. You definitely have to get up for things like that, being a competitor such as myself and the rest of my teammates."
Mayo and his teammates proved they can stop the run last week, even without bringing help from the secondary.
Heading into last week's game, the Vols ranked 88th in the nation against the run, yielding an average of 188 rushing yards in four games.
All the Vols (3-2, 1-1 SEC) did was turn in their most complete defensive performance of the season, holding Georgia to 69 yards rushing on 25 carries.
Weakside linebacker Rico McCoy and Mayo finished with 11 tackles each.
Eight defensive linemen combined for 22 tackles, led by Demonte' Bolden and Xavier Mitchell with four each.
"We were all on the same page," McCoy said. "The defensive line did a heck of a job. They played their gaps well, and we were able to run free and make tackles."
That's the goal again this week.
The Bulldogs (4-2, 1-2) will start Anthony Dixon, who had a career-high 157 yards on 32 carries last week after losing his starting job.
Last week's starter, Christian Ducre will still get some carries against the Vols.
But Ducre and Dixon won't be compared to other running backs around the SEC, at least not by UT defensive coordinator John Chavis.
And it all has to do with avoiding that bulletin board.
"I don't compare players or teams," said Chavis, who went on to call both players quality SEC backs. "You guys do that. You guys do that for a living. It's not going to be on the bulletin board when you compare them, so you can do that."
Mitchell won't get caught up in the old bulletin board game.
The only worthwhile thing tacked up there in the Mississippi native's eyes is an extra look at the opponent's scouting report.
"We have a bulletin board, but the only time I really look at it is when I look at the personnel to see who we're playing, who we're going against - height, weight, that kind of thing," Mitchell said. "Bulletin board material doesn't mean anything. No matter what's said, anybody can beat anybody any given Saturday."
Drew Edwards covers University of Tennessee football. He may be reached at 865-342-6274.
© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
Almost anything can find its way onto the famed bulletin board in college football.
Quotes. Stats. Stories. Columns.
They all have their role in the tactics coaches employ from week to week to gain a motivational edge.
But for Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom's name to find its way to the old bulletin board in advance of No. 25 Tennessee's game Saturday (TV: Pay-per-view, 2:30 p.m. EDT) at Starkville raised a few eyebrows in the Vols' locker room.
"It is a little bit (surprising)," junior linebacker Jerod Mayo said Tuesday. "We don't do things like that at Tennessee, give what do you call it? Post board material?
"You know he's a coach, and whatever he wants to say he can say."
Tennessee's players are already well aware of what was said last Saturday following the Bulldogs' come-from-behind victory over UAB.
"Tennessee knows we're going to run the football," is how Croom was quoted in the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. "Clear and simple. That's the way we're going to start the football game. So they better get nine of 'em at the line of scrimmage."
It didn't get too garbled, either, from Croom's mouth to Tennessee's ears.
"I heard what he said," Mayo said. "'Put nine in the box.'
"They challenged our manhood, saying they're going to run the football, we better put nine people in the box, things like that. You definitely have to get up for things like that, being a competitor such as myself and the rest of my teammates."
Mayo and his teammates proved they can stop the run last week, even without bringing help from the secondary.
Heading into last week's game, the Vols ranked 88th in the nation against the run, yielding an average of 188 rushing yards in four games.
All the Vols (3-2, 1-1 SEC) did was turn in their most complete defensive performance of the season, holding Georgia to 69 yards rushing on 25 carries.
Weakside linebacker Rico McCoy and Mayo finished with 11 tackles each.
Eight defensive linemen combined for 22 tackles, led by Demonte' Bolden and Xavier Mitchell with four each.
"We were all on the same page," McCoy said. "The defensive line did a heck of a job. They played their gaps well, and we were able to run free and make tackles."
That's the goal again this week.
The Bulldogs (4-2, 1-2) will start Anthony Dixon, who had a career-high 157 yards on 32 carries last week after losing his starting job.
Last week's starter, Christian Ducre will still get some carries against the Vols.
But Ducre and Dixon won't be compared to other running backs around the SEC, at least not by UT defensive coordinator John Chavis.
And it all has to do with avoiding that bulletin board.
"I don't compare players or teams," said Chavis, who went on to call both players quality SEC backs. "You guys do that. You guys do that for a living. It's not going to be on the bulletin board when you compare them, so you can do that."
Mitchell won't get caught up in the old bulletin board game.
The only worthwhile thing tacked up there in the Mississippi native's eyes is an extra look at the opponent's scouting report.
"We have a bulletin board, but the only time I really look at it is when I look at the personnel to see who we're playing, who we're going against - height, weight, that kind of thing," Mitchell said. "Bulletin board material doesn't mean anything. No matter what's said, anybody can beat anybody any given Saturday."
Drew Edwards covers University of Tennessee football. He may be reached at 865-342-6274.
© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
