ballou1024
Orange Blooded
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First I've heard of this. Has anyone else heard this?
Dalton athletic director Ronnie McClurg attended Tennessees scrimmage in Knoxville on Saturday and said former Catamount Stephaun Raines, The Daily Citizens All-Area Player of the Year in 2005, started with the No. 1 secondary, right alongside All-America strong safety Eric Berry.
Raines, McClurg said, looks much more confident at safety, was around the ball on several plays and his techniques looked much better.
Right now Im running first team at free safety, Raines said by telephone, and Im battling Prentiss Waggner for the job. The new scheme is not easy but were picking it up pretty fast.
The former Cat has been impressed with the entire coaching staff, despite head coach Lane Kiffins tough approach to everything the players do, on and off the field.
Thats nothing that wasnt expected Raines said. No one thought hed come in here soft. We knew hed lay down the law.
He said the entire staff is real cool and the players like the fact many of them are young coaches, enabling the players to relate much better with them.
Raines works closely with secondary coach Willie Garza and is thrilled to be under the wide umbrella of defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, who left the Tampa Bay Bucs to join his son in Knoxville.
Garza, Raines said, is less experienced than some of the other coaches but hes a rising star in the coaching ranks.
And hes a really good guy, Raines said.
Raines called Monte Kiffin the man and said hes so energetic that he gets all the defensive players hyped up. He said Kiffin actually does some of the drills with players during practice.
He acts like hes 30 or 40 years old, Raines said of the 60-plus Kiffin. And his scheme is all about getting to the quarterback, a big-time blitzer. Hes all about hitting that quarterback.
Raines said he performed well in Saturdays scrimmage. While no balls were thrown his way, he said he had no busted assignments.
Kiffin said early on that players would have equal opportunities to compete for all positions in the spring and thats what he;s doing. The coaches have yet to publish a depth chart, and wont have one until spring practice concludes. That said, Raines has as good a chance as anyone else to earn playing time this season.
McClurg said he enjoyed meeting the Vols new coaching staff, headed by Lane Kiffin, and watching the early drills and then the scrimmage.
He met basketball coach Bruce Pearl and chatted with former Vol head coach Johnny Majors, who watched spring practice last week for the first time since his dismissal in 1992. Majors departure, and the ascension of his top assistant Phillip Fulmer to the head coaching position, was, to put it mildly, contentious and severely strained Majors relationship with the university.
Dalton athletic director Ronnie McClurg attended Tennessees scrimmage in Knoxville on Saturday and said former Catamount Stephaun Raines, The Daily Citizens All-Area Player of the Year in 2005, started with the No. 1 secondary, right alongside All-America strong safety Eric Berry.
Raines, McClurg said, looks much more confident at safety, was around the ball on several plays and his techniques looked much better.
Right now Im running first team at free safety, Raines said by telephone, and Im battling Prentiss Waggner for the job. The new scheme is not easy but were picking it up pretty fast.
The former Cat has been impressed with the entire coaching staff, despite head coach Lane Kiffins tough approach to everything the players do, on and off the field.
Thats nothing that wasnt expected Raines said. No one thought hed come in here soft. We knew hed lay down the law.
He said the entire staff is real cool and the players like the fact many of them are young coaches, enabling the players to relate much better with them.
Raines works closely with secondary coach Willie Garza and is thrilled to be under the wide umbrella of defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, who left the Tampa Bay Bucs to join his son in Knoxville.
Garza, Raines said, is less experienced than some of the other coaches but hes a rising star in the coaching ranks.
And hes a really good guy, Raines said.
Raines called Monte Kiffin the man and said hes so energetic that he gets all the defensive players hyped up. He said Kiffin actually does some of the drills with players during practice.
He acts like hes 30 or 40 years old, Raines said of the 60-plus Kiffin. And his scheme is all about getting to the quarterback, a big-time blitzer. Hes all about hitting that quarterback.
Raines said he performed well in Saturdays scrimmage. While no balls were thrown his way, he said he had no busted assignments.
Kiffin said early on that players would have equal opportunities to compete for all positions in the spring and thats what he;s doing. The coaches have yet to publish a depth chart, and wont have one until spring practice concludes. That said, Raines has as good a chance as anyone else to earn playing time this season.
McClurg said he enjoyed meeting the Vols new coaching staff, headed by Lane Kiffin, and watching the early drills and then the scrimmage.
He met basketball coach Bruce Pearl and chatted with former Vol head coach Johnny Majors, who watched spring practice last week for the first time since his dismissal in 1992. Majors departure, and the ascension of his top assistant Phillip Fulmer to the head coaching position, was, to put it mildly, contentious and severely strained Majors relationship with the university.
