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Wiedmer: Fulmer seems confident about Crompton at QB

By: Mark Wiedmer
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Jonathan Crompton

KNOXVILLE — Phillip Fulmer could have ducked the question Saturday morning.

The Tennessee football coach could have said he doesn’t compare quarterbacks. He could have said Jonathan Crompton has enough in his playbook these days without being compared to Tee Martin, who guided the Volunteers to the 1998 national championship in his first year as a starter.

Nor is Crompton replacing Peyton Manning, as Martin did. He’s replacing Erik Ainge, a good quarterback who had a nasty habit of imploding whenever the chance for greatness loomed.

But Fulmer dodged the question comparing the junior Crompton to the junior Martin about as well as we sports writers dodged the free doughnuts at the Vols’ annual preseason media event.

“Every quarterback situation has some differences,” Fulmer began. “There was a lot of speculation after Peyton left about how Tee would do. But Tee continued to improve and Jonathan has done the same.

“We didn’t ask Tee to do everything Peyton did, and we won’t ask Jonathan to do certain things Erik did. But just as we did with Tee, we’re going to give him a chance to play within his physical ability.”

His physical ability can be breathtaking to behold. Even Fulmer got caught up in viewing the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Crompton from afar this summer.

“I saw this big, good-looking guy wearing a baseball cap, blue jeans and a sport shirt throwing a football around at the football complex one day,” the coach recalled. “I thought it was some pro guy visiting, but it was Jonathan. He really looks great physically.”

That athleticism has produced occasional bursts of brilliance the past two autumns. There was the 54-yard touchdown bomb he completed to Robert Meachem in the fourth quarter of the LSU game his redshirt freshman year, the one that gave the Vols a brief lead over the outrageously talented Tigers. There was the first-down run he made in that same game, the one that knocked over an LSU linebacker.

“Fans still talk about that one,” Crompton said. “But I’m not a running back. If I’ve got to get a first down and the only way to get it is to run over somebody, then I’ll do what I have to do. But if it’s first down or second down, I’ve got to be smart.”

Some thought Crompton might have been smart to transfer during David Cutcliffe’s second tour of duty as offensive coordinator — that the Waynesville, N.C., native’s swashbuckling style wasn’t a smooth fit for Coach Cookie Cut’s preferred quarterback template.

To his credit, Crompton won’t criticize Cutcliffe, who took the Duke head coach job last December. But he is noticeably happier discussing new coordinator Dave Clawson and his “Claw-fense” attack.

“He’s very humble,” Crompton said of Clawson. “He’s nice to everybody. It’s great to get a chance to start fresh. He’s new. I’m the new quarterback. It’s better for everybody.”

As for the offense, the quarterback said, “From a normal fan perspective, they won’t see a tremendous difference except for all the guys going in motion. But there is a difference.”

Clawson won’t say he’s seen a different Crompton than the one some believed Cutcliffe saw, but he quickly praised his current starter.

“You want a quarterback you have to throw out of the film room,” he said. “I haven’t had to do that yet, but Jonathan’s in there every free minute he’s got. The team sees that. They really respect how hard he works. Plus, he’s an extremely likeable guy.”

Indeed, even B.J. Coleman, the former McCallie School star whom many believe will ultimately challenge Crompton for the starting job, said of his competition: “There’s not much different in the talent at this level. It’s how hard you work, and Jon’s an extremely hard worker.”

Of course, Crompton’s likability has been there from the beginning, much as it was with fellow western North Carolina native Heath Shuler, the U.S. congressman who was Fulmer’s first star quarterback.

“I actually worked for Heath when I was in high school,” Crompton said. “I helped build his house, build his farm, train his dogs. I’d mow his yard and weed-eat it. I didn’t work for him until I committed to UT, but I’ve known him since middle school.”

As Crompton spoke, he tugged at a white sweatband on his right wrist that bore the Nos. 8 (his jersey number) and 22.

“No. 22 is for Luther Dyer,” Crompton said. “We played high school football together. He was killed by a drunk driver this past January. I’ll wear one of these in his honor all season.”

Vols wideout Josh Briscoe said this soft, human side of Crompton is one reason for his popularity.

“He hangs out with everybody,” Briscoe said. “Jonathan’s part of this family. He doesn’t think of himself as a quarterback. He’s just one of the guys, watching movies, playing Xbox, stuff like that.”

Fellow wideout Lucas Taylor has noticed something he likes about Crompton over Ainge.

Noting Ainge’s Pacific Northwest roots, the Louisiana-raised Taylor said of Crompton, “He and Erik talk different. I can understand Jonathan more.”

Fulmer understands this above all else: “(Jonathan) needs some success in a game. If he has that, his teammates will totally rally around him.”

Much as another group of Vols rallied around Tee Martin during that national championship run a decade ago.

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