Knoxville: Defensive line shines in scrimmage

KNOXVILLE — One of Donald Langley’s few Saturday disappointments produced one of the day’s loudest moments.

Langley and his University of Tennessee defensive linemen mates stuffed the running game throughout the Vols’ first major preseason scrimmage. But on this particular play, sophomore tailback Lennon Creer lowered his head and powered through the line for a second-effort, one-yard touchdown.

Langley lay on the Neyland Stadium end zone, pounding the turf in frustration after letting Creer wiggle his way to six points. He also sent a few family-unfriendly words echoing through the mostly-empty stadium.

“Oh, my gosh,” Langley said after the scrimmage. “Lennon’s my ace. We’re really good friends, and so we were talking about how many times we were going to connect today. He was the last person I saw before I went to sleep (Friday) night, and we were talking about it, so that’s why it was extra motivation.

“Lennon got that extra push at the end and got in, so I’ve got to get him next time.”

Every yard was that difficult on the ground Saturday, as the Vols’ defensive line seemed to plug more gaps than it didn’t. Starting tailback Arian Foster sat out for precautionary reasons, but the team’s next three top runners were shut down. According to statistics released by the athletic department, Montario Hardesty had 21 yards on eight carries, while Creer had 5 yards on nine carries and Tauren Poole added 11 yards on nine carries.

While film review — “the eye in the sky that never lies,” according to Langley — will tell the full story, UT’s coaches seemed fairly pleased with their young defensive tackles. Junior Chase Nelson’s season-ending knee injury last week left the Vols even thinner at an already thin spot, and highly publicized pressure is on redshirt freshman Langley and sophomore Victor Thomas to contribute.

“It looked like Langley showed up a few times,” Coach Phillip Fulmer said. “We’ll just have to see the film. It’s hard to evaluate those guys (during the game) unless they’re getting sacks. There were probably three or four sacks that I didn’t give them during the scrimmage for two reasons: One, I wanted to see the rest of the team manage it, and I wanted to see our quarterbacks work.”

Langley wasn’t quite as cautious, but he stopped short of calling the defense’s effort as dominant as he’d hoped. Thomas showed flashes, too, none bigger than a fourth-and-7 sack on first-team quarterback Jonathan Crompton after the offense had gone inside the 20-yard line.

“I think we did a good job in the run game,” Langley said. “Me and Vic came out with the mindset that Demonte (Bolden) and Dan (Williams) and those guys are already veterans, and they already know what to do, so it was me and Vic’s turn to step up and show the coaches that we know how to be SEC-ready.

“Me and the Vic had the mindset to come and dominate today, and so we did our best. And our best was clogging up the run game, as you can see.”

Wilks moving again?

Freshman Rod Wilks has impressed coaches since moving (at the player’s request) from wide receiver to safety, collecting four tackles Saturday.

But the 6-foot-2, 220-pound brother of junior cornerback Marsalous Johnson might move again. Fulmer said he’s been impressed with Johnson’s physicality against the run, but he’s not sold on his coverage skills. He might move to strongside linebacker, a position he’s already big enough to play, especially in a John Chavis system built for speed.

“We’ve got five receivers, maybe six, that you feel really comfortable with, and it’s going to be hard for (Wilks) to get in that rotation this year,” Fulmer said. “He actually came to me about moving. Now, whether he ends up at safety or linebacker or back on offense, being an H-back, Brandon Warren-type of guy, remains to be seen. We have to look at him and see.

“But he’s tough. He’s responsive. He’s a wonderful young man.”

UCLA QB hurt ... again

UCLA starting quarterback Ben Olson had X-rays Sunday after injuring his right foot for the second time in five months, according to The Los Angeles Times.

The Times report said Olson “took a misstep on a (play-action) fake and felt pain in his right foot. The report said he broke a bone on that same foot while running that same play in spring practice.

“He said he felt discomfort in the foot,” Bruins coach Rick Neuheisel told The Times. “He said it was not as bad as last spring. The pain was not the same. We’ll see what that means.”

Olson, one of the nation’s highest-rated prospects in his high school class, has been plagued by injuries throughout his collegiate career. He’s also had multiple knee injuries — including a torn ACL in 2006 — and concussion issues last season.