Tennessee: Fulmer waiting to make QB call

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee’s quarterback position remains unsettled heading into Saturday’s season finale against Kentucky at Neyland Stadium.

Not unexpectedly, coach Phillip Fulmer said during Tuesday’s weekly news conference that he would defer naming a starter until later in the week.

“At this point, right now, all the quarterbacks are in play,” Fulmer said. “We’ll go here during the course of the week and decide exactly what we want to do. We’ll continue to be creative, a little bit, with some of the things that we do, and hopefully we can do enough things to keep Kentucky having to work to stop us as well.”

Tennessee used four quarterbacks in last Saturday’s 20-10 win at Vanderbilt, accumulating only 21 net yards passing on nine attempts. Junior Jonathan Crompton started but was pulled on UT’s third possession in favor of former McCallie standout B.J. Coleman, who got the first significant playing time of his collegiate career.

Wide receiver Gerald Jones and versatile safety Eric Berry both played some at quarterback in shotgun packages, though neither threw a pass.

Fulmer said Crompton and Coleman will continue to split time with the No. 1 team during practice.

“Our challenge has been, like I said, our offensive team,” Fulmer said. “We did take the challenge a little bit better against Vanderbilt, and we need to be able to continue to run the football effectively. But obviously, like I said, we must be able to improve our balance at this point.”

Honors for Berry, Slade

Berry, one of three Thorpe Award finalists for best defensive back in the country, continues to earn high praise from coaches.

“His work ethic is tremendous,” defensive backs coach Larry Slade said Tuesday. “His instincts are outstanding. He’s a physically talented young man. It’s not about the hype. He’s getting it done.”

Berry leads the nation with seven interceptions for 265 return yards. With his 45-yard touchdown return against Vanderbilt, the Georgia native broke the 52-year-old SEC record of 242 interception return yards.

Meanwhile, Slade is one of three finalists for the FootballScoop Defensive Back Coach of the Year Award.

“It’s an honor, but it’s more about the players,” Slade said. “When you start looking at those types of awards as a defensive back coach, the first thing I think about is what we get done up front and then the talent we’ve gone out and recruited. And then getting them in the right places and being fortunate enough to be a part of it.”

Farewell to Fulmer

More than 150 former teammates and players of Fulmer have been invited to attend Saturday’s game against Kentucky, Fulmer’s last as head coach of Tennessee.

Fulmer will be accompanied by his family on the Vol Walk and going through the “T.” In addition, several video tributes will run throughout Saturday’s game, including during halftime.