UT's Jason Croom is tackled by Arkansas State's Charleston Girley, left, and Artez Brown Saturday at Neyland Stadium.KNOXVILLE - Likely to be without two of its top wide receivers, Tennessee will need another wideout to step up when the Volunteers come off today's open date with a visit to Georgia next Saturday.
And after what happened at Oklahoma seven days ago, perhaps no receiver will want to step up more than Jason Croom.
In the Vols' loss to the fourth-ranked Sooners, the redshirt sophomore had a couple of plays he'd probably like to have back, most notably a potential touchdown pass that went through his hands for an interception.
Croom went without a catch in the game and had his 12-game streak with at least one catch snapped.
"He was disappointed," receivers coach Zach Azzanni said this week. "He could've changed the game on a couple of plays, and he knows it. I know it, too, but I also know how hard he works. He's a great kid.
"The thing about receivers is when they drop a pass or don't make a great play, you don't need to tell them about it. They know it; they did it. Everyone else is going to tell him. I don't need to tell him. He knows, I know -- we go correct it. It was hand placement and some things he didn't do well that I've seen him do before."
The 6-foot-5, 243-pound Croom caught a pass in every game dating back to his touchdown catch at Oregon last September, and though his most productive game was either a three-catch, 50-yard output against South Alabama or a 74-yard performance in the finale against Kentucky, the Georgia native clearly was a staple of Tennessee's passing game.
The former four-star recruit had a chance to help Tennessee in its comeback attempt against Oklahoma, but Sooners cornerback Zack Sanchez, listed at 5-11 and 179 pounds, edged Croom off the spot in the corner of the end zone and Croom couldn't get his hands together fast enough to make the catch.
Instead of the Vols pulling to within 27-17 late in the third quarter, Sanchez had his fifth interception in six games dating back to the end of last season.
Throughout his career, Croom has strived to play to his big frame, and he was unable to capitalize on a crucial chance to do so.
"He's very hard on himself, and a lot of these guys are," Vols quarterback Justin Worley said. "I'm hard on myself. To be a competitor, you have to be hard on yourself and be your harshest critic, but I think he's done a good job of bouncing back. I told him to keep his head up and keep his spirits high.
"He's played some great football, and even that game he made some plays, but I just told him not to get down on himself. He's a great football player, he's a great asset to our offense and we're going to need him in the future. He can't let one game bother him."
What quietly has bothered Croom this season is an undisclosed injury to his left wrist. It had him practicing in a noncontact jersey for a couple of weeks. In practice this week the amount of extra tape supporting his wrist was noticeable.
With Von Pearson already ruled out and Josh Smith questionable for Tennessee's trip to Athens with high ankle sprains, the Vols will need some combination of Croom, freshmen Josh Malone and Vic Wharton and sophomore slot receiver Johnathon Johnson to pick up the slack behind Marquez North and Pig Howard.
"He's going to bounce back and he'll be OK," Azzanni said. "I believe in him. I know Coach [Butch] Jones and Coach Jake [offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian] believe in him. Our other receivers believe in him. Our quarterbacks do. He had the best training camp out of anyone we had, so I know he's got the talent there.
"He's just got to go out and bounce back from a poor game."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.