KNOXVILLE – Derek Dooley has big plans for his most experienced University of Tennessee football players.
But Chattanooga’s Kevin Cooper has to play more consistently for the new coach to feel better about relying on his senior fullback.
Cooper, with a team-high 19 starts in 32 career games, paved the way for Montario Hardesty’s 1,345 rushing yards last season and added some big catches of his own – including a 2-yard touchdown against South Carolina.
Dooley, a former tight ends coach for LSU and the Miami Dolphins, is a fan of that position. But the Volunteers don’t have any proven tight ends behind preseason All-SEC senior Luke Stocker, which magnifies Cooper’s importance.
“He’s important to our offense also because we don’t have a lot of tight ends,” Dooley said. “The fullback and tight end spots are interchangeable in some ways. If you have a lot of good tight ends, you can get away with not having a good fullback. And because we don’t have a lot of tight ends, he’s important.