University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley speaks to the press during an event.KNOXVILLE — Derek Dooley didn’t have his weekly media luncheon Monday since the Volunteers have an open date this Saturday, but the University of Tennessee football coach did speak to the Knoxville Quarterback Club.
Dooley and his assistant coaches spent five hours Monday morning watching video of UT’s rushing attempts to try to figure out how to improve the ground game. The Volunteers ran for minus-9 yards in their 33-23 loss at 15th-ranked Florida last Saturday and are averaging just 81.7 rushing yards a game, which ranks last in the Southeastern Conference and 105th in the NCAA bowl subdivision.
“There’s a multitude of reasons why we’re not running it well,” Dooley said. “It starts with developing a good plan and staying patient from a coaching standpoint. Then it goes to the runners have got to play more physical. We’re not running the ball well at running back, and we’ve got to be more physical up front and be a little more nasty.”
Tailback Tauren Poole had 18 yards on nine carries Saturday, his lowest rushing total in 16 career starts. Dooley said Poole suffered a back injury early in the game that played a factor in his lack of production, but the senior didn’t alert coaches or trainers until later.
“[Poole] tried to suck it up and just wasn’t performing the way he needed to perform,” Dooley said to the media following the speaking appearance. “He’s got to communicate, when he’s not feeling it, to us so we can put the other guy in.”