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UT Vols plan to get ‘frustrated’ receivers more involved

Tennessee wide receiver Von Pearson (9) catches a touchdown pass in front of Florida's Marcell Harris during the second half of Saturday's game in Gainesville, Fla. But the play was negated by a penalty, leaving the Vols with only two receptions by wideouts in their 28-27 loss.
Tennessee wide receiver Von Pearson (9) catches a touchdown pass in front of Florida's Marcell Harris during the second half of Saturday's game in Gainesville, Fla. But the play was negated by a penalty, leaving the Vols with only two receptions by wideouts in their 28-27 loss. Tennessee wide receiver Von Pearson (9) catches a touchdown pass in front of Florida's Marcell Harris during the second half of Saturday's game in Gainesville, Fla. But the play was negated by a penalty, leaving the Vols with only two receptions by wideouts in their 28-27 loss.

By Patrick Brown 5 min read

KNOXVILLE — It was the most startling part of the box score from Tennessee’s loss to Florida.

The numbers tell only part of the story, but they underline a problem plaguing the Volunteers on offense.

photo Tennessee offensive coordinator Mike DeBord showed skill in Saturday’s season-opening win over Bowling Green in Nashville by balancing the Volunteers’ effort to score points with other game-managament factors, such as allowing UT’s defense to rest.

Tennessee wide receivers caught only two passes for 7 yards in the 28-27 loss to the Gators, and though quarterback Josh Dobbs completed only 10 of his 17 throws as the Vols found success running the ball, that statistic is shocking for a program that wants to refer to itself as “Wide Receiver U.”

“They want the ball,” offensive coordinator Mike DeBord said following Tuesday’s practice. “Receivers want to catch the ball and all that, and I told them today that’s going to happen. Every game has a story to it, and the story was we were running the football very effectively and we were wearing their defense down.

“That’s what was going at the time, and we stayed with it. We’ve got to get our passing game involved. We will do that, we’re going to do that and that’s part of it. You’ll see that happening.”