Head coach Phillip Fulmer met with the media at his regular Tuesday press conference to discuss the upcoming game at Vanderbilt. In addition, Jonathan Hefney is one of 18 semifinalists for the inaugural Randy Moss Return Man Award.
"We started practice (Monday) with a really good demeanor. I think the team has shown some resiliency, which we expected them to have. They look forward to playing again, and they went back to work (Monday). That's what I wanted to see from them.
"It's important for us right now to get our dynamics of our football team back to where we were when we played against California, or during the early part of our year or during our five-game winning streak. We've had a tough couple weeks, and as I told our team, if you want something to change, you've got to change it. I believe they've taken that to heart, and they are working to get started on Vanderbilt, but also to get back our good practice habits back on the field again. We've been a pretty good practice team for the most part, and we're making sure that we're going to take that to the game field.
"As far as (quarterback) Erik Ainge is concerned, I expect him to be there (on the field Saturday). He's probably upgraded to probable at this point. He practiced the whole time (Monday), did all the drills, and that was encouraging. With that, it will be important for him to follow that with the same kind of work here in the next couple of days. Jonathan Crompton will certainly be ready and available, and I think with as much as Vanderbilt does defensively, it will be a real plus to have Erik out there for us.
"Vanderbilt has a good team. Their quarterback (Chris Nickson) is a real operator, just an excellent player. Their scheme is good, and we have to contain the quarterback as we get ready for them, along with their outstanding receivers. They have a solid group of receivers, with Earl Bennett being the guy that is certainly a dynamic football player.
TUESDAY MEDIA DAY COMMENTS FROM HEAD COACH PHILLIP FULMER
11-13-2006, 08:40 PM
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