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Welcome back, Tennessee football

by Tony Basilio

It’s been roughly one month since the Metro Pulse cover featured the Ainge/Schaeffer quarterback combination, celebrating the start of Tennessee’s football season. In my column, I painted a picture of two young players who were about to explode on the scene. Little did I realize the magnitude of their combustion. The very presence of these two post-pubescent kids has reenergized the Vol Nation!

Tennessee was coming off a couple of seasons where the Vols accomplished the nearly impossible—taking the fun out of our greatest spectator sport. With Casey Clausen at the helm, the Vol offense devolved into an abysmal collection of meandering individuals. Their inability to generate offense became, if you’ll excuse me, offensive to fans and observers alike. The Vols were aimless last season, and the combination of CJ Leak and Rick Clausen this year would have been tougher to watch than an O’Reilly Factor marathon.

Instead, when Brent Schaeffer took his first snap from center versus UNLV, it was a historic moment. It was the first time that a true freshmen quarterback had ever started the first series of a first game in SEC history. That another true freshman, Erik Ainge, was rotated into the game two series later only underscores how remarkable that situation happened to be. None of that was lost on knowledgeable Vol fans. Neyland Stadium hasn’t felt this festive in close to a decade. The energy of old was back—the vibe, the watchability, and most importantly, the effectiveness of the offense has taken a turn for the better.

Through three games, Tennessee’s offensive numbers under the direction of the two wonder boys are startling. Last year, in 12 full games with Casey Clausen at the helm, Tennessee enjoyed 13 touchdown drives that covered 80 yards or more. But the ’03 Vols started 80 yards or further from the goal line 49 times, meaning that they scored touchdowns only 24 percent of the time when given sub-par field position.

In less than a month this season, Tennessee already has 12 touchdown drives that covered 80 yards or more. That they accomplished this in only 17 long-range opportunities is nothing short of astonishing. That kind of percentage (71 percent) will get you back in fashion quicker than bell-bottoms on a college campus.

Different theories abound as to why the Vols are suddenly so prolific. Some speculate it’s a simplified scheme. Some say veterans like Cedric Houston, Michael Munoz and Jason Respert are finally performing up to expectations. Others believe Randy Sanders has at last taken full control of Tennessee’s offense. Whatever the case may be, UT is much better in all phases of the offensive game.

Former Boston College head coach Jack Bicknell recently shared his thoughts on how a team can go from miserable to fruitful with little in the way of personnel changes. “A quarterback in college football is everything,” he said. “I remember we were getting pounded in a game versus Penn State back in ‘82. I went to the bench, put this skinny young kid in named Doug Flutie. He went into the game and all of a sudden we were a different offense. We didn’t change anything else. He just gave us a spark... Needless to say, we never took him out.”

Bicknell’s son, Jack Bicknell III, whose Louisiana Tech Bulldogs were just seared by Tennessee’s dynamic freshmen duo, has his own perspective on the importance of a quarterback. “I was the center for Doug Flutie,” says Bick III. “Before he got there, we were just a decent football team. He took a better-than-average team and carried us to a 10-2 season in ’84 with that great win over Miami.”

That team finished the year with a Cotton Bowl victory and a top-five ranking.

When asked if Tennessee’s offensive turnaround is as simple as plugging in the freshmen quarterbacks, the senior Bicknell was candid: “I’d say those two kids are really special. I can’t remember seeing two guys that young so poised and polished. They were both really impressive against Florida. What else could explain the transformation? People really underestimate the power of dynamic quarterbacks. They rub off on the entire team.”

In this election season, it’s a shame political strategist James Carville is so distracted. Surely he would remind us: “It’s the quarterback, stupid.”

Tune in and talk sports with Tony Basilio weekdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on ESPN Radio WVLZ 1180 AM.

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