More Than a Passing Glance

By BJ Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com

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In what will be a critical year for Dooley and the Volunteers, Tennessee will look to force the issue by forcing the tempo.

Tennessee is a traditional SEC power, a storied program known for its physicality. Powerful running games have long jutted through the state like the rugged Smokey Mountains. From Hank Lauricella and Johnny Majors to Reggie Cobb, Travis Henry and Jamal Lewis, the Volunteers have long prided themselves on an ability to line up and run the football right at you.

Looking ahead to 2012, it may be Tennessee's passing attack, however, that leads their charge up the SEC East standings.

Fully recovered from a hand injury that cost him a good portion of last season, quarterback Tyler Bray is back for his junior season. Bray has thrown a 35 touchdowns in 16 career games as an underclassman. Through the first four games of 2010, Bray had a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 14-2 with a 342-yard passing yard per game average. The 6'6'', 210-pound California-native has NFL measurables and arguably the best arm in the league. He appears poised for a banner year.

When Bray was brought to Knoxville, highly-touted perimeter playmakers were as well. Bray's classmate Da'Rick Rogers has emerged as a star early in his career. After settling in as a freshman, Rogers jumped on the national scene a year ago with 67 catches for 1,040 yards and nine touchdowns -- all division high's. Fellow '10 recruit Justin Hunter had a more immediate impact than Rogers, compiling 415 yards and seven touchdowns receiving as a true freshman. His encore effort was cut short by injury. Prior to succumbing in the Florida game, Hunter had totaled 16 catches for 302 yards and two touchdowns in games against Montana and nationally-ranked Cincinnati.

Hunter and Rogers enter this fall as the top pass-catching tandem in the SEC. Senior tight end Mychal Rivera is back after 29 catches. More bad news for conference defensive backs, more talent is coming.

At 6'4'', 205 pounds, Hutchinson Community College receiver Cordarrelle Patterson will become one of the more physically imposing wideouts in the league the second he steps on campus. Patterson chose Tennessee over offers from Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Oklahoma and others. The first name mentioned when discussing Derek Dooley's most recent recruiting class is, essentially, just the beginning.

“They’ve got some good wide receivers there already so I want to be a part of that,” Patterson told The Hutchinson News at his press conference. “Some schools don’t have any receivers and if I’d go there other will just double team me and I won’t have an opportunity to get the ball as much. At Tennessee, they have two good receivers and I know I can go in there and help them out big time.”

Drae Bowls, Jason Croom and Alton Howard, all four-star receivers, are also new Volunteers. Bowles, a Tennessee-native, played in the U.S. Army All-American Game. The supersized Croom is a 6'5'', 212-pound leaper from Georgia. Howard put up big numbers at power Edgewater High School in Orlando and snubbed the homestate Florida Gators in favor of Tennessee. Howard enrolled in school back in January. Tight end Justin Meredith brings a good 6'5'' frame. Athlete Cody Blanc could also figure into the mix.

With the centerpiece in Bray firmly in place, Hunter and Rogers back for more and perhaps the nation's best wide receiver class coming in, Tennessee may be readying to become the new Arkansas in the SEC. Bray will undoubtedly have the league's best collection of targets to throw to. His numbers, with all due respect to Tyler Wilson and Aaron Murray, could top the charts.

In what will be a critical year for Dooley and the Volunteers, Tennessee will look to force the issue by forcing the tempo. Bray, Hunter and Rogers will lead the charge. At a program that has historically rushed the football as well as any, it will be the passing game that has the 'Vols running with the rest this fall.

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