In his first year since taking over as the 22nd head football coach at the University of Tennessee, Derek Dooley is undefeated.
Sure, it’s only one 50-0 blowout over a few of the neighborhood kids from down the road at UT-Martin, but Dooley has gotten his Tennessee tenure started off on the right foot.
This weekend will mark Dooley’s first true test as the head of the Volunteers, and it could pan out to be one of the biggest games of the year for both teams.
Dooley is no stranger to the big-game atmosphere, having been an assistant coach for Louisiana State’s national championship team in 2003. From there, Dooley spent a year on the Miami Dolphins coaching staff before taking over as head coach as Louisiana Tech for the past three seasons.
When Dooley decided to make the move to Knoxville last spring, so did defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox — an all-too-familiar face for Duck fans.
Wilcox was a member of the Oregon secondary from 1995-99, before starting his coaching career in 2001. In fact, Wilcox was the defensive mastermind at Boise State for the past three seasons; two of those teams defeated Oregon.
To no one’s surprise, offensive guru and second-year Oregon head coach Chip Kelly scoffed at the idea of a personal matching of wits between himself and Wilcox.
“I don’t care who we’re going against,” Kelly said. “It’s the Oregon football team against the Tennessee football team.”
Tennessee as a program brings a noticeably different look to the table this season. The Vols start nine underclassmen mixed on both sides of the ball, including two freshmen — JerQuari Schofield (6’6″, 331 lbs.) and Ja’Wuan James (6’7″, 313 lbs.) — on the offensive line. Behind the starting front five, four freshmen and one sophomore are listed on the two-deep depth chart.
Against Oregon’s defensive front, which starts three seniors and one junior, the vaunted Volunteer running game could see trouble early on.
“I think they’re a big, physical team. Great athletes, and that’s what most SEC schools are,” Oregon defensive tackle Zac Clark said. “They’re young but they’ve got good coaches, and they’re going to be a very good challenge.”
Tennessee lost both of its top rushers from last season. Montario Hardesty, who paced the Vols with 282 carries for 1,345 yards and 13 scores, and the other, Bryce Brown, the top-rated recruit in the nation coming out of high school, racked up just 460 yards and three touchdowns in 2009.
Hardesty was lost to graduation, while Brown, who noticeably underachieved last fall, transferred to Kansas State after former head coach Lane Kiffin accepted his current position at USC.
In their places, sophomore David Oku and junior Tauren Poole will look to fill the void. Last season, Oku and Poole rushed for just 94 and 85 yards, respectively, with Oku reaching the end zone twice.
Despite a lack of experience, Kelly was quick to give the Vols’ offense credit.
“They’ve got a lot of skill on the offensive side of the ball,” Kelly said. “So we’re excited about the matchup.”
The Volunteers returned both of their top receiving threats from a year ago in seniors Gerald Jones and Denarius Moore. But both are feeling the aches and pains in the early going. Jones will be sidelined for the Oregon contest after breaking a small bone in his hand last week, while Moore is listed as day to day with an ankle injury.
In place of Jones, sophomore Zach Rogers will get the starting nod.
“I think Zach is one of the more underrated players we have,” Dooley said. “He had an excellent camp. He’s a little bit like Old Man River. He just kind of does his job. He does it well. Not a flashy personality guy. He’s faster than people think, and he’s got good hands. He’s just a good, dependable player.”
But can he match up with the speed and physicality of the Oregon secondary?
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