With “back to school” just around the corner, the University of Tennessee football team is gearing up for a new season with new coach Lane Kiffin and his highly touted coaching staff.
The Volunteers will look to the leadership of defensive back Eric Berry, who is the only unanimous selection on the newly–released 2009 All-SEC team. Joining Berry are Montario Hardesty, a returning team captain who scored six touchdowns last season; linebacker Rico McCoy, a second team pre-season All-SEC player who was 9th in the SEC last year with over 80 hits; Gerald Jones, who had 30 catches for over 300 yards last season; and finally, Dan Williams, who was in on over 45 tackles last season.
Coach Kiffin recently talked to Everything Knoxville about the upcoming season and his hopes for the new school year. Kiffin is well aware of the mounting excitement and pressure the 2009 team faces. “We have very high expectations for ourselves and our players… for this upcoming season and for our future.” With several players injured and a few possibly missing the entire season, Kiffin is focusing on the bright side. “You never want injuries, but it is an opportunity for our younger guys to step up and perform.”
Kiffin says the first day of school won’t be different than any other day—he’ll be in his office and at practice as usual. He mentioned his appreciation for the fan support, specifically the student support. “Students are a big part of what we do. We’ve had a number of students out to our practices and had a chance to meet a lot of them.” Kiffin also said that he won’t have any trouble sleeping the night before the first big game. “I sleep just fine. I’ve never had a problem sleeping,” he said.
I asked Coach Kiffin what his favorite part of Knoxville was, other than the University, of course. His answer came as no surprise: the water and the people! He enjoys being out on the lake during what little time he takes for himself, and he appreciates being a part of such a strong community like Knoxville, which he says is just “beautiful this time of year.”
Towards the end of the interview, we asked him to name the first thought that came to him when we said a word or phrase. We said “SEC” and he said “powerful.” For “academics,” he replied “number one.” For “ESPN,” he said “top of their field.” And when we said “Facebook,” he replied “everywhere.” Not surprisingly, Coach Kiffin has an official Facebook page—most coaches and public figures do. However, he updates his page rather frequently, and his posts exemplify his focus, his determination and his excitement about being here in Big Orange Country. He posts pictures and he updates his status, but the most entertaining part of his page are the comments other people post! Look for yourself—his page is open to everyone! Coach Kiffin also belongs to just one Facebook group which is the “Eric Berry for Heisman” group. Now that’s a good coach!
Though we have a few weeks remaining before students head back to school, the UT football team and coaches are already hard at work. We don’t know yet what the future holds for Coach Kiffin and the 2009 Volunteer squad, but we’ll all find out soon enough. Go Big Orange!
