National Champions Face Question: Can They Repeat?

Tee Martin hadn’t even made it home from the Fiesta Bowl last January when he was asked The Question: Can the Volunteers repeat as national champions?

“I said, ‘Man, just let me enjoy this one first,”’ the quarterback said.

Coach Phillip Fulmer barely had his headset off after Tennessee won the title when he was asked the same question.

“Everyone wants to know if we’re going to do it again,” he said. “It was almost like I didn’t have time to enjoy winning a national championship.”

Yep, time’s up.

With the new season upon them, the Vols face the pressure of trying to defend the crown.

“It was hard last year and it’ll be even harder this year,” said Martin, entering his senior season. “They’ll know what to prepare for. They’ll have a whole year of film on us.”

Tennessee’s quest for a repeat begins when Wyoming comes to Knoxville on Sept. 4. Two weeks later they travel to Gainesville--where they last won in 1971--for the annual showdown with Florida.

To defend their two consecutive Southeastern Conference titles the Vols must get by the Gators and up-and-coming Georgia in the SEC Eastern Division.

Tennessee also has to go to Alabama and Arkansas, and will be home against Auburn, Georgia and Notre Dame.

“It’s awful hard to go undefeated if you play a reasonable schedule,” said Fulmer, whose team was 13-0 last season.

The most glaring graduation losses from last year’s team are big-play receiver Peerless Price; middle linebacker Al Wilson, the heart and soul of the defense; and reliable placekicker Jeff Hall.

But if games are won and lost in the trenches, as most coaches insist they are, the Vols start the season in good shape.

“I believe this could be the best offensive line I’ve seen at Tennessee, and without question it should be the best defensive line,” said Fulmer, an offensive lineman in his playing days and former offensive line coach.

On offense, guard Cosey Coleman, tackle Chad Clifton and center Spencer Riley are returning starters. Coleman, a 6-foot-5, 315-pound junior and third-year starter, is widely considered one of the best Tennessee has ever had.

Josh Tucker played a lot last year and is penciled in at the tackle opposite Clifton. Toby Champion and converted defensive lineman Fred Weary are expected to battle it out for the other guard spot.

On defense the Vols return starters Shaun Ellis at end and tackles Billy Ratliff and Darwin Walker. Will Overstreet contributed at the other end last year and also is back.

A player everyone is watching is big (6-7, 280 pounds) tackle John Henderson, who couldn’t play last year as a partial academic qualifier but made his presence felt in practice.

Fulmer has always stressed speed, and the Vols have plenty of it, plus experience, at the skill positions.

Martin matured tremendously in his first season as a starter. He was brought along slowly but still put up respectable numbers: 153 completions in 267 attempts (57 percent) for 2,164 yards, with 19 touchdowns and six interceptions, including an NCAA-record 23-for-24 performance against South Carolina.

Martin said he realizes there’s a long season ahead and the success of last year will only make the Vols everybody’s No. 1 target.

“We can’t be satisfied with what we won last year. We understand what it took to win 13 games and we’re ready to do it again,” he said. “It’s time to show what we can do, not talk about what we did last year.”

Jamal Lewis, who had the sixth-highest freshman rushing total in NCAA history two seasons ago (1,367 yards), returns at tailback after missing all but four games last year with a knee injury. He was averaging 124 yards a game until he got hurt against Auburn on Oct. 3, and by all accounts his rehabilitation has gone well.

“I feel great,” Lewis said. “My speed is great, my agility is there. I’m ready to go win some football games.”

Lewis’ replacements developed into reliable players. Travis Henry finished the season with 970 yards rushing and Travis Stephens added 477.

Phillip Crosby and Will Bartholomew are both good blockers at fullback, although neither has anywhere near the speed of the departed Shawn Bryson.

Replacing Price is a major concern. His big-play ability was critical to the Vols’ success in ‘98, as demonstrated by his MVP performance in the 23-16 Fiesta Bowl victory over Florida State.

The only returning receiver with significant experience is Cedrick Wilson, who is neither as big (5-10, 175) nor as fast as Price. But he is tough and averaged 17 yards on 33 catches last year, nearly 2 yards a catch better than Price.

Sophomore Erik Parker has shown promise when he’s been healthy. Freshman Leonard Scott is one of the fastest players in the country--he’s the NCAA 60-meter track champion--and junior David Martin has the size (6-4, 210) to make himself an inviting target.