Published: August 07, 2008 04:41 pm         

ROCKY TOP BEAT: Crompton will have his hands full this season

With 23 days and a wakeup until it is football time in Tennessee (west coast version), I thought it might be interesting to talk about the person that is going to lead the Vol offense this season. I am not talking about David Clawson; although, he will have a lot to do with the success or lack of it this season.

No, the person I was referring to was Jonathan Crompton, the starting quarterback this season. Most of us know who he is because he has played sparingly over the past two years either when Erik Ainge was hurt or when he was called on to finish out the game when the Vols had the game well in hand.

Just like Ainge had growing pains his sophomore year, Crompton has also had his moments too. But now is the time that we should see the real Jonathan Crompton as he takes over the reins of the offense behind what might be the best offensive line in the SEC.

Jonathan came to UT from Waynesville, NC, as a Parade All-American and destined to be the quarterback early on, but an injury before he arrived dampened those plans. Instead of being the quarterback, he found himself rehabbing and waiting patiently behind another quarterback who stole the spotlight, Erik Ainge. We have seen flashes of what Crompton can be over the past two years.

It will be his offense to run and he has the luxury of not having to look over his shoulder at either a veteran quarterback or another highly touted underclassman biting at the bit to take his job away. That job is squarely on his shoulders going into the game at UCLA in a few short weeks.

In Crompton, the Vols not only have a strong armed quarterback but an athlete as well. The fact he ran for over 800 yards his senior year in high school, played safety on defense and punted for a 44 yard average at Waynesville attests to his athletic abilities. He will need most of those skills this fall as he runs the spread offense for Clawson that continues to evolve during the practices leading to the season opener.

Arian Foster in the backfield, bigger and stronger than ever, should help take some of the pressure off of Crompton as he starts what should be two productive years for the Vols at the quarterback position.

At 6-4, 230, he certainly has the body to sustain the hitting he will see in a full season in the SEC. Although the cupboard is not bare when it comes to the quarterback position, it is a bit thin on experience. The back ups appear to be Nick Stephens, a redshirt sophomore from Flower Mound, TX and B.J. Coleman from McCallie School in Chattanooga. Both have shown they have athleticism in their time at UT but lack the game experience to realistically push Crompton at this point in their careers for the starting position.

The Vols put on the pads for the first time since spring this week and that means that the waiting is almost over. Crompton should be leading a very dangerous offense this season with plenty of play makers at the skill position.

He certainly has paid his dues and has shown remarkable patience to take his place on the big stage at Knoxville. In an era when transfers to get playing time is common in college sports, Crompton showed maturity and loyalty to the Big Orange while Erik Ainge finished his career here at UT.

His dedication in the film room and on the practice field should equate to numbers in the win column for UT this season. We can only hope that the joyous sound of "Rocky Top" follows many Crompton touchdown passes this season. Go Vols!!

(Frank Gale is a Chronicle correspondent and his column appears weekly during fall and winter.)