Hotty Toddy, Crompton Might be the Best in the SEC!
Hotty Toddy, Crompton Might be the Best in the SEC!
In the wake of the massacre that took place last week versus Tiger High a coach lost his job and a quarterback became the conference's leader in touchdown passes. Jonathan Crompton has separated himself as one of the top quarterbacks in the SEC. The Checkerboard Chatter research department (Davey) has compiled the numbers to prove it, but more on that later. Tommy West was dismissed this week as the Memphis Tiger's head coach. I'm not exactly sure who the leaders at the University of Memphis think they can hire that will post a better record than West. I would venture to say that no matter who they find to fill the void the Tigers won't be going to bowl games in 5 of the next 6 seasons in the way that the former Vol West led that team.
The Vols matchup this weekend with the Ole Miss Rebels is very intriguing for one reason. Tennessee has been nothing this year if not united. From the head coach on down this team has stuck together. They have taken an "us against the world" mentality and played extremely motivated football. On Saturday the Vols will face a team that was built by their own defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. Ed Orgeron largely recruited the team that Houston Nutt now coaches. Although Orgeron had stellar recruiting classes the success did not translate to the field. Ole Miss fired Ed Orgeron in November of 2007. Don't think for one second that the Vols coaching staff won't have the team convinced that Ole Miss committed a horrible injustice against Orgeron and use that as motivation.
A complaint that has been made about the current coaching staff has to do with their lack of knowledge regarding the Vols historic rivalries. I think that may play to our advantage this weekend. Whereas this staff has little reason to be personally motivated against an Alabama or Georgia they have every reason to have it out for Ole Miss. Ole Miss rejected one of their own.
And now to the aforementioned Crompton. An argument can be made that Jonathan Crompton has been the best quarterback in the country over the span of his last five games. Below are the numbers to prove it.
-Over the last 5 games Crompton has completed 94 passes in 157 attempts for 1307 yards, 14 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions.
-In comparison, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy has thrown for 1302 yards and 8 touchdowns over that span.
-Crompton has put up those numbers while also playing alongside a running back who is fourth in the SEC in rushing. Colt McCoy is handing off to a running back who is 17th in the Big 12 in rushing.
-Tim Tebow has thrown for 1531 yards and 11 touchdowns all season! In the five game span that Crompton has posted such gaudy numbers Tebow has thrown for 888 yards and 5 touchdowns.
-The two SEC quarterbacks that are closest to Crompton's recent statistical performance are Arkansas' Ryan Mallet and South Carolina's Stephen Garcia. Mallet has thrown for 1329 yards and 7 touchdowns over the last five games while Garcia has gone for 1386 yards and 7 touchdowns over the same period.
-Mallet and Garcia have those numbers while splitting offensive production with below average rushing attacks. Arkansas' highest ranked runner is Michael Smith who is only 19th in the conference in rushing yards while Garcia's best running back is Jarvis Giles who comes in at a pedestrian 25th. Again, Crompton's huge production while his running back, Montario Hardesty, maintains rushing yardage that is ranked in the top 4 in the conference makes Crompton's numbers all the more impressive.
-Crompton is currently tied for 4th amongst all FBS quarterbacks with 21 touchdowns on the season. The only three quarterbacks with more come from offenses with prolific pass heavy attacks (Houston, Boise State, and NC State).
Can you imagine the recruiting pitch that Lane Kiffin is going to be giving top quarterback prospects over the next couple of years? I imagine it will go something like, "Did you see what I did with Jonathan Crompton? He was on his way to being one of the worst quarterbacks statistically in school history and I made him one of the nations leaders in touchdown passes his senior year." Also, can you imagine the ovation that Crompton will receive on Senior Day in two weeks? The Vol Nation will certainly thank him for the incredible journey that he has been through. It will be a well deserved moment of gratitude from a fan base that put him through so much.
In the wake of the massacre that took place last week versus Tiger High a coach lost his job and a quarterback became the conference's leader in touchdown passes. Jonathan Crompton has separated himself as one of the top quarterbacks in the SEC. The Checkerboard Chatter research department (Davey) has compiled the numbers to prove it, but more on that later. Tommy West was dismissed this week as the Memphis Tiger's head coach. I'm not exactly sure who the leaders at the University of Memphis think they can hire that will post a better record than West. I would venture to say that no matter who they find to fill the void the Tigers won't be going to bowl games in 5 of the next 6 seasons in the way that the former Vol West led that team.
The Vols matchup this weekend with the Ole Miss Rebels is very intriguing for one reason. Tennessee has been nothing this year if not united. From the head coach on down this team has stuck together. They have taken an "us against the world" mentality and played extremely motivated football. On Saturday the Vols will face a team that was built by their own defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. Ed Orgeron largely recruited the team that Houston Nutt now coaches. Although Orgeron had stellar recruiting classes the success did not translate to the field. Ole Miss fired Ed Orgeron in November of 2007. Don't think for one second that the Vols coaching staff won't have the team convinced that Ole Miss committed a horrible injustice against Orgeron and use that as motivation.
A complaint that has been made about the current coaching staff has to do with their lack of knowledge regarding the Vols historic rivalries. I think that may play to our advantage this weekend. Whereas this staff has little reason to be personally motivated against an Alabama or Georgia they have every reason to have it out for Ole Miss. Ole Miss rejected one of their own.
And now to the aforementioned Crompton. An argument can be made that Jonathan Crompton has been the best quarterback in the country over the span of his last five games. Below are the numbers to prove it.
-Over the last 5 games Crompton has completed 94 passes in 157 attempts for 1307 yards, 14 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions.
-In comparison, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy has thrown for 1302 yards and 8 touchdowns over that span.
-Crompton has put up those numbers while also playing alongside a running back who is fourth in the SEC in rushing. Colt McCoy is handing off to a running back who is 17th in the Big 12 in rushing.
-Tim Tebow has thrown for 1531 yards and 11 touchdowns all season! In the five game span that Crompton has posted such gaudy numbers Tebow has thrown for 888 yards and 5 touchdowns.
-The two SEC quarterbacks that are closest to Crompton's recent statistical performance are Arkansas' Ryan Mallet and South Carolina's Stephen Garcia. Mallet has thrown for 1329 yards and 7 touchdowns over the last five games while Garcia has gone for 1386 yards and 7 touchdowns over the same period.
-Mallet and Garcia have those numbers while splitting offensive production with below average rushing attacks. Arkansas' highest ranked runner is Michael Smith who is only 19th in the conference in rushing yards while Garcia's best running back is Jarvis Giles who comes in at a pedestrian 25th. Again, Crompton's huge production while his running back, Montario Hardesty, maintains rushing yardage that is ranked in the top 4 in the conference makes Crompton's numbers all the more impressive.
-Crompton is currently tied for 4th amongst all FBS quarterbacks with 21 touchdowns on the season. The only three quarterbacks with more come from offenses with prolific pass heavy attacks (Houston, Boise State, and NC State).
Can you imagine the recruiting pitch that Lane Kiffin is going to be giving top quarterback prospects over the next couple of years? I imagine it will go something like, "Did you see what I did with Jonathan Crompton? He was on his way to being one of the worst quarterbacks statistically in school history and I made him one of the nations leaders in touchdown passes his senior year." Also, can you imagine the ovation that Crompton will receive on Senior Day in two weeks? The Vol Nation will certainly thank him for the incredible journey that he has been through. It will be a well deserved moment of gratitude from a fan base that put him through so much.
