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Tennessee football’s five worst years with senior QB

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 08: Quarterback Rick Clausen #16 of the Tennessee Volunteers throws a pass during a game against the Georgia Bulldogs on October 8, 2005 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Bulldogs defeated the Vols 27-14. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 08: Quarterback Rick Clausen #16 of the Tennessee Volunteers throws a pass during a game against the Georgia Bulldogs on October 8, 2005 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Bulldogs defeated the Vols 27-14. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images /

4. 2009

Jonathan Crompton

7-6 (4-4)

Chick-fil-A Bowl

It’s probably unfair that this happened to Jonathan Crompton. He had studied for three years in the pro style, and when it was his time to start, he had to learn Dave Clawson’s analytical approach to the offense. That resulted in Tennessee football’s disastrous 5-7 campaign that resulted in Phillip Fulmer’s firing.

Lane Kiffin took over the next year and brought in Jim Chaney while returning to the pro-style, but his pro-style was more complex that what Fulmer and David Cutcliffe ran. As a result, Crompton still struggled early on in his senior season, and the Vols lost at home to the UCLA Bruins 19-15, at Tim Tebow’s Florida Gators 23-13 and then at home to the Auburn Tigers.

However, at 2-3, Crompton came alive. He threw four touchdowns in a 45-19 win over the Georgia Bulldogs, and he brought the Vols within a missed field goal of beating the eventual national champion Alabama Crimson Tide. Then he got them on a run, winning the black jersey game against the No. 21 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks and finishing 7-5 overall.

A 37-14 Chick-fil-A Bowl loss to the Virginia Tech Hokies soured the strong finish to a certain degree, but Crompton finished it completing 58 percent of his passes for 2,800 yards, 27 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. At the time, the future on Rocky Top appeared bright under Kiffin. Of course, that changed pretty quickly when he bolted for the USC Trojans two weeks later.

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