Neo
08-19-2006, 07:19 AM
http://www.sectalk.com/boards/images/logos/Tennessee.gifManning’s tutor returns to Knoxville after leaving seven years ago.
By: Elizabeth A. Davis
The Associated Press
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe started each player in the drill with a loud, staccato “Go!” — as if just saying the word was taking up too much time.
Cutcliffe believes practice is where game habits are formed and, like in a game, no second should be wasted. He’s a stickler for doing things right, not once but over and over.
This attitude and his apparent knack for molding quarterbacks such as Peyton Manning are some of the reasons coach Phillip Fulmer hired Cutcliffe in the offseason.
Another is familiarity. This is Cutcliffe’s second stint as offensive coordinator under Fulmer. He left to be head coach at Mississippi and was fired after six seasons. Cutcliffe’s old job came open with the resignation of predecessor Randy Sanders in the middle of last year’s 5-6 season.
The Volunteers are hoping Cutcliffe’s return will signal their own return to winning seasons, bowl games and national prominence.
“What David brings is a really sound fundamental system to coach the quarterbacks and to run the offense that’s been proven over a period of time,” Fulmer said. “David brings all that and a lot of credibility with the guys that he’s coached and the successes that they’ve had at Tennessee and at Ole Miss.”
Cutcliffe is in charge of the offense as a whole and more specifically the development of the quarterbacks.
Quarterback Erik Ainge says Cutcliffe brings a sense of urgency about everything.
“The task at hand is the only thing that matters. When you’re in the film room you’re only worrying about what he’s talking about. Nothing else in the world matters. When you go out of the meeting room and you’re on your way to practice, practice is all that matters,” Ainge said.
Cutcliffe so far is living up to his billing as a detail-focused perfectionist.
“He made the entire offense stay after practice and continuously break the huddle and get to the line of scrimmage as quickly as possible,” offensive lineman David Ligon said. “We just did it over and over and over.”
Cutcliffe’s meticulous nature apparently began early in his own playing career. He played quarterback when he was very young and then moved to other positions.
“I prided myself in knowing what everybody had to do and what they should do,” he said. “I just always knew a lot about quarterbacks. Even as a little guy I learned how to do three-step drops and five-step drops and watched and studied.”
After Ole Miss, Cutcliffe was hired to be Charlie Weis’ top offensive assistant at Notre Dame in 2005, but he resigned to recover from heart surgery. So Cutcliffe moved back to Knoxville with his family and stayed out of coaching last season.
Cutcliffe joined Tennessee fans in watching the offense struggle and his friends and former colleagues get frustrated. Many observers wonder how long it will take Cutcliffe to find another head coaching job, but it’s not the main thing on his mind.
“I am 100 percent happy with what I’m doing and where I am. The only job I want to focus on or concern myself with is this one,” he said.
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/sports/colleges/university_of_south_carolina/15311200.htm
By: Elizabeth A. Davis
The Associated Press
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe started each player in the drill with a loud, staccato “Go!” — as if just saying the word was taking up too much time.
Cutcliffe believes practice is where game habits are formed and, like in a game, no second should be wasted. He’s a stickler for doing things right, not once but over and over.
This attitude and his apparent knack for molding quarterbacks such as Peyton Manning are some of the reasons coach Phillip Fulmer hired Cutcliffe in the offseason.
Another is familiarity. This is Cutcliffe’s second stint as offensive coordinator under Fulmer. He left to be head coach at Mississippi and was fired after six seasons. Cutcliffe’s old job came open with the resignation of predecessor Randy Sanders in the middle of last year’s 5-6 season.
The Volunteers are hoping Cutcliffe’s return will signal their own return to winning seasons, bowl games and national prominence.
“What David brings is a really sound fundamental system to coach the quarterbacks and to run the offense that’s been proven over a period of time,” Fulmer said. “David brings all that and a lot of credibility with the guys that he’s coached and the successes that they’ve had at Tennessee and at Ole Miss.”
Cutcliffe is in charge of the offense as a whole and more specifically the development of the quarterbacks.
Quarterback Erik Ainge says Cutcliffe brings a sense of urgency about everything.
“The task at hand is the only thing that matters. When you’re in the film room you’re only worrying about what he’s talking about. Nothing else in the world matters. When you go out of the meeting room and you’re on your way to practice, practice is all that matters,” Ainge said.
Cutcliffe so far is living up to his billing as a detail-focused perfectionist.
“He made the entire offense stay after practice and continuously break the huddle and get to the line of scrimmage as quickly as possible,” offensive lineman David Ligon said. “We just did it over and over and over.”
Cutcliffe’s meticulous nature apparently began early in his own playing career. He played quarterback when he was very young and then moved to other positions.
“I prided myself in knowing what everybody had to do and what they should do,” he said. “I just always knew a lot about quarterbacks. Even as a little guy I learned how to do three-step drops and five-step drops and watched and studied.”
After Ole Miss, Cutcliffe was hired to be Charlie Weis’ top offensive assistant at Notre Dame in 2005, but he resigned to recover from heart surgery. So Cutcliffe moved back to Knoxville with his family and stayed out of coaching last season.
Cutcliffe joined Tennessee fans in watching the offense struggle and his friends and former colleagues get frustrated. Many observers wonder how long it will take Cutcliffe to find another head coaching job, but it’s not the main thing on his mind.
“I am 100 percent happy with what I’m doing and where I am. The only job I want to focus on or concern myself with is this one,” he said.
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/sports/colleges/university_of_south_carolina/15311200.htm