Play It Again Records Chattanooga Tom Coleman
Vols' opponent scouting report: Oklahoma
* Season rewind: The Sooners were ranked fourth in the country when they beat Tennessee 34-10 in Norman last September, but a late-season tailspin ended in a bowl blowout by Clemson. Oklahoma made seven changes to its coaching staff after the 8-5 campaign. In its 2015 opener, Oklahoma rolled to a 41-3 win against Akron.
* Coaching capsule: You know about Bob Stoops, the Sooners' 17th-year head coach who's 169-44 at Oklahoma. You may know less about Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma's new offensive coordinator. The 32-year-old, who cut his coaching teeth with Mike Leach at Texas Tech, was a nominee for the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation's top assistant coach, in 2014. In his five seasons at East Carolina, the Pirates finished eighth, 20th, 36th, 11th and third nationally in passing offense.
* One to watch: Orlando "Zeus" Brown, a former Tennessee commitment, made his first career start at left tackle in Oklahoma's win against Akron.
By the numbers
* 388: Passing yards from Oklahoma quarterback and Texas Tech transfer Baker Mayfield in the win against the Zips. The performance broke Sam Bradford's OU record for passing yards in a season opener.
* 28: Tackles for loss in Eric Striker's last 27 games dating back to the start of the 2013 season. The linebacker/defensive end is one of college football's best and fastest edge rushers.
* 67: Rushing yards on nine carries against Tennessee last season for Oklahoma running back Samaje Perine, who later set the NCAA single-game rushing record with 427 yards against hapless Kansas.
Quotable
"I don't really remember much about it. It's a new year, a new football team. They're a new football team as well. We're at home. It's in our backyard, and we're looking for a different outcome this year." -- Tennessee cornerback Cameron Sutton on last year's game against Oklahoma
KNOXVILLE — The same word kept popping up when Tennessee football coach Butch Jones and multiple Volunteers talked Monday about Coleman Thomas making his first start at center in Saturday's season opener.
The word was "natural."
Given the sophomore's history of playing the position before coming to Tennessee last January and how he played against Bowling Green, the label fits.
"Center is his natural position," Jones said. "His athletic ability of being able to pull and get out on the edge, and whether it was blocking a corner or a linebacker, he had the point-of-attack block for two of our touchdowns. He was directly responsible. I thought he managed the game in terms of calling out the fronts and getting us in the right blocking schemes.
"He's very athletic, and he has some size, so for him making his first career start at center, we thought he played very well."
Thomas and his line mates will need to do so again against 19th-ranked Oklahoma in Knoxville on Saturday in what will be the first matchup of two ranked teams at Neyland Stadium since 2012.
The Vols rolled up 399 rushing yards against the Falcons on Saturday, but the competition is about to get much tougher against the Sooners.
Thomas was a true freshman starting for the first time and playing out of position when the Vols lost 34-10 in Norman last September, but he should be much more confident and comfortable manning the position he played throughout high school in Saturday's rematch.
"I had taken reps at center all through camp and all through the summer," he said. "I knew that I had a chance there. But it was just about putting the best five out there and doing whatever it takes to get the win.
"I feel great there. I grew up with the ball in my hand. It's great to get that position and get back at it, so I'm really enjoying playing center right now."
Tennessee's offense largely looked the same under new coordinator Mike DeBord as it did under Mike Bajakian the past two years, but one noticeable difference was how often the Vols had one or two linemen — sometimes both guards and other times Thomas and a tackle — pulling on run plays.
On two of Jalen Hurd's three touchdown runs, Thomas pulled and got the key cut block to spring the running back.
"Coleman is almost faster than me," running back Alvin Kamara joked. "He did a great job blocking up the second level. The whole O-line did a great job. Coleman, he does move fast, and when gets out to the second level, that's very helpful."
Thomas said he and the other linemen enjoy pulling because it gives them a chance to get into open space and show their athletic ability in blocking linebackers and defensive backs as opposed to being locked in a one-on-one block "in a phone booth" against a defensive lineman.
The 6-foot-5, 301-pounder from Virginia said it was rewarding watching his two key blocks on video after the game.
"Coleman did a great job of opening some holes," quarterback Josh Dobbs said. "You saw it on film: He was cutting people down a little bit and getting Jalen in the end zone. He did a great job of doing his job, and the whole O-line did a great job. There was large holes out there all night, which really helped us."
Thomas also appeared to handle all of the communication for which centers are responsible without any issues, though the lone sack the Vols allowed came when the line failed to pick up an inside twist and one of Bowling Green's defensive tackles had a free path to Dobbs.
That aspect of the position, Thomas said, "comes pretty easy" to him, and he enjoys the role of anchoring the line.
"He did a good job, especially for his first game at center," said left tackle Kyler Kerbyson, the SEC offensive lineman of the week. "It's a really different world. You've got to coach up almost everybody else on the offensive line and let everybody know what's going on. We say it in the offensive line room: Even if you're wrong, (it's fine) as long as we're all on the same page.
"That's a really huge deal coming from the center. We've got make sure everybody's on the same page, and he did a good job with that. He feels a lot more natural at that position, and I think he's doing a good job."
Thomas and the Vols expect that to continue.
"It was real good for Coleman to get out there and being at his more natural position," Robertson said. "It's what he came in at and what he's played his whole life. He's done a lot of good things, and that's going to help him with his confidence moving forward."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.
Source: https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/sports/college/story/2015/sep/08/vols-colemthomexcels-natural-positicenter/323944/