Kiffin: Special teams 'killing us'

Another week for Tennessee has meant another week of fixing special-teams problems.
The Vols hope to get through Saturday's game with South Carolina without making any terrible gaffes in the kicking game - for a change.
Kickoff coverage wasn't a disaster against Alabama, but the Tide still managed a 30-yard return to its 45 to set up a short drive for a field goal.
The killer breakdown was the inability to protect on field-goal attempts. Two were blocked.
"We're not very good on special teams, and it's killing us,'' said head coach Lane Kiffin.
Look for defensive tackles Montori Hughes and Dan Williams to beef up the line in hopes of preventing penetration on field-goal attempts.
Long range, Kiffin said shrewd recruiting evaluation is the answer.
"We've got to continue to recruit great players and great depth,'' he said. "If you start missing on five or six guys every year, with four classes that's 20 to 24 guys you can't play at this level.
"Special teams will always have to do with the bottom of your recruiting class, so you've got to be recruiting really good players and not missing on guys.''
At least three walk-ons have been playing on UT's kickoff units.
As it's turned out, Eric Berry's Heisman Trophy campaign might not have been so unrealistic after all. None of the favorites - all quarterbacks - has made an iron-clad case yet, leaving the door open to a defensive player getting in the discussion.
"If we were taking care of business and winning more games and the ball bounced to him a couple more times,'' Kiffin said. "It doesn't seem like there's a front-runner or anybody with big-time stats running away with it.
"So if there was a year, this would have been it.''
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is a Berry fan. This time last season Berry was on a highlight-reel binge. He had a 45-yard interception return against the Gamecocks.
"It took about two minutes to run him down on that pick he had,'' Spurrier said.
Everyone knows about Berry's phenomenal interception-return ability, but he's pretty nimble with a fumble, too.
He has 101 yards on three career fumble returns, an average of 33.6.
Spurrier is one SEC win shy of tying Johnny Vaught of Ole Miss (106) for second on the all-time league chart. Paul "Bear" Bryant had 159. The SEC Rocks!


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