A Football Team Hugs Could Be Proud Of

Phillip Fulmer is one of the best recruiters in college football. He works hard at it, but he also has the touch it takes in a player's living room to tip the scales in favor of Tennessee.

He has the piercing baby blues, the warm smile and the friendly demeanor that mamas love. And as with all college coaches, part of his sales pitch is a pious pledge to make Johnny Testosterone not just a better man-eating linebacker, but a better person.

"I believe that you must be closely involved with your players, much like a parent," Fulmer says in the 2004 Volunteers media guide. "You must guide and direct them, socially, academically and spiritually, as well as athletically."

Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer says he's embarrassed by the Vols' behavior, but what's he going to do about it?

If you go by the police blotter, Fulmer's surrogate parenting has been abysmal over the last 13 months. Guidance and direction? The coach should be able to guide his players through the booking process by now, and direct them to the program-friendly attorneys in Knoxville. Beyond that, Fulmer's off-field authority is in question at present.

Eleven Volunteers football players have been arrested or issued citations since the end of February 2004. Four have been arrested on assault charges this week, including the best athlete on the Tennessee team, freshman quarterback Brent Schaeffer. And three players are currently facing felony charges for aggravated assault, stemming from two separate altercations in 2005.

Two players have been charged in a March 5 assault at a campus party that left a student with a broken jaw that reportedly remains wired shut to this day. Defensive end Robert Ayres told police he hit the victim twice. Linebacker Jerod Mayo says he is innocent and is a victim of mistaken identity; a former Tennessee football player signed an affidavit saying he saw Mayo hit the victim in the jaw.

Another player, 6-foot-7, 295-pound defensive tackle Tony McDaniel, had his aggravated assault case sent to the grand jury this week. McDaniel faces charges that he broke a student's face in four places in an altercation during a January pickup basketball game.

If you thought other SEC schools delighted in referring to Tennessee as UThug before, what are they saying now?