It's Not Easy to be Jon Crompton

As the Vol Nation mourns another loss at the hands of an inferior UCLA team and the reality of what this could mean for the rest of the season sets in, I can't help but imagine what it would feel like to be Jonathan Crompton. Here is a kid from North Carolina that was one of the most highly recruited quarterbacks in the country. If you didn't know, yes he was recruited by all the big schools including USC and Lane Kiffin had a hand in his recruitment. He was the All- American kid whom every team wanted. He had written his ticket to play college football anywhere in the country. He had the backing of former college great Heath Shuler and many were led to believe that he would be the next Shuler or maybe even Peyton Manning. Those glory days have long since passed and Crompton must be asking himself, "What in the world has happened in the last four years?"

Crompton came to Tennessee and backed up Eric Ainge for two seasons and had two starts before his junior year. He showed flashes of greatness that led many Vol fans to believe that he would be the next great QB at Tennessee. There was even a faction that wanted him to play over a sometimes erratic Eric Ainge. Man, have things changed!!!! Crompton made his first start as QB 1 last Labor Day in the Rose Bowl against UCLA. Many fans, including myself, traveled across country to watch the strong armed kid from the mountains of North Carolina lead the Vols to another great season including possibly an SEC championship.

After watching Crompton play(term used loosely) for about 10 minutes, most of us realized that this kid was not going to be Peyton Manning, Heath Shuler, or even Eric Ainge. After losing the UCLA game, Crompton was entrenched in a season long battle with fellow QBs Nick Stephens and BJ Coleman. Everyone on Rocky Top soon longed for the days gone by of Eric Ainge, Casey Clausen, Tee Martin, Peyton Manning, Andy Kelly, or Condredge Holloway. How could the University of Tennessee, a school rich with legends playing quarterback, be stuck with this kid who looked like he had no clue where his receivers would be or even what the down and distance is? Reality is, no one saw this coming and this kid, more than likely, was the biggest reason that legendary coach Phillip Fulmer lost his job last year.

As Vol fans question the new coaching staff about letting Crompton continuing to play, we all are recovering from our Crompton hangover this weekend. He turned the ball over 4 times against UCLA and brought all the momentum the new coaching staff had built to a screeching halt. It can be argued that Crompton was the sole reason for the loss on Saturday and all the arm chair quarterbacks were and are out for Crompton's blood. I have seen enough of this kid and am ready for a change. As I sat in my seat about 10 minutes after the game and watched the Vol Nation file out of Neyland Stadium calling for Crompton's head, it dawned on me that Crompton's life must really stink right now.

Crompton has gone from glory to goat in less than 3 years. I know that I have bad weeks when the Vols lose but imagine being the guy who most fans think is responsible for the down turn in our program. Crompton got up this morning and guess what, Tennessee still lost and it was not just a bad dream. He went to Cracker Barrel with all his friends and family who came to see him play this weekend and had to explain to them why he played so poorly, again. They, like the rest of us, were led to believe or were hoping that this year's Crompton would be different. We were praying that the Lane Kiffin offense was much more quarterback friendly than the Clawfense of last season. It is not the offense, it is not the coaches, it is just as simple as this: kid does not have what it takes to play QB in the SEC or any other big time conference.

Crompton will head back to class on Monday with his fellow classmates looking at him thinking, "I can do better that this bum." Truth is, no you can't, but hopefully Tyler Bray can. I will give Crompton this, I would not want to walk in his shoes for the rest of this season and he will have some tough skin as a result of his time on the The Hill. He will work hard on the practice field, watch film and spend the majority of his time trying to become the QB that everyone wanted him to be. As hard as he tries, he will not be the next great QB to come out of Tennessee. He will likely go down in history as one of the worst quarterbacks in Tennessee history. I truly hope that he has something lined up other than football for the rest of his life but I can just hear him quoting his former coach saying, "I'm gonna work like heck to get better and bow my neck in practice and games and try and get this thing headed in the right direction."

Here is wishing that Crompton limits his mistakes in the Swamp and for the remainder of the season and somehow finds a way to get this team to a bowl game. He might be a great guy and I hope that he has a successful life but the dreams of becoming a legendary QB that fathers tell their sons about are over. For his sake, I hope that he is not the QB that we will talk about as the worst ever, but he is well on his way to writing that script.