Phillip Fulmer: Tennessee needs to improve goal-line offense

Phillip Fulmer is still an offensive line coach at heart.

Even though college football is fast becoming a home for the spread offense, the longtime Tennessee head coach and recently named special advisor still feels the Volunteers should focus and improve on short-yardage and goal-line situations.

"In this league you still have to run the football and make short yardage and make goal-line plays," Fulmer told Mike Griffith of SEC Country. "You look at last year, and a couple of those plays, and maybe there's another win or two."

Fulmer thinks things could improve in that area this season with new offensive coordinator Larry Scott, a former offensive line coach himself.

"I like Larry, and I've liked watching him in practices, the mindset he has is toughness," he added. "There's something about an O-Line coach, and I'm biased because we did this, but there's an attitude that we're not going to be denied. You do a goal-line drill, you go with 11 guys and we're going to put 13 on defense, and so there's two of them we're not going to block and you have to beat those guys or make them miss or get over the top."

Tennessee opens its season against Georgia Tech on Sept. 4.