[bigboydan]

Ainge had the potential to be a star or a least it seemed so his freshman year and I think his last year was plagued by the rotating system that everyone agrees is not a very good idea. I remember watching what a powerful and unbelievably accurate arm he had (freshman year) and thinking UT was going to be set for a while.
If he can hold his focus and mentally stay in the game I think that he can really good if fulmer can get back control of this team.

[pags11]

great athlete, throws pretty well...didn't do a good job at all reading defenses last year...hopefully O coordinator Cutliffe will help him with this...

[isetcap]

great athlete, throws pretty well...didn't do a good job at all reading defenses last year...hopefully O coordinator Cutliffe will help him with this...

You are absolutely right. The defenses had him figured out last year and his lack of success along with the bonehead coach he plays for completely crushed his confidence.

[bigboydan]

Cutliffe did wonders for manning when he was there, so i think he do the same for Ainge.

[pags11]

I definitely think that you are right here dan...Ainge's got to be better this year...

[bigboydan]

it's all going to depend on his recovery from his injury.

[onlooker]

Blue Ribbon Yearbook.

When Cutcliffe took over, one of the first things he did was take junior quarterback Erik Ainge (6-6, 220) into the film room for what Cutcliffe called "a history lesson." And what a lesson it was. Using tapes that he's kept with him for years and a grease pencil board upon which he scrawled Xs and Os, Cutcliffe took his young charge through the evolution of defenses.

"I wanted him to understand where it came from and what to do with it," Cutcliffe said. "I'm a big believer in quarterbacks having a complete understanding of what's going on. The more they understand, the better they'll perform."

Cutcliffe also worked on Ainge's technique, paying particular attention to his footwork. The result was that Ainge claimed the starting quarterback job midway through the spring and figures to keep it for a while.

Last season, Ainge struggled mightily after a freshman year during which he threw for 1,423 yards and completed 55 percent of his passes in just nine games and earned second-team freshman All-America honors from The Sporting News, Ainge's numbers plummeted in '05. He completed only 45 percent of his passes for 737 yards, nearly a third of those coming in the season finale at Kentucky.

Clearly, the quarterback shuffle he endured along with Clausen affected Ainge's confidence. This spring was all about getting the swagger back.

"I think the football team has confidence in me right now, and I have confidence in myself," Ainge said after the spring game. "It's to the point now where if I see something that needs to be fixed or I need to say something, I can say what needs to be said."

Said Cutcliffe, "He's certainly better than he was. Eric proved to be coachable. That's certainly important in this process. He's taken coaching and trying to be the best he can be. He's got some physical skills. We're just trying to get him to become more accurate and consistent."