Is this a violation?

[10EC]

"He gave me a place to stay for the day"

From GoVolsxtra

If a guy had to drive from Bakersfield, Calif., to Knoxville, Denver would be a convenient stopover.

For the next leg of the trip, Kansas City sounds about right.

Did I mention our guy is a punter at the University of Tennessee?

The only thing that would make it better is a host named Colquitt at both stopovers.

Let's see Triple-A or Orbitz come up with an itinerary better than that.

"It worked out great,'' Matt Darr said Tuesday of the trip he made in May to get his truck from California to campus.

Darr is a redshirt freshman who will be the punter for a football program at which the top four names on the career punting chart are Colquitt.

The latest Colquitt, Britton, was Darr's host in Denver, where he punts for the Broncos.

"We punted together and he gave me a place to stay for a day,'' Darr said.

On to Kansas City where Dustin Colquitt is the Chiefs' resident punter.

"I stayed with Dustin and his family for a few days and we got some good training in,'' Darr said.

"The knowledge they have of what they do is just beyond what a lot of people can imagine. And for me to use them, to confide in and learn from, I'm blessed to have that.''

Darr had already struck up a relationship with Dustin during the spring. Colquitt was back in his hometown and showed some pointers that Darr said helped him in the spring game.

Darr welcomes all pointers. His background is not that of a typical kicking prodigy.

He didn't play soccer in high school, as the Colquitts and so many other kicker/punters did. Rather, he threw the shot put and the discus.

And during football season he was a linebacker who also happened to punt.

"He wasn't like a lot of these guys you see who have had a kicking coach all their lives,'' said UT special teams coach Eric Russell. "He got by on just having a very talented leg.''

Yeah, but wasn't he the top-ranked punter prospect in the Class of 2010?

"Just purely on that right leg,'' Russell said. "Because it is impressive when he catches it a little bit. You hear the 'oohs'.

"Then when the 30-yarder pops off . . . ''

The 30-yarders still pop off, but they're fewer and farther between. Darr admits he came to UT "unrefined,'' but he's playing catch up.

The track background and training were beneficial in high school. The shot put is all about explosiveness in the lower body. The discus requires leverage. And like punting, the throws are an individual endeavor that require mental focus and technique.

Darr, a state shot-put champion as a junior and senior, was so good at it he planned to go to Arizona State on a track scholarship. Then Oklahoma State showed up with a football offer and a new door opened.

He originally committed to Southern Cal, but backed off when Pete Carroll left. He was still interested enough to make an official visit for Lane Kiffin, but instead signed with Fresno State.

Then Kiffin hired Fresno's special-teams coach. Rather than follow him to USC. Darr started shopping again. Russell, who had first recruited Darr while still at Texas Tech, was the link to Knoxville.

Darr is more flexible now — Colquitt stretching tips, thanks very much — and less bulky. That might not be good from the throws but football is his day job.

"People here are expecting me to do my job punting,'' said Darr, "and that's what I'm committed to doing.''

Spoken like a Colquitt.