Defensive tackle Malik Jackson of the White team got the first pick and pulled a surprise by choosing No. 2 quarterback Matt Simms. That automatically sent No. 1 QB Tyler Bray to Poole's team.
Poole then used his first pick to select Tennessee's most experienced offensive lineman, junior left tackle Dallas Thomas. A tailback picking a blocker ... big surprise.
In the end, Poole's offensive bias showed through. His Orange roster features the No. 1 quarterback (Bray), the No. 1 tight end (Mychal Rivera) and three of the five scholarship wide receivers (Justin Hunter, Matt Milton, Vincent Dallas). Conversely, Jackson's White roster features the top two D-tackles (himself and Daniel Hood), projected first-team end Marlon Walls and six scholarship defensive backs.
Both teams are shaky at linebacker, since injuries have sidelined arguably the Vols' top three - Herman Lathers, Austin Johnson and John Propst. Also sitting out the game due to health problems will be defensive end Jacques Smith, offensive tackle Ja'Wuan James and guard Marques Pair.
Asked if he thinks he drafted the superior team, Poole replied, "Yes, I do. I think we've got
some pretty good guys. They may favor us a little on defense but on offense we've got the go-getters. We've got Justin, we've got Bray, we've got Rivera. We've got a lot of guys that can make plays."
Asked what his draft strategy was, Poole replied, "I wanted to pick competitive people."
Although the O&W Game means less to the coaches than the closed scrimmages that preceded it, many of Tennessee's players view it as an opportunity to prove themselves - to their coaches, to their fans and to their teammates.
"We're definitely going to be competitive," Poole said. "It's part of our nature. We're excited about it."
The Orange projects to line up like this on offense:
QB: Tyler Bray backed by Nash Nance
RB: Tauren Poole
FB: Ben Bartholomew
WR: Justin Hunter, Matt Milton, Vincent Dallas*
TE: Mychal Rivera
OT: Dallas Thomas, Carson Anderson
G: Marcus Jackson*, Darin Gooch
C: James Stone
And this is the projected starting lineup for the Orange defense:
DE: Willie Bohannon, Martaze Jackson or Rae Sykes
DT: Montori Hughes, Corey Miller
LB: Daryl Vereen, Nigel Mitchell-Thornton, Robert Nelson
CB: Marsalis Teague, Anthony Anderson or Naz Oliver
S: Brent Brewer, Prentiss Waggner
Here's the projected starting lineup for the White offense:
QB: Matt Simms backed by Justin Worley*
RB: Rajion Neal backed by Toney Williams
FB: Channing Fugate
WR: Da' Rick Rogers, Zach Rogers
TE: Brendan Downs*
OT: Alex Bullard, walk-on Jacob Gilliam
G: Zach Fulton, JerQuari Schofield
C: Mack Crowder*
KICKER: Michael Palardy
And here's how the White projects to line up on defense:
DE: Marlon Walls, Steven Fowlkes
DT: Malik Jackson, Daniel Hood backed by Arthur Jeffery, Greg Clark
LB: Greg King, Raiques Crump, walk-on Shane Reveiz
CB: Eric Gordon, Art Evans backed by C. J. Fleming, Justin Coleman*
S: Rod Wilks, Dontavis Sapp
PUNTER: Matt Darr
* mid-term freshmen