Crompton Got Death Threats In Knoxville

((HT: GoVolsXtra/Dave Hooker))

Jonathan Crompton ((pictured, thanks GoVolsXtra/Amy Smotherman Burgess)) hesitates when asked the question.

Never one to look for pity, he's extremely uncomfortable during an interview over lunch discussing the persistent verbal attacks he received from Tennessee football fans who were disappointed by his performance last season.

Yet Crompton confirmed what the News Sentinel had been told months ago, that the cell phone calls and e-mails escalated to death threats as the Vols stumbled to a 5-7 season.

"I did have death threats," the senior quarterback reluctantly said.

Crompton said he received "a couple" of the threats, all via e-mail, as the Vols were struggling last fall.

For the most part, Crompton carried the weight of such extreme criticism alone. He chose not to go to his parents for fear they would worry.

Crompton's parents became aware of the severity of the situation when a package they had ordered had slanderous messages about their son written on the shipping box.

"That's when my parents started talking about it," Crompton said.

Crompton also received prank calls on his cell phone after the number was circulated on the Internet. Even when the correspondences weren't threatening, they were persistent.

He never told anyone in Tennessee's athletic department about the calls and e-mails. He wanted to focus on football.

"I really didn't talk about it that much," he said. "You don't say 'Poor me.' "

The criticism was tough to avoid in a football town in turmoil, even at school.

"It would get tough going to class," said Crompton, who graduated in May and is working on his master's degree. "You wouldn't hear what people were saying but you would hear people whispering."

Then there were those who were a bit bolder.

"I got confronted numerous amounts of times," Crompton said.

He's not complaining about what he heard from dismayed fans last season. Doing so would be hypocritical. Crompton chose UT, in part, because of its passionate fan base.

"It was tough, I'm not going to lie," he said. "When you're faced with adversity, your true character comes out - as a person, as a student, as a Christian.

"It tested me."