Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer might want to reconsider his priorities.

Forget the quarterback battle. It was evident during Saturday's 90-play scrimmage that the Vols need as much work on their offensive line, at running back and at receiver.

Fumbles, dropped passes, high snaps and poor or missed blocks were abundant.

"We certainly have a lot to do with our offense,'' a grim-faced Fulmer said. "The offense kept finding ways to shoot itself in the foot.''

Freshmen quarterbacks Brent Schaeffer and Erik Ainge got the majority of the snaps. Fulmer said they were "not very good,'' and the numbers would seem to back up those sentiments.

Schaeffer, however, accounted for the only touchdown of the day when he found Robert Meachem deep downfield with a 65-yard scoring strike.

Schaeffer finished 6-of-18 passing for 112 yards with two interceptions and the TD, but the freshman from Deerfield Beach, Fla., was under duress throughout the scrimmage.

On one play, Schaeffer eluded two tacklers in the backfield only to get hit by two more 3 yards behind the line. On another, he wasn't quite so fortunate. Ends Turk McBride (260 pounds) and Xavier Mitchell (265) sandwiched the 195-pound Schaeffer with such force that Mitchell's helmet came bounding off.

Schaeffer brushed himself off and completed the next pass to C.J. Fayton.

Ainge's numbers were even worse than Schaeffer's: 2-of-12, 28 yards. What the numbers don't show is that Ainge had five of passes dropped, and, like Schaeffer, was afforded little time to throw the ball.

Senior C.J. Leak, No. 1 on the depth chart, might have benefited from his lack of playing time. Leak was only in long enough to get sacked once and complete 1 of 4 pass attempts. Ditto for Rick Clausen, who was 1-of-4 for 7 yards passing.

Former UT star Peyton Manning might not have done any better with this supporting cast: There were nine dropped passes, two high snaps and three fumbles.

UT offensive coordinator Randy Sanders was flabbergasted. The offense appeared sharp throughout the drills heading into the scrimmage.

"That's why you just never know,'' Sanders said. "You never know what guys will do until the lights come on in the games or scrimmages.''

Meachem, clearly the star playmaker, had three catches for 114 yards.

"But I also had a drop,'' Meachem said. "We're going to come out Monday and catch more passes than we've probably ever caught in a day. We'll make up for it.''

Fulmer said some of the offensive struggles had to do with an inspired defense.

"We had a lot of good hitting; got beat up pretty good,'' Fulmer said. "The front seven on defense totally dominated this scrimmage.''

That same front seven is replacing four starters.

Sophomore Tony McDaniel was a force throughout the day.

"With the coaches saying I hadn't reached my potential, that motivated me,'' said McDaniel, a 6-foot-7, 300-pounder who has run a 4.7-second 40-yard dash. "I'm stronger than last year, and I've gained 15 pounds.''

McDaniel was credited with three tackles, two for loss.

The secondary also came up big. Cornerback Jason Allen had two fumble recoveries, while safety Corey Campbell had a fumble recovery and forced a fumble. Freshman cornerback Roshaun Fellows and sophomore Jonathan Wade each made interceptions. Fulmer praised freshman safety Ellix Wilson with making "one of the best tackles of the day.''

UT defensive coordinator John Chavis, unsatisfied throughout the first week of practice, praised his defense.

"I told the guys the thing that was going to be the most important when we graded film was effort,'' Chavis said. "This gets them feeling good about themselves, but what's important now is where do they go from here?''

It's an appropriate question for both the offense and defense.

Long Day: The offensive lowlights out-numbered the highlights from the beginning.

Defensive end Parys Haralson blew past right tackle Albert Toeaina on the second play from scrimmage and blasted Leak.

Cedric Houston broke off a 25-yard run three plays later, only to have Campbell strip the ball from him and Allen recovered.

Fullback Cory Anderson, who had a strong fall heading into the scrimmage, dropped three passes.

Receiver James Banks dropped two passes, including a perfect deep ball from Bo Hardegree.

Jabari Davis had 10 carries for 9 yards.

Jason Respert had a shotgun snap go over the head of the 6-foot-6 Ainge.

Kicker James Wilhoit connected on just 3 of 6 field goal attempts.

Bright Spots: Freshman H-back Chris Brown showed great catching and running skills with three catches for 42 yards. Corey Larkins had five carries for 40 yards including a 25-yarder.

Omar Gaither led the defense with six tackles and incoming end Antonio Reynolds had four stops. End Turk McBride had two sacks.

Quotable: "The way our defensive tackles played, we didn't have to do much.'' -- UT linebacker Kevin Simon.

Tennessee scrimmage stats

At Haslam Field

August 14, 2004

Passing (C-Att-Int-Yds-Td): Leak 1-4-0-33-0; Clausen 1-4-0-7-0; Ainge 2-12-0-28-0; Schaeffer 6-18-2-112-1; Hardegree 5-8-0-47-0.

Rushing: Williams 10-28; Davis 10-9; Yancey 7-28; Houston 5-27; Larkins 5-40; Riggs 4-10; Schaeffer 3-7; Leak 1 (-)7; Ainge 1-3.

Receiving: Meachem 3-114; C. Brown 3-42; Fayton 2-6; Banks 2-9; T. Brown 1-25; Ligon 1-15; Swain 1-7; Cannon 1-6; Houston 1-3.

Kicking: Wilhoit 3-of-6, long of 40 yards.

Tackles: Gaither 6; Campbell 5; Burnett 4; Gaines 4; I. Johnson 3; McBride 3; McDaniel 3; Allen 2; B. Johnson 2; Mahelona 2; Fellows 1; Haralson 1.

Turnovers: Campbell, one forced fumble, one recovered fumble; Allen two recovered fumbles; Fellows one interception; Wade one interception; Mahelona 1 forced fumble.

Dropped Passes: Anderson 3; Banks 2; Fayton, Meachem, Reed, Cottam.

Fumbles: Respert (high snap); Davis, Houston.

Tackle stats courtesy of UT sports information)