Junior quarterback Rick Clausen hears the skeptics.

Not tall enough, they say. Not enough arm strength, or not elusive enough.

Clausen has heard it all before when analysts were comparing him to his older brother, departed UT standout Casey Clausen.

His attitude now is the same as it's always been.

"People can count me out all they want,'' Rick Clausen said. "I just have to perform. What the coaching staff and my teammates feel is what matters.''

Clausen put up the best numbers of all the quarterbacks in Wednesday night's scrimmage, completing 7 of 9 passes for 77 yards and a touchdown.

"I did some things well tonight,'' said Clausen, whose highlight was a 35-yard scoring strike to C.J. Fayton. "I felt like I moved the ball well and took the team up and down the field.

"I still have a lot to work on.''

The question is: will Clausen continue to do that work with the first and second team offense?

UT offensive coordinator Randy Sanders said he believes the Vols must pare down the quarterback battle by the start of next week.