There was no denying the talents of Tennessee's freshmen quarterbacks in the Vols' second fall scrimmage Wednesday night.

Not even UT coach Phillip Fulmer, he of the politically correct coach speak, attempted to veil the promise shown by Brent Schaeffer and Erik Ainge.

"It will be exciting Tennessee football -- sooner or later,'' Fulmer said. "Both of these young guys are exciting.''

Fulmer got an up close look at just how exciting Schaeffer can be when Schaeffer reversed his field and backtracked on a scramble, using Fulmer to screen off a defender.

"I was just trying to get out of Albert (Toeaina's way),'' said Fulmer, who couldn't help but grin as the play unfolded. "Albert was chasing a defender to block. I knew Brent could miss me. Albert, I don't know.''

Schaeffer made half the defense miss him on a 34-yard scramble earlier in the 90-play scrimmage, drawing "ooohs'' and "ahhhs'' from the 300 or so in attendance at Neyland Stadium.

Seemingly trapped behind the line against a blitzing defense, Schaeffer split two defensive linemen in the backfield and took off. In a flash, he was past the line of scrimmage and leaving a wouldbe tackler sprawling. Two more players came up to make a hit, and Schaeffer miraculously spun free from both of them before being corralled from behind.

Schaeffer finished 6-of-10 passing for 60 yards and a touchdown, and he rushed for 55 yards on five carries. Sophomore linebacker Daniel Brooks held the distinction of being the first defender to tackle Schaeffer one-on-one, dropping him for a 7-yard loss on one scramble.

UT offensive coordinator Randy Sanders admits there's anxiety when Schaeffer takes flight.

"You think he needs to get to the ground, but then he makes another guy miss,'' Sanders said. "You don't want him to take those hits. It's a fine line you walk with a guy like that. You don't want to coach him out of his ability.''

Ainge, on the other hand, continues to represent the more conventional version of past Tennessee quarterbacks.

"Erik has the look,'' Fulmer said. "Tall, great release, great mind, and he works hard at the game.''

Ainge was 8 of 15 for 123 yards and a touchdown.

"Erik did a really nice job, (but) his timing was off a little bit,'' Sanders said. "The thing he showed me tonight is he sees the field well, he makes decisions, and he throws the ball where he wants to.''

Meanwhile, senior C.J. Leak (9 of 16, 59 yards) and junior Rick Clausen (7 of 9, 77 yards and a TD) continued to be proficient.

So what is Fulmer to do?

"Our offense is flexible enough to adjust it to the talent level or experience level as we need,'' Fulmer said. "We'll have to look at the film. All the quarterbacks had the same number of repetitions with the first and second team. We tried to be completely fair.''

Even redshirt freshman Bo Hardegree, a respectable 3-of-5 passing for 24 yards with a supporting cast of backups, drew a mention.

"Bo Hardegree has improved more than anyone,'' Fulmer said. "He had further to go.''

Fulmer said the quarterback battle will continue onward into Saturday's scrimmage.

"We have to narrow it down,'' Fulmer said. "We'll have to have it pared down to some reasonable number before the season opener.''

Sooner or later, indeed.