Tennessee's precocious freshmen quarterbacks did what any other college freshmen would do when they heard the good news. They called their parents.

Brent Schaeffer said his parents were happy and maybe a little surprised that he had been named UT's co-No. 1 quarterback so soon. Erik Ainge said his father told him to stay humble and work hard while his mother was hysterically happy about the news.

As for the freshmen themselves, I can't vouch for what they did in private. Maybe there was a moment of celebration, a shout for joy or even a brief victory dance.

But in Saturday's scrimmage, there wasn't a hint of hysteria. Instead, the two freshmen quarterbacks handled success they way they have handled everything else this preseason.

Both went out and performed as well as they have all preseason, demonstrating more passing accuracy and as much poise as ever. They even got to talk about it afterwards.

UT coach Phillip Fulmer has made the freshmen off-limits to the media since the first day of practice. He made an exception after Saturday's scrimmage, and they handled that, too.

Surrounded by a thicket of media in a Neyland Stadium tunnel, the young quarterbacks still seemed on familiar ground. The Miami Herald honored Schaeffer as the top college prospect in Broward County, and Ainge was Oregon's Gatorade Player of the Year. So they know something about media attention.

"We watched interviews as a team the other day on how to give a good interview and how to give a bad interview," Ainge said. "One of the things Peyton Manning said (on the video) was giving interviews and being scrutinized is as much a part of the game as throwing touchdown passes."

The attention and scrutiny is inevitable, but I don't have a problem with limiting the media's access to true freshmen in preseason. They have so much to learn so fast, every minute counts.

But it would be a mistake not to allow them to do post-game interviews. As Manning said, that's an integral part of being a college quarterback. The sooner you learn to deal with it the better.

So far, everyone - the coaches, players and media - seems comfortable with this preseason project. Fulmer wisely pared the quarterback competition from four to two Thursday, and the two freshmen made him look even smarter Saturday.

Ainge and Schaeffer look so good, there's a tendency to question what you're seeing, much like in the preseason of 10 years ago when Manning and Branndon Stewart demonstrated so much potential.

Ainge said some fans have mentioned the similarities between him and Manning, and he's taken aback by the comparison.

"I'm obviously not there yet," he said. "When people say that, they see there's potential there. But potential never made a first down."

Comparing Schaeffer to Michael Vick would be just as unfair at this juncture. But you will hear it. In fact, you might say it yourself when you see Schaeffer break from the pocket and outrun or out-fake every defender within tackling range.

Schaeffer is a quarterback until he decides to run. Then, he's nothing but trouble.

"He can make a move on a guy before he ever gets to him," UT running backs coach Trooper Taylor said. "He's setting him up on the way to him.

"Schaeffer knows to look one way and cut the other. That's natural ability. I don't have a drill for that."

Schaeffer runs so spectacularly in the open field, that it overshadows his passing prowess.

"That might be somebody's opinion, but I know I can do both," he said.

He has proved that repeatedly in preseason, just as Ainge has proved he's more than a tall, drop-back passer. He was athletic enough to excel as a high school guard in basketball, and that athleticism is evident in the pass pocket.

Under defensive pressure, both Schaeffer and Ainge have scrambled out of harm's way without losing sight of what's going on downfield. The real challenge will be to maintain that composure in a game.

"Teams are going to want to blitz us like crazy to see if we can handle pressure," Ainge said.

If they can handle it as well as Saturday's media blitz, they will do just fine.

John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.