Secondary becomes UT's No. 1 concern for bowl game

"The first thing we've tried to address in the bowl practices was the secondary issue,'' said UT coach Phillip Fulmer, whose players will report to Dallas on Christmas night. "We haven't been very consistent there the last three weeks.

"We've put them in as many looks as possible, and we've gotten better.''

The Vols' secondary worked over the past week without the services of All-SEC safety Jason Allen, who is recovering from a severe cut on his arm and a shoulder injury suffered against Auburn in the SEC championship game.

Fulmer said he expects Allen to be ready to practice when the Vols begin drills in Dallas on Sunday in preparation for the Jan. 1 game against Texas A&M.

Fulmer said the secondary, which features first-year starters at all four positions, will remain a priority in the Dallas practices.

"It's something we need to continue to work on,'' Fulmer said. "We're tackling better now, and staying on top of receivers better. If we give up big plays to Texas A&M, it limits our chance to win.

"Our Achilles heel the past three games has been those big plays given up.''

The Vols have surrendered more than 300 yards and two touchdowns passing in two of their past three games and three of their last five.

The Aggies, with mobile quarterback Reggie McNeal, are 20th in NCAA passing with 263 yards per game.

"The first thing they do is throw the football extremely well," Fulmer said. "And they run the option extremely well.

"Those two things together just drives you crazy about who's going to be the support for the run, who's going to have the flat or the deep third and then who's got the quarterback on the option. That's a lot of stuff."

Vols' defensive coordinator John Chavis said part of the challenge for the secondary will be how it disguises its coverage.

"We're not good enough right now where we can say, 'Here we are, come and get us,' " Chavis said. "We have been that good in past years, but we're young. There's a lot for us to work on, but the guys are giving us good effort.''

Fulmer said that, ultimately, the secondary's success comes down to attitude.

"I think some of (the problem) is youth, some confidence, some ability,'' Fulmer said. "But most of it is attitude. If you were recruited here and we put you on the field, you ought to be a pretty good player.''

Starting Dec. 26 in Dallas, the Vols' defensive backs have one more week to prepare themselves to prove as much.