New guy: UT's new starting quarterback Rick Clausen said he shares an important characteristic with his brother, Casey, a former four-year starter as UT quarterback. Both have an ability to put bad football experiences behind them.

"There's nothing you can do about it anymore," Rick said of the Notre Dame loss. "The Notre Dame game has passed us and we're looking forward to the open week, getting better, and then looking forward to Vanderbilt."

Clausen threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown in the Vols' 17-13 loss. Coach Phillip Fulmer said Clausen is the starting quarterback and recent quarterback returnee C.J. Leak is the backup.

Leak has played tight end, safety, and linebacker since being passed on the depth chart by Erik Ainge and Brent Schaeffer in August. Ainge and Schaeffer have suffered shoulder injuries.

"This kind of reminds me of spring," Clausen said. "It's good to have C.J. back in there. It's fun."

Fulmer said UT's coaches discussed holding a 20-play scrimmage this week for their quarterbacks but decided against it because of injuries. The Vols will hold extensive team periods to expedite Clausen's preparation.

Fulmer commended Clausen and Leak for their performance in Tuesday's practice. Ainge was present for practice with his injured right arm in a sling.

Not the goal: Junior defensive tackle Jesse Mahelona downplayed the SEC defensive lineman-of-the-week award he won Monday.

"It doesn't mean anything if we don't have that 'W'," Mahelona said referring to the Notre Dame loss. "We'll just try to get better and work to beat the last two teams to get to the SEC championship."

Mahelona made five tackles-for-loss against Notre Dame despite being double-teamed for most of the game.

"I felt the double teams," Mahelona said. "I was trying to stay as active as possible. I know I'm doing my job. It frees other people up. It's all mental. You just have to go out there and fight. You can't give up."

Mahelona said he is surprised by his season total of 16.5 tackles for loss. Mahelona said his goal was 10 for the season.

Fulmer said, during his tenure, Mahelona has likely had the greatest immediate impact of any junior college player.

Ill prepared: Fulmer said Michael Munoz played "probably" the worst game in his career against Notre Dame. Fulmer attributed the disappointing performance to Munoz's lack of practice while overcoming a concussion suffered against Alabama.

Goal-Oriented: UT safety Jason Allen said he wasn't surprised he was named one of 12 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe award that goes to the nation's top defensive back.

"One of my goals coming into the season was to win the Jim Thorpe award," Allen said. "To be All-American is another goal I set during the off-season to make sure I work hard enough to achieve those goals."

Injuries: Allen (ankle), Chuck Prugh (ankle), Jason Respert (ankle), and Cody Douglas (foot) were held out of practice Tuesday. They are expected back Monday. Those injuries are thought to be minor.

Defensive tackles Turk McBride (wrist) and Justin Harrell (shin) were limited in practice.

Healing up: Senior tailback Cedric Houston believes the Vols will be much better after the off-week.

"You can tell we've been running in mud out there," Houston said. "We're running hard but we're just slower than normal. I think we'll get back out there where it used to be. A lot of linemen will get back healthy and we'll be ready to roll versus Vanderbilt."

Houston said the offensive line injuries affected the timing between the offensive line and running backs.

Head man: The Miami Dolphins have named former Vol player and coach Jim Bates as the interim head coach after Dave Wannstedt stepped aside Tuesday. The Dolphins are 1-8 after tailback Ricky Williams retired before the beginning of the season.

"Jim's got a ton of energy and enthusiasm," Fulmer said. "He's a fantastic football coach and a guy that I have great respect for. I hope he does well enough that he could end up with that opportunity."

Deposition delayed: A deposition scheduled for Fulmer on Wednesday has been delayed pending a judge's ruling.

The deposition relates to a lawsuit that the AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) and NCAA filed in Knox County Chancery Court last March that seeks to protect statements made during the NCAA's investigation into the Alabama football program.

Fulmer and his attorneys said Fulmer's comments to the NCAA should be protected from defamation or slander lawsuits, as his testimony to the NCAA was made in private under the arrangement that the comments would not become public information. The NCAA has allowed anonymous testimony for years.

The comments became public record, however, as part of an ongoing federal lawsuit in Memphis involving Alabama booster Logan Young.

Vicki Degan Smith, the mother of former Crimson Tide signee and UT player Kenny Smith, filed a defamation suit against Fulmer last summer based on his testimony to the NCAA. That case was dismissed based on a lack of jurisdiction.

The attorneys for Smith and his mother scheduled the deposition for Fulmer that was postponed this week.

Dodd Award: Fulmer was one of three Division I-A head coaches added Tuesday to the 2004 Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award "Watch List."

Joining Fulmer are Iowa's Kirk Ferentz and California's Jeff Tedford.

Previously named to the 2004 "watch list" were: Pete Carroll, Southern Cal; Mark Richt, Georgia; Joe Tiller, Purdue; Larry Coker, Miami (Fla.); Dan Hawkins, Boise State; Urban Meyer, Utah; Lloyd Carr, Michigan; Mack Brown, Texas and Tommy Tuberville, Auburn.

The award is named for the former UT quarterback, who led the Vols to a 27-1-2 record from 1928-30 en route to earning a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame. Dodd also was elected to the hall as a coach after an outstanding career at Georgia Tech.

Irish honoree: Notre Dame was named the FedEx Orange Bowl Team of the Week after scoring a 17-13 win over UT. The team is selected by the Football Writers Association of America.

-- Dave Hooker and Mike Griffith