Not long after the loss to Notre Dame on Nov. 6, Tennessee quarterback Rick Clausen grabbed his cell phone. A message was on it.

His brother Casey had called.

"He said to call him as soon as I was done," Rick Clausen said Tuesday.

So Rick called Casey, UT's starting quarterback the previous four seasons.

"He just said you made a mistake, but you bounced back," Rick said. "He said everyone's going to make mistakes. He said everyone throws interceptions, everyone throws interceptions for touchdowns, regardless of what level you're in.

"He said just try to minimize those mistakes and go out there and do what you know how to do."

Rick Clausen threw an interception that was returned 26 yards for a touchdown by Notre Dame's Mike Goolsby.

It gave Notre Dame a 14-10 lead with 6:46 left in the third. The Fighting Irish never trailed again on its way to a 17-13 victory.

Clausen said his parents were also supportive after the Notre Dame game.

"They said things happen for a reason," Clausen said. "They said unfortunately Erik (Ainge) had to get hurt and it was my turn to step up. About the way I played, they thought I played well except for the interception. They said you bounced back pretty well from that."

Clausen, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound junior, was 10-of-18 for 120 yards.

Due to injuries to Ainge (separated shoulder) and Brent Schaeffer (broken collarbone), Clausen will start his first game at Tennessee on Saturday at Vanderbilt.

It won't be his first collegiate start, though. While at LSU, Clausen started against Mississippi in 2002 and was 2-for-6 for 9 yards with one interception. LSU won 14-13.

He learned he would start against Ole Miss the day before the game.

"It was pretty close to game time so it was kind of nerve-wracking a little bit, just because all week I didn't know what was going to happen, and then a day before the game they told me I was going to start," Clausen said.

This time, Clausen is more prepared. He knew last week he would start against Vanderbilt, and due to Saturday's open date, Clausen has had time to let it sink in.

Clausen said he is "a little more mature, a little more prepared," than when he started for LSU against Ole Miss.

Clausen figures his continued preparation earlier in the season will pay off. Ainge and Schaeffer passed him by on the depth chart in the preseason.

"I think wherever you are in the depth chart you've always got to be ready to play just in case a situation like this occurs," he said. "Just taking pride within yourself to not let yourself get out of the loop I think was something I tried to do.

"Just stay in the loop and stay prepared and just help the team as much as possible whether I was helping the younger guys or performing on the field."

It didn't hurt going to Casey for advice.

"There's probably no situation he hasn't been through, especially at the college level," Rick said. "He's been in every situation possible. Just hearing him and talking to him, he gives a lot of good knowledge. It's really exciting to have a brother like that."