Black-and-blue defense greener

UT coach Phillip Fulmer said Simon will undergo an MRI on his left knee today, but he's "probably'' out for the year with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Vols' defensive coordinator John Chavis said starting strongside linebacker Jason Mitchell could be moved inside to compete with Jon Poe.

"There hasn't been a decision made, but Jason has worked in there a bit before," Chavis said. "Both will play there Saturday (against Louisiana Tech). We don't have another (middle) linebacker.''

With Mitchell getting a look inside, it opens the door for Omar Gaither to possibly start.

Simon led UT with 115 tackles last season, and his 18 starts were most among the Vols' defenders.

With Simon out, UT's defense will average 6.2 starts per man. It's the youngest defense Chavis has started since taking over as coordinator in 1995.

"You multiply our calls, by the number of formations we may see, by the number of motions the offense runs and there's a lot to think about,'' Chavis said. "But that's not going to be an excuse; We've got to get better.

"I don't want to sound like a broken record, but there's not a position out there that didn't have a breakdown Saturday (against Florida).''

Mitchell said the defense is struggling to communicate.

"With the no-huddle offense and the crowd noise, we couldn't get our calls made,'' Mitchell said. "A lot of guys were out of their gaps; our line was playing blind because they couldn't hear us.''

Chavis said he expects the starting secondary to remain the same for Louisiana Tech.

Schaeffer Blues: Freshman QB Brent Schaeffer was somewhat disappointed not to play more, but that likely had much to do with the pressure of playing in front of 12 family members who made the trek from Florida to see him play the home-state Gators. Schaeffer was very supportive of Erik Ainge during the game, nonetheless.

Injury Update: Cedric Houston re-aggravated the ankle injury he suffered against UNLV but he's expected to be ready for Louisiana Tech; offensive tackle Albert Toeaina, who has been out with a knee bruise, could be ready this week.

Good Company: Some of the nation's top high school players were on hand Saturday: WR Patrick Turner, Goodpasture; DE J.B. Paxson Greenwood, Ind.; DL Malcolm Rawls, Memphis East; OL/DL Dan Williams, Memphis East; OL Chris Scott Lovejoy, Ga.; S Adam Myers-White, Hamilton Ohio; QB Jimmy Clausen, Oaks Christian, Calif., and WR Josh Briscoe, Asheville, N.C., who was the only recruit on an official visit.

Five of UT's six verbal commitments were on hand. They were RB LaMarcus Coker; WR Austin Rogers, David Lipscomb; QB Jonathan Crompton, Tuscola, N.C.; DE Wes Brown, Athens, Ala., DB Marselles Johnson, Smyrna.

The Line: Tennessee has opened as a 24 1/2-point favorite over Louisiana Tech.