Vols' goodwill tour begins in Memphis

The recent arrests and suspensions of several key players, including quarterback Brent Schaeffer, have largely overshadowed the on-the-field news concerning the Vols.

So there was no better time than the present for Tennessee to launch the charm offensive that is the Big Orange Caravan, and it was an upbeat coach Phillip Fulmer - and new UT men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl - who rolled into Memphis on Monday to start the month-long tour.

On the heels of Saturday's Orange and White game, Fulmer was candid about his latest quarterback controversy.

But the team's off-the-field woes - 11 Vols have been arrested or issued citations since February 2004, and four were charged with assault in the last week - remain at the fore of Fulmer's thoughts.

"Am I proud of it? No. Am I P.O.'d? Yes," Fulmer said. "There are bigger problems we could be having, but I don't like it when it happens to our athletes."

A year ago, after neither Rick Clausen nor C.J. Leak was able to grab the starting quarterback job in the spring, freshmen Schaeffer and Eric Ainge took advantage and became co-starters.

Now the Vols have another QB quandary.

Ainge and Clausen finished in a dead heat this spring. While Fulmer hinted that both could see significant action in the fall, he suggested Schaffer could still be a factor as well.

"It's a lot better situation," Fulmer said. "Last year at this time I was saying I don't know who our quarterback's gonna be. This year I'm saying I don't know who our quarterback's gonna be but I know he's gonna be a good one.

"I'd like one to emerge who is so good you can't do anything else and then stick one guy in there to give us a curve ball, a change of pace."

Fulmer, however, has fewer concerns with his defense. Every starter except linebacker Kevin Burnett will be back, and a young secondary that struggled a year ago has shown vast improvement.

"I'm excited about the defensive front and the attitude (our defense) is bringing to the team," Fulmer said. "If you have a good offensive front and defensive front, you have a chance to have a good football team."

Pearl's agenda with the caravan was not only to have a chance to meet the orange-clad Memphis masses.

But it also was a chance to begin getting the lay of the recruiting land in this part of the state.

If Pearl is to turn around a UT basketball program that has been spinning in place for much of the past two decades, he will not only return to Memphis when recruiting, he will have to make sure he does not leave empty-handed.

"Recruiting Memphis successfully is required," Pearl said. "I think the coach at Tennessee can't be successful without getting some of the best players in the state and some of the best players in the state reside in Memphis."

"I hired Scott Edgar (most recently of UAB)," Pearl said. "He recruited Memphis for Nolan Richardson at Arkansas."

Pearl also knows he needs to establish an identity for Vols basketball.

"It all starts with defense," he said. "You send kids a message that you're going to be the attacker on defense instead of being defensive and letting the other team bring it to you. We want to make defense 'in your face.' "