Backup Tennessee tailback Arian Foster's mother, Bernadette, called a Knoxville radio station last week to voice her displeasure with fans critical of the football team.

"The passion, which is part of what drew us out there, is, I guess, what we're seeing now," she told Jimmy Hyams and John Wilkerson of the Sports Animal from her home in California. "I support the Vols and I support the coaches. Obviously, there are some problems that have to be addressed.

"I don't know what the answers are. I don't think anybody that calls in or writes on message boards knows what the answers are. But I have faith that this staff will be able to turn this team around."

The No. 17 Vols (3-2, 2-2 SEC) had an open week Saturday and play at Alabama next Saturday.

Dynamic Duo: Senior All-American Jesse Mahelona isn't the only UT defensive tackle worth talking about. In fact, Mahelona isn't the leading producer at his position, a byproduct of having to overcome consistent double teams.

Junior Justin Harrell actually leads Mahelona in tackles. Harrell is UT's fifth leading tackler with 22 tackles this season. Mahelona has 15.

Harrell said he feels like he's making teams that double team Mahelona pay for leaving one blocker on him.

"He's going to get a lot of attention from teams," Harrell said. "They're going to scheme around him. So it's my responsibility to hold things down on the other side."

Those outside of Knoxville should be noticing Harrell. He is tied for third in the SEC in tackles by a lineman with 4.4 per game.

Harrell also has 2.5 tackles for a loss, one interception, and six quarterback hurries.

"I'm pretty pleased," Harrell said. "But there's still a lot of errors in my game that I need to improve."

D-Backs: Sophomore Jonathan Hefney is the eighth leading tackler in the SEC among defensive backs with 6.6 tackles per game. Senior Jason Allen was sixth within that group with 7.0 before suffering a season-ending hip injury against Georgia last Saturday.

UT coach Phillip Fulmer said sophomore cornerbacks Roshaun Fellows and Inky Johnson are still competing for Allen's cornerback spot.

Fulmer said he is comfortable with both but would like to see Fellows play with more aggressiveness. Fellows started eight games last season before being benched in favor of junior Jonathan Wade in 2005.

Fulmer said he foresees some changes in scheme to overcome the loss of Allen.

Freshman defensive back Demetrice Morley is trying to learn cornerback as well as safety.