It was the moment when Jonathan Wade's playing life flashed before his eyes.

Florida wide receiver Dallas Baker was called for a personal foul as he and Wade swapped blows at the end of last year's Tennessee-Florida game. Wade escaped the official's wrath and the Vols squeaked out a 30-28 victory.

"If they would have called that on me, they would have gotten a first down," the junior cornerback said. "We didn't have any timeouts. It would have been really bad. I might not be here now."

Wade finds himself in another battle this season. He was elevated to first team before suffering a hip flexor injury in preseason.

Now, he's back, competing with sophomore starter Roshaun Fellows for playing time and trying to make a name for himself after almost securing a place in infamy a year ago.

"It just happened," Wade said of the tussle with Baker. "In the heat of the moment, stuff happens. They probably could have called that 17 times throughout the game."

Wade learned his lesson.

"Keep your head in the game," Wade said simply.

Irish Gator: Florida's co-defensive coordinator has a good working knowledge of the Vols. Greg Mattison was Notre Dame's defensive line coach last season before accepting hisposition with the Gators. Notre Dame beat UT 17-13 last season.

"I've seen some of the things that they did but it's nothing we haven't seen before," senior tailback Gerald Riggs Jr. said. "They have a few wrinkles with the new guy coming in."

Riggs said Florida seemed to be using more line stunts and twists than in the past. Notre Dame held the Vols to 58 yards rushing last season.

Two QB Tango: UT offensive coordinator Randy Sanders faces an intriguing dilemma as he decides how and when to play quarterback Erik Ainge.

On one hand, the sophomore admitted he was playing too fast against Alabama-Birmingham in order to impress the coaches. Ainge threw two interceptions against the Blazers.

However, Ainge has a history, albeit short, of playing well on the road. He helped the Vols to an SEC victory last season against Georgia in Athens.

"You take a good freshman and that's what they are," Sanders said of the expectations of Ainge. "Suddenly, you expect them to be great sophomores. The step they have to take is to be a really good sophomore and then get better as the year goes on."

Sanders said that he anticipates substituting Ainge the same way he substituted Clausen in the UAB game. Clausen came in on the third series against the Blazers.

"Is it necessarily the norm or is it ideal? I don't think that's the case," Sanders said. "There's an old saying that if you have two quarterbacks, you don't have one. I don't think that's the case either. We have two guys that have proven they can win games. Why not take advantage of their abilities?"

Torch Passing: Senior cornerback Jason Allen said he has tried to guide freshman safety Demetrice Morley, who is competing for a starting spot with junior Antwan Stewart.

Allen said the message has been all about working hard and not settling for mediocrity. Morley could be a key player Saturday for UT at Florida, less than a year after the Miami star committed to play football for the Gators.

"That's not pressure, that's just something that he has to do," Allen said of Morley's pending return to Gainesville.

Morley, as per UT's policy on freshmen, is not allowed to talk to the media.

O-Line Report: Senior Richie Gandy is expected to start at center Saturday after returning from a preseason knee injury. Junior Rob Smith, who played center in Gandy's absence, will move back to left guard.

The Vols have eight linemen who could play against Florida. Freshman Ramon Foster, who started the UAB game at left guard, freshman Anthony Parker and sophomore Eric Young could see action to spell the starters.

UT coaches are extremely pleased with Young's development.

Man to Man: UT head coach Phillip Fulmer said Florida has become a team that relied mostly on man pass defense in their first two games under head coach Urban Meyer.

"They're a lot of man, but they may not think they can play us that way or may not want to play us that way," Fulmer said. "When you play man to man, there are opportunities to make plays.

"They played quite a bit of man last year, but that's them right now. They're playing a lot of man. Again, they weren't really challenged in those first two ball games.

"I don't know, they may not think they've even got to cover us. They may think we're going to drop it."

UT had several drops in the season opener against UAB.

Good Job: Senior defensive end Parys Haralson was named to the American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team for his charity work.

"Giving back to the community and doing whatever you can do is always something good to do," Haralson said.