Tennessee's defense doesn't want to let Florida quarterback Chris Leak get on a roll Saturday night.

What's one way to keep that from happening?

Hit him early. Hit him hard.

"I feel like if we hit him, we can keep him from getting started," cornerback Roshaun Fellows said, "because once you let a great quarterback like Chris Leak get started the defense can be in trouble."

There are those who believe Leak tends to get gun shy if he takes a good lick early in a game.

The Vols aren't saying that, however, at least not in public.

Safety-turned-cornerback Jason Allen takes the same approach, regardless of who has the football. Allen is going to hit anybody hard.

"I feel like no matter who you play, you got a running back or a receiver, you put a good lick on him, it's going to rattle him a little bit," Allen said. "I don't care who you are. We just don't have a target out on Chris Leak. We have a target out on whoever has the ball. That's the type of mentality we have. If you have the ball, we're going to hit you."

Leak, chosen to the All-SEC second team in 2004, has thrown for 539 yards and five touchdowns in Florida's victories over Wyoming (32-14) and Louisiana Tech (41-3).

UAB's Darrell Hackney completed 27-of-38 passes for 282 yards and a touchdown in the Vols' 17-10 victory in the season opener.

Hackney is listed at 6-1, 240 pounds. Leak is 6-0, 210.

"Hackney's bigger," defensive tackle Jesse Mahelona said. "Leak ain't a small quarterback. I'd say Leak is a lot more accurate passer. He's been in the system three or four years. I guess the biggest thing is containing him. It's a big job for us, and us tackles can definitely help out with that."

If the Vols can get to Leak early, containing him the rest of the game might be easier.

"I mean, you do that for every team, every quarterback," Fellows said. "You hit him and hopefully it dictates how he plays the rest of the game."