It's not tag anymore.

The color green will be noticeably absent at Neyland Stadium today.

Those non-contact green jerseys: They're going into storage as No. 23-ranked Tennessee heads into its first major scrimmage of fall camp.

This is the first time UT quarterbacks have been live targets in a preseason scrimmage since Tee Martin in 1998.

"I don't think there's any question we have to do that," offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe said. "We've got a guy who is the starter (Erik Ainge) who needs to play real.

"It didn't go well for him last year and he needs to play football. We've got (backup) Jonathan Crompton who hasn't played football in quite some time (after missing all of last season with a shoulder surgery)."

Cutcliffe wants all of his quarterbacks -- Ainge, Crompton, Bo Hardegree and freshman Nick Stephens -- to feel that pressure.

He wants to see how they react when they hear footsteps coming from the blind side and they know there's not going to be a quick whistle.

And it's not just for the quarterbacks.

The Vols are still tinkering with their offensive line rotation.

"One of my biggest reasons is I want my offensive line to understand accountability -- it's not tag anymore," Cutcliffe said. "It's the real deal. Backs, lines, tight ends -- everybody needs to understand picking up pressure. We need it as a team.

"I know it's rolling the dice and I'm not trying to jinx myself -- but I don't believe in jinxes and superstitions."

Neither does Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer, but he admits there always are concerns with taking off the green jerseys.

"We're not going to be silly," Fulmer said. "We're going to be smart, but they need to play."

No. 12-ranked California comes to town Sept. 2 for the season opener. That's just three weeks away.

Fulmer thinks Crompton could potentially benefit the most because of his ability to elude a rush.

"It'll probably be a heck of a thing for him," Fulmer said, "because he can get away from it pretty good.

"Erik needs to operate and the pressure needs to be on the offense to protect him."

Defensive coordinator John Chavis is just as glad to see the green go away.

He has his agenda and he's not going to pull many punches.

"If we've got a chance to hit them a few times, we're going to take it," Chavis said. "But we're not going to take a shot on our quarterback.

"He needs it for his timing and we need it for our timing to see where we are. We need to see if our pressure is actually going to fit with our coverage. It's hard to do that if you're not live."

Cutcliffe said he took the same approach with his quarterbacks during his stint as Ole Miss head coach from 1999 to 2004.

"Once a guy reaches a point that he has played enough football, we don't do it," he said. "I don't like tempting fate and I'm not making light of it, but we've got to go play.

"The best in the world go play NFL preseason games and they get hit. We're just going to have to take that approach."