Stanley Asumnu and Ryan West were there doing bear crawls and sprints after Monday’s practice just like the rest of the Tennessee football team.

It was hot and it was tough, especially for an ex-basketball player like Asumnu.

All the pain of those extra drills was washed away when the team huddled at the end of the two-hour practice.

That’s when the two walk-on athletes found out they had been selected by UT coach Phillip Fulmer to go on scholarship.

Asumnu played basketball for the Vols the past four years, but decided to give football a try during spring practice.

West is a senior deep snapper from Brentwood High School. He took over the long-snapping duties on punts halfway into his sophomore season two years ago.

"We’re really pleased," Fulmer said. "They’ve both shown excellent attitudes."

It definitely made the day of Asumnu, a potential kick-blocking specialist on special teams.

"I’m really thankful," Asumnu said. "I want to thank God, and Phillip Fulmer, and the rest of the coaching staff for just believing and having faith in me.

"I’m going to try and work hard and bring it every day in whatever area he needs me to help out."

Mayo On The Mend: Starting sophomore linebacker Jerod Mayo got some good news after suffering an injured ankle early in Saturday night’s scrimmage at Neyland Stadium.

He missed Monday morning’s practice session, but he should be back in time for California week.

"We’re fortunate he just had a sprain," Fulmer said. "The X-rays were negative.

"He’ll be limited for a week or so, but he should be back in the mix by Monday, we think."

Backup freshman tailback Montario Hardesty was at practice on Monday and didn’t seem to have the swelling to his knee that hampered him a week ago.

"He did fine," Fulmer said. "But we’re going to have to be smart with him like we’ve done with other players in the past who have had the same kind of issue with a roughening under the kneecap.

"We’ll just have to practice smart. He’s a guy who wants to be in there all the time. It’s a management issue."

Ainge Ready To Trim Offense: If the Vols have solidified their offensive identity, they’re not talking.

Quarterback Erik Ainge just made it clear he thinks UT is geared up and ready to settle into its California game preparation. UT opens at home against the Golden Bears at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 2.

"This offense is ready for that," he said. "You’ve got to get really good at something and then you expand off of that. In years past, we’ve been average to OK at everything, and not really good at anything.

"I don’t want to say what it is, but we’re going to get good at something."

Chavis’ Scrimmage Reaction: Defensive coordinator John Chavis was happy to see some improved hitting at Saturday’s scrimmage, but he’s still waiting for all the pieces of his defense to fall into place.

"We’re making some progress," he said. "The tackling was better, but we still don’t really understand what it takes to compete at this level.

"That’s the battle we’re fighting right now, but we’re going to get there because they have a great attitude."

Backups at defensive tackle and linebacker still are a concern.

"They’re making strides, but I don’t want to single anybody out," Chavis said. "They’ve got a long ways to go before they can put on an orange shirt and be a Volunteer."

Young Impresses On Line: Fulmer singled Eric Young out for making a significant amount of progress from the first scrimmage to the second.

"Eric Young took a significant step on Saturday night playing against a really good player in Turk McBride," Fulmer said. "I’m as encouraged as can be about that. I’ve been waiting on that to happen."

The search for depth on the line continues.

"Ramon Foster is there in the mix, and then the rest of them we’ve got to get up to speed," Fulmer said. "They can’t be happy just getting on the bus, drinking Gatorade and cheerleading. They’ve got to be ready to play."

Ligon Loving It: Senior guard David Ligon came away from Saturday’s scrimmage excited about the offense.

"It’s being talked bad about all year, and then seeing what we’re capable of doing," he said. "That one spark on the field, and all those emotions come back to you.

"The feeling is indescribable about how fired up Arron (Sears, senior tackle) and I were, and the rest of the offensive line — even though they were our teammates (on defense) — we just wanted to get out there and kick their butts."