In Gibbs Hall, one floor separates the dorm rooms of Josh McNeil and Michael Frogg.

Their football resumes are a lot farther apart.

Still, the two candidates for Tennessee’s starting center position are much more similar than the paths the two players took to Tennessee.

"We’re both from the country," Frogg says. "It’s just a laid-back attitude about everything, and when you get on the field, it’s wide-open.

McNeil, a redshirt freshman from Collins, Miss., was the blue-chip recruit, a second-team USA Today All-USA selection in high school and the Old Spice Red Zone player of the year in Mississippi.

Division I schools lined up with scholarship papers for McNeil, a 6-foot-4, 290-pounder whose older brother started on the offensive line at Mississippi State.

The scholarship offers were tougher to come by for Frogg.

Not exactly a heralded prospect, the 6-foot-4, 300-pound Frogg was an All-East Tennessee selection as a senior at Kingston High School before walking on in 2003.

On the surface, it wouldn’t seem like much of a competition.

Dig a little deeper, though, and the two players have a lot of common ground.

"They’re similar in personalities," offensive line coach Greg Adkins said. "They’re both tough guys, they’re both guys who aren’t afraid to work and guys who are willing to mix it up in there."

That much is evident in Frogg, who practiced with the Vols for three seasons before earning a scholarship earlier this month.

"That was a great phone call home," said Frogg, who has appeared in four games for the Vols since redshirting in 2003. "A lot of screaming, a lot of crying, tears of joy. It was an amazing feeling."

Frogg, whose cousin Sammy lettered in 2000 as a walk-on punter, wound up at Tennessee because of the feeling he got watching his brother-in-law play for the Vols.

As a kid, he watched former Vols captain and offensive lineman Kevin Mays play in the early 1990s.

Frogg’s eyes were half on Mays and half on the 108,000 people in the stands.

"You grow up so close, your blood just turns orange," Frogg says. "Every Saturday, life just stops. I used to come here on Saturdays and watch him play, and sitting in the stands I was just in awe seeing all those people watching him."

Admittedly, Frogg hasn’t entirely gotten his head around the idea of starting for the Vols.

While it was his goal three years ago, he was realistic enough to understand that most walk-ons don’t usually wind up starting at a program like Tennessee.

"I’m pretty humbled," Frogg said. "I just look at something I can attain. My goal was set there, but it was just one day at a time, one step."

While McNeil started Saturday’s scrimmage with the first team, both players saw about an equal amount of time with the first and second string.

Adkins said Saturday he’d like David Ligon and Anthony Parker to remain at guard, which means there’s a decision to make at center.

Frogg, for one, isn’t consumed by the competition.

"I’m just loving life," Frogg said. "I’m just glad to be out here. If I start and the coaches want me to start, that’s great. If they don’t want me to start, that’s great too. Whatever’s best for this team."

Part of that comes from Frogg’s seemingly genuine humility. The other half of the equation is his relationship with McNeil.

Sure, the prep star and the walk-on took paths that were miles apart.

But it was a country mile.

"We’re from the same background, hard working families, the country and good people," McNeil says. "Frogg’s one of my best friends. Off the field, we really don’t discuss football much. We’re just friends."

That friendship is based in large part on the similarities that come from growing up in small, southern towns.

It’s what helped forge a bond between the two that goes well beyond the occasional trip to a buffet.

The two go hunting together and spend plenty of time hanging out in the other’s dorm room.

Before Tennessee’s season-opener against Cal, which is less than two weeks away, one will be named the starter.

And Frogg will be just fine, whether he’s the guy or not.

"There ain’t a better person on the team (than McNeil), as far as I’m concerned," he said. "I love all the guys, but when you build a really, really close relationship with somebody, you’re like ‘If I ain’t there, I want him to be there.’ "

Itchy Ayers: Defensive end Robert Ayers said he’s ready to lose the cast on his left hand.

"I never knew how much I needed my hands until one of them’s taken away," the 6-foot-3, 255-pound sophomore said. "You never know how much you needed something until it’s gone."

Ayers said the plan is to have the cast gone by Aug. 30, three days before the Vols open their season at home against California.

"If my bone heals right, it will be off the Wednesday before Cal. That’s what our goal is," he said.

That means Ayers can get back to playing defensive end the way he wants to — with both hands.

"Whenever there’s a play to the inside and I need to pull the guy to the outside, I’ve got to push him with my right hand or spin under," Ayers said. "I can’t just push him or pull with my left. I basically have to change everything I do because I can’t do things with my left hand."