Starting tailback LaMarcus Coker missed his fifth consecutive day of practice Wednesday, but UT coach Phillip Fulmer expects the redshirt freshman to join the Vols for the Outback Bowl against Penn State in Tampa, Fla.

Coker, who is not injured, missed Saturday's scrimmage at Neyland Stadium and has not practiced since.

Fulmer did not elaborate on why Coker has missed practice.

"I anticipate him getting done what he's supposed to get done," Fulmer said. "He's still got some time to do that."

Montario Hardesty has practiced with the first team in Coker's absence, and Arian Foster has worked with the second team.

Both backs have started at tailback this season.

Coker led the Vols with 660 yards rushing, despite suffering a knee injury against Alabama that forced him to miss two games.

He returned against Vanderbilt and started in the season-finale against Kentucky.

The three tailbacks had their share of injury troubles this season.

"I think as a whole, we played all right," Hardesty said. "Each person was banged up. Injuries kind of slowed us down as a whole."

Hardesty has been limited somewhat by lingering effects from offseason surgery to repair a torn ACL.

Foster missed the Florida game with a high-ankle sprain, which in part opened the door for Coker to get more playing time.

Foster's carries diminished in UT's final three games against Arkansas, Vanderbilt and Kentucky.

Fulmer said confidence is not a concern with Foster.

"I have a lot of confidence in Arian," he said. "Arian has confidence in himself. I'm hopeful he can get in the game and do some things that he did well during the course of the season.

"I think late in the season he was feeling pressure of every time he got the ball, he had to make something big happen so he could stay in the game. That's not a good way to play football. Consequently, he ended up making some bad things happen or nothing."

Vols Break for Holidays: Wednesday's 80-minute workout at Haslam Field marked the end of UT's 10 bowl practices in Knoxville.

The team will meet in Tampa on Christmas night and resume practice Tuesday at the University of South Florida in preparation for its New Year's Day game against the Nittany Lions.

Fulmer said he was pleased with the work his team got done in Knoxville.

"I think we pretty much got done what we needed to get done," he said. "The positive side is we have a lot of guys that know how to practice, they understand tempo. We have some young guys that are making significant progress -- Dan Williams, Demonte Bolden, Jacques McClendon -- other guys that have really improved their game."

The Vols have taken advantage of the bowl practices to give returning players extra work after practice.

Despite the extra time, a few players aren't coming along the way Fulmer would like.

"It's not technique or fundamentals, we'll get to those things," Fulmer said. "It comes from the heart to give the effort. There's just a few guys who don't quite understand that yet. They've still got that high school mentality, that 'Hey, I'm going to play anyway.' That's not the case. You've got to give great effort. It's fortunately not anybody we're counting on to help us win the game."

Bates at Practice: Former UT standout and Bill Bates, who was a special teams star with the Dallas Cowboys, attended practice Wednesday.

Bates, a Farragut High School graduate, is in town for his parents' 50th wedding anniversary. He addressed the team following its morning workout.

"He did a tremendous job of talking to the team," Fulmer said. "It's great to have a local hero do so well and then come back to see us."