For Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer, it was a chance to get reacquainted.

Recruiting was complete. Players were back in school.

It was a chance to make one thing crystal clear - 5-6 doesn't cut it.

"One of the things we talked about in our team meeting the other night was being committed and being consistent," Fulmer said Wednesday. "I hadn't seen them as a group since recruiting.

"We're just making sure we're all on the same page and looking at the same map to see where we're going to go."

Traveling down the same road as 2005 isn't an option in Fulmer's mind.

"It certainly came up in the meeting that it (last season) wasn't fun for anybody," he said.

With just three weeks remaining until spring practice begins March 2, Tennessee assistants have been working overtime to avoid another season of disappointment.

Fulmer confirmed his longtime defensive coordinator and associate head coach John Chavis would be getting his expected pay boost.

Chavis is getting a $50,000 raise from the $250,000 he made a year ago to $300,000 this season.

"John has done a great job further back than just last year," Fulmer said. "He's an associate head coach and he's very deserving.

"We have to stay competitive because we want him to be here, hopefully for a long time. That was the right thing to do."

The raise puts Chavis on an even keel with offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe, rehired in November after spending 1993-1998 as the Vols' offensive coordinator.

Cutcliffe has spent the past few months in full-blown study mode.

"David's got a lot of catching up to do and he has really been working hard at it," Fulmer said. "He's studying all the time, watching tapes and getting to know the kids.

"He saw a few practices and watched the games (last year after taking a year off in Knoxville to recover from heart surgery), but that's certainly not like coaching the kids and being around the kids."

Fulmer promises there will be some changes, especially to the offensive philosophy.

The influx of new coaches Cutcliffe, Kurt Roper (running backs), Matt Luke (tight ends), and former running backs coach Trooper Taylor (now working with receivers) makes that a guarantee.

"We'll be looking at some different things, and I'm really excited about it because David is going to bring a different perspective to it," Fulmer said. "They're coming from the outside in, he and Kurt and Matt.

"It'll be interesting to see how they evaluate the guys."

Basically, that's what spring practice is all about. It's a time for evaluation. Who are the leaders? Who are the young, hungry players ready to take the next step to SEC elite.

"It's to find the players who are going to be committed and consistent with what we're trying to do," Fulmer said. "The hardest guy in the world to coach is the guys who grades out 90 percent one day and 40 percent the next. It's impossible to know what to expect from him.

"We're looking for the guy who is going to be consistent and doing what he's physically capable of doing. That's the point of emphasis."