James Wilhoit brought the "special" to Tennessee's special teams last season.

Other than consistency at kicker, it was a disappointing year for coverage and return teams.

Wilhoit came to Tennessee as a highly touted, strong-legged recruit out of Hendersonville in 2003.

He hasn't missed a start since.

Last season, he hit 14 of 19 fields goals and didn't miss on 21 extra-point attempts.

The senior enters his final season eighth on UT's all-time scoring chart with 229 points. He's also the active SEC scoring leader.

If Tennessee's offense can come out of its 2005 funk, and Wilhoit can put up a 100-point season, he would finish second all-time at UT, trailing only Jeff Hall's 371 career points.

Wilhoit has proved consistently he can come through in the clutch.

He has connected on 41 of 60 career field-goal attempts, including a memorable 50 yarder to beat Florida in the final seconds of a 2004 classic.

This past spring was basically status quo.

"The first thing I work on is consistency," Wilhoit said. "You want to get used to the snap and the hold. And then you don't want to make a kick just barely inside the left or right post, but making it right down the middle every time.

"You can always improve. I'm just trying to become a better kicker every day."

Included in that regimen are kickoff duties.

Wilhoit had 21 touchbacks on 44 kickoffs last season. It may not be as easy this year.

The NCAA has changed from a two-inch tee on kickoffs to a one-inch tee.

"For us, that could be a big difference," Wilhoit said. "It could affect the hang time and the height on kicks.

"That's another thing I have to adjust to, but it could be a good thing because the NFL also uses one-inch tees."

Wilhoit has a theory on why the change was made.

"I think they decided they wanted to speed up the game," he said. "The clock starts as soon as the ball is kicked and there probably won't be as many touchbacks.

"I think it just adds more excitement to the game because you're going to have more kickoff returns."

At punter, sophomore Britton Colquitt hopes to show the same kind of progress his father (Craig) and brother (Dustin) showed between their first and second seasons in Orange.

Craig Colquitt averaged 40.3 in his first season. He bumped that up to 42.3 in year two and 45.0 as a senior in 1977.

Dustin Colquitt, now with the Kansas City Chiefs, jumped from a 39.6 average as a freshman, to 43.6 as a sophomore.

Britton Colquitt outdid both of those guys with a 41.2-yard average in his first season. A 33.5 net average per punt wasn't as sterling, but Colquitt has the leg to potentially be the best punter in the family.

All UT coach Phillip Fulmer wants to see is a little more consistency.

"Britton has to prove he's a big-time kicker in this league," Fulmer said. "He hasn't done that yet.

"He has a good leg, but for him to be what we'd like him to be, he has to be more consistent."

Coverage and return teams ranked near the bottom of the SEC last season. There were special teams breakdowns -- like a failed fake punt at Florida -- and almost no excitement in the return game.

Sophomores Lucas Taylor or Demetrice Morley could add a little flash to kickoff returns.

Jonathan Hefney, Austin Rogers or Taylor could earn the nod on punt returns.

Outlook: Wilhoit is steady and a proven winner.

Colquitt has a chance to be just as special as his father, brother and cousin (Jimmy). He simply needs to remain focused and show the kind of dedication that could lead him to a career in the NFL

After last year's poor showing in coverage and returns, Fulmer realigned special teams coaching responsibilities between UT coordinators John Chavis and David Cutcliffe.

They'd love to find a Dale Carter-like player to bring the crowd to its feet on returns. They're still waiting for that guy to emerge.