Quarterback is a glory position in football, even if there's too much credit doled out for wins and too much blame for the losses.

Being a graduate assistant coach has almost a dearth of recognition.

Rick Clausen knows what it's like to do both.

The days are long, sometimes 15 hours long, but that doesn't begin to describe it.

There're meetings for most of the morning followed by 45 minutes or an hour for lunch.

Then more meetings. There're practice scripts to go over before the team takes the field each afternoon for two hours or so.

Then it's another 45 minutes for dinner before hitting the film room until 9 or 9:30 at night.

Some nights it's 10:30 or 11.

Just last year, Clausen was sharing quarterback duties with Erik Ainge.

Now he's helping offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe's staff coach Ainge and a whole bunch of former teammates.

"It's busy," said Clausen, one of the Vols' two graduate assistants this season along with Shawn Witten. "I definitely have a new respect for coaches. Being a quarterback, I thought I spent a lot of time while I was playing in the film room and studying the game."

This week Clausen actually watched himself.

As part of eighth-ranked Tennessee's preparation for Saturday against No. 13 LSU, the Vols' staff watched film of last year's 31-28 overtime victory over the Tigers in Baton Rouge.

Clausen's answer when asked about leading the comeback last season is straight out of a coach's playbook.

"It's just another game on the schedule now," Clausen said. "It's just another game that happened last year. Nothing important. A lot of the fans thrive on comebacks and things like that. It's just another football game to us right now."

That game, which was moved to Monday night in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, was undoubtedly the Vols' highlight of 2005.

It ranks right up there with Clausen's MVP performance in the Cotton Bowl against Texas A&M the season before.

Close, but the emotion can't compare to last year's victory over the Tigers.

Clausen nearly quit the team after being benched in favor of Ainge before last year's game against LSU, where he began his college career before transferring to UT.

Then, trailing 21-0 to begin the second half, Clausen replaced a struggling Ainge and rushed for a touchdown and threw a touchdown pass to Bret Smith to lead the Vols to an improbable victory.

"The effects of it after really didn't hit me until a few days afterwards, what took place," Clausen said. "People were talking about one of the greatest comebacks in Tennessee history, but I think a lot of credit went to me when it really didn't deserve to."

There was plenty of credit to go around, he says.

"The defense played lights out the entire game," Clausen said. "They got the offense the ball the entire second half. We just started clicking offensively and putting points on the board. I think I got a little too much credit for that win.

"But it was a great team win, and with a very tough year we had last year, that was one time, one half that we put together that was more exciting."

Tennessee never looked better on offense all of last season than it did during those last 30 minutes and one overtime at Tiger Stadium.

The Vols' turnaround to 7-1 in 2006 after last season's 5-6 campaign has been well documented, too.

And Clausen's been a part of that comeback.

"Rick has done a fantastic job as you knew he would," UT coach Phillip Fulmer said. "He's extremely bright and knowledgeable of our program. He's been a great link between our offense last year and the numbering system and everything. He's been really great that way."

Clausen spends most of his practice time working with quarterbacks and receivers. But he's also at the beck and call of the rest of UT's offensive staff.

Like his fellow coaches, Clausen attributes the Vols' resurgence to hard work and confidence.

"Guys are just coming out here, working hard everyday and getting better," he said. "Things just seem to be clicking. Compared to last year, we had a lot of talent offensively and defensively; we just for whatever reason just didn't get things done when we needed to. That's the biggest difference: In crunch time this year we're making plays."

While Clausen's play-making days are done, his coaching career is just beginning to take flight.

After this season, he'll look for a full-time opening on the college level or he'll return for one more year with the Vols.

Clausen's father, Jim, is a former coach. Rick's older brother, Casey, is back in California working with younger brother Jimmy, a top quarterback prospect who committed to Notre Dame earlier this year.

"Jimmy's enjoying himself," Rick said. "They're (his high school team is) having pretty good success."

And if Clausen sticks with coaching, that's what Fulmer sees all those long hours turning into.

"He's tireless. He's in there early and late," Fulmer said. "He does all the running off of stuff, getting coffee, the things that a GA has to do sometimes.

"But he's much, much more than that. He's a guy that one day you would think about hiring."