Here’s the daily Erik Ainge ankle update: Tune in today.

Not much changed for Tennessee’s junior quarterback during Friday’s walkthrough at the Neyland-Thompson Indoor practice facility.

Ainge was out there first and took the majority of walkthrough snaps.

But his injured right ankle was heavily bandaged and Ainge had a noticeable limp at times. fr

Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer continued to say Ainge will be a game-time decision when the Vols play host to LSU at 3:30 p.m. today.

"We are where we are," Fulmer said. "He has come a long way since Sunday.

"If he’s ready, he’ll play. The most important things are not putting himself in a position where he can’t protect himself and can he win this football game for Tennessee.

"Those will be the two deciding factors. Nothing else."

Ainge has been in a walking boot all week after suffering the ankle injury in the fourth quarter last week at South Carolina.

Since then, the ankle has been a non-stop topic of conversation for fans and a constant concern for coaches.

"It will be a game-time deal and we’ll see how it goes," Fulmer said. "I wish I could tell you guys. I wish I knew, but we’ll decide tomorrow."

Old School Pep Talk: It was a virtual reunion of sorts for Former UT receiver Donté Stallworth, defensive tackle Darwin Walker and quarterback Tee Martin attended the walkthrough.

It fell on Stallworth to give a post-practice talk to the Vols.

"It was really neat to have Donté Stallworth, Darwin Walker and Tee Martin — a lot of old heads — come back for the weekend," Fulmer said. "I asked Donté to speak to the team for a minute and he told them to be appreciative of the opportunities they have here at Tennessee and play in games like this one."

Empty The Bucket: Fulmer brought out one of his favorite terms to describe today’s game against the Tigers.

"We need to empty the bucket," he said. "We need to play our very, very best football for 60 minutes.

"This has been an exciting team, sometimes unnecessarily exciting. But if we play our best football, it will be a heck of a game."

Eyes On Meachem: Wide receiver coach Trooper Taylor said motivating Robert Meachem isn’t the problem; keeping him fresh is.

"He’s a well conditioned athlete," Taylor said of UT’s leading receiver. "But I don’t care how well conditioned you are, you’re going to get tired if you go 100-percent like he does.

"He’s going to go 100-percent every play, even on his blocks. He doesn’t know how to take a play off. I’m glad but I’m trying to pace him so he’s fresh in the fourth quarter."

Meachem doesn’t just go all out on offensive plays. He does the same on special teams where he’s a contributor on UT’s punt team, punt-block team and hands kickoff-return team.

"I love playing special teams," Meachem said. "I love whatever’s going to help our team win. As long as we’re winning, I don’t care what it is, I’m going to do my best doing it."

Taylor said Meachem’s efforts aren’t limited to games. They’re also present on the practice field. Taylor said he often has to limit Meachem’s participation so he’s fresh for first team snaps. Kicking drills also present a challenge.

"We’re practicing blocking punts and he’s sticking his hands out there over the punt and they’re punting it for real," Taylor said. "We just want him to give us a look at it so he can practice it. He won’t. He takes it off his (the punter’s) foot every time."

Playing special teams can be a scary proposition for such a key contributor, especially after starting tailback LaMarcus Coker suffered a knee injury while returning kicks. Meachem said he’s not worried.

"I can get hurt walking to the locker room," Meachem said. "You don’t think about things like that."

Taylor said he has no plans to take Meachem out of the kicking game.

"Of course, you consider it," Taylor said. "It sounds good but you also want your best out there."

Meachem’s best special teams play last week was acting as a lead blocker during Jonathan Hefney’s 65-yard punt return in the fourth quarter against South Carolina. Meachem, who said he’s never pulled himself out of a game because of fatigue, said it’s up to Taylor to keep him fresh. Still, don’t expect Meachem to readily comply.

"There’s been times he tells me to come out of practice and I won’t come out," Meachem said, "and he starts yelling at me."

Dave Hooker contributed to this story.