Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge will return to the field as a starter against Vanderbilt, coach Phillip Fulmer announced Thursday.

Ainge sprained his right ankle at South Carolina on Oct. 28. He started the next week against LSU but tweaked his other ankle in the first quarter and was replaced by redshirt freshman Jonathan Crompton. Ainge missed last week's loss at Arkansas while Crompton started.

"Erik has done fine. He's right at 100 percent. We have to be a little bit careful with him," Fulmer said after practice.

"I don't anticipate a problem. If we have one, Jon will be ready. It's no different than a guard or tackle or safety or anything else. He's ready to go. I would have really liked to have had him the last couple of weeks, but he couldn't go."

The No. 22 Volunteers (7-3, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) travel to Vanderbilt (4-7, 1-6) on Saturday, looking to re-establish their productive offense after two straight losses.

Fulmer said he realized Ainge could start when he practiced on Monday.

"After not playing on it and not practicing on it a lot last week, I'm real happy about the results of what he's gotten done this week," Fulmer said.

Look for updates online and in tomorrow's News Sentinel.