With speedy recovery, Coker ready to run

The redshirt freshman thought his season might have been done when he suffered an injured knee against Alabama on Oct 21.

"I think I was more scared than hurt," Coker said.

Torn knee ligaments were immediately considered, if not expected. Then, the medical report returned. The injury wasn't nearly as bad as first thought. Coker was scheduled to miss three to six weeks with a sprained knee.

The news continued to get better when UT coach Phillip Fulmer announced last week that Coker would be available against Arkansas.

Coker rushed for 51 yards on nine carries against the Razorbacks. His performance and health has thrust him back into a starting role. It's a role that Coker has more appreciation for.

"Sometimes when you're in the season and everything is going well for you, you don't care about it as much," he said. "But once I went down, I started missing football real fast. I was excited to get back out there against Arkansas and have another chance to play."

Long Season: For linebacker Jerod Mayo, this season has been a little longer than the sophomore thought.

Mayo has started every game at outside linebacker for the Vols, despite a nagging ankle injury.

"Oh man, the season's real long," he said. "I didn't know it was this long. I've been blessed to play in all these games."

Mayo, who redshirted his first season and missed several games last year due to injury, said he wasn't sure if the extra game made the Vols more tired or not.

"It's a lot of games," he said, "but hey, gotta do it."

Scramblers: Fulmer cited two reasons why his team has struggled against mobile quarterbacks. The first was a lack of overall speed at defensive tackle. The second was UT's preponderance of man coverage, which can open up downfield opportunities for quarterbacks willing to tuck and go.

"Terrible," Fulmer said when asked to describe his team's defense against athletic quarterbacks. "You take those lessons that you learn and you apply them. Hopefully, we don't have that again."

Fulmer said Vanderbilt quarterback Chris Nickson is like South Carolina's Syvelle Newton -- except with a better arm.

"He's the real deal, I think," Fulmer said of Nickson, "and just a sophomore."

On A Mission: Fulmer said junior J.T. Mapu has continued to improve throughout the season after returning to UT in August following a two-year Mormon mission.

"It's been incredible what he's done," Fulmer said.

Fulmer said Mapu is playing at 300 pounds this season. His optimum weight would be closer to 290. Mapu will have two years of eligibility remaining to play one season. He was forced into action this season when UT's other defensive tackles didn't prove capable.

"I wish he could have redshirted," Fulmer lamented.

No Harrell: Statistically speaking, the Vols sure have missed All-SEC candidate Justin Harrell this season. The defensive tackle suffered a torn biceps tendon against Air Force in the second game of the season but returned to play against Florida before season-ending surgery.

In Harrell's two complete games, UT gave up 87.5 yards rushing per game. In the seven games since, the Vols have given up 145.5 yards per game on the ground.

"We've had some weaknesses on the run this year," linebacker Ryan Karl said. "We weren't able to stop it as good as we hoped to. I think a lot of teams are trying to run it more since they feel like they can."

Woeful Wade: Senior cornerback Jonathan Wade struggled against Arkansas receiver Marcus Monk. Monk had eight receptions for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Wade took most of the blame this week.

"I was somewhat assigned to him," Wade said, "and I didn't hold up my end of the bargain ... At times I was out of position. He did a good job. I don't want to take anything away from him. He did his job. I didn't."

Captains: Fulmer announced Friday that game captains against Vanderbilt are offensive guard David Ligon, defensive tackle Turk McBride, linebacker Marvin Mitchell, offensive tackle Arron Sears and placekicker James Wilhoit.