Plagued Rogers has mono, may redshirt

Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer said Wednesday the sophomore wide receiver from Nashville’s David Lipscomb High School is a redshirt candidate after trading a bad shoulder for mononucleosis.

"Austin has mono and he’ll be out for about three weeks if all goes well, maybe as many as four," Fulmer said after a warm mid-week practice session on Haslam Field. "He has had a tough fall. We’ll see where he is when he gets back."

Rogers suffered the shoulder injury in the third game of the season against Florida.

He had five catches for 69 yards after three games and had nailed down the starting punt-return duties.

Jonathan Hefney has since moved back into that role in Rogers’ absence.

Rogers returned to practice Monday, but missed Tuesday and Wednesday.

As far as a redshirt goes, Tennessee coaches are looking into the possibility and making sure Rogers didn’t already see too much action.

"We’re checking on all that," Fulmer said, "but we’re worried about the ones that are out here right now."

Foster Ready For Anniversary: Last season, during UT’s third Saturday in October showdown with Alabama, Arian Foster stepped out of the shadows and into the spotlight.

It was that game, a 6-3 loss in Tuscaloosa, when starting tailback Gerald Riggs went down with a season-ending ankle injury.

Foster finished the game with what was then a career-high 53 yards on 14 carries.

Asked what he remembered about the game, Foster didn’t have any trouble recalling the Crimson Tide defense.

"The physical toughness," he said. "They probably had the best defense I’ve seen on the collegiate level, with DeMeco Ryans and Fred Roach. They were just fast and physical and I learned to get upfield."

That was just the beginning for Foster. He went on to rush for 148 yards against South Carolina, 125 yards against Notre Dame, 132 yards against Memphis, 223 yards against Vanderbilt and 114 yards against Kentucky.

Foster admitted it was the Alabama game that let him know he was capable of big things in the SEC.

"I had confidence going into that game," he said, "but it was an additional confidence knowing I could play physical with the top defensive team in the nation."

Slowed by an ankle injury this season, Foster returned for the Georgia game and had three short touchdown runs to put the game out of reach.

Foster On Kickoff Returns: Not only is Foster feeling close to 100 percent, he’s also getting ready to join LaMarcus Coker on the kickoff-return team.

"It takes me back to high school days," he said. "It’s going to be fun to get out there and dance a little bit.

"I’m not surprised. I was given an opportunity and I’m going to run with it."

Foster saw some kickoff-return action last season. Coker had a big return game against Georgia, including a 40-yarder.

As a result, Tennessee has moved up to 111th in the nation in kickoff returns this season, averaging 16.2.

Speaking Of Special Teams: Fulmer continues to wait for an overall improvement in returns and coverage units.

"I see it in practice," he said. "I see it in the energy of the coaches. I see it in the focus of the players. I need to see it on the field on Saturday."

Georgia managed to return a kickoff for a touchdown against the Vols, temporarily stealing some momentum.

"We had eight kicks against Georgia and seven of them were outstanding," Fulmer said. "One got away from us, not from a lack of effort or a lack of ability, but from a lack of execution.

"Actually, we were over-aggressive and those things are correctable. I’d rather have that than a lack of ability and not getting the effort."

Finishing Strong: After the first three games this season, UT fans were starting to wonder why the Vols were getting pounded in the fourth quarter.

Opponents had outscored Tennessee 35-10 in the fourth quarter.

It’s no longer an issue. Since then, the Vols have outscored the Marshall, Memphis and Georgia 58-13 in the final 15 minutes.

"We need to start out so we don’t have to come out and just kill or dominate in the second half," defensive back Jonathan Wade said. "Alabama’s going to come in here and it doesn’t matter what has happened before, if both teams are undefeated or both teams haven’t won a game yet, you’ll get a great game when you see Alabama-Tennessee.

"Every year it’s going to be that same intensity and that same level of play."