Coaches praise Johnson's attitude

His right arm and shoulder were packed in a sling, and he faces surgery Dec. 21 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., but the personable Tennessee junior cornerback was still smiling.

"I see everything as a blessing because God does everything for a reason," Johnson said. "It might be a blessing in disguise. You never know how long it will take or what He's doing it for, but you'll realize it one day."

Johnson's injury came Sept. 9 in a hard collision near the sideline with an Air Force player late in the fourth quarter.

He blacked out for a few seconds and was numb before being carted off the field on a stretcher.

An initial surgery was performed the next morning at UT Medical Center "to successfully correct Johnson's vascular injury," Vols' athletic trainer Jason McVeigh said.

Johnson was flown to the Mayo Clinic for more tests on the arm Oct. 10-12 and the decision for further surgery was scheduled for December.

McVeigh wouldn't comment on Johnson's mobility in the arm or the chances of regaining 100 percent use following the surgery.

He said this type of injury is more often seen in motorcycle wrecks or with infants in childbirth.

UT defensive coordinator John Chavis had his chance to express his thoughts on Johnson the football player and Johnson the person.

"I've coached this game for 28 years and I've not been around a better individual," Chavis said. "I don't know that you know what's inside of him, but he has shown me everyday. The inside is 10 times as good as the outside."

Johnson admitted he doesn't know if he'll ever play football again.

"My goal is just get better physically," he said. "If it leads me to the football field again, that will be great. If it doesn't, and leads me to graduation and leading a good normal life, I'll be happy with that."

Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer continued to marvel at the way Johnson has handled the injury and the rehabilitation process.

"Inky Johnson and his family are what college football and the term student athlete are all about," he said. "He's the ultimate team guy and someone we have tremendous, tremendous respect for.

"We want the very best in everything in life for him. Our first and foremost goal right now is to get him healthy to the fullest possible extent."

On Thursday, Fulmer announced that Johnson would be an honorary captain for today's game against Alabama.

Fulmer Thanks Seniors: After UT's walkthrough at the Neyland-Thompson indoor facility, Fulmer had his seniors stand up front and center.

"As I told the football team, they have fought themselves into a position to have a chance the last half of the season to do something really special," he said. "I asked the seniors to step up front and I thanked them for the commitment they've made, the energy they've given and the leadership they've shown."

Fulmer was also brandishing a special Marine Corps knife presented to him by another guest speaker, former Vol and former Marine Greg Johnson.

"It's the biggest gift a Marine can give to a civilian," Fulmer said. "I really appreciate it."

Rivalry Game: While Alabama tailback Ken Darby says he doesn't know what the big deal is with the Tennessee-Alabama rivalry, UT cornerback Jonathan Wade has a different take.

"It's probably the game you come to Tennessee to play," he said. "It's the one you hear about while you're being recruited. It's a big-time game.

"A lot of people remember what you did in an Alabama game. You could have done a lot of things during your career, but what did you do during the Alabama game?"

Watch Darby, Pressure Wilson: The Vols have a two-fold problem with Alabama's offense. First, Darby is getting on track after a strangely slow start.

The Tide's No. 2 all-time leading rusher has had back-to-back 100-yard games, including 162 in last week's 26-23 overtime victory against Ole Miss.

Then there's quarterback John Parker Wilson. He has six 200-yard passing games in his first six starts.

"For a first-year starter, he's probably playing as well as any quarterback I've seen," Chavis said. "He's a tough guy. He gets hit and it doesn't faze him. Not much rattles him and he does a great job of running their offense."

The combination adds up to an average time of possession of 33 minutes, 37 seconds, which ranks No. 3 in the nation.

"We just want to put pressure on the quarterback," UT safety Jonathan Hefney said. "Hopefully we hold up the receivers up long enough they won't have time to throw the football and make plays on us."

YAC Attack: Tennessee receivers didn't seem to have much luck in the Yards-After-Catch category last season. It has been a whole different story in 2006.

"That's what you want as a quarterback," UT's Erik Ainge said. "My job as a quarterback is to get the ball to them as fast as possible and put them in situations where they can have room to make those yards after the catch.

"We're doing a great job of protecting and getting it to them real fast and they're able to do what they do."

Coker Has Big Numbers: Freshman running back LaMarcus Coker, who will start today, is making up for lost time.

Coker didn't have a single carry against Air Force or Florida, but he has the eighth-best rushing numbers nationally among Division I freshmen.

In the last three games, Coker has 46 carries for 328 yards, a 7.1 per carry average.

Against Marshall, he averaged 18.3 a carry (146 yards on eight attempts) to break a 44-year-old UT record.

George Canale held the mark at 17.5 when he carried 10 times for 175 yards in a 1962 victory against Chattanooga.

VASF Day: Donors to the Volunteer Athletics and Scholarship Fun will have their VASF Day from 1-3 p.m. today at Thompson-Boling Arena.

The VASF had a record-breaking year in 2005-06, raising more than $31 million.