Injured Tennessee cornerback Inky Johnson returned to class this week after having surgery and spending several days in the hospital last week.

And he'll have a brand new notebook to take to class.

Both Johnson and Justin Harrell, who underwent season-ending surgery Monday to repair a ruptured biceps tendon, will get notebooks filled with thousands of get-well wishes from fans.

After it was announced the two players would miss the rest of the season after suffering injuries against Air Force (although Harrell played last Saturday against Florida), the UT athletic department received more than 2,000 letters from fans the first full day it posted a link on its website last week, athletic department spokeswoman Tiffany Carpenter said.

The link stayed up for about a week, but the number of responses floored many in the athletic department.

"We thought we'd get a few hundred," Carpenter said. "It's very impressive. It's heart-warming for all of us in the office."

Playing Time: UT coach Phillip Fulmer said junior defensive end Walter Fisher is expected to make his UT debut Saturday against Marshall. The former junior college star was sidelined after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery.

Fulmer said Fisher was available last week but UT's coaches decided not to play him because the score in the Florida game was so close.

Fulmer also said he'd like to play redshirt freshman quarterback Jonathan Crompton.

"I don't want to disrupt any rhythm that Erik (Ainge) has," Fulmer said, "but I'd really like to get Jonathan in the game."

Offense coordinator Cutcliffe offered up a hint as to why redshirt freshman tailback LaMarcus Coker hasn't been playing more in UT's last two games.

"LaMarcus is a little banged up," Cutcliffe said. "That's about as far as I'm going to go with it."

Thumbs Up: Fulmer praised sophomore Demonte Bolden, who had one tackle against Florida in a limited role. That could be key for the Vols with the loss of Harrell.

"Demonte Bolden has made good progress and deserves to play more," Fulmer said. "All of the sudden he feels a sense of urgency with Justin being down."

The latest Bolden review is far better than what he was receiving last month when his maturity was often questioned.

YAC Attack: Wide receiver coach Trooper Taylor said he was pleased with his receiver's effort but wasn't as pleased with their big-play ability.

"We've got to have bigger plays as far as YAC's, yards after the catch," Taylor said.

Taylor said Lucas Taylor is a receiver that could help UT in the YAC department. Taylor said the Vols had plays called for the sophomore but didn't execute well enough to get him the ball.

"We're going to get him the ball," coach Taylor said. "I can promise you that."

Taylor said Quintin Hancock's special teams tackle in the second quarter was encouraging. Hancock threw Florida kick returner Brandon James to the turf after just an 8-yard gain from the goal line.

"After he made the play on special teams, it gave me a little more reassurance that he's ready to play," Taylor said. "He's still a freshman so it makes you a little nervous but I'm going to put him out there and see if he can help us."

Injury Report: Tailback Arian Foster did not practice. The sophomore said he is about "70 percent-ish". Foster said he couldn't even jog on an underwater treadmill early last week.

"I can't really tell how I am until I get on the field," Foster said. "But I'm getting better everyday."

Foster tried to play last week but soon discovered it would be a fruitless effort.

"As soon as I made a couple of cuts, I knew I couldn't go," he said.

Foster said he doesn't expect to practice much this week. Sophomore offensive lineman Ramon Foster practiced on Tuesday, as did senior guard David Ligon. Both were held out or limited on Monday.

Receiver Austin Rogers was extremely limited during practice with his sore shoulder. Senior safety Jonathan Hefney, Hancock, and senior receiver Jayson Swain caught punts in his absence.

Game Times: CBS is strongly considering the UT-Alabama game on Oct. 21 and the UT-LSU game on Nov. 4 for a 3:30 p.m. timeslots, according to a representative from the local CBS affiliate, WVLT. Both games are still under consideration and times are subject to change.