Roper wants fullback who blocks

Roper will keep one eye on the tailback position, where three Vols could be competing for playing time, depending on sophomore Arian Foster’s ailing ankle. The other eye will be fixed on a set of fullbacks who have been far less impressive than their ball-carrying counterparts.

"Very, very inconsistent, not what you need at times in the run game or the passing game," Roper said when asked to describe UT’s fullbacks.

The position seems to be up for grabs lately. Junior David Holbert has played in spells for senior Cory Anderson, the expected starter. Is that an indictment of the Austin-East product?

"I wouldn’t say that as much as I believe Holbert is a physical guy at the point of attack," Roper said. "There’s certain situations that we want to get him in there and give him a chance."

Those situations are when UT needs a block, Roper said. Either Anderson and/or Holbert had best step up soon for their sakes. With UT’s multiple offense, playing time is at stake, especially with UT’s abundance of experienced wide receivers and tight ends.

"I don’t think we have found our best niche yet," offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe said. "We’re still looking."

Fisher Moved to Tackle: Sophomore Walter Fisher has moved from defensive end to tackle. Fisher, a Nashville native, enrolled at UT in January after transferring from Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College.

Fisher, who suffered a shoulder injury in spring practice, played for the first time this season Saturday against Marshall.

The Other Eye: Roper said his input on which tailback to play will depend on several factors. Certain players perform better in certain plays. Players need rest in order to be fresh for the fourth quarter. And then there’s the "hot hand" UT hopes to deal with.

"That’s a good problem to have," Roper said.

Foster returned to practice on Tuesday after being very limited on Monday. UT announced that redshirt freshman LaMarcus Coker would start over sophomore Montario Hardesty this week.

Given the depth at the position, UT could rest Foster this week so his ankle is closer to 100 percent for next week’s Georgia game.

"I don’t think your mindset changes as far as getting him back," Roper said. "The decision you have to make is ‘Does it set him back by trying to do too much too early?’ "

Gamesmanship: UT receivers’ coach Trooper Taylor didn’t seem convinced that Memphis coach Tommy West was being 100 percent truthful when he said UT receivers Robert Meachem and Jayson Swain may be the best duo of receivers he’s seen in his career.

"I think that’s very flattering for Tommy to say," Taylor said. "Whether he really believes that? I don’t know."

Sophomore Austin Rogers returned to practice this week. He had worked his way into UT’s receiver rotation before suffering a shoulder injury against Florida.

"I look for Austin to be back and be ready to go but I don’t know how much we’ll play him," Taylor said. "I want him to be 100 percent before I put him back out there. He definitely could go and I feel like he could play if need be."

Rogers also is expected to return punts upon his return.

"Returning punts are as important as our team as him catching the football," Taylor said, "especially with the depth that we have at wideouts."

Ease Up: Cutcliffe didn’t seem too pleased with the public criticism that his offensive linemen have received recently.

"The line has taken a beating and I don’t know that’s rightfully so," Cutcliffe said. "They played much better in this last ball game than the numbers indicated, even before the 89-yard run."

Cutcliffe partly blamed himself for not putting UT’s players in better position to run the ball.

"From a mental standpoint we were pretty good," offensive line coach Greg Adkins said of his group’s play against Marshall. "We didn’t finish blocks as well as we needed to."

The troops will be bolstered by versatile backup Ramon Foster, who can play four of five offensive line positions. The sophomore was only available last week in an emergency situation.

"He looked pretty good moving around yesterday (Monday)," Adkins said. "Hopefully, he’ll be close to 100 percent by the end of the week. Hopefully, we can count on him to play this week."

Adkins said he also was pleased with redshirt freshman Chris Scott.

"Chris is a guy that from a mental standpoint has gotten to where he needs to be," Adkins said. "He’s a guy that I feel comfortable putting in a ball game right now."

Injury Report: Senior defensive tackle Turk McBride was not in full pads on Tuesday.

Drew Edwards contributed to this report.