Tennessee offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe said the "bus waits for no one'' this fall, referring to the frantic pace he plans to bring to offensive drills starting in August.

Tuesday, however, three buses waited to take 100 UT football players to the Habitat for Humanity site in the October Woods subdivision in East Knoxville.

"I thought this would be a great job for our whole squad,'' said Cutcliffe, who organized the 2A 1/2 hours of community service the majority of the football team performed. "We had a few players with academic conflicts, but I think a number of players plan on coming back.''

Cutcliffe said UT coach Phillip Fulmer and the defensive assistants were in Arkansas paying their respects to former strength and conditioning coach John Stucky, who passed away last week.

Stucky, legendary for his ability to push players in the weight room, would have been proud of the way the UT players put their brawn to use Tuesday.

Quarterbacks Erik Ainge and Jonathan Crompton both climbed atop roofs to nail in shingles, despite Cutcliffe's objections.

Ainge had torn cartilage removed from his right knee on March 19.

"Erik is doing well in his rehab, but I don't want to see him on roofs,'' Cutcliffe said, minutes before Ainge scaled a ladder with a hammer. "It's good he feels good enough to work.''

Crompton, who along with Cutcliffe, Michael Frogg, Wes Brown and Eric Young was out in the same subdivision working for five hours on Saturday, said he couldn't think of a better way to spend an afternoon off than giving back to the community.

"It's fun getting out and helping others,'' Crompton said. "People don't have to come out every Saturday and see us play, but they do, so it's our duty to give back.''

Senior tailback Arian Foster brought just as much spirit to the outing, though he confessed a fear of the power saws humming around him.

"I had a shop class once -- my friend cut half his pinky off,'' Foster said. "I was at point-blank range when it happened. I had blood on my shirt. I'm afraid of the saws.''

Foster, however, is not afraid of hard work. Not only has he been involved in similar community work before, but he's also put a great deal of extra time and work into his conditioning in the weight room.

"That's a product of me finding myself, mentally, spiritually and physically,'' said Foster, who has chiseled himself an NFL tailback prototype frame of 6-foot-1, 215 pounds. "I've had a lot of self-introspection. I can't change some of the things that have happened, but you learn to deal with it and make the most of it.''

Offensive guard Ramon Foster is another up-and-coming star who has found himself and is anxious to get to work.

"I needed to take a big step with my work ethic,'' said Foster, who along with other offensive linemen was hauling doors around the work yard under the supervision of offensive line coach Greg Adkins. "It was a matter of knowing how to put my skills and strength to work.''

Senior middle linebacker Jerod Mayo headed a crew of busy linebackers at the work site, and this fall he plans to be the ringleader from the center of the action.

"Moving to middle linebacker is a challenge I'm willing to take,'' said Mayo, whose weakside linebacker spot likely will be filled by sophomore Rico McCoy. "We've had a lot of great leaders at linebacker in the past, like Kevin Simon and Omar Gaither, and I've had the chance to observe them and see how they carry themselves.

"There's a lot of motivation for us; I was here doing that 5-6 season, and (Outback Bowl loss to) Penn State was a tough game. I understand the expectations the fans put on us; we as players all shoot high, too.''

Inky Johnson, who suffered a severe injury against Air Force last season, also was at the Habitat for Humanity site, his right arm in a sling but a smile on his face as he interacted with his former teammates.

Cutcliffe, at times critical of the offense this spring, completed the feel-good afternoon with an optimistic spin on spring drills.

"I don't gauge scrimmages much; you look for individual things,'' Cutcliffe said, asked about the Orange and White Game. "You think plays, not players in the spring. As I looked at the game on tape, it was much better than it looked on the field.''

Cutcliffe acknowledged the Vols have a great deal of incoming talent at receiver, but pointed out the current receiving corps was "the most consistent group from an effort standpoint.''

As for the newcomers, Cutcliffe said he didn't know who would make the transition, but that he'd find out about them early by looking at their work ethic.