Rodney Dangerfield and Austin Rogers don't have a lot in common.

But mention the Arkansas defense - and its tendency to play in-your-face man coverage against opposing wide receivers - and Rogers starts adjusting his collar.

"They're showing us no respect," says Rogers, a Tennessee wide receiver who has 35 catches for 428 yards and a touchdown. "They're saying, I can guard you one-on-one. If you can't get by us, we've got more guys for the run game."

The Razorbacks were effective using tight man-to-man coverage against the Vols last year.

That, combined with plenty of pressure on UT quarterback Jonathan Crompton, made life difficult for the Vols' passing game.

Tennessee had 174 passing yards against Arkansas last year on 16 of 34 passing.

With that in mind, UT has spent plenty of time on the practice field working against press coverage for Saturday's game at Neyland Stadium.

"We've put some routes in that are good for man-to-man coverage," Rogers said. "We know they're going to try and challenge us.

"They got away with some man-to-man coverage last year. We didn't capitalize on some opportunities where we did beat them. We have to go out there and do it this week."

Tennessee offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe knows that won't be easily, especially against a Reggie Herring-coached defense.

"He's been a top-notch defensive coordinator for a long time," Cutcliffe said. "They play a ton of man coverage, a ton of press coverage. They bring pressure a lot. They're not a big believer in zone blitz. They're a believer in pressure man defense."

But with the risk comes the potential for reward.

"The big plays come when they're pressing up and they get us man across the board," Rogers said. "You break one tackle or you get away from your man and no one else is around."

O'Neal Improving: Junior college transfer Kenny O'Neal is showing improvement, Cutcliffe said.

The wide receiver has played sparingly. He caught his second pass of the season last week against Louisiana-Lafayette, a 49-yard touchdown from Crompton in the fourth quarter.

Part of the delay in O'Neal's development, Cutcliffe said, is the sheer number of playbooks thrown O'Neal's way.

"He was at Florida State, had to learn their system, then he goes out to (junior college) and has to learn their system and play defense in junior college," Cutcliffe said. "Kenny's had a lot thrown at him in a short period of time."

Rogers, Lincoln Honored: Rogers and freshman kicker Daniel Lincoln have been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV team, UT announced.

Rogers, UT's second-leading receiver, has a 3.35 GPA in finance. Lincoln, a Lou Groza Award semifinalist, has a 3.53 GPA in business.

Both players are eligible to be named Academic All-Americans.

McKenzie at Practice: Former Austin-East High School and UT standout Reggie McKenzie attended Thursday's practice.

McKenzie is the Green Bay Packers' director of pro personnel.

Climbing the Charts: With 89 yards against Arkansas, Arian Foster will move into 10th place on UT's career rushing list.

Foster has 2,001 career yards and is 12th all-time, behind Aaron Hayden (2,061 yards) and Charlie Garner (2,089 yard).

Foster's 21 touchdowns, however, are only one shy of Hayden and Garner's combined total.

Johnson Undergoes Surgery: Doctors successfully repaired a partially torn meniscus in defensive back Marsalous Johnson’s right knee Thursday.

“It was a repair,” head athletic trainer Jason McVeigh said in a statement released by UT. “Hopefully, he will make a full recovery to be ready for the start of spring practice.”

Surgery was performed Dr. Greg Mathien and Dr. Matt Rappe of the Knoxville Orthopedic Clinic.

Roasting for a Cause: The Tennessee AIAS chapter will hold a pig roast to benefit Architecture for Humanity before Saturday's game.

Cost of the barbecue meal is $10 a plate, which includes a sandwich, chips, cookie and drink.

The barbecue will be held at the grounds behind the UT School of Architecture building on Volunteer Boulevard.

All proceeds go to reconstruction efforts in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

Drew Edwards covers University of Tennessee football. He may be reached at 865-342-6274.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.