UT vs. Mississippi State likely on pay-per-view

The Vol Network is close to securing the rights to televise Tennessee's game at Mississippi State on Oct. 13 on a pay-per-view basis.

To do so, the broadcast company has to finalize an agreement with Mississippi State and attain a waiver from CBS, the SEC's network television partner.

Under the SEC's agreement with CBS, only one pay-per-view game may be aired opposite the CBS game at 3:30. The UT-Mississippi State game is scheduled to kickoff at 2:30 EDT.

Schools are allowed only one exemption, meaning UT's game with Louisiana-Lafayette on Nov. 3 will not be televised unless the 4 p.m. start time is rescheduled. That seems unlikely due to homecoming festivities.

The plan could be finalized today.

The last time a UT game against an SEC opponent was televised on pay-per-view was in 1995 when the Vols played at Arkansas.

Healing Up: Linebacker Ryan Karl said an offseason back injury hampered his play in UT's first four games more than he predicted.

Karl suffered a back injuiry in the weight room during summer workouts. He participated in only one preseason practice. Catching up to game speed has been his toughest challenge.

"It was a lot faster than I remembered it last year," the senior said.

Karl's back isn't the only thing that has slowed him. He suffered an ankle sprain against Southern Miss on Sept 8. Last week's open date certainly helped it heal.

"This is my week to step it up big time," Karl said. "I feel healthy. That's the first game of the year I've felt like that."

In the off-week, Karl has been focused on improving his tackling. His 17 takedowns ranks sixth on the team, but like many of his fellow defenders, Karl has missed more tackles than he'd care to remember.

"That's one of the things I've been trying to work on," Karl said.

Rogan Almost Ready: Former Fulton High School star Dennis Rogan is closer to making an impact on kick returns after totaling 104 yards on three kickoff returns in last week's JV game against Hargrave Military Academy.

"The JV game was outstanding for Dennis," UT coach Phillip Fulmer said about the freshman. "That put us much more in a mode of giving him an opportunity to return some kicks, the fact that he handled those well. I'm looking forward to seeing him do that when we gets out there for us. He's really close to being where we want him to be as a return guy."

Britton Boots: Punter Britton Colquitt drilled kickoffs in the early portion of Thursday's practice and is ready to handle the kick off duties, Fulmer said.

"There was about a 30-mile-an-hour wind before that storm came in," Fulmer said. "But he kicks the ball well, he kicks it higher."

Jones Ready: True freshman wide receiver Gerald Jones will dress for Saturday's game and appears to be fully recovered from a hamstring injury that has kept him unavailable since the Southern Miss game.

"He's our second Z (receiver), and we need the depth there," Fulmer said. "He was doing really well before he pulled the hamstring, and kind of picked back up where he left off."

Injury Report: Defensive end Andre Mathis (shoulder) is the only anticipated injury holdout.

Visiting: The Vols are expecting four official visitors this weekend: athlete Jeff Demps from South Lake High School in Groveland, Fla., and defensive tackle Marcus Forston, receiver Aldarius Johnson and linebacker Sean Spence from Miami Northwestern (Fla.) High School.

Barrett Jones is also scheduled to make the trip from Cordova. The offensive lineman from Evangelical Christian School is the News Sentinel's third-best prospect in Tennessee.

Drew Edwards contributed to this report.