Through six games, tight end Brandon Warren has five catches.

But the former freshman All-American from Florida State and Alcoa High School standout not only hasn't had many touches. He hasn't had many snaps lately, either.

Asked about Warren during Tuesday's media day, offensive coordinator Dave Clawson said a lack of depth at tight end and fullback early in the season played a role in limiting Warren's effectiveness.

"He's a lot more of a slot receiver than a true tight end," Clawson said. "Unfortunately in a lot of ways, I don't think we've been fair to him."

Clawson said UT's coaches were forced to play Warren as a true tight end and work him some at fullback because of a lack of depth behind tight end Luke Stocker and fullback Kevin Cooper early in the season.

That kept the 6-foot-2, 220-pound sophomore from getting the kind of work that suits his quickness and athleticism.

"We asked him to do too much," Clawson said. "Trying to develop those things and prepare us for guys getting hurt, we probably hurt his development here."

The return of tight end Jeff Cottam from back surgery and the progress of Ben Bartholomew and Austin Johnson at fullback in recent weeks has allowed them to focus more on tailoring a package to suit Warren's skills, Clawson said.

"He's got a very unique and dynamic skill set," Clawson said. "I think we could have just said, 'Hey, this is what we're doing with Brandon Warren' and develop him as that."

That's what coaches have been doing recently, Clawson said, but running only 95 combined plays on offense the last two weeks has kept them from fully utilizing Warren.

"The last two weeks, we've really tried to take his skill set and put him in a position to be successful. Last week, we did not play him nearly as much as we had hoped. The plan is this week to try and play him more. If we can convert third downs, that will materialize."

Tempo, Tempo: UT coach Phillip Fulmer said his team will have more full-contact "thud" work this week in practice to get more work at game speed and help his team carry practice work into games.

Fulmer said he would make a few periods more up-tempo with players wrapping up but not tackling to the ground and also work on inside runs.

"I don't want the headlines to be, 'We've changed our entire practice,'" Fulmer said. "That's not the case."

Slade Misses Practice: Defensive backs coach Larry Slade missed practice. His father passed away Monday.

"Our condolences go out to his family," Fulmer said.

Defensive coordinator John Chavis worked with the defensive backs during practice and in meetings, Fulmer said. Slade is expected to be back today.

Running Rotation: Running backs coach Stan Drayton said UT's rotation Saturday against Mississippi State would remain the same as it was last week in the loss to Georgia.

Last Saturday, Foster carried on UT's first drive, Hardesty on the second and Creer on the third.

"We're going with the approach that all three of them are going to play," Drayton said. "We have three starters, and what you saw against Georgia is going to be our game plan. We're to give all three of those guys the opportunity to get the hot foot."

Soft Coverage? Chavis bristled when a reporter brought up fans' complaints of "soft coverage" from UT's defensive backs against Georgia.

"I need to understand what 'too soft' means exactly," Chavis said. "I don't think we've played soft. There were times in the Georgia game that our corners did align a little deeper than we wanted them to. There were times in the run when we had a corner or two that bailed when they were supposed to be playing a different technique. But I wouldn't classify what we do in the secondary as soft."

'Good Stuff': Leaving the podium following his press conference, Fulmer answered a question that wasn't asked.

"Recruiting is going very well," he said. "All of our commitments are holding. That's good stuff."

Injury Update: Defensive tackle Walter Fisher (toe) did not practice, although Chavis said he is hopeful the senior will be available Saturday.

Defensive end Chris Walker (back) and linebacker Nevin McKenzie (ankle) dressed for practice.

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

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.