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For the second consecutive day, Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton did not practice.

Offensive coordinator Dave Clawson said Crompton's absence was "precautionary," and both he and coach Phillip Fulmer said they expect Crompton on the practice when the team resumes practice Sunday night after its open date.

Resting a sore right ankle and a minor concussion suffered against UCLA, the junior spent practice watching his teammates workout in full pads to correct mistakes from Monday night's loss to UCLA and prepare for next Saturday's home opener against UAB.

"Jonathan is limited right now," Fulmer said. "He got beat up real good. He got hit way too many times last Monday night. We're kind of holding him, getting him ready and he'll be ready to go Sunday."

Crompton missed some practice in fall camp because of the ankle before tweaking it against the Bruins, however the injury did not affect his performance against UCLA, Clawson said.

"I just think we were very inconsistent as an offense," he said. "I didn't think we protected well. I don't think we were very accurate throwing the football. I don't think we really got separation and got open either. It just wasn't a very consistent effort."

Crompton's ankle wasn't an issue when he had occasion to run in the second half, Fulmer said.

"That was one of the things we were concerned about going into the game is to how much he would do that," Fulmer said. "But when he scrambled there, he did fine with it."

Crompton, who was 19 of 41 passing for 189 yards with an interception against the Bruins, remains Tennessee's best option at quarterback, Fulmer said. Fulmer also said the junior played well for the most part in his first game as the Vols' full-time starter.

"I thought for the most part he made some really good plays, and he had two or three plays that will get you beat," Fulmer said. "He's by far our most game-ready quarterback, and he's done a nice job. He's had one game and threw one interception. I think he'll be fine."

Should something happen to Crompton, however, Tennessee's backup quarterback situation is still unsettled. Neither redshirt freshman B.J. Coleman nor sophomore Nick Stephens has been declared the backup.

That's by design, Clawson said.

"Bottom line is, we have to keep them both alive because if Jonathan goes down, we only have two other quarterbacks," Clawson said. "Part of it is you want to continue the competition so they both get better. There's no benefit to declaring a winner right now because you're going to get them both reps. We're going to continue working both, and it's a week-by-week competition.

"I met with both of them last week and (talked about) under what circumstance each would go in. In doing so, you address the things they're doing well and the things they need to get better at."

In Crompton's absence the last two days, Stephens has gotten some work with the first-team offense. Coleman has yet to play in a game, while Stephens' most significant snaps came against Hargrave Military Academy in a junior varsity game last fall.

Still, Stephens says he's become comfortable in Clawson's offense.

"Obviously if something happens to Jon, me and Coleman both need to be ready," Stephens said. "I feel like at this time I've made strides enough to where I put myself in position to go in and help the team if need be. Whatever happens, I feel like controlling what I can control, I can contribute to the team."

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

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.