Defensive back Roshaun Fellows is scheduling surgery today for a torn pectoral muscle and will miss the entire season.

Running back LaMarcus Coker, whose off-season workout regimen in high school consisted of running track, is all about the weight room now. He’s apparently much stronger, tougher, and more mature now than in the past, and still just as fast. GoVolsXtra.com’s Dave Hooker observes that in prior seasons, Coker was as elusive in the weight room as he was on the field. Nice hook, Hook.

Scout.com sort of turns the tables on the Erik Ainge question, offering the flip side to all of the criticism aimed at Ainge after he threw two interceptions during last Saturday’s all-live scrimmage. They pointed out that he actually made quite a few good decisions as well, often dumping the ball off for short gains to running backs or tight ends rather then forcing a pass downfield. Decent point.

Rivals.com has a nice feature entitled McNeil dialed in on little things. Little things. I think I’ve heard that somewhere before.

All for now.

The Upside. In an offense full of question marks, Tennessee coaches have to feel the least uncomfortable with the running back position. After Gerald Riggs went down with a season-ending injury against Alabama last year, most of the carries went to freshman Arian Foster. Foster, who caught former offensive coordinator Randy Sanders’ eye while playing in a high school game despite the fact that Reggie Bush was playing for the opposing team, finished the season as the starter and averaged 148.4 yards per game. He had 223 yards against Vanderbilt, and despite only starting five games, he finished the season with 879 yards.

You might be thinking, well, okay, but the last five games in which Foster started were against South Carolina, Notre Dame, Memphis, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky. Not exactly powerhouse defenses. One need only go back and look at the Alabama game, however, to be convinced that he can do it against teams with a quality defense as well. Foster split time with Gerald Riggs almost the entire game against the Tide and carried the ball 14 times for 56 yards for an average of 3.8 yards.

Competing for the No. 2 running back spot are Montario Hardesty and LaMarcus Coker. Hardesty, a 6-0, 205-pound back from New Bern, North Carolina, appeared to be ahead of Foster early last fall. Coker, a highly-touted recruit is a shifty one with great speed. Also in the mix are Ja’Kouri Williams, David Yancey, and Ricardo Kemp.

Senior Cory Anderson (6-3, 255) is a lock for the starting fullback position and should see some more action as new offensive coordinator adds some wrinkles to the Volunteer offense.

Anderson had an impressive sophomore season, but struggled a bit last year. Anderson’s backup is 6-1, 250-pound David Holbert.

The Downside. The Volunteers almost lost as many running backs to injury last year as they lost games. Hardesty tore an ACL in the fourth game against Ole Miss and was still rehabbing in the spring. He had a less serious injury to his other knee during spring practice. One of his knees then buckled during one this fall’s scrimmages, and although he initially though it was fine, the latest word is that they’re evaluating some unanticipated swelling.

After Riggs’ season-ending injury in October, Williams underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in mid-November. In December, both Foster and Coker went under the knife. Foster had both knee and shoulder surgery in the off season, and Coker had surgery to repair torn ligaments in his shoulder.

Foster, Hardesty, Coker, and Williams all missed all or most of spring practice. Foster did not go home to San Diego this summer, instead electing to stay on campus and focus on rehabbing his two surgeries and getting himself into condition. He is apparently a leaner, quicker, stronger version of the back we saw last year.

Fumbles were a grave concern last year, as the Vols lost two games by a total of four points due to three fumbles inside the ten-yard line. It is still unclear whether this tendency has been fixed, as the first all-live scrimmage this fall featured two fumbles, one by Foster and one by Yancey.

Best-case scenario: Run, Forest Foster, run! Arian Foster averages 150 yards per game on his way to a 2,000+ yard season and fumbles only twice, both times on the right side of the field. He begins to get some Heisman attention mid-season. Coker and/or Hardesty contribute another few hundred yards each. Opposing linebackers wet their pants when they see Anderson coming at them full-speed. The team runs the ball with such efficiency that all pressure on Erik Ainge is relieved, and Ainge regains his confidence.

Worst-case scenario: All three primary backs tear a total of six ACLs in the first game against California, and the team turns to Ainge to bail them out.

Best guess: One of the running backs does not make it back into the mix, probably Hardesty. Foster shoulders the load and averages 120+ yards per game, with Coker adding another 30+ yards per game. When one is nursing injuries, the other is available. Should be the strength of the team this year, provided the offensive line comes around.

The Volunteers apparently followed up their less-than-impressive all-live scrimmage on Saturday with a decent practice yesterday. A couple of quick notes:

• Jacques McClendon “got better.”
• Fulmer says “it’s good to see LaMarcus Coker doing what he’s doing.”
• Safety Antonio Wardlow is pushing for more playing time.
• Ellix Wilson got a bit banged up, but should be fine.
• Running back Arian Foster, who fumbled during Saturday’s scrimmage, carried a football with him to church on Sunday.

I told you that would be quick.

VolQuest.com follows up its article on the freshmen most likely to see the field this season with another guessing which redshirts should have the most impact this year. Expecting great things from big-hitting linebacker Rico McCoy, offensive tackle Chris Scott, aggressive center Josh McNeil, defensive tackle and winner of the Most Improved Player Award on defense last spring Dan Williams, and highly-touted running back Lamarcus Coker.

Via Inside Tennessee, College Football News has ranked Justin Harrell (No. 8) and Turk McBride (No. 13) as two of their top 25 defensive tackles.

Ouch. You know how a dog dries itself by impersonating a self-contained miniature earthquake? Well, this video shows how you can do it for him.

Be sure to check out Fox Sports Net’s Around the South tonight as they are featuring the Vols at 7:00 p.m. EST.

UPDATE: More from GoVolsXtra, Offensive tackle Ell Ash is transferring, Jim Bob Cooter’s DUI hearing has been postponed until August 17, 2006, and Erik Ainge is back to voluntary summer workouts after being sidelined for a week due to the aggravation of a pre-existing back injury that occurred after a minor car accident.

First, the Tennessee Volunteers lost six games.

Now they’ve lost a total of five running backs:

Freshman LaMarcus Coker underwent shoulder surgery on Thursday and became the fifth Vols running back to hit the operating table since early October.

* * * *

Coker joined Gerald Riggs Jr., Montario Hardesty, Ja’Kouri Williams and Arian Foster on the list of UT backs needing surgery in the past two months.

* * * *

Hardesty, a freshman from New Bern, N.C., was the first casualty when he suffered a season-ending knee injury against Ole Miss on Oct. 1.

Listed as second-team tailback prior to the injury, Hardesty won’t be available for spring practice.

Riggs came next as his senior season ended with an ankle injury suffered Oct. 22 at Alabama. He finished with 556 yards rushing and three touchdowns in six games.

Williams, a redshirt freshman who saw most of his playing time on special teams, underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in mid-November.

Then came Foster and Coker this week. Team orthopedic surgeons Dr. Greg Mathien and Dr. Russell Betcher performed both surgeries.

College Football News’ breaks down Saturday’s game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the South Carolina Gamecocks. Just Sort of like old times, Phil Fulmer and Steve Spurrier are tied in the SEC East, with each of their teams 2-3.

Asked and answered are:

• Why South Carolina Might Win (the Vol offense unlikely to encounter the suspicious powdery substance);
• Why Tennessee Might Win (the Vol defense);
• Who to Watch (running back replacements for injured Gerald Riggs, Arian Foster, and perhaps LaMarcus Coker, who was going to be red-shirted)
• What Will Happen (“This isn’t going to be pretty. South Carolina’s offense will sputter ‘n’ cough, but the Tennessee attack won’t do enough to make it a blowout until late.”)

CFN likes Tennessee, 27-13.