Former Vols coach Majors motivates team for 'Bama

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee's new coaching staff can't recite the history of the Volunteers' annual matchup with their biggest rival.

So the coaches turned to someone this week who could: former Tennessee tailback and coach Johnny Majors.

"For a guy who hasn't coached for a while, he still can grasp an 18-year-old's attention. We love having him around. He does an unbelievable job motivating the guys," coach Lane Kiffin said.

Majors spoke to the team during Wednesday's practice, telling stories of games past from the "Third Saturday in October" rivalry between Alabama (7-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) and Tennessee (3-3, 1-2).

He coached 16 of those games with a 4-12 record. Two of those losses came while the Crimson Tide was ranked No. 1, as it is now.

Majors chose instead to share memories of beating Alabama as a player 20-0 in his junior season in 1955 and again 24-0 in his senior season.

"His first year, losing to Alabama, they throw three interceptions. There's a coaching change, and then the next two years they beat Alabama," Kiffin said.

Kiffin would love to join then-coach Bowden Wyatt as another first-year coach to win his first game in the bitter rivalry.

"The game's obviously huge. I learned that in the offseason. As you go out and you're speaking and meeting people, it's so important to so many people around here," he said.

FOR KICKS: Tennessee has to improve its special teams game for a shot at beating Alabama, said wide receiver and former kickoff and punt returns specialist Gerald Jones.

The Vols rank in the lower half of both return categories in the SEC while averaging 8.4 yards per punt return and 21.8 per kickoff return.

"We've got to get better at that," Jones said. "There's no question. We can't continue to do what we've been doing all year this weekend to beat this team."

The junior said he expects cornerback Dennis Rogan to spend some extra time at punt returner on Saturday in place of freshman Nu'Keese Richardson, who's handled all but one punt return this season. Richardson has muffed some returns and sometimes nearly turned the ball over, while having a few solid returns.

Jones also thinks the Vols can take advantage of some weaknesses in the Crimson Tide's kick coverage.

"We're very fortunate to have two weeks to focus on them special teams-wise, and we're going to throw some different things at them and try to get one to the house," he said.

INJURY REPORT: Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin has rested a number of banged-up players in the two weeks since the Volunteers last played.

On Wednesday, he sat senior defensive tackle Dan Williams and junior defensive end Gerald Williams for a while but said he anticipated both would play Saturday against Alabama.

Sophomore cornerback Art Evans was also limited, and whether he will play will be a game-time decision, Kiffin said. Senior Marsalous Johnson would play in his place.

Also questionable is senior wide receiver Quintin Hancock, who suffered a mild ankle sprain in the Georgia game. Though Hancock has not practiced since, Kiffin said he's experienced enough to play in a game without practicing.

"If anybody could miss a full week and be able to (play), it would be him," he said.

ORANGE SLICES: Safety Eric Berry is among the 20 quarterfinalists for the annual Lott Trophy, which honors on-field performance and personal character of defensive players. Berry was a semifinalist last season and leads the 2009 Vols with five pass breakups, seven special teams tackles and 46 fumble return yards. He also ranks second on the team with 50 tackles and 4½ tackles for a loss. ... The Oct. 31 South Carolina-Tennessee game time has been set for 7:45 p.m. Eastern. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. ... Alabama holds a 48-36-7 advantage in the series dating to 1901, but the matchup is tied 4-4 in games played in Tuscaloosa, where the teams meet Saturday. The Crimson Tide has played a majority of its home games against the Vols in Birmingham.

SMOKEY SEZ: "I have a lot of respect for the job that was done (at Alabama), and that's what we're looking to do here in our own right. Like I'm telling our guys, a few years from now, I want this to be the SEC championship game, the first week in December — we can rename the game," said Tennessee linebackers coach and former Alabama assistant Lance Thompson.