KNOXVILLE -- Tennessee bolted into game-week preparations Monday with a full-pads workout for nearly two hours at Haslam Field. The Vols play host to UAB on Saturday afternoon at Neyland Stadium in the 2005 opener for both squads.
"Everybody's through with camp now and seriously into game mode,'' head coach Phillip Fulmer said. "We had good work on offense and defense, good work on the kicking game. If you want to play well, you need to practice well and I thought we got off to a good start.''
UAB returns two-thirds of its starters (16) off a 7-5 squad that played in the school's first postseason bowl game. The Blazers, in fact, are one of seven bowl opponents on the Vols' 2005 schedule.
"We're very front-end loaded with our schedule and it's important that we're as ready to play early as possible,'' Fulmer said. "First games are always tough because of the unknown.''
The Vols welcomed a special guest to Monday's practice in U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr., who concluded a busy day in Knoxville by watching Tennessee's last half-hour of practice.
"I thought he had a great message for the team,'' Fulmer said of the Memphis congressman. "And he sounded a little bit like a fan.''
Ford agreed, adding he took note of the way quarterbacks Erik Ainge and Rick Clausen handled Saturday's announcement that Ainge would start the first game.
"I was impressed with what we saw in West Tennessee of how coach and how the quarterbacks handled the quarterback choice. Everybody showed the class that's associated with this program and with this coach,'' Ford said.
"They've got a great group of kids; they've got a great coach. As the coach said, I'm a fan as much as anything.''
INJURY UPDATE (UAB Week): Questionable -- DB Jonathan Wade (hip), TB Ja'Kouri Williams (knee); Doubtful -- DE Jared Hostetter (knee); Out -- C Richie Gandy (knee), C David Ligon (ankle), LB Rico McCoy (foot), DB Jarod Parrish (knee); Out for Season -- QB Jonathan Crompton (shoulder), OL Cameron Mayo (knee).
SIRIUS ANNOUNCES CHANNELS FOR FIRST TWO GAMES
Sirius Satellite Radio has announced the satellite channels for Tennessee's first two football games of the 2005 season.
Saturday's game against UAB will be on channel 126 and Tennessee's Sept. 17 game at Florida will be on channel 138. Sirius again will carry the complete Vol Radio Network broadcasts of all Tennessee football games this year featuring Bob Kesling, Tim Priest and Jeff Francis.
Sirius College Sports Radio provides alumni and fans across the country the opportunity to listen to the radio play-by-play of college sports, including football, basketball and other sports from the top teams and conferences in the country. Sirius has agreements with SEC, PAC 10, Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East conference schools.
(E-mail Stan Crawley at wscrawley@earthlink.net)