Tennessee receivers coach Trooper Taylor said coach Phillip Fulmer didn't give the coaching staff much time to savor Saturday's win over Kentucky.

"(Fulmer) set the tone (Sunday) in our staff meeting," Taylor said. "It wasn't, 'congratulations, you guys did good.' It was, 'Here's LSU. We're jumping right on it.' He already had a plan set out, a schedule for the week. I mean, it was amazing to see.

"He is focused on winning a championship and that was good because it kept all of us focused on what's at hand."

Back-up backs: UT received some positive injury news in preparations for Saturday's SEC championship game against LSU at 3 p.m. Saturday in Atlanta. The left ankle injury to backup running back Montario Hardesty isn’t as bad as first feared. The sophomore suffered the injury during the Vols’ win at Kentucky.

“We got a better report so we’re not sure now whether he’s going to be out or not,” Fulmer said. “He feels a lot better today. Sunday, it was not very optimistic. Today is more optimistic.”

If Hardesty can’t go, freshman tailback Lennon Creer will be the backup to starter Arian Foster. As for a No. 3 running back, Fulmer said freshmen Daryl Vereen and Kevin Copper would be in the mix, along with senior Roy Olasimbo.

Little speedster: LSU running back Trindon Holliday has been battling an undisclosed injury but Tigers coach Les Miles said he expects the sophomore to play. Holliday (5-5, 160) is one of the nation’s fastest players and also serves as LSU’s return specialist.

When asked if he’s seen anyone as fast as Holliday, UT free safety Jonathan Hefney smiled and shook his head from side to side.

“No one that I know of, besides (Florida’s) Percy Harvin,” Hefney said. “(Holliday) can fly. That might be the fastest guy I’ve ever seen on the field.”

Praising Rogers: Offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe paid an unusual compliment to sophomore wide receiver Austin Rogers.

Cutcliffe said quarterback Erik Ainge's pass to Rogers on the game-winning, two-point conversion in Saturday's win over Kentucky might not have been the best decision. Another receiver on the play, Cutcliffe said, was more open than Rogers.

"But I gave Erik a plus (grade) on the play because of what he told me," Cutcliffe said. "He said, 'I went to Austin and I knew it was tight. But I knew he would catch it.' I said, 'All right, I can buy that.' I figure he's going to catch it, too.

"Sometimes it's about players, not plays. Austin has become one of those players."

Going for 1,000: Junior receiver Lucas Taylor - a Carencro High grad - enters Saturday's SEC championship game with 71 catches for 975 yards this year. He needs just 25 yards against LSU to become the fifth receiver in UT history to have 1,000 yards receiving in a season.

Trooper Taylor said he's impressed by Lucas Taylor's numbers but they already could be better.

"If he catches those other three (passes he dropped), he'd have (1,000 yards)," Taylor said. "I know that sounds mean, but that's the first thing that goes through my mind because my deal is raising the bar."

Close knit: The fraternity of college football coaches is a tight one. So whenever one loses a job or takes another one, coaches never hesitate to commend the effort of another.

Former Arkansas coach Houston Nutt accepted the Ole Miss job on Tuesday, just hours after resigning from the Razorbacks. It’s believed UT coach Phillip Fulmer and Nutt are friendly and they were spotted at midfield speaking and smiling prior to their game at Neyland Stadium three weeks ago.

Fulmer was asked on his thoughts about Nutt and spoke about the changes coaches face with each coming year.

“It’s really a different world that we live in now as coaches; everything that’s been created by all of the exposure,” Fulmer said. “It’s almost a Burger King attitude: I want it my way. I don’t mean it’s bad but it’s different; loyalty, commitment. I’m very grateful for the support that we’ve had and it’s a solid place to be.”

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