Tee Martin believes that you can go home again.

Tennessee’s junior quarterback has a homecoming of sorts this Saturday when

the Vols (3-0) travel to Auburn (1-2) for a date with the Tigers at

Jordan-Hare Stadium. The game will be a rematch between last year’s SEC

Championship game participants.

Martin, of Mobile, Ala., was recruited heavily by Terry Bowden and Co.,

but, at a dramatic press conference at his high school, he picked the Vols

over the Tigers.

Now, he will find himself up against friends like Leonardo Carson, Auburn’s

junior defensive end, who also hails from Mobile. Plus, Martin’s

counterpart, redshirt sophomore Ben Leard, was also recruited by both

Tennessee and Auburn.

“We had a style that Tee liked,” said UT head coach Phillip Fulmer of the

Vols’ recruitment of Martin. “We hit it off right away. He told us he was

coming and he never batted an eye, and that’s tough to do when you’re from

southern Alabama.”

What kind of reception does Martin expect to receive from the Auburn

faithful?

“I’m going to get booed,” he said. “They might cheer for me. I’m kind of

expecting both sides.”

Martin can give Tigers fans more reasons to voice their disapproval if he

can improve on his fine performance against Houston last week, in which he

set career highs for completions, yards and touchdowns.

With a strong running game, the Vols should be able to throw a balanced

attack at “Brother” Bill Oliver’s Tiger defense, if their last outing was

any indication.

“I feel good about how the offense played as a whole,” Martin said. “The

line protected well. I threw the ball, Jamal ran it and the receivers

caught it and made some yards after the catch. We looked better.”

On the other side of the ball, the Vols will likely be without their

emotional leader, middle linebacker Al Wilson, who has a minor dislocation

of his right shoulder. He is listed as doubtful for Saturday.

“We do hope that Al Wilson will be available,” Fulmer said. “If not,

someone has to step up and make plays.”

That somebody will be sophomore Chris Ramseur, who replaced Wilson early in

the Houston game and finished as the team’s leading tackler with

seven.

However, with depth at linebacker thin because of injuries to Shawn Johnson

and Travis Colston, it could be linebacker by committee. Fulmer said there

are several youngsters who may get a shot, including freshman Keyon

Whiteside. Junior Roger Alexander is also a possibility if Wilson cannot

go.

The Vols currently boast the nation’s No. 2 rushing defense, giving up a

total of just 26 yards on the ground in their last two games combined. Even

without Wilson, that does not bode well for an Auburn team that managed a

meager 21 yards on 28 carries against LSU, and just 18 two weeks earlier

against Virginia.

That puts the pressure on Leard (48-for-90, 626 yds., 3 TDs, 4 INTs) to

throw the ball and, as Auburn head coach Terry Bowden knows, it’s hard to

win without a running game.

“Ben is playing fairly well,” Bowden said. “I’d much rather have a potent

offense like Tennessee. We’ve had to throw him because of the running game.

Ben will get better every game, but right now we’re not versatile enough to

take the pressure off of him.”

Fulmer understands Bowden’s dilemma. Both teams, with tough early

schedules, have played things close to the vest in order to protect their

inexperienced quarterbacks.

“We said before the season that the team that took the best care of its

young quarterback, and there are quite a few of them (in the SEC), had a

good chance to succeed,” Fulmer said.

“Tee has done a fantastic job.”