UAB's Brown says Tennessee has one of best teams he's seen

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Watson Brown has faced enough Tennessee teams in his football career as a player, offensive coordinator and now coach at UAB to know when the No. 3 Volunteers are at their best.<br> <br> Brown believes this is one of those years. His Blazers will find out Saturday in the season opener for both teams in Knoxville.<br> <br> Brown, a native of Cookeville, about 100 miles west of here, has known Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer since they played against each other in high school. Fulmer is from Winchester, Tenn. The only other time UAB has faced Tennessee was in 1998 when the Vols went undefeated and won the national title.<br> <br> ``This team is the best team I&#39;ve seen him have in a while, and that&#39;s not to put pressure on Phillip,&#39;&#39; Brown said. ``I think this team is more talented than the year we played them on their way to the national championship. They are experienced. They are very good and very physical on both sides of the line. The speed behind those lines is fantastic. I just don&#39;t see weaknesses.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Tennessee is a favorite to win the Southeastern Conference championship.<br> <br> Fulmer has been openly optimistic about the team this preseason and has mentioned the Rose Bowl a few times, but he&#39;s not too sure about Brown&#39;s opinion.<br> <br> ``It sounds like a coach building up his challenge a little bit, but I hope he&#39;s right,&#39;&#39; Fulmer said. ``We&#39;ll know a lot more as we go through the year. He hasn&#39;t seen some of the guys we&#39;re going to play in this game.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Some freshmen and redshirt freshmen will play Saturday, and the Vols will start off with sophomore Erik Ainge at quarterback with senior Rick Clausen coming off the bench in some sort of rotation Fulmer has not yet revealed.<br> <br> Brown got his first taste of the Vols as a quarterback at Vanderbilt from 1969-72, which included four straight losses to Tennessee but an upset over Alabama in 1969.<br> <br> Vanderbilt beat Tennessee in 1982 when Brown was the Commodores&#39; offensive coordinator, and Vanderbilt hasn&#39;t won in the series since. Brown was Vanderbilt&#39;s head coach from 1986-90.<br> <br> Fulmer, who also considers himself a good friend of Brown&#39;s brother Texas coach Mack Brown, remembers being on recruiting visits with Watson Brown when they were both prospects.<br> <br> ``Phillip was on some real good teams, and we had some real good teams, and I ended up playing against him all through college, but we remained good friends and I&#39;m very proud of him for what he has done,&#39;&#39; Brown said.<br> <br> Fulmer and Brown have been inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame.<br> <br> Nostalgia aside, UAB&#39;s goal is to leave Neyland Stadium with a victory.<br> <br> The Vols have next week off before back-to-back away games at Florida and LSU, and they know their first opponent is no slouch.<br> <br> UAB, led by big quarterback Darrell Hackney, is coming off the program&#39;s first bowl trip ever, and the Blazers have stunned some favorites since moving up to Division I in 1996. UAB beat Mississippi State 27-13 last season and went to LSU in 2000 and won 13-10. They lost 16-13 at Georgia in 2003.<br> <br> ``We learned a long time ago that you&#39;re judged in the Southeast off of Southeastern Conference and maybe ACC schools,&#39;&#39; Brown said. ``The win over Mississippi State last year, the win at LSU, the near win at Georgia all that has really helped us.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> On the Net:<br> <br> UAB: www.uabsports.com<br> <br> Tennessee: www.utsports.com<br> <br> (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)