Saturday's Orange & White Game marks the conclusion of spring football for the Tennessee Volunteers. Sports editor Cliff Chartrand and assistant sports editor Clay Culp will spend the rest of this week giving a position-by-position outlook for Saturday.

Chartrand previewed the offensive line and special teams on Wednesday, while Culp took a look at the defensive front seven Thursday. Culp continues the series with a look at the Tennessee secondary. 

Tennessee's secondary is expected to carry the way for the defense in the 2008 campaign. The current depth chart at cornerback and safety is full of talent and that breeds competition.

The Vols return a total of six players with starting experience in the defensive backfield. The Orange & White game could go a long way towards determining which players nail down spots in the two-deep.

Cornerback

The Vols entered 2007 with almost no experience at cornerback, but return four players with starting experience in Brent Vinson, DeAngelo Willingham, Marsalous Johnson and Antonio Gaines this year.

Vinson, who has missed spring practice with injury, switched from wide receiver to cornerback in the middle of last season and went on to record 37 tackles and an interception in his freshman season.

Fellow sophomore Dennis Rogan has stepped in at cornerback this spring in Vinson's absence. The Knoxville native made the most of his opprotunity with an 82-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second scrimmage of the spring.

Willingham, a junior college transfer, has made some impressive plays as well. He had a pair of interceptions in the second scrimmage and four tackles in last week's scrimmage, including one for loss.

We may have to wait until the fall to see how the two-deep shakes out as Johnson and Gaines, last year's season opening-game starters, will return after sitting the spring out with injuries.

Art Evans, a redshirt freshman from Florida, has made some noise as well, recording seven tackles and a pass break up in the last week's scrimmage. 

Safety

Safety is probably the Vols single strongest position going into 2008. Sophomore-sensation Eric Berry returns  after a stellar opening year at Tennessee to anchor the secondary. 

The Freshman All-American led the Vols with five interceptions and returned those picks for a school-record 222 yards. Berry's presence alone would have been enough to make this a dangerous unit, but the Vols also regained the services of Demetrice Morley.

Morley, a former five-star prospect, returns for his junior season after sitting out last year due to academic troubles. Morley was one of the Vols most athletic players before his departure.

The two combine to form one of the most dynamic safety tandems in the country. They have been all over the field in spring practice, amassing multiple pass break-ups, two blocked field goals, a sack and 18 tackles in scrimmage work.

Freshman Anthony Anderson has seen time in back-up duty and emerged as a possible contributor with four tackles in an interception in the team's last scrimmage. Former running back Daryl Vereen recently moved to safety and appears to be progressing nicely.

Secondary outlook: The Vols have some guys in the secondary who will be extremely dangerous if the ball finds its way into their hands.

Dennis Rogan, Eric Berry and Demetrice Morley all have a nose for the endzone, so if this group gets in the right places at the right times they could make the defense downright offensive. 

The question for the Vols will not be who plays, but rather when and where it happens. With six players returning who have starting experience, defensive co-ordinator John Chavis will have a tough task getting the best four players on the field.

No matter who starts, there will be some very good and experienced players watching from the sidelines. Saturday provides a great opportunity for the less-experienced players such as Rogan to make their mark before the returns of Vinson, Johnson and Gaines in the fall.