As far as debuts go, Daniel Lincoln's first season as Tennessee's place kicker was first rate.

Lincoln made his first eight field-goal attempts, and went on to make 21 of his 29 kicks and earn freshman All-America honors after taking over for All-SEC kicker James Wilhoit.

"I definitely set the bar high last year," Lincoln says. "I had a lot to prove coming into the year, setting the standard for what I wanted to do here. I set a really high benchmark last year, and the only way to get past that - the only way I know how to - is to work really hard."

Despite finishing third in the SEC with 21 made field goals, there's still work to be done.

Lately, Lincoln has been working with returning deep snapper Morgan Cox to get used to a new holder. Last year's holder Casey Woods, who deserves some of the credit for Lincoln's strong debut, has become a graduate assistant coach, leaving junior Bram Cannon as the early favorite to take over at holder.

Lincoln also wants to start 2008 better than he finished 2007, when he went 0-for-3 against LSU and Wisconsin to close the season and missed four of his final five kicks. He also failed to convert four of his last five kicks from beyond 40 yards.

While Lincoln tailed off at the end of the season, UT's kick coverage and return teams finally found their stride.

After Florida's Brandon James and Cal's DeSean Jackson exposed UT's punt coverage with long touchdown returns in September, Alabama's Javier Arenas provided the only big play (a 62-yard return) against UT's punt coverage team the rest of the way.

The Vols got better on kickoff coverage, too.

UT's first four opponents in 2007 - Cal, Southern Miss, Florida and Arkansas State - combined for seven returns of 30 yards or longer. UT's final 10 opponents combined for just two: a 48-yarder by Arkansas' Felix Jones and a 55-yarder by Vanderbilt's D.J. Moore.

Add to the mix new running backs coach Stan Drayton, who spent three seasons as an assistant special teams coach with the NFL's Green Bay Packers, and UT figures to have more success in the kick coverage and returns this fall.

"He brings a lot of experience and knowledge," Lincoln said. "Maybe some of the guys need that. I think that's going to play a huge part."

Defensive back Dennis Rogan certainly played a big role in UT's return game last season as a true freshman.

The former Fulton High star averaged 29.5 yards on 13 kickoff returns, which would have ranked second only to Jones in the SEC and sixth in the nation if Rogan had reached the minimum 1.3 returns per game to be counted among statistical leaders.

After taking over punt-return duties from safety Jonathan Hefney in November, Rogan averaged 9.7 yards per return, which ranked fifth in the SEC behind James, Arenas, Georgia's Mikey Henderson and Mississippi State's Derek Pegues.

Still, one aspect of Tennessee's special teams remains a mystery.

With All-SEC punter Britton Colquitt serving a five-game suspension to begin the season, sophomore Chad Cunningham will step into the spotlight.

Cunningham averaged 40.7 yards on three punts against Southern Miss while Colquitt nursed a quadriceps injury, Cunningham's only action last fall and his only career start.

This fall, he'll have plenty of chances to prove himself starting with UT's season-opener at UCLA on Sept. 1 and later in crucial SEC games against Florida and Auburn.

Cunningham, who also will handle kickoffs, has a strong leg, but he struggled at times with consistency and getting punts off quickly enough to avoid a block.

"That's one of the biggest things just because if you can't get the kick off, it's going to get blocked and that's not going to be good," Cunningham said during spring practice. "The biggest thing for me is getting it off and being consistent with it."

Drew Edwards covers University of Tennessee football. He may be reached at 865-342-6274.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.