The last time Tennessee had quarterback questions like this going into a game against Florida, Todd Helton was behind center.

Yes, that Todd Helton, the same man who flirted with .400 this year for the Colorado Rockies. The year was 1994, Heath Shuler had left school early for the NFL, and his expected replacement, Jerry Colquitt injured his knee in the season opener.

The Helton-led Volunteers fell to the Gators 31-0, before a gangly freshman named Peyton Manning came in to mop up and stayed under center for four years.

For Tennessee, this year's quarterback story is eerily similar, except for one small detail -- no one knows if there's another Manning on the sidelines. Or even another Tee Martin.

While Martin is off taking snaps in the NFL and opening game starter Joey Mathews is on the sidelines after suffering a knee injury in practice, A.J. Suggs gets the start with highly-touted freshman Casey Clausen, who is nursing a a sore shoulder, the backup.

Not to add anymore pressure, but Saturday's game against SEC East rival Florida will mark career start No. 1 for Suggs, a redshirt freshman.

"Anytime you have a new guy starting at quarterback and you haven't had a chance to see him in games, especially big games, there are going to be questions as to how he'll respond," Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said. "We're going to help him with the play calling, staying within what he can do and yet give him a few shots up the field."

While Suggs calls his start "a dream come true," Fulmer is probably wishing he could have Martin back. Or Manning. Or Shuler. Any of the talented quarterbacks that have carried the Volunteers in recent years.

The situation is similar for Florida, who will start the unproven Jesse Palmer. The Gators have used signal callers such as Doug Johnson and Danny Wuerffel to carry Florida in the past. This year's game could be decided by which quarterback screws up the least.

Suggs played a little more than a half in Tennessee's 19-16 win over Southern Miss two week ago, completing 4-of-9 attempts for 75 yards and one touchdown. Though he looked far from spectacular, he didn't throw any interceptions.

Fulmer hopes that by simplifying the offense and urging Suggs to be conservative, Suggs can continue that success against the speedy defense of the Gators. The concept seems to be sinking in to the youngster.

"Being a young QB, I have to try not to make so many big plays," Suggs said. "That's what I am trying to learn, that we have too many gifted and talented athletes for me to try and force things. If I can just get the ball into these guys' hands, good things are going to happen."

Suggs is referring to heralded wideouts Cedrick Wilson, Eric Parker and Donte' Stallworth, along with tailback Travis Henry. Stallworth was on the receiving end of Suggs' lone touchdown pass against the Golden Eagles.

It's Henry, though, who is the real key. His ability to run the football against eight- and nine-man defensive fronts stacked to stop him will relieve some of the pressure on Suggs. Henry, who had more 100-yard games last year (three) than starts (two), said in the preseason his goal is to gain 2,000 yards. He picked up 135 yards on 19 carries against Southern Miss.

"He helps me out a ton," Suggs said. "After the Southern Miss game he was talking about how he can create holes and see holes that aren't there. His ability really opens up the passing game for us."

With Tennessee coming off a bye week, the Vols offense has had plenty of extra time to jell with Suggs and it appears the confidence within the team is growing. After the Southern Miss game, there were questions about the position. One local paper rated the quarterbacks a D-plus in a postgame report card.

"We're going to come out there and throw some short routes to get his confidence up," Henry said. "Once it is up and he's in that rhythm, there is no doubt in my mind he is going to take over the game.

"Since I've been here, I've been in the battle wars with Tee Martin, so I just try to motivate A.J. and let him know he doesn't have to be the hero and make the big plays. Just let the game come to him."

	A.J. Suggs profile
	A look at Tennessee QB A.J. Suggs: Suggs was 4 of 9 for 75 yards and one TD in his college debut against Southern Miss on Sept. 2. Redshirt freshman who threw for 2,056 yards and 21 TDs his senior year at McEachern High in Georgia. Suggs watches endless reels of game film, continuing a Tennessee tradition started by Peyton Manning and followed by Suggs' former roommate Tee Martin.

Martin, Suggs' roommate last year, paid a visit to his old friend last week in hopes of building confidence and easing nerves. Martin knows all about playing the Gators. In 1998, he led Tennessee to its first win over the Gators in five years, a win that propelled the Vols to a national championship. He also knows how good the Gators defense can be as he was sacked by Alex Brown five times despite having a veteran offensive line.

Brown is back this year and will face four new starters on the UT line. With a banged-up Clausen, protecting Suggs is critical.

"I've watched a lot of last year's game on film and Alex just beat us up and down the field," said Suggs, who has earned a reputation as a film rat. "He had a phenomenal game, something you don't see a lot. And he's not the only one on that defense we have to prepare for."

At the end of spring football, not even Suggs would have predicted he would be the starter this Saturday. Mathews was the early favorite, with the heralded Clausen not far behind.

But overcoming adversity is nothing new for the kid who calls himself a "survivor." At age 5, he was accidentally run over by the hitch of his grandfather's trailer. He nearly died. As a freshman at McEachern High in Georgia, he dealt with the pressure of taking the starting job away from a senior captain who had won 12 games the year before.

After committing to Tennessee in 1998, he was unfazed when prized quarterback recruit Chris Simms announced he would become a Volunteer. In the end, it was Simms, not Suggs, who ended up going elsewhere. Last year, Suggs suffered from Crohn's disease, losing as many as 20 pounds in a miserable, pain-filled fall.

"With everything I've gone through, overcoming all these obstacles has really helped me grow as a person," Suggs said. "I've been competing for so long now, with so many people, I feel that if I go out and work hard it doesn't matter who they bring in."

Still, it's difficult to ignore the hype of playing the marquee position in a marquee game. Quarterbacks have a heralded tradition in this series. Take Johnson last year, who completed 21-of-44 passes for 343 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 23-21 Florida win. Or Wuerffel in 1995, who threw an SEC record six touchdown passes in a 62-37 win.

Even in 1998, when Tennessee beat the Gators, Martin threw for just 64 yards, but his ability to scramble and create positive yardage out of potential losses was crucial to the UT win. Now it's up to Suggs to avoid being grouped with Helton.

"Growing up in the SEC, for me, this is a dream come true," Suggs said. "But all I can do is go out there relaxed, play the best game I can play and see what happens."

Wayne Drehs is a staff writer for ESPN.com.