Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer glanced across the practice field earlier this spring, unhappy with what he saw. Just one scholarship running back and one scholarship receiver were available for spring practice on this date. To date, 10 of 22 projected starters have missed a spring practice due to injury.

Meanwhile, in the middle of Kansas, Jayhawks coach Terry Allen watched as injuries claimed two cornerbacks, a center and a flanker in one scrimmage.

And at another spring practice, this one at Iowa State, two defensive ends broke their legs in one scrimmage.

	Phillip Fullmer says some coaches are too hard on players during the spring.

It's nothing new. Since the days of Bear Bryant, spring football has become the season for head coaches to build character, to stress fundamentals. With that comes plenty of hitting, tackling and blocking drills, none of which can be used in the fall when a team must be fresh for its weekly opponent.

"When you don't have a game to play, sometimes the coaches can go overboard," Fulmer said. "In the fall, you are very, very protective because you have to be ready for Saturday."

The players know when to raise their intensity level as well. Spring practice offers a chance to be noticed, a chance to move up on the team's depth chart.

"Coaches want you to show your toughness, to show your willingness to work," said Tulane quarterback J.P. Losman, who practices in the spring without the bright red practice jersey that keeps defenders from tackling him in the fall. "I get knocked around like anybody else. But you're out there to battle it out, to prove you belong."

Vols quarterback Casey Clausen agrees.

"We'll do things in the spring that you would never do in the fall," Clausen said. "Live scrimmages, tackling drills, things like that. It's definitely more physical than the fall."

Clausen isn't kidding. Last year, the number of injuries in spring football more than doubled the rates of fall practice. In other words, the numbers equate to one injury every two practices.

But it's getting better. The numbers for serious injuries (concussions, fractures, ACLs, etc.) -- an area the NCAA has focused on since 1997 -- are down 10 percent over the last four years.

"We're beginning to go in the right direction," said Randy Dick, senior assistant director of health and safety for the NCAA. "It's definitely a work in progress, as many things are, but I'm happy with where we are headed."

	“	Coaches want you to show your toughness, to show your willingness to work. I get knocked around like anybody else. But you're out there to battle it out, to prove you belong. ”
		— Tulane QB J.P. Losman on the intensity of spring football drills

Part of the change is due to a reduction in the number of spring practices that include contact. In 1990, full contact was allowed in 10 of 15 practices. Today, contact is allowed in 12 practices, and only eight of those sessions may involve live tackling. Of those eight live tackling sessions, only three can include 11-on-11 scrimmages, when the majority of injuries occur.

Oregon State coach Dennis Erickson, who coached at Miami for six seasons under the old setup, was skeptical about the new rules when he arrived in Corvallis in 1999. But he's quickly becoming a believer.

"I wasn't sure what to think when I came back here, I really wasn't," Erickson said. "But I like the format. You can get things done on the days you need to. And because of the limited times in pads and in contact, the injury factor isn't there."

Tennessee's Fulmer, who like Erickson supports the new plan, still wishes the number of practice days could be increased, be it with or without contact.

"I'd like to see more days added within the same framework," Fulmer said. "If you have a young team, those spring workouts can be so beneficial for you. But with that, I think the setup now has served its purpose and is a good compromise between the coaches and the NCAA."

Just as important as the reduction in contact days is the added emphasis the American Football Coaches Association has put on spring safety. The AFCA has stressed the issue with its coaches, urging them to explain their spring drills to a trainer or another sports medicine expert in hopes of discovering methods to make the drills safer.

The technique is one that Grant Teaff, president of the AFCA, used during his 18 seasons as head coach at Baylor.

"I didn't have that many great players that I could afford to get hurt," Teaff said. "So letting the trainer sit in on drill discussion was something I tried. And they see things in a different light. They can suggest things like, 'Well, if you continue doing this, a player is going to get fatigued and could get seriously injured.' It helps."

But getting to this point was difficult. When initial statistics were released in 1997, many suggested spring football should be abolished. So Teaff went to bat for the coaches in defense of the game's offseason practices.

"I don't mind saying that I had a pretty good battle trying to sell the NCAA that we needed spring practice and could make thoughtful changes that would help reduce the risk of injury," Teaff said. "Once I got them to understand, we hammered out a plan that worked for everybody. And then I went to sell it to the coaches."

Thus far, the coaches have bought it. And Dick, who heads the NCAA's research on such injuries, has taken notice.

"I think with a lot of coaches it really has hit home," he said. "Not that they weren't concerned about injuries before, but the AFCA really made this a point of emphasis. And they've listened."

Wayne Drehs is a staff writer at ESPN.com. He can be reached at wayne.drehs@espn.com.