Before every Tennessee football game, sophomore running back Cedric Houston writes an inspirational quote on two tiny sheets of paper and stuffs them into his smelly cleats.

In the past, the words of Jesus, Vince Lombardi, Walter Payton, Cal Ripken Jr. and Martin Luther King Jr. have spent afternoons rubbing against the heels of Houston's sweaty feet.

But perhaps this week, leading up to No. 4 Tennessee's ultra important SEC showdown with 10th-ranked Florida, the words of Steve Spurrier would be perfect. Or better yet, a telling statistic.

After all, in 11 of the last 12 games between these bitter rivals, the team that has rushed for more yards has won the game. And last year, after a 34-32 Tennessee win, a game in which Tennessee out gained Florida 242-36 on the ground, Spurrier summed up the loss by saying, "One team ran the ball, one team didn't. Period."

	Jabari Davis -- one member of the Vols' deep, young ground attack -- has two TDs this year.

"Those might work," Houston said. "But we'll see."

Whatever quote he chooses come Friday night, it better be a good one. With the departure of Travis Stephens, who last year set the Tennessee single-season rushing record, the weight of the Vols ground attack rests largely on Houston's 20-year-old shoulders, as well as that of two other inexperienced tailbacks.

Together, Houston, fellow sophomore Jabari Davis and redshirt freshman Keldrick Williams make up Tennessee's multi-headed tailback monster. Each of them was praised as the second coming after high school, but none of them have big-game experience.

Florida, on the other hand, has senior stud Earnest Graham.

"We might not have the experience," Davis said. "But we have the talent."

Houston was the team's top returning rusher after carrying the ball 18 times for 106 yards in 2001. He's already surpassed that in two games this year, staking claim to the starting tailback spot by rushing for 180 yards and three touchdowns in Tennessee's first two games. He's Tennessee's leading scorer and in 23 carries, he has yet to be tackled for a loss.

Still, he knows the days of 25-plus carries and the tag "feature back" aren't coming anytime soon.

"We know the deal. We know we're going to share the carries all year long," Houston said. "So you just have to go out there and make the most of what you get. We all wish we had more, but we also can accept our role."

Tennessee running backs coach Woody McCorvey says the overflow of young talent is a good problem to have. He and the rest of the UT offensive coaches met with current Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach and former Vol graduate assistant Jon Gruden this summer to discuss how to maximize the abilities of such a young, diverse group.

When Gruden was with the Raiders, he was notorious for getting the most of numerous backs, most recently last year with Charlie Garner, Tyrone Wheatley, Zack Crockett, Randy Jordan and Terry Kirby.

"He does an excellent job with his personnel," McCorvey said. "Moving guys around, putting a running back in the slot, a tight end out wide. That was one of the things we wanted to do. We wanted to use each of the guys we had and put them in a position to best use their talents."

Thus far, Houston, who has been clocked under 4.4 in the 40-yard dash, has thrived as a slashing, cutback runner. Davis, nicknamed the J-Train, is more of a physical pounder at 6-feet, 232 pounds. Williams is a combination of both.

Then there's junior Troy Flemming, a tailback/fullback hybrid who is the best blocker of the group. Sophomore Derrick Tinsley, who McCorvey said has the best hands of the backs, is often a receiver.

This list doesn't even include true freshman Gerald Riggs Jr., the son of the former NFL All Pro. Though there was talk of redshirting Riggs, he carried the ball five times for ten yards in the season opener against Wyoming eliminating that option.

"There are worse problems a coach could have," McCorvey said. "Like no talent. When you have all these guys that you can constantly run at a defense, it's a huge advantage. You put that third guy in there in the fourth quarter when the defense is tired and good things are going to happen."

The players have bought into it as well. Though they all admit they'd like more carries, they also say they understand their role.

And the competition is friendly. In practice, Davis said it isn't unusual for one player to help another when he does something wrong. Off the field, the group is its own little clique. They live together, eat together, play together and party together.

"We're like brothers," Davis said. "Ever since we all got up here last summer, it's rare that you'll find one of us doing something without another."

So far this year, Houston leads the group with 23 carries, followed by Davis (17), Williams (10) and Riggs (5). Tinsley has caught four passes for 58 yards.

But the challenge of facing Wyoming and Middle Tennessee State is a far cry lining up against the Gators. Yet while most teams cringe at the thought of playing Florida, the Tennessee running backs can't wait.

Last year, they watched from the sidelines as Stephens busted loose for 226 yards and two touchdowns against the Gators. This year, while watching film on the Florida run defense, Houston and Davis get even more anxious.

They look at the Miami game and see a porous Gator defense surrender 306 yards. And then they look at last week's game against lowly Ohio University, which failed to score the week before against I-AA Northeastern, and see the Bobcats rush for a 124 first-half yards.

They see the holes. They see the mismatches. Now they want their crack at them.

"I'm pretty excited to get this one underway," Davis said. "I can't wait. We've looked at the film and I think we can do the same thing Miami did. We just need to run downhill. If we run downhill and execute our assignments, we're going to break some big runs."

As for this week's inspirational quote, Houston isn't sure what he'll use. He's been putting quotes in his shoes since the 7th grade and usually doesn't pick the quote until Friday.

No matter what it says, one thing is certain -- if things go Houston's way and he gets his carries, breaks a few runs and the Vols win, the quote should be barely legible come postgame. And that would be a good thing.

"Sometimes you can read it afterwards and sometimes you can't," Houston said. "So I guess the goal would be to make it smear."

Wayne Drehs is a staff writer at ESPN.com. He can be reached at wayne.drehs@espn3.com.