KNOXVILLE — Tennessee’s punchless offense could get a much-needed boost Saturday at Vanderbilt with the return of senior tailback Arian Foster.

Foster finally returned to action Thursday during the Vols’ 90-minute workout on Haslam Field after missing the Wyoming game and the last five practices with a thigh bruise.

“It looks like Arian is well enough to anticipate playing (Saturday against Vanderbilt),” said head coach Phillip Fulmer. “It was good to get him back out there just to see his presence. He’s still a little bit sore. The swelling has gone out. It went from his thigh to his knee and most of that’s out.

“Another day, and I think he’ll be ready to go. He’s been a tough guy in his time at Tennessee and this has been one of the slower things to get him to return from.”

Foster has rushed for 458 yards this season and is 39 yards from moving past James Stewart into second place on Tennessee’s career rushing list. He needs 227 yards in the final two games against Vanderbilt and Kentucky to eclipse Travis Henry’s school standard of 3,078 career rushing yards.

Fulmer said Montario Hardesty would start at tailback with Foster first off the bench.

With Foster back in tow, Fulmer said Thursday’s practice was outstanding.

“We were probably as sharp as we have been offensively this season,” said Fulmer. “Dang, I hope it carries over into the ball game and we play that way.”

QB talk: Offensive coordinator Dave Clawson lauded the work of starting quarterback Jonathan Crompton and backup B.J. Coleman in practice this week.

Crompton, as usual, shined in practice. The trick now is to translate that into a solid game-day performance, Clawson said.

“Jonathan has always done the things in practice I’d like to see. He practices great,” said Clawson.

As for Coleman, Clawson was non-committal about when the redshirt freshman would see action.

“He’s done a good job,” he said. “We’ll see what happens. We’d love to get a chance to get him into the game.”

Running on empty: Tennessee’s anemic rushing game, ranked 11th (104.3 yards per game) in the SEC, has mustered only two runs longer than 20 yards in the last eight games. Gerald Jones and Lennon Creer each had 23-yard runs against Auburn and Wyoming, respectively.

On the flip side, the Vols have given up just one run longer than 20 yards all season — a 23-yard scamper by UAB’s Joe Webb.

774 and counting: A win against Vanderbilt Saturday would move Tennessee into elite company, making the Vols just the ninth team to reach 775 wins.

Michigan leads the nation with 871 all-time wins. Other schools with at least 800 victories are Notre Dame, Texas, Nebraska and Ohio State.