[Tuck4Bama]

Chris Nickson took the majority of the first-team snaps during Thursday's practice, and the junior is likely to start for Vanderbilt in Saturday's Southeastern Conference game against visiting Ole Miss.

"We'll see how he warms up; that's going to be important," Commodores Coach Bobby Johnson said of Nickson, who suffered an upper thigh injury in last weekend's loss to Alabama.

"It's more his (gluteus muscle) than his hamstring," Johnson said. "You pull a ham when you're running fast. He sort of got hit."

Johnson said Nickson, when not in class, team meetings or practice, has spent the majority of his time in the training room this week.

"If any of them ever think that getting injured is the way to get out of stuff, they're wrong,"

Johnson said. "When you're injured, ... you're getting treatment, treatment, treatment, treatment. He's been around-the-clock doing that."

Nickson is likely to start, practices with first team - Nashville, Tennessee - Friday, 09/14/07 -