Heading into tomorrow's game at Ole Miss, Vanderbilt Coach Bobby Johnson still has plenty of things to be concerned about. The kicking game is not one of them.

Freshman place-kicker/punter Greg Johnson is living up to expectations, and walk-on Abtin Iranmanesh is making progress as the kickoff man.

Coach Johnson spent a lot of time working with the kickers in the preseason. He liked Greg Johnson's strong left leg but was concerned about his technique.

''He just told me what the timings would be and got me accustomed to the speed of the game since it was so much faster,'' said Greg Johnson, who is from Lilburn, Ga. ''He told me my technique would change because of that. You only have about three-quarters of the amount of time you had in high school.''

Johnson's technique was fine in high school. He was a three-year starter for two- time state champion Parkview, where he averaged 42.2 yards punting and connected on 15-of-24 field goals, including a 51-yarder.

Vanderbilt's kicking game was inept last season, producing only four field goals and missing three extra points. The Commodores tied for 111th out of 115 Division I-A teams in field goals.

Johnson clanged his first attempt off the upright at Georgia Tech but has connected on all three tries since. He's responsible for all of Vanderbilt's points against Division I-A opponents.

His longest field goal is a 37-yarder against Georgia Tech, but he said he's confident as far away as 50 yards. As for punting, Johnson is third in the SEC (43.5 yards per punt).

Starting again: Senior tight end Tom Simone returned to the starting lineup last week and is set to start again against Ole Miss. Simone has had three catches in the last two games, and now that the running game has improved, he expects more balls thrown his way.

''You're not going to get balls as a tight end unless we're running the ball well,'' Simone said. ''A lot of the plays are play-action and predicated on what the running game does.''

Simone was bumped from the first team because he didn't block as well as Nick Getter. His blocking, however, has improved.

Wedding bells: Former Vanderbilt running back Jared McGrath (1997-2000) is getting married tomorrow, and his best man is former Commodores QB Greg Zolman.

McGrath and his bride will live in Orlando, Fla. Zolman, who was released by the Indianapolis Colts, is back in town.

SEC leader: Middle linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer leads the SEC with 29 solo tackles. The former Montgomery Bell Academy star has 40 total tackles and is tied for third with Florida linebacker Bam Hardmon.