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KNOXVILLE -- Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin did his best to put the controversy Nu'Keese Richardson to bed after Tuesday's practice.

Richardson has played sparingly in the last month and did not take part in Sunday's practice.

"There is no situation. Nu'Keese was dealing with some issues on Sunday, personal issues. Nu'Keese was in yesterday (Monday) and everything is fine," Kiffin said.

"He's a little bit frustrated, like a lot of freshmen around the country are. Especially when you're potentially a really great player and you have had great success in high school. Then you come in and things are different than in high school. Nu'Keese will continue to develop, we'll continue to work with him and he'll eventually be a great player."

Richardson was among the most highly-regarded signees in Kiffin's first recruiting class in Knoxville and also one of the most high-profile after de-committing from Florida in order to sign with the Vols.

His debut season hasn't seen him have the kind of impact he likely envisioned for himself. Through seven games Richardson has five catches for 48 yards, and he's caught only one pass (for 8 yards against Georgia) in the last four games.

Any disciplinary action Richardson might face will apparently be internal. Kiffin said the freshman would be available to play on Saturday against Memphis.