updated 2:28 p.m. ET Dec. 2, 2008

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Lane Kiffin has already discovered one thing that comes with the job of being Tennessee's coach: needling from Steve Spurrier.

The South Carolina coach, who had a history of taking verbal jabs at Kiffin's predecessor, Phillip Fulmer, questioned whether Kiffin broke NCAA recruiting rules by contacting Tennessee recruits before he was cleared to do so.

The NCAA requires coaches to take a recruiting certification test before they're allowed to contact recruits.

Jarvis Giles, a running back recruit from Gaither High School in Tampa, Fla., told several media outlets that Kiffin contacted him early Sunday morning - a day before he was scheduled to be introduced as the Vols' new coach.

Spurrier noted that he didn't retake the recruiting test until after he was introduced as the Gamecocks' new coach and joked that Kiffin might have called Giles as "an interested observer.''

Kiffin, who announced Monday he had hired South Carolina's former quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator David Reaves, his brother-in-law, to help with recruiting, must have heard what Spurrier had to say.

"As far as recruiting, we've hit the ground running. I took the test a few days before I got hired here so that we could do that,'' he said Monday at his introductory news conference.

Also on NBCSports.com Ventre: Artest puts everything in jeopardy for Lakers Hill: Herculean Shaq ready to deliver for Cavs   NFL video: How to build the ultimate offense NCAA hoops: Many, many thanks to Coach K

MORE FROM COLLEGE FOOTBALL

College football Section Front

Florida’s arrests under Meyer gain attention Former Hawaii QB Chang arrested BCS won’t change ‘if Congress does nothing’ CFT: BCS official's threats are self-serving, lame CollegeFootballTalk on NBCSports.com UNC, Nike reach 10-year deal Florida State says giving up wins unfair penalty Texas LB texting when he crashed into building Opinion: Top 25 players? Tebow tops ’em all Who is team of the decade? College football Section Front   Add College football headlines to your news reader: