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More photos » by John Raoux - AP

2 months ago: Florida quarterback Tim Tebow (15) fumbles the ball as he is hit by Tennessee defensive tackle Montori Hughes (93) and Tennessee linebacker Rico McCoy, left, during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Gainesville, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009. Tennessee recovered the ball, and went on to score a touchdown. Florida won 23-13. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

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Before we get to our last senior spotlight, here's a look at the other names you'll hear called on Saturday:

• TE Jeff Cottam ends his Tennessee career with 7 catches, 2 for touchdowns going into Saturday's game.  Played together with his brother Brad in 2007.
• CB Marsalous Johnson saw duty in UT's nickel and mustang packages over the last three seasons, finishing with one sack and one interception.
• DT Andre Mathis saw spot duty at a variety of positions in the defensive front in his four years, seemingly never finding the right fit.  He has 9 career tackles going into Saturday.
• Others include DB Derrick Furlow, the snapper/holder combination of Morgan Cox and Bram Cannon, and walk ons Johnny Harrison, Steven Hensley and Sean White.  Austin Rogers is applying for a sixth year of eligibility, so I'm not sure if he's running Saturday or not.

Our last spotlight senior has been that one that's contributed the most over the course of all four of his seasons in Knoxville, a four year starter at linebacker... 

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More photos » by John Bazemore - AP

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Football

• Dawg Sports pays tribute to UGA VII, who died yesterday of an apparent heart attack.
  
• In advance of the LSU-Ole Miss game tomorrow, And the Valley Shook and Red Cup Rebellion exchange Q&As.
  

Basketball

• Carolina March and We Will Always Have Tempe both react to last night's 77-73 victory by North Carolina over Ohio State. (Language alert for the loser; imagine that.)
• Maryland blog Testudo Times reacts to Tobias Harris choosing Tennessee.

Defensive tackle was a huge question mark for Tennessee entering this season, but these two seniors have done a tremendous job answering it. 

Wes Brown joins Josh McNeil in the bad knees club, but has made it through ten games this season without missing much action.  Lane Kiffin moved Brown from defensive end to defensive tackle, and Brown hasn't missed a beat.  He's recorded 3.5 sacks and 5 TFLs this season, to go along with an interception picked up last week at Ole Miss.  He took a position in question and turned it into a solid answer for this defense.

We knew Dan Williams was good coming into this season, but his play has been simply outstanding.  An All-SEC and All-America candidate, Williams has 6.5 TFLs and 8 QB hurries this season to go along with 52 tackles, leading the way in the trenches and blowing up running plays by himself on several occasions.  And remember, without Dan Williams' block, Lones Seiber makes this kick and Georgia goes to the SEC Championship Game instead of us:

Montori Hughes and the other Vols who will step in next season have big shoes to fill on both counts at defensive tackle.  Meanwhile, Dan Williams could join Eric Berry in the first round of April's NFL Draft.

As much as we may appreciate these guys now, it'll be next fall when these six experienced starters will truly be missed.

Jacques McClendon, Josh McNeil, Vladimir Richard and Chris Scott are all veterans of the 2007 offensive line that allowed an NCAA-low 4 sacks in the entire season, keeping Erik Ainge safe and paving the way to an Eastern Division Championship.  Their success as a unit helped turn the eyes of NFL scouts on them individually, especially McNeil, who was projected to be one of the top centers taken in the 2010 NFL Draft.

McNeil's career essentially came to an end before his senior season ever truly got started, with his knees finally betraying him in full.  That didn't keep him from continuing to work out and dress with the team, getting some action in the final moments of the Georgia blowout and serving as an excellent example to those around him.

And with McNeil going down and others banged up, Cody and Cory Sullins have stepped in and played literally above their heads this season.  Undersized but at times undervalued, they helped keep Jonathan Crompton safe long enough for him to find himself in this offense, and have paved the way for Montario Hardesty in what has become a truly balanced Tennessee attack.  It's fitting - even if it's unfortunate for us next year - that these six linemen have taken every step of their Tennessee football journey alongside the quarterback and running back they've been asked to protect here in their final year together.

While the Sullins Boys aren't likely to show up on Mel Kiper Jr.'s big board, there may be football still out there for McClendon, Richard and Scott.  Either way, it leaves a gaping hole for next year, where Aaron Douglas will serve as the lone returning starter, and Jarod Shaw is the only other player with real game experience.  Perhaps above all others, these guys will be missed.

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

2 months ago: Tennessee Quintin Hancock (87) out runs UCLA's Akeem Ayers (10) during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009 in Knoxville, Tenn. UCLA won 19-15. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

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Hancock is a senior that feels like a sophomore, because he's only seen real action in two seasons.  In 2007, Hancock had 16 catches and 3 TDs, including this beauty in the fourth overtime of the Kentucky game with the Vols 40 yards away:

He then became one of the poster children for the futility of the Clawfense, catching zero passes in 2008.  Though he's been injured off and on this season, Hancock has shown the most reliable hands on the team and grabbed 24 receptions in 7 games, including two touchdowns.  He is the lone target that will not return in the Vols' passing game next season, but his perseverance is to be commended now in his final appearance at Neyland Stadium.

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

19 days ago: Tennessee's Montario Hardesty (2) gets away from South Carolina's DeVonte Holloman (21)during the second half of a NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009 in Knoxville, Tenn. Tennessee won 31-13. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

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We've mentioned this before, but it's worth mentioning again:  although Arian Foster, LaMarcus Coker, Lennon Creer, and Bryce Brown were all talked about more than he was, Montario Hardesty has outperformed them all.

Hardesty has 956 rushing yards thru the first ten games of the season, and will almost certainly become the first Vol to run for 1,000 yards in a season since Gerald Riggs and Cedric Houston both did it in 2004.  If he can pick up 334 yards in the final three games, he'll have one of the five best individual seasons in UT history.  And he is currently 13th on UT's all-time rushing chart, where those same 334 yards would get him into the Top 10 all-time.  He has already joined an elite club of Vols to run for over 2,000 yards in their collegiate careers.

What makes Hardesty great?

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More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

about 1 month ago: Tennessee's Jonathan Crompton (8) throws to a receiver ahead as Georgia's Kade Weston (91) defends during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 in Knoxville, Tenn. Tennessee won 45-19. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

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Is it just me, or has this football season flown by?

Part of it is because this time last year, we couldn't wait for it to end.  2008 just refused to put us out of our misery, seemingly getting worse every week and giving us pain of both the on and off the field variety.  We played miserably on Saturday, then talked about our championship coach getting fired Sunday-Friday, before and after it happened.  And so, the season dragged on.

And part of it is the other end of the spectrum:  the 2009 Vols haven't played any of the life-or-death games the program was used to in the late 90s/early 00s, the sort of games that make Sunday-Friday drag on for all the right reasons, because you can't wait for Saturday to get here.  These are the games where it feels like everything is on the line, where winning means you're still celebrating into the next week, and losing means it'll take the next week to get over it.  These, we hope, are the type of games Lane Kiffin has in his future.

As such, 2009 has been an interesting breath of fresh air:  lower expectations, new attitude, a few surprises and all learning experiences along the way.  And without epic misery or epic matchups, these last eleven weeks have moved at an incredible pace.

And so we arrive once again at Senior Day, where this year 20 Tennessee seniors will make their final run through the T on Saturday night.  This is a senior class that's seen more of the roller coaster than any UT class in recent memory:  the fifth year seniors have been around for both the 2005 and 2008 seasons, meaning a trip to any bowl game will still be a big deal this season.  But there are also plenty of contributors from the 2007 team that won the SEC Eastern Division Championship in this group.  And there are several names on this list that we didn't think we'd miss as much in August as we do now.

Throughout the day, we'll be taking a look back at some of the best moments from the notable players in the Class of 2009, starting with the man who's been at the center of it all...

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More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

All right! Now somebody bring me a banjo!

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Hear ye, hear ye. It's Time. Time for Tennessee Volunteer fans to gather for the ceremonial reading of the Record of Wrongs, a litany of the offenses committed by the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Probably not true

• Al Gore was dismissed from Vanderbilt University in 1964 when he discovered a knotted bunch of cables between the sofa cushions in his dorm room and insisted it was the internet. The administration held fast to its belief that it was simply a tangled mess of wire not actually attached to anything, and Gore left in a huff screaming something about "inconvenience" and "truth." The administration's refusal to acknowledge Gore's discovery set the information age back decades.
• The black and gold star logo of the athletic program is actually a registered trademark of the Southern Man's Skull and Bones Secret Shhh Don't Tell Society.
• Football coach Bobby Johnson winds down after big games by playing Foggy Mountain Breakdown on the banjo in his Dixie do-rag and wife-beater.

Actually true (sorta)

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Cast your vote for the winner of this week's Hail Mary Haiku. Those that survived yesterday's whittling are re-published after the jump.

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