University of Tennessee Athletics
The Legacy of the 2007 Seniors
September 07, 2007 | Football
By Tony Williams, UT Sports Information
Saturday's home opener against Southern Miss will be the beginning of the end for 18 Tennessee seniors. The contest will be the first home game of their last season as Volunteers.
But the 11 or more games that lay ahead will serve a number of purposes for the young men in Orange & White. It will teach them about their pasts and how they became the players and people they are today. It will allow them the opportunity to define their legacy on the field and off, and it will serve as a springboard into their futures.
???If you make it through this program and become a senior, then you are tough and you are an astute student,??? Tennessee head coach Philip Fulmer said. ???We???ve got a solid group of guys that are ready to make the next step in their lives.???
The backgrounds of these young men are quite varied. They came to Tennessee in three different recruiting classes and hail from nine different states???stretching from Hawaii to Oregon to Florida. In their time at Tennessee, all but one have played for an SEC championship and been a part of at least one 10-win season. There is an All-America performer, an Academic All-District honoree and five Academic All-SEC performers among them.
As a group, the one experience from their past that bonds the group is the 2005 season. Only a small number of Volunteer classes can say they experienced a losing season and the 2007 seniors are one of them. To a man, those that experienced the struggles of the past have taken every step to make sure that it doesn???t happen again on their watch.
???It is something that we will always remember,??? senior linebacker Ryan Karl said. ???We didn???t want to be a part of that, but it???s something we can???t help now. This senior class has tried to put a chip on everybody???s shoulder so we play in a way that it can???t happen again.???
The seniors have chosen to lead in an interesting way. They foster camaraderie off the field in hopes that it would translate to chemistry on the field.
???We are a close class and we have tried to include the younger players in that,??? senior safety Jarod Parrish said. ???We try to make clear that it is OK to be laid back off the field, but that that attitude can???t carry over. We don???t have any guys that care only about themselves. We???re more worried about what we accomplish as a group.???
Even with a group mentality, a number of individual seniors stand out because of remarkable stories from their pasts.
Backup offensive tackle Steven Jones is lucky to be a Volunteer at all. After a troubled childhood, he was adopted at the age of 14 by former Tennessee Titan Mike Jones and his wife Javonda. He never knew his father and his birth mother died shortly after his adoption. The Jones??? got him involved in football and he is now not only studying in college, but a part of one of the greatest football programs in the country.
J.T. Mapu took two years off from college football to go on a church mission and returned to the program a different man.
???I gained a better understanding of the big picture,??? Mapu said. Before the mission trip, I did things because the coaches told me to, and I never really looked beyond it. Now, I realize it???s about more than football.???
Tennessee???s two starting defensive ends, Xavier Mitchell and Antonio Reynolds, see their senior season as the culmination of a great friendship. Both of them signed in 2004 and did not have the opportunity to learn during a redshirt year.
???He has been a part of my whole career here,??? Mitchell said of Reynolds. ???We???re good friends. We play together now, but we learned together first. That camaraderie has made us both better.???
As the group moves further into its final season, even more individuals will have the opportunity to leave an indelible mark on the Tennessee football program. Two senior members of the Vol secondary will move into the starting lineup for the first time this season after spending their entire careers primarily as backups. Parrish and Antonio Gaines will get just one season to become playmakers for the Volunteers.
???We have talked in Bible study about our goals and not limiting ourselves with our expectations. We are going to set them higher than others would expect,??? Parrish said. ???They may be high, but they can be reached.???
Two other seniors, left tackle Eric Young and tight end Chris Brown have logged plenty of playing time, but will add the weight of leadership this season. Young will move from right tackle to left, where he will be responsible for protecting Erik Ainge???s blind side. Tight end Chris Brown will have to carry a larger load in the passing game with the team???s wideouts being young and inexperienced.
???I???m comfortable with the leadership role,??? Brown said. ???It???s all about playing football and doing what you need to do. I need to be a vocal, go-to guy in the huddle and lead by example.???
Currently sidelined with a wrist injury, tight end Brad Cottam has the unique opportunity to serve as a teacher, coach and mentor to his younger brother Jeff, who is a sophomore that will start in his brother???s absence.
???We have always been close growing up, and it will be an awesome experience to see him play. It adds to the aspect of leadership because he is looking up at me. It helps me in terms of being a leader for the rest of the team while I???m not playing.???
While the outcome of the 2007 season is yet to be determined, the senior Volunteers know that the end is near. For some, the future will include NFL careers. After three seasons in the spotlight, Jonathan Hefney and Erik Ainge are one stellar campaign away from finding themselves in professional football, and several others could be right behind them.
Some of the seniors expressed an interest in staying at Tennessee to obtain their degrees. Others still will move away from football and into the work force.
???I???ve been thinking about that lately, about what???s next and where to go from here,??? Mapu said. ???It has been an awesome experience. I know we are all grateful for this experience. It has been about a lot more than football.???
The Volunteer seniors know that today???s run through the ???T??? will be about much more than the start of a football game. It is a convergence of past, present, and future. It is the product of many years of hard work, the precursor to a season of great expectations and even greater responsibility, and another step toward many bright futures.
