Vol seniors lay groundwork for future years

With last week's 37-14 loss to Virginia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta, the Tennessee Volunteers finished the chapter on the 2009 season.

As recruiting hits a fever pitch with National Signing Day quickly approaching on Feb. 3, coach Lane Kiffin and his staff are on the road meeting with recruits and their parents to continue working on the program's future.

Before moving forward, the groundwork had to be laid by the 2009-10 class of seniors, who stuck by Kiffin through the coaching change from Phillip Fulmer to go 7-6 with a second-place finish in the Southeastern Conference's East Division.

"They'll always be a part of this process and what we've done," Kiffin said late last Thursday in the Georgia Dome. "We wanted to finish better for them.

"I told them that they'll be the same guys when we'll be playing in this same stadium for SEC championships, they'll be the guys standing on the sidelines with us remembering that they helped us start this."

Indeed. Football is a game where injuries are nearly as prevalent as grass stains and torn jerseys. What separates the men from the boys is being able to play through the pain.

While his uniform number isn't likely to be retired with the likes of Peyton Manning and Reggie White, defensive lineman Wes Brown embodies the heart and soul of what Volunteer fans expect.

Rarely able to practice, the fifth-year senior could accurately describe the sensation of an ice pack on a tender joint with the best of them having had surgeries on both knees among other ailments.

"It's been frustrating, but at the same time, I wouldn't have changed it in any way," the warm-hearted 6-foot-4, 257-pound bear said. "I battled knee problems and until here recently had a high ankle sprain. It's been frustrating, but like I said, I wouldn't change it for anything in the world. I'd do it all over again."

Brown pounded the artificial turf during the bowl game early into the action and had to hobble off the field after being slowed by his injuries. Nevertheless, Brown returned to action plays later and gave all he had left in the tank.

"I love this place," said Brown, an Athens, Ala., native. "I love when I wear that 'T' on my helmet. Just like the rest of these guys do, I play for my teammates, play for my team. Unfortunately, I had some nicks tonight that kept me off the field for awhile, but I just wanted to get back out there and play my last game."

Not everybody bought into Kiffin's system and way of doing things. Attrition hit the team hard due to dismissals and transfers. The number of scholarship players available by season's end closely resembled that of a program having gone through an NCAA probation, which meant having to take the field battered and bruised at times.

"That's one thing they can say about us is that we never quit," senior offensive guard Jacques McClendon said. "We got beat, got beat up, not much depth, but this team never quit. This team's got the heart of a lion. Once we start to build some depth here in this program, yeah they're going to be a force to be reckoned with."

Injuries plagued the career of tailback Montario Hardesty, including his fifth and final season as a Vol as was apparent with the shoulder brace that oozed out the side of his uniform every game. Regardless, he carried the ball 282 times for 1,413 yard and 13 touchdowns this season. That effort garnered consistent praise from Kiffin among others, who's attempting to build an imposing, physical roster.

Hardesty said after his swan song that his class hangs up their helmets with pride: "The program's in a good state, man. We finished up the regular season strong, finished second in the (SEC) East, got back to a bowl game. I feel like the program's on its way up."

The poster child for the program throughout the changeover from a player's perspective has been All-American safety Eric Berry. After receiving numerous accolades, including the Thorpe Award for the nation's top defensive back, he could very well be the final player to don the No. 14 in orange and white.

Berry spoke softly and with glassy eyes as he informed the crowd around his podium his intentions to leave his beloved Vols early for the NFL Draft.

"I want to see my parents, you know, just relax. It's so hard because it's like I don't wanna go, but I've got to," said Berry, who saw both his parents lose their jobs within the last two years. With two younger brothers to raise, he knows the millions of dollars that await him on the next level are just too much to pass up given the Berry Family's economic circumstance.

However, the show must go on and after a 2009 recruiting class that ranked in the Top 10 of several publications, Kiffin and Co. are hard at work trying to improve the talent level and depth yet again.

Over half of the 2010 class could be early enrollees depending on who all arrives n Knoxville for class this week, which could go a long way in getting many new players acclimated with college life and in the program.

"This was a building year," junior linebacker LaMarcus Thompson said. "We definitely turned the whole program around from last year to this year. We feel good going into the future. We're going to get a good recruiting class. We've got 13 guys coming in for January and getting those guys into the program and get them going so we can make a good season next year."

Some of the new talent will be on display in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio. Wide Receiver Markeith Ambles, defensive end Jacques Smith and kicker Michael Palardy have all verbally committed to UT.

Smith should be on campus only days after returning home to Tennessee. As an Ooltewah native just down Interstate 75 from Knoxville, Smith has been in the ear of several recruits during preparations out in Texas.

Sounds like Rocky Top's got some boulders to build on.