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Captain comeback: Kevin Simon has been knocked down by injury but always gets up. Now, he wants to show Tennessee's defense how to get it done

Sporting News, The, August 19, 2005 by Matt Hayes

Better believe Kevin Simon knows the numbers from last season. Seventh in scoring defense, seventh in total defense. For crying out loud, Tennessee was last in the SEC in passing defense.

"Embarrassing," Simon says. "That's just not supposed to happen."

Yeah, well, Simon wasn't supposed to be around for his senior season, either. He should be in the NFL by now, using his athleticism and speed to get a fat bank and phat cachet. Instead, he's coming off his third surgery and nearly two seasons combined of downtime, all rolled into a last chance at salvaging something special.

"Kevin Simon gives this defense an identity," says longtime Tennessee coordinator John Chavis.

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He had better give it more than that. UT's talented defense played without passion and purpose last season, or as Chavis says, "without direction." That's where Simon comes in. If the defense finds itself, this team can make a Rose Bowl run.

Simon is like former Tennessee star linebackers Leonard Little and Al Wilson: an emotional, fiery leader who can lift a team mentally. There is hope Simon's return from his second major knee surgery--be also had ankle surgery in 2002--will flip the inspirational switch on a unit that badly underachieved last season.

This, the staff believes, is the last piece of the puzzle for the defense. The Vols have All-American-caliber players in tackle Jesse Mahelona, end Parys Haralson, linebacker Omar Gaither and cornerback Jason Allen. Still, they somehow gave up a total of 64 points to SEC tomato cans Vanderbilt and Kentucky last year.

"With Kevin, we have our captain back," Allen says. "The body is strong."

The heart had better pump, too.

TENNESSEE

LAST CONFERENCE TITLE: 1998

LAST NATIONAL TITLE: 1998

STARTERS RETURNING: 16 (seven offense, eight defense, kicker)

ALL-AMERICAN CANDIDATES: CB Jason Allen, DE Parys Haralson, DT Jesse Mahelona, WR Robert Meachem, RB Gerald Riggs

THE OVERHAND: Here it comes; try to stop it. The Vols will grind away with a power running game behind Riggs, then throw it over the top to speedy, athletic receivers who have a stunning ability to adjust to the ball.

THE UPPERCUT: Erik Ainge, the onetime waif quarterback, has added 20 pounds and now looks impressively wiry. Don't laugh: He has a big-time arm and enough weapons at receiver--just like another skinny kid who took a few years to fill out. You know, some kid named Manning.

GLASS JAW: Tennessee hasn't covered anyone in the secondary in a decade, hence, the Vols' tendency to blitz 10,000 times a game. Yet there is hope: All-SEC safety Jason Allen moved to cornerback and will be an immediate upgrade, and two former starters at cornerback (Jonathan Hefney and Antwan Stewart) moved to safety and will give the Vols more speed in coverage.

Captain comeback: Kevin Simon has been knocked down by injury but always gets up. Now, he wants to show Tennessee's defense how to get it done

Sporting News, The, August 19, 2005 by Matt Hayes

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