Vols' Douglas was nearly an Aggie

Douglas, a junior, committed to play for the Aggies in March of his junior year at La Marque (Texas) High School. He changed his mind in January of his senior year and opted for Tennessee.

"The message boards and things really didn't have too many kind words for me," Douglas said. "A lot of alumni around town didn't really take too kindly to it, but that's just something you have to deal with. I'm sure those people have long since forgotten about me, so you move on."

However, the Douglas name will surely ring a bell for some Aggies when the Vols play Texas A&M in the Jan. 1 Cotton Bowl.

It's a different coaching staff -- Dennis Franchione replaced R.C. Slocum as Texas A&M's coach after the 2002 season -- but Douglas knows many of the Texas A&M players.

"Just being able to play against A&M ... I know a lot of guys and I've played with a lot of guys on their team," Douglas said. "I'm excited about the opportunity to be able to play those guys and play in my home state for the first time since I've been in college."

Douglas, who played in nine games as a UT freshman in 2002, said he had a feeling that Slocum wouldn't be at Texas A&M "for the long run" and that was why he de-committed to Texas A&M.

"I just didn't want to step into a situation like that," Douglas said. "I was basically looking out for my future. I felt a great deal of security here with coach (Phillip) Fulmer being here. I really felt comfortable here."

When Douglas decided to make other visits, he said he had an argument with one of the Texas A&M assistants one night.

He visited Michigan, Oklahoma, and then Tennessee, and had planned two more visits -- Florida, Texas or LSU -- but never took the last two after deciding on the Vols.

Douglas had visited Texas as a sophomore and attended a camp there.

"I wanted to compare and see what my best options were, taking all the pros and cons," Douglas said. "If A&M would have come out on top, I would have gone there. But when you set down all factors I was looking at, they really at the time couldn't compete with Tennessee so this is where I chose."

Like the rest of the Vols, Douglas had his sights on the Sugar Bowl entering the Dec. 4 SEC Championship, but they settled for the Cotton Bowl after the loss to Auburn.

"Everybody was pretty much happy (with the Cotton Bowl)," Douglas said. "We were kind of looking forward to going four hours the other way to New Orleans, but we'll take Dallas."