The middle man

Poe knocked Florida tailback Ciatrick Fason out of bounds on the first play after UT middle linebacker Kevin Simon suffered a season-ending knee injury Saturday night.

It certainly wasn't the biggest hit of Poe's career, but it served notice that he was ready to play. Poe went on to finish with seven tackles in the Vols' 30-28 victory against Florida.

Poe's teammates weren't surprised; after all, the junior middle linebacker is considered the biggest hitter on the team, according to a News-Sentinel preseason survey.

"He's a guy that will try to run through you and take every bit of life out of you,'' UT safety Brandon Johnson said. "He's a natural Mike (middle) linebacker who plugs the hole.''

Poe has quite a gap to fill in the Vols' linebacking corps with the talented Simon out.

Senior captain Kevin Burnett believes Poe is capable of handling the chore.

"I would say he's the spitting image of Kevin Simon,'' Burnett said. "He's like a pit bull; he's going to hunt and find the ball. He's a guy I'll go to war with.''

Vols' defensive coordinator John Chavis said he'll look at moving starting strongside linebacker Jason Mitchell into the middle. Mitchell is the fastest linebacker in the corps.

Poe brings a different element to the field.

"Poe doesn't have any fear, and he likes contact,'' UT tailback Gerald Riggs said. "When we scrimmage and I feel a big hit, I get up, and nine times out of 10 it's Poe that hit me.''

Vols' offensive lineman Rob Smith said the 5-foot-11, 235-pound Poe presents a challenge to block.

"He's physical; probably the most physical linebacker we have,'' Smith said. "He's thick and low, and he's a hoss to try to move out of there.''

It was just 1 1/2 years ago that Poe professed his joy just to be at Tennessee.

Poe suffered a torn ACL in his right knee his sophomore year at Covington High School near Memphis, then missed his senior season with a torn ACL in his left knee. It said much for his abilities that Tennessee, Florida State and Michigan still offered him a scholarship.

Poe, however, failed to qualify academically and wound up at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College before transferring to UT.

"You come to a place like Tennessee, and it's just amazing,'' Poe said upon arriving at UT for the spring term of 2003. "Junior college is a step down from high school in terms of equipment and facilities; it's like from the 1960s or something. It makes me appreciate things here so much.''

Now it's Poe's turn to reward the Vols' coaches for believing in him.

"This is awesome for me,'' Poe said. "After all the stuff I've been through, to have a chance to play and possibly be a starter here I believe everything happens for a reason.''

Mike Griffith may be reached at knsgriff@aol.com.