Tuberville's team of 7 diverted Cadillac

Shortly after word leaked that Carnell Williams had verbally committed to Tennessee, Tuberville and six of his Auburn assistant coaches met in Attalla, Ala., for an impressive show of strength in Williams' kitchen.

"I wanted to show him how important he was to our program," Tuberville said.

Williams dragged some extra chairs into the kitchen for the coaches and they talked. By the time they got up to leave, Williams had agreed to take an official visit to Auburn. He would eventually change his mind about becoming a Vol.

Four years later, the Auburn running back will return to Knoxville on Saturday night for the first time since he was wined and dined there as a recruit.

Tuberville's recruiting strategy was bizarre, and perhaps a bit risky, and he said it's the only time he's ever done it.

But it worked. When seven coaches crammed into his home, Williams was impressed.

"It just makes you feel that much more special as a player," Williams said. "He just did something different. Most coaches just bring two or three coaches, but he brought his whole staff."

Tuberville said he didn't want to get a commitment from Williams on that Attalla visit — nor did he necessarily want Williams to de-commit from the Vols. He just wanted Williams to take an official visit to Auburn.

He did, and the rest is history.

"I came real close (to going to Tennessee)," Williams said. "After my visit with them, I really felt like that's where I was going. Coach Tub came to my home and changed my mind.

"I came on a visit and liked it much better than Tennessee."

Like Williams, senior running back Brown verbally committed to Tennessee before switching to Auburn. Brown said an academic tutoring scandal at Tennessee caused him to rethink his choice.

"I felt pretty comfortable (in Auburn), so it was pretty much a tossup," Brown said. "When that started going on, I just thought about them being on probation and stuff like that, and just decided I'd come to Auburn."

No Need For Noise: Auburn won't pump in artificial noise during practice this week as it prepares for a visit to very loud Neyland Stadium.

"I've done that one time in 29 years of coaching and I still have a headache from it," Tuberville said. "I don't think it serves a purpose."

Some players have downplayed the noise factor at Tennessee, since just about every SEC stadium can get very loud.

"We've been to several stadiums before that are very noisy," Tuberville said. "It just takes a lot more concentration. That's what we'll talk about and focus on this week."

One That Got Away: Auburn pursued Tennessee freshman quarterback Brent Schaeffer on the recruiting trail, but the youngster wanted immediate playing time.

"He was looking to go play his first year, which he has at Tennessee," Tuberville said. "He knew we had Jason Campbell here. We threw our hat in the ring, but he chose to go there."

Schaeffer has split time with fellow freshman Erik Ainge this year.

"I would have rather him gone somewhere else where we didn't have to play him," Tuberville said.