The pads are on again at Tennessee football. But first the gloves had to come off. The emotional gloves.

The Vols' fall camp began with what players and coaches described Saturday as an intensely emotional team meeting in which a number of players apologized for the rash of off-the-field incidents that dominated summer headlines.

"It was a couple of nights ago,'' UT coach Phillip Fulmer said. "It was incredible to feel the emotion as they apologized to the team for embarrassing the program.''

Seven players have had legal issues since the Cotton Bowl victory ended the 2004 season with a happy exclamation mark.

The team meeting -- at which tears flowed more than once -- cleared the air for the start of fall camp.

"It was more about moving on than anything else,'' said senior Kevin Simon (who was not one of the offenders).

"Basically, it was kind of like putting everything on the table and saying, 'I messed up. I'm sorry. I'm not going to let it happen again.'

"For me, it's all forward. The present and the future.''

Jason Allen, another senior and co-captain, described the meeting as "very important.''

"You could definitely hear it in their voice,'' Allen said, "that they were very sorry, very remorseful. Guys just apologizing and wanting to be accepted and backed by the team.''

One of the speakers was All-America defensive tackle Jesse Mahelona. His transgression was minor compared to most. In March, he did slight damage to a city fire truck during an emotional outburst as he watched his apartment burn.

"It was something I felt like I owed the team, even though I felt I didn't do anything wrong,'' Mahelona said.

"That was definitely good for the younger guys to see somebody like me, a senior captain, expressing myself, saying I'm sorry.''

Assistant coach Trooper Taylor said he had never experienced a team meeting that intense.

"We can get up there and talk 'til we turn blue in the face as coaches,'' Taylor said, "we can bring in a speaker, but it carries more weight coming from those kids.

"To see Tony McDaniel as emotional as he was, you're used to seeing him be a big tough kid.

"And every one of them, all the guys who stood up, were so sincere and not just reading off a piece of paper. They were speaking from the heart.''

Now the question becomes whether a negative situation be cultivated into something positive.

A number of players and coaches spoke Saturday during media day about the bonding that comes from adversity.

"I feel like if God can forgive 'em, why can't we forgive them?'' said receiver Robert Meachem. "God always forgives you and gives you a second chance.''

Added Simon, "Life is a process. People make mistakes. Man, you've got to embrace them with arms wide open. They need a hug at that time.''

Allen is anxious to see how the team handles its off-season adversity. He thinks he already knows the answer.

"We could lay down and say we're going to have a bad season because of this,'' he said. "Or, we could go down to Atlanta and win the SEC championship.

"We could bond from that situation and turn it into a happy ending.''