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Eight Vols will compete in postseason games

Tennessee will play no bowl game, but for eight senior Vols there's one more game to play.

Chris Hannon, Omar Gaither, Kevin Simon, Jason Hall, Cody Douglas, Parys Haralson, Jesse Mahelona and Albert Toeaina each earned invitations to various postseason All-Star games during the next month.

The first to see the field will be Hannon.

The UT receiver is at the inaugural Magnolia Gridiron All-Star Classic in Jackson, Miss., on Saturday.

He finished his career with 69 receptions for 850 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Gaither, a linebacker who made 210 tackles in his four-year career, heads to Honolulu's Aloha Stadium for the Hula Bowl on Jan. 21.

Gaither led the SEC in 2005 with four forced fumbles. He'll probably be remembered most for his 18-tackle performance in the 2004 SEC Championship game against Auburn.

Simon and Hall, two other members of Tennessee's front seven which finished ranked No. 12 in NCAA's total defense category, go to the Jan. 21 East-West Shrine Game together.

Arkansas's Houston Nutt will coach the East team featuring Simon and Hall in the game at San Antonio's Alamo Dome.

Simon's injury-plagued linebacker career featured two full seasons where the California native led the Vols in tackles, 2003 (115) and 2005 (88).

Hall, a Chattanooga McCallie product, saved his best season for 2005. He finished among the SEC league leaders with seven sacks and 13 tackles for loss.

The final UT foursome of Douglas, Haralson, Mahelona and Toeaina will join forces at the prestigious Senior Bowl set for Jan. 28 in Mobile, Ala.

Douglas, an offensive guard, was a senior team captain and started 24 games as a Vol.

Haralson, a defensive end, was a two-year captain and finished third on UT's all-time tackles-for-loss chart with 46.5. He trailed only Leonard Little and Reggie White.

Mahelona, a defensive tackle, earned third-team All-America from the Associate Press. Mahelona had at least one tackle for a loss in 16 of his 24 games as a Vol.

Toeaina, an offensive tackle, started 18 games in his two-year UT career. He played every offensive snap in Tennessee's overtime victory at LSU.

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