Name recognition

The captain of the 1954 Vols stood proudly at Tom Black Track Thursday, watching the grandson who shares his name compete in the USA Youth Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

McCord's grandson, 16-year-old Darris Sawtelle of Birmingham, Mich., finished second in the intermediate boys division of the shot put. The 6-foot-5, 285pound Sawtelle had a throw of 58 feet, 5 1/2 inches.

"Second place at a national tournament is good, but I always want to win," Sawtelle said, a rising junior at Brother Rice High School. "The guy who won was better, that doesn't mean next year I'm not going to come and try and beat him.

"My biggest thing I can take from this is when I go up north, there's not a lot of competition. Now that I've seen the best in that nation it humbles you and makes you hungrier."

Although Sawtelle has had his success in track and field, his first love is football. Like his grandfather, he plays offensive and defensive tackle. Like his grandfather, he wears No. 78. Sawtelle hopes in two years, like his grandfather, he'll be able to play for the Vols.

"My grandfather's not the type who tells me I have to do it, but that I can do it, that's his big thing," said Sawtelle, who has received letters of interest from Boston College, Michigan, Purdue and Ohio State. "He supports me in whatever I want to do. It's special, really special I have his name and I wear his number. It's an honor.

"If I want to come to UT he's going to back me up."

McCord, who played 13 seasons in the NFL for the Detroit Lions, said nothing makes him prouder than his grandson. As for the hopes of him following in his footsteps at UT, McCord gave his full endorsement.

"With any athlete you've got to be focused have a goal," McCord said. "This young man has that, plus he has the size and the strength. He'd be a great asset for the University of Tennessee football team."

While Swatelle has been competing in track and field since the sixth grade, he's not sure whether he'd want to become a two-sport athlete at UT. For now, he said he's using the shot put as a hobby that helps him when he steps on the football field.

"Shot put, next to football is probably the most intense sport," said Sawtelle, who bench presses more than 300 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in 5.3 seconds. "When you're in that ring it's all on you and with football you have to be intense otherwise your team's not going to do good."

Tennessee is the way of life for Sawtelle, saying that he had orange and white around his crib as a child. He and his family make the trip from Detroit to Knoxville once a year. While his competition for the week is done, Sawtelle has hopes that his grandfather will be able to take him on a tour of Neyland Stadium to learn about the past and hopefully get a preview of the future.

"It's probably one of the most thrilling experiences you can have," McCord said "High school's great, but just to run in that stadium and come out that gate it's excitement that gives you a real lift."

Swatelle hopes to one day feel that excitement first hand.

"I always wanted to go to school here, this is where I want to end up eventually," Swatelle said. "I really want to follow in his footsteps. University of Tennessee is the best place in the world." Underset: .38 inches/ 3 lines