As the Ole Miss players assembled in the team's hotel Friday night, junior linebacker Patrick Willis listened intently as coach Ed Orgeron spoke.

At one point, Orgeron asked, ''How much do you love football?''

Willis thought about that question for a moment. It didn't take him long to realize he wasn't about to let a sprained MCL in his left knee or a broken finger on his right hand force him to miss another game.

''When coach O said that, I said I know I'm going to have to go out there and try it (Saturday), and not be scared because I knew the Lord was going to be with me,'' Willis said.

Willis suited up for the first time since suffering both injuries two weeks ago at Vanderbilt. He went through all of the pregame drills without any complications.

Linebackers coach Shawn Slocum and head athletic trainer Tim Mullins huddled up.

''We were going to see if he felt 100 percent,'' Mullins said. ''He went out there and felt good. We made a cast for him this morning thinking he was going to be able to play. He would have played last week if it wasn't for his knee.''

Mullins and Slocum then reported the news to Orgeron, who gave the final approval for Willis to play. Armed with a huge, padded cast on his right arm, and a knee brace on his leg, Willis started against Tennessee on Saturday.

Despite being hampered with the cast, which limited his ability to grab ball carriers, Willis managed a game-high 14 tackles, including two for loss.

''Today, I woke up and I had been feeling good the last two days,'' Willis said. ''Today, I said if I was feeling good, I was going to give it a shot in pregame. He (The Lord) was out there with me the whole time. I just said, 'Lord be with me.' ''

Not only did he pick up where he left off before the injury, but Ole Miss's defense was much better. With the leader of the Ole Miss defense back on the field, the assignments were gone, and the level of play improved.

''He did a great job,'' Orgeron said. ''The plays that happened on us when he's not there, they were stopped today. He makes the difference in our defense. He's clearly one of the top players on our team. I'm just very proud of the way he's come back and fought. He is what we can build our program around.''

Willis said the cast was somewhat cumbersome at the start of the game. He missed a couple of tackles early, and was even run over by tailback Gerald Riggs Jr. on one play. But by the second half, he got used to it. Then, came the punishing hits Ole Miss fans have grown accustomed to seeing.

That's when Willis's teammates began picking up their play, as well.

''To me, he's almost like a football genius at linebacker,'' said fellow linebacker Kelvin Robinson, who had 10 tackles. ''He teaches me. When he's out there making plays, it gives me more enthusiasm to play harder. He came in and made big plays today. I think he should win the tough-guy award. He's got a big cast on his hand, he can't grab nobody, and his knee is messed up.''

Although he wasn't able to practice last week, Willis was still in the film room dissecting Tennessee's offense. Because it's similar to what Ole Miss ran under former coach David Cutcliffe, Willis said it wasn't hard to prepare for the team he grew up wanting to play for as a youngster in Bruceton, Tenn.

''I just thank Coach (Orgeron) for giving me the opportunity to go out there and try it in gamelike situations,'' Willis said.