Riggs didn't plan final rundown

"It just bugs me," the Tennessee senior tailback said Tuesday in his first public comments since a season-ending injury against Alabama last Saturday. "I didn't think my last game at Tennessee would be played like that. I didn't think that's how my career at Tennessee would end.

"That's frustrating. Injuries happen. It is what it is. You've got to take it in stride and be mentally tough enough to get healthy and be ready to go wherever I'm playing this time next year."

Riggs suffered ligament damage to his ankle and a broken fibula when Alabama defensive back Simeon Castille tackled him near the goal line in UT's 6-3 loss to the Tide.

"The guy fell on me and basically horse-collared me," Riggs said. "He came down on the back of my ankle trying to tackle me.

"All his weight came down on it. There was nothing I could do."

Such a tackle is illegal in the NFL. It is commonly referred to as the "Roy Williams Rule" after the Dallas Cowboys' safety popularized the move, which consists of grabbing a ball carrier's shoulder pads from behind and rolling up on him.

The NFL deemed the tackle illegal before the 2005 season. The play is still legal in college.

"He's doing his job," Riggs said of Castille. "If it was done with intent then nobody will ever know. He knows that.

"I don't think it was done intentionally. I think he was just trying to make a play."

Riggs said the fracture in his leg is far-less significant than the ligament damage in his ankle. The extent of the ankle injury has yet to be determined.

Riggs said he might have even been able to return this season had he only suffered the fracture and not the ligament damage.

"If it was just that," Riggs said, "I don't think it would be season-ending."

"Once we see the extent of the damage then we'll be able to figure out the time of recovery. We can't do that until the swelling goes down."

Riggs will continue to undergo tests this week. Meanwhile, Riggs has only months to get ready for the NFL combine in February.

"I thought it was something that I could just walk off and just shake off," Riggs said. "I took a couple of steps and it felt pretty bad. I didn't know the extent done but I was in a good deal of pain."

Riggs is UT's second pre-season All-SEC player in as many games whose college career ended prematurely. Senior defensive back Jason Allen suffered a season-ending hip injury against Georgia on Oct. 8.

Allen visited with Riggs on Monday.

"I just told him to keep his head up," Allen said. "Take it one day at a time and get better.

"You've got to bounce back. That's the biggest thing."

Riggs said the advice was welcomed.

"I'm feeling all right," he said. "Mentally, I'm fine. It's just physical. You can't control injuries.

"I'm fine and ready to get myself healthy, get myself back playing. That's what I'm really focusing on right now."

Riggs has ended an athletic tenure on a down note before. He was limited his senior season at Red Bank High School with an unrelated ankle injury.

Riggs, who made nine career starts, closes his career 13th on UT's all-time rushing list. Riggs finished his career with 1,893 yards on 383 carries for a 4.9-yard average.

Riggs scored 10 career TDs including an 80-yarder against Auburn in the 2004 SEC championship game. Riggs had a team-high 1,107 yards rushing last season, pairing with Cedric Houston to give the Vols their first two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season.

This week, he'll be sitting in the stands in Neyland Stadium as the Vols take on South Carolina. Doctors have advised him not to stand.

He'll watch the Vols and hope to be remembered for more than just statistics.

"I hope to be remembered as a guy that played hard, played tough and gave it all he had whether I was 100 percent or not," he said. "A guy that no matter what the circumstances were, if I could play, I'd play, whether that meant playing with an injury or playing hurt.

"A guy that enjoyed playing and took pride for playing for Tennessee, that's the way I want to be remembered."