Tennessee senior David Ligon had a California summer, but it wasn’t a vacation. It was homework.

And it didn’t require anymore travel than a short walk to the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center, where he spent at least two hours a day studying videotape, much of which included the University of California, UT’s opening-season opponent.

A sportswriter asked UT offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe if it is typical for an offensive lineman to study video for two hours a day in the off-season.

"That’s not typical at all," he said. "That’s impressive."

Ligon considers the video work routine.

"I’ve always watched a lot of film," said the senior from Germantown. "I really enjoy that part of the game, trying to find what another player is doing, if he’s giving away (a play) or has a tell."

He relates the analysis of opponents to his college major, finance.

"I watch and study companies," he said. "I’d like to do something with stocks and bonds."

After a summer of video work, Ligon would advise you to invest in Cal’s defense.

I know what you’re thinking: "Cal is in the Pac-10; the Pac-10 is all about offense."

But how much video did you watch this summer?

"People in Tennessee, think, ‘Yeah, the Pac-10,’ " Ligon said. "I don’t think they realize how good of a defense Cal has."

Preseason football publications do. Four Cal defensive players have been named first- or second-team All-American by at least one publication.

Brandon Mebane, a 306-pound defensive tackle, was a first-team Pac-10 selection last season. So was cornerback Daymeion Hughes. Cal’s other cornerback, Tim Mixon, is a second-team preseason All-American, as is defensive end Nu’u Tafisi.

Cal also has a couple of freshman All-Americans — Anthony Felder and Zack Follett — at linebacker, along with Desmond Bishop, a second-team, All-Pac-10 pick at linebacker last year.

The names mean nothing to Ligon. He knows the numbers.

"I can’t say enough about No. 52 (Mebane)," Ligon said. "He’s a great player. And I think 53 (Tafisi) is an unbelievable player as well. Number 13 (Hughes) is a really good player.

"They’re really deep. Normally, you say this is the strength of the defense. You can’t say it with Cal because they’ve got great players on their line, at linebacker and at defensive back."

Ligon doesn’t just know the numbers of Cal players. He remembers the number of Cal’s plays in certain games.

"Play 22 of the UCLA tape is Maurice Drew running a guy over in the end zone," Ligon said.

As you can tell by that, he watched the Cal-UCLA game more than once. He also watched the Southern Cal-Cal game repeatedly.

And when he needed a break from watching Cal videos, he watched his own team in the spring and during last year’s 5-6 season.

"That (5-6 season) will provide some extra motivation for the first game of the year," Ligon said. "It was such a bad year, there will still be a bad taste in our mouth if we win our first game or even if we win all our games.

"I think for the guys that were a part of that team, it will always be there. The fans might forget about it. But for us players, it will always be there."

The memory would be less painful if UT could knock off the 12th-ranked Golden Bears in the season opener. But while UT fans might be more concerned about Cal’s high-scoring offense, Ligon knows the challenge is two-fold.

"They have a great defense," he said. "They have an SEC-caliber defense."

That’s a rare compliment for a Pac-10 defense. But Ligon has a summer’s worth of evidence to back it up.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.