Big was beautiful at Tennessee last August when the Vols reported for what was expected to be a championship season.

The starting offensive line averaged 324 pounds. The smallest starting lineman was David Ligon, who weighed in at a frail 300 pounds; the biggest was Albert Toeaina, deemed perfectly fit at 6-foot-6, 355 pounds.

The first three fullbacks averaged 265 pounds. Starter Cory Anderson was 275.

The coaches didn't make a big deal out of how big their Vols were. There was no mention of excess baggage, no concern that the size of the offense might slow it down.

But UT's first losing season in 17 years hit the team right in the gut. Suddenly, pounds were an issue. The coaches said, "Take it off," and the players took them to heart.

UT's projected starting offensive line has been trimmed to a 311-pound average. Anderson is 20 pounds lighter.

And offensive tackle Chris Scott is a mere sliver of himself. Scott, who will back up Arron Sears at left tackle, has lost an average of five pounds per month since last August when, at 360 pounds, he was big enough for two cornerbacks. A year and 60 pounds later, he's 6-5, 300.

There's nothing drastic going on here. Scott didn't have surgery and didn't have his jaws wired shut.

He did it through diet and exercise, then more diet and exercise. He did it by saying "no." No sweets, no fried foods, no Big Macs or big meals, no Doritos, and no looking forward to a Sunday dinner the way he had for most of his life in Riverdale, Ga.

The temptations for Scott began at home, where a family of talented cooks made eating irresistible. His mother is a great cook. So is his grandmother.

When Scott talks about Sunday dinner, you want to go home with him. He reels off the items without hesitation, as though the menu is right in front of him: fried chicken, meat loaf, collard greens, lima beans, macaroni and cheese, cornbread, rolls, apple pie, sweet-potato pie. I'm not sure if that's a complete list or if Scott broke it off because he felt either tempted or tortured.

As good as an average Sunday dinner at the Scott household sounds, it gets better when Chris' aunt from South Georgia shows up.

"My auntie specializes in cake making," Scott said. "She's very good at it."

Scott said he weighed about 310 to 320 when he played high school football. But between his senior season and reporting to UT, he bulked up to 360 pounds.

He attributed that to eating the wrong foods and a less-than-Spartan off-season conditioning regimen.

"I'd go out running, but it wouldn't be as serious as it needed to be," he said. "Most of the time, I'd run one day, then take three days off."

At least, you could say he had a "restful summer." And he has spent the last year paying for it.

Now, he's off the bread mill and on the treadmill. He has replaced fried chicken with grilled chicken and fish. He has watched his friends eat meals that he only fantasizes about.

And he has seen his football career in a more favorable light.

"There's a lot of movement in this (offensive) system," Scott said. "There's a lot of quickness you have to use. Being as heavy as I was, I couldn't move as swift as I can now."

He no longer jiggles when he runs. He has flattened out a stomach that once hung over his belt line. He has gone from a 50-inch waist to a 42- or 44-inch waist.

And he has become the poster player for a team determined to reshape its image, on the scales and in the SEC standings.