Fred White was playing in the biggest game of his football career, to that point anyway. It was October of 1996 and the Alabama Crimson Tide were in Neyland Stadium for their annual meeting with Tennessee.

The redshirt freshman was on the kickoff team trying to convince the coaches that they should find a way to keep him on the field. "'Bama was tough," White said. "I remember running down the field and getting laid out by their starting tight end. He hit me, I didn't even see it coming.

"We both laid on the field for a good while. I came back into the game, but he didn't play again in the game. We came back to win, 20-13 and went to the locker room. When coach was handing out game balls, he gave me one for the hit on the kickoff. I still laugh to this day because I didn't hit him, he hit me."

It was one of 12 game balls White would collect during his time with the Vols because of his all-out effort. "I had the attitude that I wanted to prove to the coaches, whenever I had a chance, that I needed to be on the field. I knew that my best chance to prove it was on special teams.

"I think it's the difference in how I played the game and how some of the guys play it now. I thought I needed to earn my playing time. I think some of the guys now think that if they just wait their turn, they'll get their chance."

White and Deon Grant made one of the best one-two safety punches in football when they were together during the national championship season of 1998.

"I was the talker," White laughed. "Deon did some talking, but not near as much as I did. I remember talking so much during the spring that I wore myself out. So, that next summer I talked during the workouts to get myself ready for the season.

"The games I remember talking the most in were the Georgia games. I'm from Griffin, Georgia. So, I knew a bunch of people from Georgia. I knew most of the players on Georgia's team. I knew their girlfriend's name, I knew their mama, I knew their daddy, I even knew who had kids. I would wear them out during the game.

"It got so bad that the officials would tell me over and over again to shut up. But, I'd keep talking. Finally they'd go to Deon and tell him to tell me to shut up or they were going to give us 15 yards. Deon would say something but I'd keep talking."

White said the best battles were with former Bulldogs wide receiver Hines Ward and running back Jasper Sanks. "We had some good stuff going on during the games. I thought that if I talked about their girlfriend and their mama enough that it would take them out of their game."

White said that his talking was part of the attitude that the Vols defense had. "I just remember when I got to Tennessee that there was a tradition of defensive backs that I felt I should live up to. I looked up to Ray Austin, Tori Noel and Jason Parker. Man, those guys would lay you out if you weren't careful. DB's have to be the nastiest players on the field because no one should be allowed to run free without getting tagged in the secondary."

That attitude was something White and the rest of defense shared during the magical championship season. If White wasn't talking, a certain linebacker was talking to him.

"I remember in the Florida game in '98, I blew a coverage and let their running back catch a pass out of the backfield. When I stood up, there was Al Wilson to let me know what I'd done wrong. I can't say exactly what he said. But I do remember him telling me that if I couldn't do my job we'd have to meet after the game in the parking lot and settle it then. I knew I had screwed up so I didn't argue with him."

White said there was no doubt who was the biggest talker he ever played against.

"That was Peter Warrick of Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl," said White. "He was talking before the game, during stretching, during the coin toss and for a while during the game. But, when (Dwayne) Goodrich intercepted the pass and took it in for 6, Warrick didn't say another word the rest of the night."

White is a sales rep. for Verizon Wireless in Knoxville. He doesn't do as much talking now as he used to only if it involves a sale.

Mark Packer hosts the Locker Room at 10 p.m. on Sunday's on My East Tennessee TV. His guest tonight is Fred White.