Packer: UT still hit with Talley

"I work out on campus several days a week to stay in shape. I mainly focus on power clean and body building," Talley said this week while working out. I'm in as good of shape now as I've ever been."

Talley was a fierce tackler during his time at Tennessee. He played for the Vols from 1991-94 and then spent four years in the NFL with the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons before hanging it up.

"I got tired of the business side of football, so I quit playing in 1999," Talley said. "I thought about giving it another shot in 2000 but things never worked out."

The physical pounding took its toll after all the hits he dished out, and some that he had to take.

"I remember my first full day of practice with pads on at UT," Talley said. "We were doing an isolation drill, it was 9 on 8, 9 on offense because the quarterback was one.

"The fullback came through the middle of the line to block me and we hit each other at full speed. We both got up after the hit and walked back to our huddles. We were practicing at Upper Hudson where you could see Thompson-Boling Arena in the distance.

"The guys told me that I walked past the huddle and just kept on walking toward the arena. I don't remember much about what happened because my bell was rung pretty good. That was something people still laugh about today."

Talley said the adjustment from high school to college was difficult in many ways, but none more so that trying to deal with all the pretty girls on campus.

"Chief (defensive coordinator John Chavis) called me and told me that I better ease up on the social life," said Talley. "Listen, I was from the small town of Griffin, Georgia. Coming to UT was a big adjustment for me."

Talley played in some great games during his time with the Vols. The 1992 Florida game brought back memories of doing a rain dance on the field as the Vols blew out the Gators.

"We were all dancing as that game went on," he said. "That was a fun game."

But it was the Alabama game of 1993 that runs through Talley's mind still today.

"They had just scored a touchdown to cut our lead to 17-15," he said. "On the two-point conversion, David Palmer got the ball and headed straight toward the corner of the end zone. I wish, to this day, that he had run the other way because then he would have come my way. I was on the back side of that play. I still think they were running away from me."

Talley works at Y-12 in Oak Ridge as a security officer. It's what he accomplished three years ago that makes him prouder than any tackle or big hit he ever made on the football field.

"I graduated from the University of Tennessee with a degree in Urban Studies," said Talley. "It took me a while because I spent the time in the NFL, but it was important to go back and get my diploma."

Now that he's back on campus. Working out in the weight room with the Vols, Talley says he sees the passion to make Tennessee a national power again in the eyes of the current players.

"I don't know all of their names, but I know that they are busting it in the weight room to get bigger, faster and stronger," he said.

"After the 5-6 season, it's kind of like chewing a piece of gum with the liquid center. You have to get through the outer layer to get to the good stuff. They've had to work their way through the tough stuff to get back to the good times. I think they'll do it real soon."