Mattingly: Seeds of 1998 planted in spring

When the spring game took place April 18, 1998, 10 years ago this weekend, fans, media, and coaches alike cited a number of question marks about the team, specifically the number of key players to be replaced. Gone were such notables as Peyton Manning, Marcus Nash, Terry Fair, Jonathan Brown, Trey Teague, Leonard Little, and others.

To be truthful, no one really knew this team was cut from championship cloth. The delightful thing about college football, however, is the constant state of renewal, when previously unknown players step forward to make significant contributions.

That night, Tee Martin took up where he had left off in the waning moments of the Orange Bowl against Nebraska a little more than three months earlier and was impressive. Tee completed nine of 14 passes for 180 yards and two scores, one a 36-yarder to wideout Cedrick Wilson, the Memphis receiver who always seemed able to make the tough catch.

Martin also threw a 13-yard TD pass to the remarkable Peerless Price, but lost another score as an ever-vigilant official detected Martin being touched (this is a spring game, remember) by an onrushing defender.

"Tee handled the offense well and made good decisions," UT coach Phillip Fulmer said. "Tee has set a goal to help us win. He does not have to make all the plays, but use the players around him."

Chris Ramseur had a a big game defensively with five hits, two fumble recoveries for scores (coming within 30 seconds of each other and covering 30 and 32 yards), and an interception.

Jamal Lewis played sparingly, but enough to rack up 33 yards on six carries. Rookies Travis Stephens, Travis Henry, and Dominique Stevenson - later a linebacker - sparkled in their first spring game appearances. Henry had 17 carries for 114 yards, Stephens six for 113, and Stevenson 15 for 67, including a three-yard TD run. Stephens reeled off a 73-yard run from scrimmage and caught a 94-yard TD pass from Joey Mathews.

Price caught five balls for 96 yards, and David Leaverton had five punts for a 45.6 average, with a long boot of 54.

Looking back, there are times one player becomes the personification, the face, of an entire team. In 1998, that player, that leader, was Al Wilson, the senior linebacker from Jackson, who literally "willed" the Vols to the national crown.

"When Al Wilson spoke," Marvin West wrote, "he sounded as if he meant business."

"An intense competitor and leader," Haywood Harris wrote 10 years ago this spring, "Al expects his teammates to share his zest for the game."

Wilson was a dominating defender (West called him a "fierce hitter with an overflow of intensity"), who had no quit in him. He was the glue, the man who held the team together. As the season progressed, fans all across Big Orange Country started believing good things were about to happen. You couldn't explain it, but you could feel it. The bigger the hurdle, the more the Vols responded.

Wilson's mantra was a simple one: "Stay hungry."

"As one of the team captains that year, I took it on myself to assume the leadership role that had been vacated when Peyton Manning and Leonard Little both graduated," he said. "Nobody knew who would step up and take over. I decided I was going to lead the team to be the best we could be."

The key word was "team."

"We weren't separated by offense or defense. It was my job to go out there and lead by example with the hope the team would feed off it. The whole season was a highlight of my life."

What was Wilson's influence, his legacy? He expected a great deal from himself first, then a great deal from his teammates. He earned their respect.

One Vol said that if given a choice between being called to see Wilson or the head coach, he'd take his chances with Fulmer. That's the way Wilson was.

When you think about the 1998 team, think of Wilson and a team that never gave up, never gave in, despite the obstacles in their path. The team fed off his energy.

No one knows the exact moment a team becomes a "team," one destined for great success. All the little pieces have to fall together in exactly the right way. Sometimes it happens when you least expect it. In 1998, it all started in spring practice.

Tom Mattingly is the author of "The Tennessee Football Vault: The Story of the Tennessee Volunteers, 1891-2006" (2006), to be published in second edition in 2008, and "Tennessee Football: The Peyton Manning Years" (1998). He may be reached at tjmshm@comcast.net. His News Sentinel blog on govolsxtra.com is called The Vol Historian.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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