Strange: Vols are cut down to size by elephants (not Alabama)

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University of Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton is greeted by an elephant smelling his foot at the Knoxville Zoo on Friday. Teammates Dallas Thomas, far left, Anthony Anderson, center left, and William Brimfield, black shirt center, wait to greet the elephant that can kick and pass a football.

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University of Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton is greeted by an elephant smelling his foot at the Knoxville Zoo on Friday. Teammates Dallas Thomas, far left, Anthony Anderson, center left, and William Brimfield, black shirt center, wait to greet the elephant that can kick and pass a football.

All of a sudden, that offensive tackle from Alabama doesn't seem so big.

"I don't know that there's too many linemen in the SEC that big,'' Robert Ayers said.

Ayers, a Tennessee senior defensive end, has seen most of the linemen in the SEC. Next to Edie and Jana, a 350-pounder in shoulder pads looks like a jockey.

A handful of UT players dropped in on the African Elephant compound at the Knoxville Zoo on Friday. I've heard of an athlete racing a horse, even wrestling a bear. Fraternizing with pachyderms might be breaking new ground.

An advertised tug-of-war didn't materialize, which was a good thing for the Vols. They didn't want to go to UCLA with a loss already on the slate.

"I don't think that would have lasted long,'' said freshman lineman William Brimfield.

Edie and Jana, known to zoo staff as "the girls," used their trunks to flip footballs to the Vols.

"They can fling it pretty good,'' said quarterback Jonathan Crompton. "I'm gonna give it to 'em.''

Edie's efforts more closely resembled shotgun snaps. Jana went deep once.

"A Hail Mary,'' Crompton noted.

As curious giraffes peered over the wall, a tee was set up. Jana lumbered forward and kicked a few balls that could have been well-executed onsides kicks. The Vols should have brought the "hands" team.

But then the humans weren't exactly fighting each other to catch the passes and kicks. The old elephant snot factor.

"It felt like water,'' said defensive back Anthony Anderson. "They got me good.''

"Slimey,'' judged Crompton. "Not too bad.''

Cautious at first, the Vols warmed up to the girls. Edie, the smaller of the two, weighs about 8,700 pounds.

"I don't come up too much on animals or even people my size or bigger,'' said the 6-foot-5, 320-pound Brimfield. "That's pretty crazy.''

The Vols and elephants have one thing in common. Both are entertainers. That's about as far as it goes, though.

The elephant dorm/locker room was sparse compared to Gibbs Hall. No posters on the walls. No wide-screens.

The training table appeared healthy. Workers filled a wheelbarrow with past-its-prime produce from local groceries. An elephant consumes 200 pounds of food a day. Not even John Henderson approached that.

Finally, a test of strength. Jacques McClendon, the strongest Vol in history, tried to budge the 850-pound blocking sled to no avail.

"It wasn't going anywhere,'' said McClendon.

Oh, yeah? Jana leaned in, lifted the sled off the ground and shoved it backward.

Ayers was impressed. More so, he was grateful he'd never have to mount a pass rush against anything that big on a Saturday afternoon.

"Nah,'' he said. "I wouldn't even try.

"If I had to get to the quarterback by going through one of those things, I'd just drop back and try to catch the interception.''

And hope it wasn't coated with elephant snot.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strangem@knoxnews.com.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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