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More Vols in Pros

• Hochevar (rib contusion) on DL
• Trainer says Helton healing
• No guarantee Manning plays in season opener

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Talking to Gibril Wilson less than a month after the New York Giants won the Super Bowl, you'd wonder if he's already forgotten that fateful night in the Arizona desert.

The Immaculate Reception Part II, the equally amazing Eli Manning scramble that preceded it and, lest we forget, New York snatching the pen from the New England Patriots, who had every intention of rewriting NFL history.

Try getting the safety excited, though, and his voice remains focused, like eyes reading a quarterback.

It's an excusable offense for a player who's been overlooked practically his entire career.

"I like when the odds are against me," Wilson said.

But that's no longer the case entering his fifth season. Wilson, a free agent for less than 24 hours, signed a six-year, $39 million contract with the Oakland Raiders on Friday, guaranteeing him around $16 million and making him one of the highest paid safeties in the NFL.

Not bad for a guy who arrived on Tennessee's campus as an undersized junior college transfer and slid to the fifth round of the 2004 draft.

Teams couldn't ignore the hard-hitting safety much longer, however. He led the Giants with 110 tackles in 2006, and managed 92 stops along with a career-high four interceptions this season, despite missing three games with a knee injury.

And now there's the matter of that diamond-encrusted ring on his finger.

"It was amazing," Wilson finally conceded of the Giants' 17-14 victory over the Patriots. "Nobody thought we had a chance, except the guys in our locker room."

An underdog theme did have a way of pervading Super Bowl XLII.

The wild-card Giants playing the unblemished Patriots; David Tyree, who had only four receptions all season, making the grab of the century; and, of course, Manning, who had spent four much-maligned seasons in the Meadowlands, winning three straight road playoff games on his way to the University of Phoenix Stadium.

Just a year ago, Peyton Manning silenced critics by being named MVP of his first Super Bowl with Indianapolis. Eli quickly emerged from big brother's shadow to throw for 255 yards and two touchdowns-keeping the MVP trophy in the family for at least another season. Not to mention accomplishing the feat against Peyton's nemesis Tom Brady.

"Eli's never changed," Wilson said. "When we got in that stadium, he never changed. People always wanted him to be something different, but he stayed the course."

The game was also a reunion of sorts for Wilson, who met up with a few familiar faces in Glendale. Ones UT fans might recognize, as well, like safety Rashad Baker and receivers Donte' Stallworth and Kelley Washington - unfortunately for them they were on the opposing sideline.

"That week I got to hang out with all of them and had a lot of fun," Wilson said. "They were saying how many points they were going to beat us by the whole week.

"Donte' came by before kick off and told me they were going to be popping champagne after the game."

No bubbly for Stallworth, but the Giants did plenty of celebrating once they returned home for a ticker-tape parade down Broadway. Even amongst the sea of red, white and blue, Wilson claimed he could spot a glint of orange.

"Actually, I saw some UT hats," he said. "I see UT fans everywhere. Whether it's in the stands or on the streets, somebody's going to have that 'T' on. It's nice to know you've made an impression on people like that."

Although his roots lie on the West Coast where he helped City College of San Francisco to two straight juco titles, Knoxville has become his second home.

At 6 feet, sub-200 pounds, the Oak Grove High School product had plenty of work to put in if he was going to compete at the SEC level. Which is where UT strength and conditioning coach Johnny Long entered the picture.

He bolstered Wilson's speed and turned a frame Wilson called "skinny" into a 200-pound wrecking ball.

"Gibril was never afraid to be physically challenged. He would be pushed to collapsing," said Long, who since 1994 has catapulted 14 Vols into the first round of the NFL draft.

Wilson, now at 210, returns yearly to participate in the same weight program that landed him in the NFL, partly because he knows Long will treat him as if he just stepped off the plane from San Francisco.

"I treat him like I would a freshman or sophomore. I think that's why a lot of the NFL guys come back," Long said.

"There are ra-ra-ree guys that act like leaders, and then there are the guys who don't ra-ra-ree and get it done. Gibril would've run through a brick wall if you told him it'd make him better."

He'd likely do the same for any one of his former coaches. That's why he's taken personally the fingers being pointed at Phillip Fulmer over the recent barrage of off-field incidents.

"He's a great coach and a great guy," Wilson said of Fulmer, who has received criticism after eight UT players have been disciplined or arrested thus far in 2008. "He's not out there drinking for these guys. He gets a call at 2 or 3 in the morning, it's not his fault.

"It's not (the coaches) job outside that complex. They're grown men, and some seniors need to take responsibility, because everybody's not going to be a first-round draft pick.

"I get back because coach Long, coach Fulmer, and coach (John) Chavis are the ones who got me where I am, and I won't forget that."

Long can't wait for the return of one of his most loyal disciples.

"I was pulling for Gibril 100 percent (in the NFL), and then to turn around and win a Super Bowl? There's no dollar amount you can put on that," he said. "I can't wait for the day he comes back so I can hug his neck and see that big ol' ring."

Wilson will invariably return this summer. With a big ol' contract, one that trumps Seattle safety and former UT star Deon Grant's six-year, $30 million deal from last year's free agency crop.

A small price to pay for an invaluable player if you ask Long.

"Gibril came from juco. He knew the level where you take buses to games. At (the Division I) level, you don't take buses - you take planes. He never took that for granted."

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.