Thompson OK after making tackle

Game recap: Tennessee vs. Ole Miss

OXFORD, Miss. - Good news was hard to come by.

But about an hour after Tennessee's demoralizing loss was over, it at least got some to make the trip home a little easier.

After rallying to make a tackle late in the 42-17 loss to Ole Miss at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, LaMarcus Thompson had to be immobilized and carted off the field after taking a shot around his neck, sobering the rest of the Vols even further on Saturday.

But despite initial concerns he would have to stay in Mississippi, tests on the junior linebacker were negative at Baptist Hospital and he was cleared to return home with the team.

"The most important thing, the early word that we have is they're being very safe with it, but our guys felt pretty good about it," UT coach Lane Kiffin said. "He's had stingers on this same shoulder, this was worse than they had been before, but our doctors seemed to be pretty optimistic.

"This one just felt different."

It looked worse as well, but Thompson never appeared to lose feeling in his legs despite the obvious pain he was in following a rush by Rebels running back Enrique Davis late in the fourth quarter.

Training staff tended to Thompson for about 10 minutes and cut off his facemask before helping him out of the stadium, and the incident clearly shook up the Vols. They huddled behind him until he was safely gone, and the Rebels punched in another touchdown on the next play.

"It was just him running to the ball, and we got up and he didn't," UT defensive end Chris Walker said. "We didn't really see what happened, but it was something that looked pretty bad. All we can do is just pray for him and know that God's got him in His hands.

"Coach told us, the first thing he said when we got in the locker room, is that the doctors said he's going to be fine. But still, you never know when something like that is going to happen and take you off the field."

Like the rest of the UT defenders, Thompson had some problems slowing down the Rebels and multi-purpose weapon Dexter McCluster. But he finished with four tackles, and a position that has been ravaged by injuries, UT can hardly afford to lose him heading into the last two weeks of the regular season.

"It's definitely scary just because he was a guy that was out there with us the play before and we were talking, and then the next play he's on the ground not moving," Walker said. "It's scary for us, and it is a sobering fact that you have to play every down like it's your last because you never know when it will be.

"Hopefully he'll be fine. We'll be praying for him on the way home."

Record Setting, Easily: Ole Miss' tailback Dexter McCluster's 282 rushing yards easily topped the two previous highs against the Vols. Colorado's Mike Pritchard (1990) and Alabama's Bobby Humphrey (1986) held the previous mark - 217.

300 Club: With 359 rushing yards, Ole Miss became the first team to run for 300 or more yards against Tennessee since Nebraska got 321 in the Fiesta Bowl at the end of the 1999 season.

Bowling: Representatives from the Capital One, Outback, Chick-Fil-A, Independence and Liberty bowls were at Saturday's game.

Coin Duo: The Vols only sent two captains to midfield for the pre-game coin toss: quarterback Jonathan Crompton and running back Montario Hardesty.