Shane Reveiz was ready when call came

The lights were on at Neyland Stadium.

Tennessee starters were playing.

The score was close and the game was hanging in the balance.

In some ways it added up to a dream come true for walk-on Shane Reveiz, but the situation was all too real for the sophomore Saturday against Vanderbilt. Already running low on linebackers and short one more in the second half, the former Farragut High School standout was thrust in with the UT stars and didn't look out of place.

"It definitely was a reality check," Reveiz said. "I want to say I'm still just kind of a young guy in the plan here, so it was pretty crazy being in there with people like Eric Berry and Chris Walker and Wes Brown and stuff like that.

"It was a great experience. I loved every minute of it, and I can't wait to continue it in the future."

Certainly in the near future - most likely the final regular season game at Kentucky (7-4, 3-4 SEC) on Saturday (TV: ESPNU, 7 p.m.) - he should play a significant role for the short-handed Vols (6-5, 3-4 SEC). And they've already found out once how hard it is to get a Reveiz out of the lineup once he gets in.

It took season-ending knee surgery to keep older brother Nick off the field after defeating Ohio Sept. 26, and the seemingly nonstop barrage of injuries in the middle of the defense since helped force UT to turn to the younger Reveiz.

Greg King was the latest casualty after chipping a bone in his elbow against the Commodores, and with surgery scheduled for him as well, the freshman will miss the remainder of the season. When he went down in the third quarter, Reveiz, son of former UT kicker Fuad Reveiz, was pressed into action, and although two tackles and a quarterback hurry don't leap off the stats sheet, there also wasn't anything to really complain about.

"Coach (Lane) Kiffin always talks to us about how the twos have to be ready, the second-team always has to be ready," Reveiz said. "The ones and twos always get reps in practice. We always practice the same stuff. Ones get the same looks as the twos because the second-team always has to be ready.

"Somebody is going to go down, something is going to happen, so you've got to be ready. Unfortunately (Saturday) it happened with Greg King and I had to step up. But it's just one of those things in football."

Injuries have been hitting UT particularly hard down the stretch, and most of them have piled up on defense.

Attrition is a part of any season, though Kiffin also is dealing with a roster that's smaller than he would like for several reasons other than bad knees. That's created a bigger issue on defense since the Vols would typically be able to rotate in more players, theoretically limiting the number of chances for major damage to anybody, not just the starters.

"It would show up on defense, it wouldn't show up that much on offense," said Kiffin. "We would have more of a rotation in there. When we eventually get to where we need to be, guys won't have to play as many snaps, and they'll be more productive because of it.

"We'll be an even better fourth-quarter team."

That doesn't exactly mean Reveiz won't be out there then, either. But for now it's already a reality.

Brown Honored: Tennessee defensive tackle Wes Brown was selected SEC defensive lineman of the week.

Brown, a senior playing his last game at Neyland Stadium, intercepted a pass on his last play and returned it for a touchdown against Vanderbilt.

He also had three tackles, one a nine-yard sack, and a quarterback hurry.

It was Brown's second game in a row with an interception, tied for the team lead. Brown's first touchdown since high school came in his 49th collegiate game.

Brown has been playing throughout the year with injuries to both knees.

Other honorees are Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett (offense), Kentucky linebacker Sam Maxwell (defense), Alabama returner Javier Arenas (special teams), Mississippi guard Reid Neely (offensive line) and Vanderbilt's Norman (freshman).

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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