Packer: Scissor work among Fair's UT memories

Former Tennessee defensive back Terry Fair took the long road to Knoxville. Playing his high school football in Phoenix, Ariz., it was a former Arizona State head coach who made the connection with Fair that convinced him to move across the country to Big Orange country.

"Larry Marmie was the defensive coordinator at UT," Fair said. "He had been the head coach at Arizona State when he tried to recruit my brother to play there. My brother ended up playing basketball at UConn, but coach Marmie and I established a relationship.

"My first contact with Tennessee was a letter from David Blackburn. I hadn't thought much about Tennessee until coach Marmie made contact. At that point, I started watching UT play on TV. I remember watching Tennessee play Georgia on a Saturday night game at Neyland Stadium. I was so impressed with the atmosphere and the opportunity to play in the SEC that I started to think seriously about playing in Knoxville."

When it comes to recruiting, you never know what is going to be that one thing that draws a high school kid. For Fair, it was the letterhead.

"I know that sounds crazy, but I loved the orange checkerboard on the letters I got from Tennessee," he said. "I thought it looked cool and it made me want to wear the orange and play on that field with the checkerboards in the end zones."

During his playing days at UT, Fair was one highlight play after another. From 1994-97, Fair had the knack of making the big play from his defensive back position and returning kicks. But, it was his last game at UT that Fair looks back and laughs about now.

"We were playing Nebraska in the Orange Bowl and we knew it was going to be a physical game," he said. "So, I told the other guys on the team that I was going to wear my undershirt untucked to show a 'tough look.' Well, Coach (Phillip) Fulmer had told me several times during the game to tuck my shirt in. I would do it when he was looking, then untuck it when he looked away.

"Later in the game I fumbled a punt, and Coach Fulmer got as mad at me as I ever saw him get. I walked past him and he let me have it. When I got to the bench, a trainer came walking toward me and Coach Fulmer was right behind him. Coach got some scissors from the trainer and started cutting my undershirt. Man, that thing looked horrible after he was done with it. It was all uneven, it was embarrassing. But, he made his point and didn't have to worry about telling me to tuck it in again."

After being a first-round pick of the Detroit Lions in 1998, Fair enjoyed an eight-year career in the NFL. But, it was a Monday night in 2002 that he'll never forget.

"I was with the Rams and we were playing at Detroit," Fair said. "I came up to support the run and hit Kevin Jones. I laid on the field for about 25 minutes, paralyzed in my entire body. Laying there on the field, everything in my life flashed before my eyes. My first thought was how hard I had worked to fight back through injuries in my career to get where I was. I started thinking about my family and all that I might lose. It was the first time in my life that I was completely helpless and had no control over anything. I remember praying very hard during those 25 minutes for God to help me.

"I had tried so hard for those 25 minutes to make some part of my body move, but nothing would. Finally, I felt the stinging sensation of pins in my toes. The tingling moved its way up my body to the point that I could raise my thumb up for the crowd to see that I had feeling and would be OK.

"I came back after seven games when we played Houston. When I took a hit, I felt tingling and numbing down both my arms and knew right then that it was time to hang it up. I miss football because I still feel like I had some very good years left in me. But, I knew it was simply time to walk away from the game."

Fair is back in Knoxville now, doing some radio and TV work.

"I'm glad to be back in Knoxville," he said. "I'm excited to see what this new regime will be able to do. Coach Fulmer will always be my coach. He was a great coach and had a lot of success at Tennessee. But, sometimes change is good. Change is a part of life. Only time will tell if this change ends up being a good thing for Tennessee football."

Sixteen years ago it was a checkerboard letterhead that swayed Fair to move to Knoxville. Now, that checkerboard will be a part of the rest of his life.

Mark Packer is a freelance contributor. He hosts The Locker Room on Sundays at 10 p.m. on MyVLT2.