Reveiz hurts knee; Rogan suspended

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Trainers tend to Tennessee linebacker Nick Reveiz (56) in the third quarter on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009 at Neyland Stadium. The Vols evened their record to 2-2 with a 34-23 win over Ohio but Reveiz suffered a season-ending knee injury.

It was a painful victory for Tennessee's football team Saturday night at Neyland Stadium.

The Vols suffered a myriad of injuries during the 34-23 victory over Ohio University. None hurt worse than the knee injury sustained by starting middle linebacker Nick Reveiz.

With 2:05 left in the third quarter, Reveiz went down with an injury to his right knee and didn't return.

"I think our middle linebacker (Reveiz) is out for the year," UT coach Lane Kiffin said. "He blew his knee out."

Reveiz is a former walk-on from Farragut High School who earned a scholarship and a starting job.

"That's a huge blow for us because Nick is not only one of the big leaders on our team, he brings a lot to our team physically, mentally, and emotionally," defensive end Chris Walker said. "Just him being out on the field is a big plus for us, the way he plays, his attitude, his leadership is something that's great for our defense and great for our team.

"If he's not able to go it will be a big blow but I'm confident in the leadership we have on our team we can pick that slack up."

Rogan Suspended: Starting left cornerback Dennis Rogan didn't play Saturday and he wasn't seen on the sideline.

"Dennis was suspended as an administrative reason," Kiffin said. "He'll be back next week. We talk about doing the little things right and everybody doing them and when people are selfish and don't do the little things right, they don't play. The immediate effect is the team. You saw it tonight. We missed him today out there."

Brent Vinson started in place of Rogan, and Marsalous Johnson also played the left corner.

Nu'Keese Starts: True freshman Nu'Keese Richardson got his first start at wide receiver in place of senior Quentin Hancock (broken jaw). Freshman Marsalis Teague got his fourth consecutive start at the other wide receiver spot.

Redshirt freshman Aaron Douglas started at right guard in place of Jarrod Shaw. Cory Sullins started at left guard in place of Vladimir Richard (knee/Achilles); Jarrod Shaw replaced Sullins on the second series.

"I was anxious at first, but that's just normal," Douglas said. "It felt good to get a game under my belt. Now we'll move on and get Auburn."

Defensively, Vinson got his first start at of the season at left cornerback, where Johnson started the season opener and Rogan the next two games. Andre Mathis started at left tackle for Wes Brown (knee). Greg King started for LaMarcus Thompson at strong-side linebacker.

Nu-Gun formation: Jonathan Crompton's first pass of the game was overthrown to NuKeese Richardson. Seven plays later, Richardson lined up at quarterback, took the snap, and handed off to Montario Hardesty, who scored on an 11-yard run.

Richardson took the snap from center for one play during the Vols' second possession and gained 5 yards on a run. It was the last time Richardson lined up in that formation.

Fourth-Quarter Points: Matthew Weller's 31-yard field goal with 10:38 left in the game were the first points allowed by the Vols in the fourth quarter of a game this season. Weller later missed a 32-yard field-goal attempt with 2:08 to play.

Not Streakers: With 6:54 left in the third quarter, three male fans (fully clothed) ran onto the field from near the south end zone. They ran across midfield to near the 20-yard line of the other side of the field. Two of them were tackled by security and the other was grabbed by security before being taken out of the stadium.

No Vol Walk: The Vol Walk was canceled due to heavy rains before the Ohio game. UT announced 2 hours the Vol Walk was called off for the safety of players and fans.

Bowl Rep: Representatives from the Capital One Bowl were at the game.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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