Most of Robert Ayers' Tennessee coaches didn't expect him to succeed academically or athletically when he was a freshman.
Now the senior defensive end is a changed man, on pace to graduate in December and an elected 2008 team captain.
"Robert is entirely different. He didn't really understand how hard it was to play in this league, he didn't really want to be coached very much, he already had all the answers when he was a freshman,"
coach Phillip Fulmer said. "Now he's one of those guys you really enjoy being around."
Ayers, who went to high school in Clio, S.C., after growing up in New Jersey, will have a bit of a homecoming with family and friends to cheer him on when Tennessee (3-5, 1-4 Southeastern Conference) travels to South Carolina (5-3, 2-3) on Saturday night.
He got off to a bit of a rough start with the Vols. He had his mind set on playing linebacker when his coaches wanted him to play on the line.
"When I first got here, there were a lot of bumps in the road for me. I wasn't too serious about school,"
Ayers said. "I let a lot of things distract me, but when I sat back and thought about it ... I felt like I was letting my parents down, letting my family down. And I didn't want to let them down, so that was just the real motivation for me to just get on the right path."
His first career tackle was a 2005 sack against Mississippi's Michael Spurlock for a loss of 6 yards. Since then, he's shown a knack for dropping players behind the line of scrimmage.
His 3.5 tackles for a loss against Georgia this season were a career high and were the most by a player in a single game in nearly three seasons.
Coming off the bench last season, the 6-foot-3, 270-pound Ayers led the Vols with 12 tackles for a loss and four sacks.
His total of nine tackles for a loss this season leads the team and is just five shy of the school's season record. He has 25 for his career for a net loss of 100 yards.
Ayers has also played at defensive tackle some this season to add extra depth inside and fill in while Dan Williams and Walter Fisher recovered from injuries.
"There's a lot of good stories there,"
Chavis said of Ayers. "Robert's given us obviously good play outside and when we need him inside he's gone in and done a tremendous job for us."
