Vols glance• Tennessee (4-5, 1-4 SEC) vs. Kentucky (5-5, 2-5)• Saturday, 4 p.m.• SEC Network & 106.5 FM
Tennessee left tackle Jacob Gilliam (65)KNOXVILLE -- That chilly night in Oxford, Miss., seems like it was much more than just a few weeks ago.
The warmer night at the end of August seems forever ago.
Those were memorable moments for Jacob Gilliam, the Tennessee offensive tackle who returned from a torn anterior cruciate ligament he suffered 73 days ago to start for the Volunteers in their past two games, but it very well may be the memories from four years ago that are fueling the fifth-year senior.
Gilliam was a freshman walk-on back in 2010, when Tennessee played in its last bowl game.
"I had a bowl game my redshirt year, back when Ja'Wuan James and all them were freshmen," Gilliam said after Tennessee practiced Tuesday ahead of Saturday's visit from Kentucky. "That was a great experience. I loved every second of that. That was a lot of fun. I thought every year was going to be like that.
"I'm disappointed to see how those middle three years turned out, but I'm ready to get us back to that feeling and how that was."
Improbably and courageously, the Knoxville native who attended his first Tennessee game at age 6 is doing his part.
When he walked off the turf in the second half of Tennessee's season-opening win against Utah State, the ACL in his left knee was torn, and his season, the one he spent four long, thankless years as a walk-on to earn, appeared over.
Gilliam instead was determined to return.
"As soon as we figured out that he was hurt, he said, 'Hey, I'm coming back,'" fellow tackle Kyler Kerbyson said. "I looked at him confused and said, 'Really, are you?' I didn't really believe him and walked away like, 'Man, that guy's crazy.' He came back, and he's doing his thing; he's doing real well out there.
"He's risking his legs to be able to walk for the rest of life, just so he can play this game. If that doesn't tell you how much he loves it, and how a hometown guy can show so much heart, I don't know what does."
After practicing for a few weeks, Gilliam returned during the first half of Tennessee's loss at Ole Miss after freshman right tackle Coleman Thomas went down with an ankle injury.
It took about two snaps for the 6-foot-4, 297-pounder to feel his knee buckle a little bit, get beat around the edge and give up a sack.
"I was thrown in there and had to get a feel for it again," he said. "It was, what, five or six weeks since I last played. It was just that break-in period that anybody has. For me, it was like starting all over again, because my first game I only got three quarters of it.
"I feel really good. I feel confident. I feel like my ability's back."
In Tennessee's past two games against Alabama and South Carolina, Gilliam hardly missed a snap and helped the Vols' offensive revival ed by dual-threat quarterback Josh Dobbs.
Though Thomas is healthy, Gilliam is going to continue to start as long as his knee holds up.
"He's really gotten into a zone understanding the other side," Kerbyson said. "He started at left, was comfortable at left. He's been able to bounce back over, get comfortable at right. Really just his leg is the reason why he's playing right, and he's doing a great job. He's gotten confidence from the past two games that we've had, which has really helped.
"He's a trooper. That's all I've got to say about (him). That guy's got a lot of heart to be able to come back out there."
What he's done hasn't been lost on his teammates.
"I can't ever complain about being banged up out there on the field," defensive tackle Danny O'Brien said. "That shows how much heart that kid has. I've got nothing but respect for that kid. Playing through a torn ACL, I know it's got to be killing him out there, but it's his senior year and he's from this city and from this state.
"He wants to give his all for Tennessee, and if anybody's done that on this team, I think it's him."
Since returning, Gilliam said he's gotten plenty of messages on Twitter and text messages from fans and friends calling him "all Vol" and "a true VFL (Vol for life)," that he's greatly appreciated.
"It means a lot that I know I've got people behind me," he added. "I know I've got people that want to see me succeed, but at the end of the day I'm playing football. Really, God's the one that healed my knee, and that's what I play for every day."
Gilliam thought the Vols "didn't take it seriously enough" late last season when a bowl game was still in play, and he's trying to make sure that's not the case this month.
"I've only got three games left here," he said. "I'm trying to fight for that fourth. I feel like all the other seniors feel the same way, and I know my all my young guys back there want to see us get to that fourth game, because they want to start something new here."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.