ShareThisBy GEOFF CALKINS
Scripps Howard News Service
Monday, July 30, 2007
Once upon a time, there were two gifted quarterbacks who decided to play football at the University of Tennessee.
One of them was a classic passer, big and strong with an arm to make scouts swoon.
One of them was a classic scrambler, quick and electric with an arm that was just about as good.
They both played as freshman at Tennessee. They both got an opportunity to start.
Four years later, one was at the Southeastern Conference's media gathering last week, preparing for a season that could bring him titles, riches and fame.
The other was back in Oxford, Miss., his third school in four years, preparing for a season in which he might not start.
The difference between the two players?
One has grown up.
One has stubbornly declined.
So feel free to tell this story to your kids, won't you?
It's a football fable called the Rebel and the Vol.
The Rebel is Brent Schaeffer, who didn't make it to SEC Media Days. He was the classic scrambler. He started his first three games at Tennessee.
But, like a lot of young people, Schaeffer made some mistakes. He was dismissed from Tennessee at the end of the season and wound up at a California junior college.
Given a second chance at Ole Miss -- handed the starting job before he even arrived on campus -- Schaeffer responded by, OK, blowing it again.
He was late to team meetings, he blew off class. And he played badly, too. Funny how that works.
Now he's an underdog to Seth Adams, a former walk-on, going into his senior year.
Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron has plainly run out of patience. Asked about Schaeffer last week, Orgeron was refreshingly blunt.
"He has a very strong arm, but he's a very inconsistent player," he said. "He has an inconsistent lifestyle that leads to that."
So, after everything, he still doesn't get it?
"If he got it, he'd be our starting quarterback," Orgeron said.
Which brings us to the Vol, Erik Ainge, the classic passer with the big arm. He took the starting job from Schaeffer as a freshman, then, like a lot of young people, made some mistakes.
"I didn't prepare for the 2005 season physically and emotionally as I should have," he said. "I took it for granted."
Ainge lost his starting job to Rick Clausen. A hideous interception for a touchdown against LSU became a metaphor for his inability to deal with pressure or adversity.
Given a second chance at Tennessee, he responded by -- notice the difference, kids -- changing the way he lived.
"Coach Fulmer and coach (David) Cutcliffe (the Vols offensive coordinator) challenged me," he said. "They challenged me to learn not just what it's like to throw a football but to be a quarterback."
He didn't mean studying tape, either, though that was part of it. He meant leading by example, working harder than the next guy. He meant living every day with a purpose. He meant growing up.
"You've got to prove to your teammates that they can trust you," Ainge said. "You can't tell a guy to go to class if you're not going to class. You can't tell a guy not to go to the clubs if you're hanging out at clubs. You've got to embrace the role 24/7."
This seems so simple, doesn't it? The examples are everywhere in sports. See Peyton Manning vs. Ryan Leaf.
Ainge has a different package of talents than Schaeffer, but he isn't more talented. He just gets it. He sees the connection between how you live and how you perform.
So now he's heading into a season that should define his legacy at Tennessee. He already set a school record for completion-percentage. He's third in UT history in touchdown passes (41) and fifth in passing yards (5,178). Another season like the last one and he could be picked in the top 10 of the NFL draft.
He could also win an SEC title, a subject that recently came up in a discussion between Phillip Fulmer and Lady Vols basketball coach Pat Summitt. They're old friends, of course. They've been through it all.
Fulmer -- who hasn't won an SEC Championship since 1998 -- asked Summitt how she was able to win another national championship after an identical nine-year drought.
"Candace Parker," said Summitt. "You have to have a Candace Parker-type player in your program to do that."
Does Fulmer think Ainge can be that type of player?
"I do," he said.
Naturally, Ainge took the comparison as a compliment. Not every football player would.
He also confessed that, on the basketball court, Parker would make short work of him.
"I'm not saying she wouldn't hit the deck a couple times," he said.
Everyone laughed along with Ainge at that one. It sounded like a winner's laugh.
So the Vol is living happily ever after.
The Rebel was unavailable for comment.
