Former SI Coverboy 1 of 2 Vols Dismissed

Backup safety Antonio Wardlow and reserve linebacker Dorian Davis were both kicked off the Tennessee football team on Wednesday. Wardlow is best known for blocking a couple of punts in his career, including one in UT's 2006 blowout win at Georgia that landed him on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and for sealing UT's Outback Bowl win against Wisconsin with an interception (pictured). Davis is pretty well unknown, though he would have had a chance to compete for a staring job in spring practice.

The official university line on the players' dismissal is the ubiquitous "violation of team rules," but scuttlebutt amongst fans is that weed was the root of their problem. Now technically, it's just a rumor, and the comment linked is just the first on that site to bring up the drug thing (though none refute it, and similar comments can be found elsewhere). But if it is true, take into account LaMarcus Coker, an infinitely talented running back who failed the requisite number of drug tests to get himself kicked off the team (like 14 or something, I think), and Gerald Jones, an infinitely talented wide receiver who just got busted for possession like two weeks ago,and there's got to be a reason that Tennessee players keep risking their scholarships and athletic futures over getting high.

Is it brash egos that make them think they're above the law? Maybe. Is it plain stupidity? Possibly. But I think Occam's razor would say: Knoxville's got the stickiest icky around. Now I don't smoke, but in the five years I lived in Knoxville, had I known that I was living in some kind of ganja heaven, I'd at least given it a shot. You know, when in Rome, support the local economy, etc. But I digress.

So how do these losses affect Tennessee from a football standpoint?
Davis' dismissal actually hurts the team more than Wardlow's, even though Davis is the lesser-known of the two. Tennessee's secondary should be fine with Eric Berry, Brent Vinson, and the recently re-admitted Demetrice Morley anchoring the unit, and plenty of other talented players competing for playing time. The linebacking corps is another matter for Tennessee, as that group lost starters Jerod Mayo and Ryan Karl to the NFL and graduation. The positions left are wide open enough that Davis, a former two-and-a-half-star type recruit, was expected to be in the thick of competition.

This incident is the latest in a string of off-field trouble Phillip Fulmer has had to deal with this offseason, including the aforementioned marijuana possession, a player getting a DUI, disorderly conduct, and underage consumption. This time, though, the cops didn't have to get involved, so no Fulmer Cup points will be awarded.