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Passion for Tennessee football helps Brown play through the pain

Published September 1st, 2009 | 0 Comments

KNOXVILLE — Every minute of every day, Wes Brown hurts.

No pain, no gain? No such thing for Tennessee’s veteran defensive lineman.

There are days when Brown feels pretty good. Other days, he can feel the ache in his surgically repaired knees from the moment he swings his legs out of bed.

Sometimes the scar tissue from the surgery is the source of his discomfort. Other times, it’s the arthritis. Other times, it’s the joints themselves that ache.

And there were days in August when the fifth-year senior could barely walk — and then went through a full practice in a Tennessee preseason camp now renowned on Rocky Top for its intensity and physicality.

Why does he put himself through it?

“It’s a passion that I have to play for Tennessee,” Brown said. “It sounds corny, but I put that T on my helmet and I put my helmet on and it’s just special.”

Brown’s Tennessee fandom is even more impressive considering his origins. Though his parents grew up in the Volunteer State, Brown was raised in what Big Orange faithful consider enemy territory — Athens, Ala. While most children gravitated toward Alabama or Auburn as their college team of choice, Brown proudly wore his UT orange.

“Where I grew up loving Tennessee, I want to give these fans the same thing that I had, that the players gave me when I was little — just the thrill to watch Tennessee play,” Brown said.

Realistically, Brown’s playing career may not last beyond the 2009 campaign. After his knees bothered him throughout the 2008 season, he had surgery on both during the offseason. He has yet to completely recover. That’s obvious when you watch Brown struggle on the practice field, or see he’s slow to rise following a play.

“I don’t know too many guys who could probably get through what he’s been through and be able to still go through this season and fight for this team,” said offensive guard Vladimir Richard, who called Brown one of the toughest football players he’s ever known.

Brown will need major surgery once this season is over. That’s not a possibility, but a guarantee. A professional career would be a long shot, though Brown admitted he’d love to play at the next level if he gets the chance.

At the same time, when asked about what he’d do in life after football, the Alabama native referred to the notion as a “scary question.”

“If I could stay around football in any way possible, that’d be great,” Brown said.

Brown loves football, but four years of service on the defensive line — counting his redshirt year — have not loved him back. Specifically, those knees of his.

“There’s always some kind of aching, there’s no doubt,” Brown said. “Most of the time, yeah, they are pretty sore.

“Some things I can do. Some things I can’t,” Brown added.

One of his non-football passions — playing golf — has been forced to go by the wayside.

“It hurts like crazy to play,” he admitted.

Since the team’s coaching change, Brown has moved to the interior defensive line. Though the method of his new position, the 3-technique in Monte Kiffin’s scheme, is somewhat similar to playing end, it also breeds more contact as he goes against guards and tackles.

Lane Kiffin, the Vols’ first-year coach, noted Brown will have to rotate in and out frequently — much as he did during preseason practice.

“Sometimes the trainers will tell him, ‘Wes, you’ve got to sit out for a second,’” defensive end Chris Walker said. “He’s not going to like it but it’s something that he has to do, for his health, to continue.”

And teammates have taken notice.

“It shows if you’ve got something small, fight through it,” Richard noted. “Because this guy can barely walk and he’s out here giving us his all every day.”

Brown especially feels the need to savor every game and practice because he knows this is his final year. Knowing that, and doing it, are two different things — especially when you live in constant pain. How does Brown manage the discomfort and still try to live a satisfying life?

“My folks always tell me, it could always be worse. And they’re right. It could be,” Brown said. “I could have a serious knee problem where I couldn’t walk or I could have a disease where I couldn’t play football. It could always be worse. That’s how I look at it and get through every day, knowing that I’m still able to play football for Tennessee day by day.

“I couldn’t be happier.”

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