Al Wilson shares some Tennessee football memories, including John Chavis secret

Al Wilson's mind had been made up for some time about where he was going to play college football.

He was all in on Tennessee.

But the linebacker hadn't let his mother, Claudette, or former Vols defensive coordinator John Chavis in on that decision just yet. No, Wilson wanted to have some fun first.

The Jackson (Tennessee) Central Merry star took his visit to Notre Dame, where Lou Holtz was the coach at the time. Holtz sold Wilson's mother on Notre Dame, but she had no idea Wilson really only wanted to go on the visit to see everything from the movie "Rudy" up close.

After Wilson's Notre Dame visit, Chavis tried to call him. Wilson let it ring, not answering the phone on purpose a few times to mess with Chavis, who he'd built a strong relationship with.

"Coach Chavis called, and I told him, 'Coach, I've been thinking long and hard about it, and I think I'm going to go to Notre Dame.' And he just got quiet," Wilson said at the Knoxville Quarterback Club on Sept. 28. "I said, 'I'm just bullshitting, Coach. I'm just bullshitting, I'm coming to UT.' So that was the relationship Coach Chavis and I had early on in my career, and a lot of my success I have to attribute to him."

Wilson went on to be the only All-American from the 1998 undefeated national championship team, recording 77 tackles even while missing three games with an injury. Wilson led the Vols with five forced fumbles, three of them against Florida that season, which set the school record for a single game.

"Best game of my college career," Wilson said of the Florida game. "I just remember being in a zone mentally before that game, a zone that I've never experienced again. And that's the crazy part about it ... Only team we had ever lost to in the SEC was Florida in my four years. So, this was a chance to get that monkey off my back, and I was just going to do whatever I could to help give us an opportunity to win."

Chavis helped give Wilson the space to become a leader for the Vols during the previous season. Tennessee trailed Auburn 20-10 at halftime of the SEC championship in 1997, and the Vols weren't playing up to their standard.

They hadn't shown up to play, and it showed. As Wilson sat in the locker room, the thought crossed his mind that this might be his only chance to win a championship, something he'd never done before. Peyton Manning and Leonard Little were the captains, but Wilson decided to take charge.

"I just took it upon myself, I'm just saying what I want to say. I may not have another opportunity to do this, so I let them have it, and I gave them everything I had, and I cussed everybody out," Wilson said. "I cussed everybody out, and I think Coach (Phillip) Fulmer was coming in, and Coach Chavis stopped him and said, 'Nope, no, no, no. Let him finish, let him finish.' And when I got done, Coach Fulmer said, 'Let's go. That's it.' "

Tennessee left the locker room and completed an incredible comeback to win 30-29, securing the Vols' first SEC championship since 1990.

Wilson was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2021. He was a five-time Pro Bowler during his eight-year NFL career with the Denver Broncos, which selected him in the first round with the 31st overall pick in 1999 draft.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Al Wilson shares some Tennessee football memories, including John Chavis secret