Vols captain pushing to return from ACL tear

During his time in Knoxville, Nick Reveiz has gone from an afterthought walk-on to starting middle linebacker and a captain on defense. This past year, however, was a nightmare in what has otherwise been a southern football fairytale.

An ACL injury in the third game wiped out most of Reveiz's junior season, a serious setback for a player some already considered too small and too slow to be an effective MLB in the SEC.

Four months after the injury, Reveiz is once again focused on returning to the playing field sooner rather than later, perhaps as early as spring practice. And doing more than what's expected of him, as he's done throughout his entire collegiate career.

"They've told me I'm going to be limited, but I'm going to be in pads, I'm going to be running," Reveiz told the Knoxville News Sentinel. "At the same time, there are going to be times when my knee is hurting and I'm going to have to pull out. I don't think there will be any full-contact stuff and I've got to be careful.