KNOXVILLE -- The University of Tennessee's offense is actively searching for a quarterback.
The Volunteers' defense has one, but he can't lead them on the field in a full-contact situation.
"And it's killing me," middle linebacker Nick Reveiz said.
Reveiz, the 5-foot-9 son of former UT All-America kicker Fuad Reveiz, emerged from relative obscurity last season to become a starter and leader on the Vols' defense. And former coordinator Monte Kiffin said the legacy was playing at an "All-SEC level" before tearing his ACL in a Sept. 26 win over Ohio.
Five months into his post-surgery recovery, Reveiz has been cleared for some non-contact, spring practice drills. But he's tried to sneak on the field for a few more, and he probably would have succeeded if not for the eagle eyes of linebackers coach Lance Thompson and the alert UT training staff.
"Coach Thompson keeps being like, 'Nick, get out of there,'" Reveiz said while mimicking the coach's voice. "But he's right. I've got to be smart about it. I've got to trust my coaches and trust my trainers and make sure I listen to them. Maintenance issues are really big. I've got to be in there every day after practicing icing my knee, and then getting in there and warming it up before I go out there on the field.
"I feel good, but I've got to stay smart with this."
Reveiz and linebacker Savion Frazier -- who is also rehabbing a torn ACL -- spend time on the field after every practice doing drills to increase strength and flexibility. Reveiz also helps the team's younger linebackers, including Austin Johnson, who recently moved to the position from fullback.
"Nick's been great," Johnson said. "You can ask him anything. It's like having another coach out there."
Reveiz wouldn't mind coaching after his playing days, but the former Knoxville-area high school star keeps him primary focus on the immediate future -- getting back on the field to quarterback his defense.
"These 15 practices are really important for me to get," he said. "Even though I've played in the SEC and things like that, I still really feel like I need to get out here and practice. It just bites at me, being out here and not being able to do everything I can.
"I just hate the feeling that I'm not getting better and not getting extra work."
First-year UT head coach Derek Dooley found the silver lining in the absences of Reveiz, Frazier and other relatively-proven linebackers.
"We can't control the fact that those guys are out," Dooley said. "I'd rather everybody be healthy so we could develop the guys who were really productive last year, but we can't do that, so (preparing the younger players) is the next-best thing. I always feel you've got to prepare for, 'If we were playing today, what would we do?' So you better be ready for it.
"This is a good opportunity for those young guys to learn."
DICTATORSHIP DONE
Tackle Marlon Walls said new defensive line coach Chuck Smith is "much easier" to play for than predecessor Ed Orgeron.
Walls' reasoning was simple.
"One thing I can say is it's so much easier to relate to (Smith)," Walls said. "He might get mad at me for saying this, but he's kind of a younger coach, and it's less of a dictatorship. Last season, Coach O taught us some pretty good things. But at the same time, it was his way or no way at all, and there wasn't too much asking or answering questions. It was just more, 'You listen and do it this way,' so we're loving Coach Smith's way.
"You can ask him anything. If you don't feel too comfortable with something, you can ask him, and he has no problem changing it if it's the best fit for the defense. It's easier to be coached by him. He's so young, but he's also so experienced, so it's kind of like the best of both worlds. Plus, he played here and knows what we're all about, so it's been good having him here."
Smith's flexibility could come in handy for a group trying to learn a third system in three years.
"What you learned from last season is so hard to get out of your head," Walls said. "Right now, we're learning a totally new defense -- new schemes, new way to fire off the ball and all of that.
"It's been different, but we'll get there. (Smith) will get us there."
Smith is known as a pass-rushing specialist, and he's known so well that dozens of NFL players have come to him in the offseason for individual instruction.
But Walls said the Vols have hardly worked on pass-rushing recently.
"Coach Smith is stressing the fact that we've got to stop the run first," Walls said. "Right now, we're not even working on rushing the passer. It's all about stopping the run, because we know most of the teams in the SEC mostly just try to line and up and straight run it down your mouth."
The Vols return to practice this afternoon at Haslam Field.
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