KNOXVILLE -- Many months later, Austin Sanders still has a pretty good recollection of what happened that chilly mid-October night in Oxford, Miss.
The repercussions of the former Bradley Central High School standout's first significant action on Tennessee's offensive line continue to resonate with Sanders as he faces a big opportunity during the Volunteers' spring practice.
With starter Marcus Jackson sidelined with a shoulder injury, the 6-foot-5, 311-pound rising redshirt sophomore is getting a chance with Tennessee's first-team offensive line at left guard.
"His whole approach has been different," offensive line coach Don Mahoney said after Thursday's practice. "This past year was one of his strongest years academically. I'm seeing him grow up as a person, as a player, as a student, and now he's at a point where he understands his clock is ticking and it's time to really be a factor.
"The time is now; there's no more that we can wait."
The change in approach for Sanders goes back to the second half of Tennessee's loss at then-No. 3 Ole Miss, when Jackson left the game with an ankle injury and Sanders replaced him.
That game was a low point for the Vols' maligned offensive line, which looked overwhelmed by the talent, speed and strength of the Rebels' front.
Sanders admitted earlier this week that he wasn't immune to the same struggles his teammates faced.
"It was a big eye-opener, just because I'd never been in a game like that," he said. "I wasn't really as prepared mentally as I should have (been). Whenever I went in there, everything was moving really fast, and it was kind of my way of seeing that I need to prepare a lot more.
"You can't take this game lightly. You have to come each and every day. It's kill or be killed. We have to come out here every day as a team and work to get better."
Sanders, the first commitment in Tennessee's 2013 recruiting class, was a four-star recruit coming out of Bradley Central, where he won the state's Class AAA Mr. Football award as a senior.
After redshirting his freshman season, he was a backup guard last season, but he played in just five games after dealing with some injuries down the stretch of the season. His focus now is taking advantage of a big opportunity in front of him.
"There's still guys that need to prove themselves more consistently, and he's not there right now, but his approach every day is wanting to play at the highest level," Mahoney said. "He just needs to keep working at the technical end of things of just pad level and those types of things that we're stressing.
"He understands that, and I say that he appreciates it. He understands the magnitude of this place and how special it is and the importance of a standard of what we want to play at. It's not just (that) it's available. It's an opportunity that he's seizing the moment."
With Jackson, a fifth-year senior boasting the most experience on Tennessee's offensive line, and Jashon Robertson, a rising sophomore who was Freshman All-SEC last season, at guard, it might be hard for Sanders to find playing time when Jackson is back healthy for the 2015 season.
That doesn't mean, though, that he can't use the spring to put himself in a position to be third in line at guard or be the sixth man on an offensive line that likes to cross-train players to learn multiple positions for increased depth and flexibility.
Sanders said he now understands the importance of "doing the extra stuff" and how it's necessary for him to have the impact he wants to have for the Vols.
"I don't really say anything about it being pressure on me," he said. "It's my opportunity to come out and shine and show this coaching staff what I can do.
"When you're a freshman, you're kind of just in this relax mode, and if you're not, then you're like Jashon, you're going to come in and start," he added. "I was kind of in that (relaxed) mindset. Now that I'm here in my third year, I've realized that it's my time that I need to go. It's my time to shine, so I need to go."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.