KNOXVILLE -- Back in January Jalen Reeves-Maybin considered the option of going to the NFL and getting paid to play the game he loves, but instead he focused on his unfinished business at Tennessee.
He barely got the chance to complete his objective with the Volunteers.
The linebacker's senior season lasted one full game and parts of two others before another shoulder injury prompted Reeves-Maybin's decision to undergo season-ending surgery.
"I've never really been a person to dwell on the bad things," Reeves-Maybin said Tuesday while sporting a sling on his left arm. "I was sad, I was mad, but it's not like I could go back and change it. For me, I just look at it and organize it and say, 'All right, what's the next step? What's the next step?'
"I really didn't sit back and just think about (how) I'm not going to be out there with my boys for the last season. I think I've got kind of a tougher outlook on life. I don't really ever feel sad for myself or feel bad for myself or anything like that. It's just a minor setback, and I'm going to bounce back like I always have."
Tennessee coach Butch Jones, with his son Andrew at his side, smiles at linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin after the Volunteers' home win over Vanderbilt this past November.Reeves-Maybin's comeback most likely will be in the NFL, though the team captain hasn't closed the door entirely on seeking a medical redshirt that would allow him to return for a fifth season.
After leading Tennessee in tackles the past two seasons, Reeves-Maybin may feel like he has little left to prove playing in college. On the other hand, he had two shoulder surgeries in 2016 and a third coming out of high school in 2013. There are personal factors, too: His daughter, Alivia, was born in January, and Reeves-Maybin completed his degree in May.
"I'm just really, really proud of him and the man that he's become and everything he's brought to our football program," Vols coach Butch Jones said. "He still has a major role on this football team. He's a captain, and even though he can't help us win on the field, he can definitely help us win off the field."
The Clarksville, Tenn., native enrolled at Tennessee in 2013, played primarily on special teams as a freshman and developed into a defensive star and a program cornerstone for Tennessee's ascension in the SEC.
"I just had a feeling this was the right place for me," Reeves-Maybin said. "There were other schools who maybe you would have said this is probably a better option of going to when I was coming out of high school, but I just always felt like this place was right. The people here and the players here, I just feel like I fit in with and meshed with.
"I don't regret my decision at all and I'm 100 percent glad I decided to come here."
In the season opener against Appalachian State, Reeves-Maybin was ejected for targeting in the first quarter when he delivered a hard hit on the punt returner. He led Tennessee with 13 tackles a week later against Virginia Tech. Against Ohio in the third game, though, he hurt his shoulder covering a punt in the first half.
Leading up to the Florida game Reeves-Maybin said he was getting six hours of treatment a day, and even though he tried to play he had to pull himself from the game.
Tennessee defensive back Jalen Reeves-Maybin (34) blocks a punt from Georgia's Collin Barber last season.Eventually surgery became his only option.
"I wasn't going to be able to play like that at all," Reeves-Maybin said. "There was a couple different surgery options I could have, but I just had to make my decision. I felt like the condition I was in, I wouldn't be able to help the team."
Reeves-Maybin called it "one of the most awkward times ever" when he had to follow the Vols' loss to Alabama on Twitter during his flight back following surgery.
His legacy as a program-changing player safely in place, Reeves-Maybin doesn't plan on missing much more time from his team the rest of the season.
"Just somebody who took care of business on and off the field and helped get Tennessee back to where it is," he said. "Obviously it's not really about me. My legacy probably could have been a little different if I would have played this whole year, but I still think I'm a leader on this team and a captain and I still think I can help us win games.
"I think I still have a lot of respect of all my teammates, and I still feel like I have a job to do."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.