Tennessee kicker Brent Cimaglia (30) kicks his third field goal of the first half against South Carolina at Neyland Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 14, in Knoxville, Tenn.KNOXVILLE - A week ago today, Tennessee football coach Butch Jones called Brent Cimaglia into his office to explain an unexpected predicament.
Senior kicker Aaron Medley would be out for the next day's game against South Carolina because of mononucleosis, and the full-time kicking responsibilities would be shifted to Cimaglia's right foot against the Gamecocks.
"Here's the situation," Jones recalled telling Cimaglia. "You better be ready to go. He looked me in the eye and said, 'Coach, I'm ready.'"
Was he ever.
Cimaglia already had introduced himself to Tennessee fans by splitting field goal duties with Medley early in the season. But when Cimaglia introduced himself to South Carolina's D.J. Wonnum in the first quarter, he also introduced himself to the country.
Wonnum, a 6-foot-4, 254-pound defensive lineman, broke through Tennessee's field goal defense team as Cimaglia kicked a 29-yard field goal. After leaping to attempt a block, Wonnum backpedaled through the Volunteers as he turned around to watch the football sailing through the air. As it split the uprights to give Tennessee a 3-0 lead, Wonnum jumped backward in apparent frustration - and right into Cimaglia.
Wonnum clocked Cimaglia with his left shoulder pad and left forearm, knocking the 6-foot, 193-pound freshman back, though not for long. As his teammates looked to an official to plead for a flag to be thrown, Cimaglia got face to face with Wonnum before holder Andrew Henry grabbed Cimaglia and pulled him away.
"Watch the spunk here from the freshman!" ESPN play-by-play announcer Mark Neely said.
"I turned around, and I was confused," said Khalil McKenzie, a junior defensive tackle who is part of Tennessee's field goal unit. "Brent's over here getting all hyped and going crazy. It was kind of funny, though."
Said wide receiver Brandon Johnson this week: "I've never seen that. Cimaglia is definitely a different kind of guy."
Social media grabbed hold of the moment, sending video of the encounter across the country in a matter of minutes.
The moment seemed to catch Cimaglia's teammates off guard, but it probably did not shock them. They have seen Cimaglia run down the field after kickoffs in practice and tackle the returner.
"We've showed that on video and had some fun with that," Jones said, referencing Cimaglia's ambition on kickoffs in practice. "Brent is a very passionate individual. He views himself not only as a kicker but as a football player."
Cimaglia made all three of his field-goal attempts in Tennessee's 15-9 loss to the Gamecocks and sent all four of his kickoffs into the end zone. Jones said this week that Medley will be out "an extended period of time," meaning the fiery freshman is set to handle all of the kickoffs and field goals again Saturday, when the Vols (3-3, 0-3) play at top-ranked Alabama (7-0, 4-0).
"It's one of those situations that's very unfortunate," Jones said of Medley's illness.
To Cimaglia's credit, Jones said, he was ready to play against South Carolina.
"Thought he did very well. He's an individual who has a lot of confidence," Jones said.
McKenzie said he pays a lot of attention to the kickers, and he was the one who removed the black stripe from Cimaglia's practice helmet earlier this year, a rite of passage for all program newcomers.
"He's different," McKenzie said. "He has a little bit of swag about him. He's confident out there. Miss or make, he's just ready to get back out there."
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com.