In this Dec. 12, 2010 file photo, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Terrell Owens (81) looks on from the sideline during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game, against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh. Owens' agent Drew Rosenhaus confirmed Tuesday, June 28, 2011, that the 37-year-old star receiver tore his anterior cruciate ligament, had surgery in early April and "will be playing at the start of the NFL season." (AP Photo/Don Wright, File)When he somehow found a way to convince both ESPN and the NFL Network to televise his individual workout on Tuesday, Terrell Owens was undoubtedly confident that he'd be on somebody's NFL roster by Sunday.
Instead, not a single one of the league's 32 teams showed up for the workout, which means that the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's most famous football alum should have some serious time on his hands this weekend.
And that got your humble scribe to thinking. With the Mocs hosting Furman on Saturday afternoon in a huge Southern Conference game and the UTC men's and women's basketball teams holding a joint exhibition inside the First Tennessee Pavilion two hours before that 2 p.m. kickoff, wouldn't it be great if T.O. took a TO from his busy schedule to drop by Finley Stadium and cheer the Blue and Gold.
"If he wants to come back, we'd love to have him," said Mocs football coach Russ Huesman.
Added school chancellor Dr. Roger Brown, "I think it would be outstanding. We would be extremely proud to have him back on our campus."
In fact, Brown is so determined to make Owens a more active alum that he's touting him for special recognition during the university's 125-year celebration.
"We have put T.O. on a list of our most accomplished African-America alums for our first 125 years," said Brown. "We really hope to see him around here more often."
The 37-year-old Owens hasn't had much time to hang out with the Mocs during his six-time Pro Bowl career that's spanned five teams - San Francisco, Philadelphia, Dallas, Buffalo and Cincinnati - since the autumn of 1996.
Nor does his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, think that no teams traveling to Calabasas, Calif., to watch Owens' made-for-TV audition equates to no one wanting him.
"Just because they weren't there doesn't mean they weren't interested," Rosenhaus told ESPN Radio on Wednesday morning. "I can guarantee that all 32 teams were interested."
Maybe they were and maybe they weren't, but every Mocs fan needs to be interested in this weekend's football game against the Paladins, who upset Wofford last week.
As Huesman has said time and time again, the last five games of the season became automatic playoff games when the Mocs lost four of their first six. Having now won two straight, UTC can get 60 minutes closer to its first playoff bid since 1984 if it can befuddle Furman.
Then comes a dangerous trip to Samford, a well-timed off week and the season finale inside Finley against Wofford, where, rumor has it, injured quarterback B.J. Coleman should definitely be ready for action.
Yet just in case he isn't, Terrell Robinson has been so good in relief that his lethal combination of runs and throws - he's accumulated more than 300 yards of each since subbing for Coleman - have more than a few people comparing him to former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, who won the Heisman Trophy and the national title before heading off to the NFL's Carolina Panthers this season.
"It's a great compliment," said Robinson. "But I'm a long way from that. I'm still trying to learn the playbook. I probably know about 50 percent of it now. I've just got to keep getting in the film room and get better."
Yet he also noted that his brother Antonio - who played wide receiver at Tennessee Tech - said of him, "You were Cam Newton before we knew about Cam Newton."
For that reason alone, UTC fans should feverishly fill Finley this Saturday to cheer the best Terrell to wear a Mocs football uniform in 16 years. And should the original Terrell Terrific show up to join in the fun, all the better.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6273.