KNOXVILLE – Curt Maggitt could play a sixth season of football at Tennessee.
The fifth-year senior defensive end and linebacker wasn’t ruling anything out regarding his future Tuesday during his first media appearance since suffering a hip injury in September.
Maggitt said he’ll consider his his future after the Volunteers play Northwestern in the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day, and his possible paths are trying to get an NCAA waiver for a sixth year of eligibility and returning to Tennessee or going ahead with pursuing a professional career.
“I’m grateful to play this game, and I want to play as long as God allows me,” he said. “As with all kids, the NFL is a great dream, but I love this place, and I would never leave if I didn’t have to. It’s been a great time here.
“Like I said, I’ll talk to my family and we’ll weigh some pros and cons. I’m a part of the H.R. department and getting my master’s (degree), so there’s a lot of pros and a lot of cons on either side.
“We’ll look at it when that time comes.”
The 2014 All-SEC pick, who led the Vols with 11 sacks last season, certainly has a case for an extra season if he decides to go that route.
According to the NCAA, players can get a sixth year if they’ve missed the equivalent of two seasons for reasons beyond their control, including injuries.
Maggitt missed all of the 2013 season following a slow recovery from a torn ACL. He suffered that injury in the 10th game of the 2012 season. His 2015 season lasted all of five quarters, as he chipped a bone in his hip during the second quarter of the double-overtime loss to Oklahoma in the second game.
Sixth-year waivers can be tricky to get, though, and Maggitt was unsure if he had a strong case.
Off crutches and finally back to doing some on-field work, he maintains hope that he could play in the bowl.
“Right now my biggest thing is making sure my guys are ready to get a nine-win season and me to get as healthy as possible before this bowl game,” he said. “As far as I can tell, there’s no exact date I’ve got to make a decision, so I’m going to wait till after the season and talk with my family and we’ll make a big decision.”
Maggitt said he chose to come back to Tennessee after a solid season as a pass-rusher in 2014 because he wanted to put two healthy seasons together.
While another season in college could help improve his appeal to NFL teams, each player only has so many seasons, games and plays on their football odometers, so Maggitt could elect to try to be paid for his talent while he still can. Of course, his long and diverse injury history may have scared away NFL teams already – that’s what happened to former Tennessee offensive tackle Antonio Richardson – and that would prompt him to play one final season in orange.
While sidelined, Maggitt has been around the team and joked he’s become an “intern” for defensive line coach Steve Stripling. Prior to his interview Tuesday, he was working with other defensive linemen after practice.
One of the Vols’ unquestioned leaders, Maggitt is proud of how other players, such as Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Cameron Sutton and Derek Barnett, have stepped up to fill that void in his absence.
“It’s been a different season, definitely,” Maggitt said. “I had high expectations for myself and the team as well. I’ve been through some very tough times through this season.
“Thanks to the coaching staff and my teammates they’ve just been helping me and allowing me to still be a big presence on the team.”
Whether Maggitt will have a presence on Tennessee’s 2016 team remains a mystery.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.