SEC Snapshot: Vols defender hopes this season worth wait

Curt Maggitt thought it would be this way.

It just took a little longer.

A fifth-year senior, the Tennessee defender never dreamed the Volunteers would be down for most of his career. Growing up in West Palm Beach, Fla., Maggitt watched UT win nine to 10 games per season.

When he was being recruited, the Vols had fired longtime coach Phillip Fulmer after a 5-7 season in 2008. Lane Kiffin had a decent 7-6 bowl season in 2009, but he bolted for Southern Cal. Then came three years of Derek Dooley, where the best mark was 6-7.

Maggitt never regretted his pledge, but he did start to wonder.

“I was thinking no SEC team is usually down that long,” he said at SEC Media Days. “I was looking forward to be a part of getting it turned around. It was weird. But I’m excited for this season.”

Maggitt played on a 7-6 bowl winner in 2014, and Tennessee should be in the top three of the SEC East when the preseason poll is released Thursday. The Vols might get a few votes for first.

“It’s definitely awesome,” he said. “That’s the reason we come to Tennessee, to a program like this, to be in conversations of such.”