UT's football team had a hilarious turn of events yesterday.
Posted by
David (aka David)
Nov 6 '11, 18:28
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It was an hour before kickoff Saturday night at Neyland Stadium and Tennessee coach Derek Dooley was out of kickers. Literally.
Naturally, he called Fraternity Row.
"(Michael) Palardy was hurt," Dooley said after the Vols' 24-0 victory against Middle Tennessee State. "He hurt himself Thursday in practice but we thought he'd be fine. He couldn't go. Then (Chip) Rhome goes out there in pregame and he pulls a muscle."
Good thing for Dooley and the Vols, Derrick Brodus wasn't busy.
"We didn't have a kicker," Dooley said. "And we had to make a call to the frat house. This is no lie. We called the frat house and had a policeman go get him."
Another plus for the Vols: Brodus was sober.
"Let's get a call to Brodus," Dooley recalled telling his staff, "and it's a good thing he wasn't having too much Saturday afternoon (fun). I told the coaches, 'Hey, an intoxicated Brodus is better than nobody.
"Just get him here and we'll do a Breathalyzer. Fortunately, he didn't have anything bad."
Brodus said he got the call around 6:10 p.m., just 50 minutes before kickoff.
"I was just laying on the couch watching football," Brodus said. "Honestly, I didn't know what was going on.
"I thought it was a dream. I was just laying down on the couch relaxing. I answered the phone and they just told me to come to the stadium as soon as possible."
Brodus managed to suit up in time to make good on all three of his point-after attempts. His 21-yard field goal as time expired on the first half helped build Tennessee's halftime lead over Middle Tennessee State to 24-0.
"He suits up and nails three PATs and a field goal," Dooley said, "so he gets the game ball. I was proud of him."
Brodus, a Maryville native, was part of two state-championship football teams at Alcoa High School. He also was an All-State soccer player for the Tornadoes.
"I'm not quite 21 yet," Brodus said, when asked about Dooley's Breathalyzer comments.
"It's a great story," Dooley said. "I'm going to write a book one day about the things that have happened to me in the last two years.
"I've never had that one."
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