Knoxville native Nick Reveiz came to Tennessee with no scholarship and just one promise from Volunteers head coach Phillip Fulmer.

"When Coach Fulmer brought me up to his office, he said, ‘Nick, we're going to give you an opportunity,'" Reveiz recalled after one of the Vols first full-contact practices of the spring.

"I said, ‘Coach I will take that.'"

After all, Reveiz grew up with Tennessee football in his blood. His father Fuad Reveiz and uncle Carlos Reveiz both kicked for the Vols before going on to the NFL.

Some questioned whether he was being realistic. Those who had shared a field with the former Farragut High School stand out weren't among the doubters.

Nick is a guy who is going to give you everything he's got on every play. Phil Fulmer

Reveiz was a standout linebacker for the Admirals and recorded 130 tackles his senior year.

Current UT freshman Alex Lawhead played at Farragut and recalled Reveiz playing a playoff game with a concussion during his senior year.

"He never quits," Lawhead said.

Even so, cracking a Tennessee rotation packed with highly touted players as a walk-on was another story entirely.

Tennessee has been a bona fide pipeline to the pros at the position. Fulmer has sent more than a dozen linebackers to the NFL as a head coach, and Jerod Mayo will add to that number when he is drafted in April.

However, Reveiz was able to break through as a special teams standout for the Vols in 2007, recording 15 tackles and recovering one fumble after being redshirted in 2006.

This year he's looking for more playing time following Mayo's early departure to the NFL and Ryan Karl's graduation. That leaves Rico McCoy as the lone returning starter at linebacker.

Tennessee played its first full-contact scrimmage of the spring last weekend and Reveiz was second amongst all linebackers with four tackles. The sophomore's hard work hasn't gone unnoticed by Fulmer.

"Nick is a guy who is going to give you everything he's got on every play," said Fulmer. "He's played well for us already."

Reveiz is currently listed second on the depth chart at middle linebacker behind Ellix Wilson. The Knoxville-native says even being considered for the starting spot "means the world" to him.

"I've been running with the first team and the second team a little bit," Reveiz said. "I'm trying to take every rep and focus on trying to get better with my hands and little things like that."

The new season brings the promise of great success. However, this off-season things were put in perspective for the Reveiz family when Shane Reveiz, also a linebacker for Tennessee, was diagnosed with a heart tumor. Shane had successful surgery in January.

"He's still recovering," Nick said of his brother. "It's a big thing and I've really changed my life and I have dedicated myself to more important things."

I think Nick's always known in his head that he will play at UT. Alex LawheadIn spite of his brother's health problems, Reveiz has vowed to keep working on the field.

"Every time I go on the field, I just try to show them how bad I want it -- more than the other guys."

That's part of the quiet confidence and humility that has seemed to drive his entire football career. Doubting himself just doesn't seem like a reasonable option.

"I think Nick's always known in his head that he will play at UT," Lawhead said. "Other people may doubt that, but I wouldn't."

TNJN staff writer Benjamin Dishong contributed to this report.