The 6’2″ 295 pound monstrous defensive tackle, known by many simply as Big Mo, will be making his way to the University of Tennessee campus after graduating from Garden City Community College in Garden City, KS on May 14th.

Head Coach Derek Dooley made it clear on National Signing Day that the four junior college (JUCO) players signed by the Volunteers were brought in to make an immediate contribution to the program.  Dooley is counting on the JUCO transfer to provide leadership for a young defensive unit, and Maurice Couch wouldn’t want it any other way.

The JUCO All-American comes to Tennessee as the nation’s number 2 rated junior college prospect and has three years to play out his remaining three years of eligibility after red-shirting his freshman season due to injury, but it took just one season of gridiron aggression at GCCC for some of the most prestigious programs in college football to take notice of the emerging defensive star.  Couch’s impressive stats from the 2010 season at GCCC included 45 tackles, 12 tackles-for-loss, three quarterback sacks and a forced fumble. 

The Sanford, FL native, who achieved a 5-star rating from 247sports, entertained offers from Southern Cal, Miami, Kansas, Georgia, Ole Miss and South Carolina, among others, before pledging his allegiance to the Big Orange.  When asked why he chose Tennessee over the other programs, Couch said, “It was just unbelievable, the facilities,  the coaches and players were just like a family.”  Couch  also credited the Vol For Life program started by Dooley and Andre Lott who currently heads up the program, as well as assistant coach Lance Thompson and defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox.

Couch’s enthusiasm and readiness to get to Tennessee is unmistakable and when asked about his goals for the upcoming season, the likable giant responding by saying, “Coach Dooley said he needed help up front, and that’s what I want to do, just help the defense make plays.”

Many observers feel that Couch will not only “help up front” but may have been Dooley’s most valuable aquisition in the 2011 signing class and has the potential to be an All-SEC defensive performer.

The Florida native grew up a fan of the Miami Hurricanes, idolizing such defensive stars as Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, but says he patterns his game after Chicago Bears’ star Julius Peppers.  Like Peppers, Couch prides himself as not only a pass rusher, but a run stopper as well.  With the loss of defensive ends Gerald Williams and Chris Walker, Couch is expected to provide immediate impact at defensive end in Justin Wilcox’s 3-4 scheme and defensive tackle in the 4-3 and hopes to one day play on Sundays.  While preparing for a run at the NFL, Couch plans to pursue a degree in kinesiology while at Tennessee.  The study of muscular movement, kinesiology, would appear to be a natural fit for Couch who seems to have a good grip on the need to complete his education.

For now, the easy going Couch is concentrating on his studies at GCCC and continues to stay in shape with a regimen of weight lifting and cardiovascular training.  In his spare time Couch gets a little work in on PS3 with the latest gaming craze, Call of Duty – Black Ops, and keeping up with future Vol teammates, Byron Moore, Martaze Jackson, DeAnthony Arnett and Jaques Smith on his Twitter account.

Couch, who will become a father in just a few days, is quick to credit his fiancee, Stephanie Stapleton, as a steadying force who helped provide much-needed direction in his life after he was injured in his first season.  The couple is expecting a baby daughter to add to the Volunteer family.  While Maurice and Stephanie can’t wait for the arrival of Ahmya Tanay Couch, Tennessee fans are just as excited about seeing Big Mo hit the field for the Big Orange this fall.

Couch said he and his family will begin the 17-hour trek to Knoxville in late May and it is clear that he can’t wait to start his new life as a Volunteer.  Fair warning has been given, the storm is coming.  You better not sleep on the Couch.  Get ready Volnation, Big Mo will be hear soon, ready to wreck havoc in the SEC.

Folks in the SEC give Lane Kiffin too much credit for allegedly ruining Tennessee’s immediate future. Now I will admit I cried like a baby when I heard Lane would be taking Layla out of the State of Tennessee. How could he do that to us? But, a few months have passed, a few bottles of Makers have been finished off, and I am now happy with the things that have transpired the last year. During this time of reflection, it is quite apparent the problems Tennessee is facing now i.e. lack of depth, a deflated defensive line, and lack of discipline are the result of a slow moving train wreck that was the end of the Fulmer Era. It just happened to be given a high power accelerant in Lane Kiffin. However, I am quite optimistic the upcoming season will surprise a lot of people for a couple reasons:

Reason 1: Derek Dooley

Derek Dooley might just be the savior Tennessee Football needs. Many of my orange kool aid sipping brethren have not fully embraced Dooley and for understandable reasons. Lane Kiffin’s midnight escape was like your hot girlfriend cheating on you. Dooley is everything Lane Kiffin is not and that my friends is a good thing. Derek Dooley is a Nick Saban in the making. Now before I go any further, let me express my extreme hatred for everything Alabama. There are exactly two things positive associated with that University: sorority girls and Nick Saban. Dooley is a Saban protégé. He worked with Saban from 2000 to 2006 at LSU and with the Dolphins holding positions like recruiting coordinator, tight ends coach, and running backs coach. Nick Saban knows how to run a football program and coach football and that is exactly what Dooley has learned from his onetime mentor.

One of the most obvious positive changes this team has undergone is attitude. Players have been singing Dooley’s praises after going through spring ball and the start of fall camp. The popular opinion is that he is a tough and demanding SOB who will go to bat for his players in a second. Dooley has come in and immediately addressed some of Tennessee’s key issues. He has instituted a Character Education program headed by former NFL star Andre Lott to instill a sense of community, character, and discipline on the team. He has encouraged his players to know where everyone of their teammates are at all times. In a sense, he is coming in and building a family. Nick Saban has shown family wins championships.

This spring Coach Dooley said to his new players that he didn’t expect them to trust him right away. He said he had to earn their trust. He is a coach who expects players to earn their way, push each other, and finish strong. I guess Dooley would probably say the same thing about trust to Vol fans. He has to earn it this upcoming season. But from what I have seen and heard from Dooley this offseason this team will be ready to play. He is a man who leads by example and this season Vol fans will start to see that exemplified through the leadership of the players on the field. This fan base is ready and deserves leaders in the mold of Al Wilson and Peyton Manning and not reckless talking heads like Ed Orgeron and Lane Kiffin. That leadership crumbled in the late Fulmer era and was completely gone under Kiffin. That will change this year. The Vols’ close games will be won because of the leaders who step up and demand more from this team. Their coach simply will have it no other way.

Some may think this naïve and part of the excitement surrounding a new coach. But folks, I trust a man Saban made his recruiting coordinator and fellow coach for six years far more than someone who got fired by Al Davis.

Reason 2: Vols Schedule

The 2010 Tennessee football schedule is really nothing special. The likes of ESPN and Mr. Cooper who suggest Tennessee is going to win 5 games is downright insane. Now I do not make any promises, or suggest we will beat Florida, Alabama, Georgia, or even LSU. There are however, several victories on this schedule

Tennessee-Martin, September 4
Unless Ray Charles rises from the dead to take over the quarterback position, the Vols will walk all over our West Tennessee brothers.

Oregon, September 11
This will be a tough game for the Vols. The Ducks are a solid team and favorites to win the Pac-10.The loss of Jeromiah Masoli is going to keep this team from being awesome. In the end, Neyland Stadium and the Pac-10 hating Vols fans will win a close one. Face it, LaMichael James can’t win a game by himself, and will probably be suspended anyway for punching his own mascot, The Duck.

UAB, September 25
UAB students are still trying to perfect the Bama Bangs look made popular by their rich cousins at Alabama. I think they should just stick with their regular mullets. UAB will not put up much of a fight in football until they can somehow figure out a way to relocate Auburn or Alabama out of the state.

South Carolina, October 30
The Ol’ Ball Coach just can’t quite get over the hump with South Carolina. This is either because their fans scream C-O-C-K-S all game disrupting the genius (yes, I hate to admit it) of Spurrier’s brain, or the fact they still have that god awful quarterback, Stephen Garcia. Tennessee wins a close game.

Memphis, November 6
There isn’t much to say here. Memphis is awful in football and I wish they weren’t even a part of the State of Tennessee. I wish Arkansas would just steal them in the middle of the night. Stick to basketball and buying recruits Tiger fans.

Mississippi, November 13
Houston Nutt is a nut for taking Jeromiah Masoli. I am pretty sure Masoli will somehow find a way to steal a HD TV from The Grove during halftime the week before the Tennessee game. When this happens, all the hopes and dreams of the Rebel faithful will disappear. I hope they will still bring a little piece of The Grove tailgating with them up to Knoxville though and maybe some of their sorority girls.

Vanderbilt, November 20
Well, the Commodores keep getting better in basketball and are starting to make progress in football. It is hard to hate on Vandy because they have just never really given me anything to hate. They have been so bad for so long. As always, they will keep this game close. In the end, Dooley will channel his pops and keep the Vols perfect in November,

Kentucky, November 27
Kentucky football fans I kind of feel bad for you. You all just are not very good. I mean you have to take our fired Offensive Coordinator and then steal the legend Tee Martin to be an assistant coach. If there was ever going to be a year to beat us in the next 50 years, THIS IS IT! I just don’t see it happening unless you can run the wildcat with John Wall and Eric Bledsoe, and then throw a trick pass to your tight end Demarcus Cousins. Wait. They graduated. Make it 26 years in a row.

Conclusion

Now I know I have taken some jabs at my fellow SEC fans. It is not meant as a sign of disrespect. However, I just want to point out to Mr. Cooper and the like that while we may be down this year, we are certainly not out. Dooley and Company have things going in the right direction. If we lose one, or even two of those games I noted above, we are still bowl eligible. We are not a team you can overlook.