Tennessee legend Al Wilson knows a thing or two about winning in a Vols uniform.

After all, the former Vols linebacker was a senior captain on the 1998 team that won Tennessee’s last national championship.

So when he talks about what he observes of the Vols program, it’s probably a pretty good idea for Tennessee fans to pay attention.

On Sunday, Wilson was in attendance at a charity dinner event on the infield at Bristol Motor Speedway, which will be the site of Tennessee and Virginia Tech’s “Battle at Bristol” in September.

He met with the media in attendance, and naturally the discussion drifted from a football game at the race track to him reminiscing about his time with the Vols and then fielding questions about the upcoming version of the team for which he used to play.

That’s when things got interesting, as Wilson drew some favorable comparisons between the 2016 Vols team and the 1998 Vols team.

The Knoxville News Sentinel’s Grant Ramey was there to capture Wilson’s thoughts. Here’s a look at some of what he had to say:

“The junior class this year, when they were freshmen, we all said that when they become juniors, it should be a pretty good season for us,” Wilson said. “Now is the time.

“The linebackers have been given great leadership by (Jalen Reeves-) Maybin. That’s what it’s all about.”

Wilson draws parallels between this group of Vols and the 1998 team — led by a senior in Wilson at middle linebacker — that won the first BCS national championship.

“I think the key word was team,” Wilson said. “We were an absolute team. We called ourselves a team of no stars. The guys went out and played for one another. We went out and held each other accountable. The leaders stepped up when they needed to and showed great leadership.

“To be a great team, to win a national championship, those are the kind of things you need.”

The Vols will enter the 2016 season as a media darling after finishing 2015 on a six-game winning streak.

Tennessee still needs to prove it is capable of beating two major rivals– Florida and Alabama– before the national championship should become a part of anyone’s conversation, but it has to be encouraging to hear that Wilson sees signs of a potentially great team in the making.