Tennessee has one of the proudest and most tradition-rich programs in college football history. In all the years that the Volunteers have played football (this season is the 116th season of the program), you could argue that no better leader has run through the T than Al Wilson.

Wilson is a member of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, he was the only All-American on Tennessee’s 1998 BCS National Championship team, he was a two-time First-Team All-SEC selection, and was a first-round selection in the 1999 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos following his playing career on Rocky Top from 1995 until 1998.

During his time in the NFL, Wilson was named a Pro Bowler five times.

This week, Wilson returned to campus to watch the Vols practice and to address Jeremy Pruitt’s team.

In what should come as no surprise, Wilson challenged the current crop of Vols to set a new standard of excellence for years to come.

“When I came to this school, there was a standard that was already understood. This is the way we practice, this is the way we play and this is why we finish in the top 10 every year,” Wilson says in the video below. “You’ve seen it. It’s up to you to set the standard and give it to the juniors. All it does is trickle down, men.”

Check out the full video of Wilson’s speech to the Vols below courtesy of Tennessee Football’s official YouTube page: