Treyvon Paulks high school football career didnt end the way hed always envisioned it would.
But Tennessee made sure that setback a torn ACL didnt change Paulks college future, and the three-star tailback from Milton High School in Alpharetta, Ga., said hell be eternally grateful for that.
Paulk was all smiles throughout his three-plus-hour drive to Knoxville on Monday, and the powerful, 5-foot-9, 203-pound runner said he cant wait to finish his rehab and then start his college career at Tennessee.
Obviously Paulk admittedly needing to finish his rehab means that knee which was repaired Oct. 9 is not 100 percent. But the productive, punishing tailback said the process has been on schedule to this point, and that being able to use Tennessees facilities from this point forward would only help the cause.
Im still working, getting back strength, Paulk told govols247. Come August, when camp starts, that would be 10 months off the surgery. I feel like I should be back by then. I should be 100 percent or close by then. I feel like 10 months is enough for me. Ive come pretty far. But well see.
And, for sure, I feel like my recovery will just take off even more than it has been as soon as I get up there. Itll definitely take off. Its been an everyday thing, and with the equipment that they have up there, you know, itll be good for me. Itll definitely be good.
Paulk admittedly didnt initially have that kind of go-getter approach to his post-ACL situation. He said he sulked a bit after the surgery and couldnt stop thinking about the fact that his high school career was finished, and that he wouldnt be able to help his team compete for championships or break the many school records he was so close to breaking.
A little time and a little maturity changed that, though.
The past little bit has been hard, and its been a humbling experience for me, Paulk said. But you can either learn from it and get better and work harder so youll never have to go through it again and be in that position again, or you can quit. And Im not a quitter. Its all about how you interpret it, how you take it. And Im gonna take it and get better.
You kind of feel upset and sorry and all that at first, but youve got to come up out of that mode. You have to stop feeling sorry for yourself. You have to get to work. Im doing that.
Paulk said Tennessees staff especially head coach Butch Jones and running backs coach Robert Gillespie also helped kickstart his rehab by ensuring him hed have a scholarship at Tennessee, and that he needed to worry only about rehabbing the right way and not pushing himself back too soon and risking longterm damage.
That removed any doubt in Paulks mind about his decision to sign with Tennessee.
You know, after having to call Coach Jones and Coach Gillespie after what happened with my injury, and them telling me not to worry about my spot or anything like that, that made me feel a lot better about my decision, Paulk said. Some people, you know, thatll happen to one of their kids, and theyll drop em. Coach Jones and that whole staff, they stuck with me. They called me every week, they wrote me like every day, and I appreciated that. That showed me that theyre really genuine people, and that they mean what they say.
I know I made the right decision. I feel better about my decision every day, no doubt about it.
Paulk wasnt bothered by Tennessee signing two other tailbacks, either. He said he couldnt wait to compete with five-star January enrollee Jalen Hurd, Top247 summer enrollee Derrell Scott and the Vols veteran backs.
You need different kinds of backs in the backfield for different types of situations, so that was cool, Paulk said. I always figured it would be like that. One man cant really carry a load in the SEC. Its gonna take a whole backfield. They didnt really have to sell me on that right there.
Paulk said he obviously hasnt been able to do the full-speed running and cutting part of his typical offseason workout routine, but that hes made the most out of the situation by reaching new highs with his upper-body strength. After dropping a few founds post-surgery, he added everything back and then some. And he said he added muscle, not fat.
I was down to like 190 at one point, but I got it all back and a little more, actually, he said. Im consistently at 203, 204 now. Im actually stronger and looking better than I ever have up top shoulders and arms and stuff like that so I got all my weight back. Right now its really just me focusing on getting that strength back in my quad, my hamstring, everything around that knee.
Paulk came to Knoxville without knowing what number hed wear (maybe No. 4, maybe No. 21, maybe something else) or who hed be living with on campus. He also came without a playbook, but he said that wouldnt hurt his chances of learning Tennessees offensive scheme.
My high school ran a very similar offense to Tennessee, with all the zone-read stuff, he said. Im sure ill be bigger and have a new lingo or whatever with calling the plays, but we ran something very similar at my high school.
Paulk, who recently graduated from Milton, said he was able to enjoy his final weekend at home with a lot of friends and family before heading up I-75 to focus on school and football which means focusing on school and rehab, at least for a couple of more months.
A lot of my family came up here to see me for my graduation, and I just wanted to make sure I saw them, and that I saw my boys who came back in town from their schools, and some of my friends that were in town from college, he said. I just really wanted to do all that, and spend a little more time with my family my little brother, my little sister. I wanted to see all the important people, you know, before going up there (to Tennessee) and going to work.
