The days were long and very hot for then UNLV offensive line coach Mark Bradley. It was the spring of 1991 and Bradley had made the move from graduate assistant at Tennessee to a full-time gig with the Running Rebels.

"I recruited Arizona junior colleges and that is the first time I crossed paths with him," Bradley said.

The player that Bradley fell in love with that day was running back Charlie Garner, who was at Scottsdale Community College after committing to Miami out of high school.

"I knew there was no way we could get him at UNLV. I had his contact numbers and I called Phillip (Fulmer) and told him he needed to look at Charlie. Coach Fulmer said he wasn't sure if they wanted to take a JUCO running back. I told him they needed too."

A staff change would bring Bradley back to Tennessee in the following months. That's when he took it upon himself to start recruiting Garner over the phone. It was never easy to get ahold of the Falls Church, Virginia native, but that was part of the challenge that Bradley embraced..

"I didn't want it to slide through the cracks," Bradley said. "I couldn't go see him because I couldn't go on the road. I knew his mom, who is his grandmother was, very important to him. It was Southern Cal, Georgia, Alabama and us. We practiced at Scottsdale Community College when we played in the Fiesta Bowl against Penn State. I told them we can't look coach Majors in the eye and let this kid come into this league and play for Georgia or Alabama."

That brings us to early in 1992 with Garner on his official visit to Tennessee. Having been committed to Georgia during his time in Scottsdale, the Vols were slowly making their move and one weekend changed his course for the better.

"The Redskins were playing in the Super Bowl the weekend they were here," Bradley said. "I got his family back on the interstate so they could get back home before the game started. Charlie was going to be flying back to Scottsdale later that day. We went back to Gibbs Hall and we were having lunch and Charlie leaned over to me and said, 'My mom likes you. My mom is happy here. If my mom is happy then I'm happy.' That's how I knew he was going to come."

Garner was good to go. He signed with the Vols in part due to his gut feeling that Rocky Top felt like home sweet home.

"I just felt a great vibe at Tennessee," Garner said. "I fell in love with Tennessee and the rest is history. There were great people at Tennessee. That made the biggest impression on me. People like Judy Jackson made a big impression on my mom. I loved the guys on the team at the time and I felt it was the best place for me."

Once he arrived, Garner had to play the waiting game. While his teammates were working on their craft, Garner sat and waited for clearance on his transcripts. Once he got the green light, he made a beeline for equipment manager Roger Frazier.

"I'd have to say it was the first day I ran out there on the practice field," Garner said about his proudest moment from his time at Tennessee. "I had been sitting up in the dorm waiting on my clearance to get eligible with my junior college credits to transfer in and get accepted into Tennessee. It was the happiest day of my life when that happened and I got to run over to meet Fraz and get my helmet and equipment. Even though he had me looking like a bum and everyone was talking about me. My shoulder pads were a little to large. My helmet, I didn't like the cage or my chinstrap. My pants were too big. Even though, I wasn't my freshest, it was my first day out there."

Garner was a sponge. He soaked up every bit of knowledge from coaches and veteran players. That was just in his preparation. Then came time to turn on the thrilling side of his game and he didn't disappoint.

"I remember like yesterday," Garner said. "There were two plays in particular. We went against the first team defense and it was our first live work in Neyland Stadium. I went to block TK (Todd Kelly) and he hurdled me. I wasn't that low to the ground and he came back talking trash about him being the Virginia state hurdling champ (laughs). The next play, I took one about 60 or 70 yards for a touchdown and I started celebrating about the ten yard line and I put the ball behind my back. The coaches all went off on me. I had to learn how to carry it across the goal line before I took it away from my body (laughs)."

So many big momentum runs coupled with an ability to shift gears and leave defenders with their hands on their hips made Garner a game changer for Tennessee.

There was the 73 yard jaunt that put him in the end zone against Alabama in 1993. It was the combination of great feet, excellent vision, incredible balance and plenty of speed left to burn that gave "Chuck" a gear that most don't have. And let's not forget that #30 also loved to talk. He was at his finest hour after a touchdown run against Georgia in 1993.

"I had a few choice words some of their players," Garner said. "I had been committed there and I knew a lot of those guys. I got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for celebrating against Georgia that day and I was the first one in the SEC to get that flag. They backed us up 15 yards and John Becksvoort came in and knocked it down and Phil (Fulmer) is just looking at me like I'm lucky (laughs)."

So many helped mould and shape Garner from his time at Tennessee, but it's one teammate that left the biggest impression.

"Todd Kelly really helped me adjust to life at Tennessee," Garner said. "The level of competitiveness and what was expected as a player there. It just stuck with me and made all the difference."

Also making a big impact was then assistant Bradley, who is currently at the University School of Jackson where he coaches talented offensive tackle Trey Smith. He knows talent now, just like he did back during his time at Tennessee and the competitive spirit inside Garner was always at the top.

"He's an all-timer," Bradley said. "He's one of my all-time favorites. He was one of the guys that established the culture and tempo there. The competitiveness he brought changed everything for Tennessee. Larry Marmie installed some great competition in the last 8-10 plays of each practice. It would be 1s vs 1s for 5 plays and then 2s vs. 2s. Charlie turned that into a competitive fast ball kind of thing. It was just his personality and approach to the game made him a special player and talent."

Those teams in the early 90s were pretty special on the offensive side. It was a plethora of talent across the board, especially in the backfield.

"I was blessed to have three incredible running backs and a fullback in Mose Phillips," former Vol quarterback Heath Shuler said. "They were all selfless. They were about the team and not individual play. The dimension that Charlie brought was, he was the most intense player on gameday that I've ever been around. That carried over to all the other players. In the huddle he would pound his fist and talk to himself, 'give me the ball' and he was just incredible with his lateral movement. He was one of those guys you wanted in your fox hole because of his intensity and he could break one on any play. People fed off him."

And Shuler was front and center for some of those jaw dropping runs where the quarterback couldn't help but watch.

"Cutcliffe would always say, 'quit watching Charlie run' because I wouldn't carry out my fakes," Shuler said. "I wanted to be a spectator because his runs were so impressive. His stop-go stuff was amazing. He was so tough even though he was so small."

Garner went on to play for over ten years in the NFL. He played in the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl. And no matter where he went, he always carried the Tennessee torch with pride.

"Man it wasn't nothing but love and embracing," Garner said. "Every time I opened up the program I'd go through and see who was from Tennessee. I'd go over and introduce myself if I didn't know them already. That's how it was for all of us. It was fun to run into guys like Shawn (Bryson) when he was in Buffalo or Little Man (James Stewart) when he was in Jacksonville. My first game was against TK in San Francisco. The list goes on and on and it was fun."

Garner currently lives in Tampa, Florida. He plans on being in Knoxville later this month to watch the Vols play Florida.