The year was 2004. The Vols were driving inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi. And in those few moments two things happened. The ball went into the air as a wide receiver broke clear in his route. And standing on the sideline was sophomore place-kicker James Wilhoit, who was in a bad spot mentally.

"We were driving down the field and Bret Smith makes this diving catch," Wilhoit said. "It was third down and like 15 when it happened and I remember thinking, 'Please God get a first down' because I didn't want to kick a field goal. I hadn't had a good warm up and I didn't feel confident."

Tennessee went onto to win the game on a windy night in North Mississippi. And it was standing on that field, Wilhoit changed his mindset.

"Afterward, I thought to myself, geez, you need to change your mentality or you need to stop kicking,” Wilhoit recalled. “I remember deciding then and there to change my mentality. From then on, I rooted for Erik Ainge or whoever to throw an incompletion so I could kick a field goal. I wanted to kick field goals and I wanted to try kicks. I wanted that moment. I developed that mentality that I knew I could do it and I wanted to do it."

Growing up in Hendersonville, Tennessee, Wilhoit loved the Vols. In fact, his parents met while waiting in line for tickets to see Tennessee and Alabama. He knew the tradition that Tennessee had with kickers. He also knew that he had something inside him that made him a great kicker.

"I think the biggest thing for me was I am a competitor," Wilhoit said. "I wanted to be in the moment."

The revelation from Oxford seems somewhat surprising when you think about his kicks against Alabama in 2003 as a freshman in a five overtime thriller. And just a few weeks prior to the trip to Ole Miss, was Wilhoit's heroics at Neyland Stadium where he went from goat to hero in a matter of minutes.

Quarterback Erik Ainge had just found Jayson Swain on a 3rd and 8 for a touchdown to cut the Gator lead to one. That's when Wilhoit stepped in and missed the game tying extra point.

"I was so pissed off from missing the extra point, I didn't have time worry about the ramifications of the kick," Wilhoit said. "I was just determined to make it. I was so ticked off and mad. I was desperate as a competitor to get another opportunity.

"Coach Sanders came up to me and asked where they needed to get to and I told him get me across mid-field and I'll make it. It wasn't boastful. It was just me wanting to make up for a really bad mistake."

With some help from the Tennessee defense and cornerback Jonathan Wade, who drew a 15 yard personal foul penalty on Florida wide receiver Dallas Baker, the Vols had the ball back just short of mid-field. Two completions to Chris Hannon later and Wilhoit had his opportunity.

"It took about five minutes to sink in," Hannon said. "In practice he would make kicks from 60 so that's what made it so shocking when he missed the extra point. Once we got the ball back, we felt like we could get in position to score. It was the same exact play that we ran the play before when I dove and wasn't able to catch it. I always told the lineman if you give me three seconds then I'll give you six points and I just kept saying that to myself as I went into the huddle. Ainge looked at me and I'm not sure he looked at any other player on that play. The route was designed for 12-14 yards and I took it deeper and it was open all game. Then on the next one, when I ran my route, I didn't think he was coming to me because he was supposed to go to the inside receiver. I was surprised when he threw it to me and I just caught it and got down."

During all of that, Wilhoit wasn't nervous. He was poised.

"I was kicking into the net and there are the times when you look into the future or into the past, but I was totally in the moment," Wilhoit said. "I knew what had to be done. There was just such an intense focus. I remember jogging on to the field and Rob Smith, who was my roommate, grabbed me and shook me and told me I could make it. I told him I knew I could too and I shoved him out of the way."

The determination was easy to see to those watching on the television that night. He was pumped full of adrenaline. Now the moment he dreamed of growing up in middle Tennessee.

"As I was taking my steps back, I had never heard Neyland Stadium that quiet," Wilhoit said. "There were 109,000 people in the stands. I don't know if that was the actual case or it was just my focus blocking it all out. The moment it made contact with my foot I knew it was in. I knew I crushed it. My head was down and I struck it perfectly. I started running around like a little kid. My hands were up and Derrick Tinsley tried to celebrate with me and I threw him down. I just had so much adrenaline that I was going crazy."

After the celebration and jubilation that followed, Wilhoit picked up his phone after the game. His voicemail was full and much like the game, the roller-coaster of messages still make him smile.

"My voicemail box was full pretty quick," Wilhoit said. "We had one guy who left a voicemail saying, 'Wilhoit I hate you and I can't believe you missed that extra point. You are the reason we lost this game'. I'm listening to five or six voicemails down the line and I hear, 'It's me again. Disregard that last voicemail and Go Vols!' It just shows the irony that within a 15-20 minute span, he went from hating me to liking me again. That's the way kicking can be."

Wilhoit currently teaches and coaches high school football in middle Tennessee. He keeps in touch with fellow kicker Jeff Hall, who had his own share of Tennessee magic.

"Jeff Hall and I were talking the other day," Wilhoit said. "Kicking isn't a lot of fun. It's a lot of pressure because if you make the kick then they expect it and if you miss it then they tell you that you are terrible. It's one of those things that you have to embrace that role and accept it."

"As a freshman you don't know what is going on. By the time you are a sophomore, you feel the expectations, but you aren't seasoned enough and you are still growing and learning. Jeff's worst season was his sophomore year. My worst season was my sophomore year and both were coming off good freshman years. By the time, you get to junior year, you have figured it out."

Wilhoit will watch this Saturday and be rooting hard for Aaron Medley and the rest of the Vols. As the years go by and Florida's streak of wins in the series grows to eleven, his kick also grows. In his mind, the kick has gotten big enough. Enough growing. Time to end the streak and plant the seed for the growth of a future moment in Tennessee football.

"I'm not going to lie, the first few years after it happened and seeing yourself on CBS and the fact you were the last person to beat Florida by making the kick was kind of cool," Wilhoit said. "It's eleven years and it's time to be done. Especially with the arrogance of the Florida fans and the whole situation. You want it for this team and the guys.

"As far as a moment in Tennessee history and tradition, that kick follows me everywhere. There isn't a week that goes by that someone doesn't mention that kick to me. Living in this state and being a part of that moment, it's something that people remember."