COLLEGE FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : ORANGE BOWL

They were always on the same side, whether it was on the football field or basketball court. Terry Fair and Kenny Cheatham played Pop Warner football growing up in Phoenix and moved on together to high school, where both made all-state in football and basketball.

For the first time Friday, Fair and Cheatham will line up against each other Friday. Cheatham is one of Nebraska’s top receivers and Fair, a cornerback, leads Tennessee in interceptions.

“That’s what’s going to make it make it fun,” Fair said. “It’s going to be like a little rivalry game for us, coming from the same neighborhood and everything. It’ll be on TV back home and everybody will be checking out the competition.”

So, will there be any trash talk?

“Depending on what you do or what the play it is [decides] how much you are going to talk,” said Fair, who has been suffering from an injured right knee. “We both mix it up in our own ways.”

*

Tennessee linebacker Al Wilson has been hampered by an ankle injury for some time, and it won’t fully heal until after the season. He started 11 games and sat out against Kentucky because of the injury.

“Every once and in a while it might start to aggravate or hurt a little bit,” he said. “It’s given me enough mobility where I can move as well as I want to. It’s a lot better than it was in the SEC championship game. I believe I can play almost 100%.”