Casey Clausen's Tennessee teammates call him Iceman, but this nickname is no George Gervin knockoff. It was inspired in part by Clausen's poised performances in late-game pressure situations, but more by his pronounced physical resemblance to the character Val Kilmer played in "Top Gun" -- spiky blonde hair, jutting chin, the works.

There's one other element of the comparison that fits: Iceman was a secondary character in that flick to leading man Maverick, played by megastar Tom Cruise. Quarterback Clausen was a big-deal recruit out of high school, but he's been Kilmer in Knoxville to an endless rotation of Cruises. The marquee has always carried someone else's name.

	Casey Clausen led the Vols to 13 fourth-quarter points and a win at the Swamp last year.

There have been running backs: Team Travis, first Henry, then Stephens. The former became UT's all-time leading rusher in 2000, and the latter set a UT single-season rushing record in '01.

There have been wide receivers: Kelley Washington and Donte' Stallworth. Last year it was all about the guys who caught it, not the guy who threw it.

There even have been defensive linemen: John Henderson and Albert Haynesworth, both first-round picks in the most recent NFL draft.

The overshadowing has been so thorough that he's even obscured by quarterbacks who left campus years ago. Many Tennesseans still have more affection for Peyton Manning than for their own children, and Tee Martin will forever be known as the guy who finally led the Volunteers to the Promised Land of a national title.

Headlines within the league have been tough to come by as well, with another Manning on the loose (Eli at Mississippi) and another star at Florida (Rex Grossman).

All of which is why the Big Orange record book comes as such a shock. In just two sneaky-quiet seasons, Clausen is second in Tennessee history in touchdown passes (37) and fifth in passing yardage (4,422).

With another season like last year, the only name that will remain in front of Clausen's in Vol annals will be Manning's. And given Casey's 1-0 record as a starter against nemesis Steve Spurrier -- the victory coming in Gainesville, no less -- you can mount a heretical argument that Casey has a chance to one day surpass Florida-bedeviled Peyton in the pantheon.

Who knew? (Besides the Clausen family, that is.)

The California kid insists he hasn't felt underappreciated or underhyped. But he also sounds ready to take over this Tennessee team.

"The first two years have been fun, a good experience for me," Clausen said. "Now I feel it's time for myself to take it to the next level and become the player I want to be."

Tennessee coaches actually point to the middle of last season as the point where Clausen began to flourish. As Stephens finally wore down from a long season of carrying the load, Clausen took off.

In his final six games he completed 67.3 percent of his passes for 1,754 yards, with 17 touchdowns and three interceptions. The capper was a 393-yard, five-touchdown shredding of Michigan in the Citrus Bowl.

"Midseason or so, he really took off as a football player," coach Phillip Fulmer said. "He sees the field extremely well and can make all the throws. I think this can be a big year for him. We just have to keep him healthy."

He'll certainly have the opportunity put up gigantic numbers.

Washington is back -- but the double teams will come without a proven threat on the other side. Tight end Jason Witten is back and does a pretty fair Jeremy Shockey impersonation -- but the running backs are new. So the focus should fall squarely on No. 7, who wants as much responsibility as offensive coordinator Randy Sanders is willing to give out.

"It's how much can the quarterback handle?" Clausen said. "My freshman year they wanted to keep it pretty basic for me. Last year in the first half we were hindered a bit by injuries. The second half of the season we started to open it up more.

"This year, we're letting it loose and going, right from the beginning. I think we're going to put a lot of points on the board."

Points and wins can lead to individual glory, but the Heisman Trophy remains a sore subject in Knoxville, where Volunteers have been on the short end of two historic decisions. Johnny Majors was runnerup to the only player to win the Heisman on a losing team (Paul Hornung) and Manning was runnerup to the only defensive player to win the little stiffarmer (Charles Woodson).

So the folks aren't getting their hopes up for Clausen just yet.

But if The Overlooked One gets two gift-wrapped Heisman opportunities against prime competitors with bigger names. Florida and Grossman visit Neyland Stadium on Sept. 21, then defending national champion Miami and Ken Dorsey come to Knoxville Nov. 9.

Play well enough in two games and the Iceman may cometh to college football's front and center. At last.

Pat Forde covers college football for the Louisville Courier-Journal.