That's where redshirt freshman receiver Jabar Gaffney was nine months ago when for some insane reason he decided to break into a high school player's locker at The Swamp during a high school title game in December.

When the cops found out they slapped him with grand theft according to a written complaint. Spurrier was quicker. He kicked Gaffney off the team in the time it takes the Florida coach to hurl one of his visors to the ground.

The Gators' Jabar Gaffney makes his game-winning 'catch' as the Vols' Willie Miles defends.(AP)

So what right did Gaffney have being on the field Saturday -- much less catching the winning touchdown pass with 14 seconds left? None, really.

"We encouraged him to transfer somewhere," Spurrier said. "A lot of schools wanted him. He said, 'I still want to play for the Gators.' Thank the Lord we brought him back. I told him he was finished, basically."

Gaffney's tears already had been shed by the time he caught the 3-yard scoring pass from Palmer between two defenders Saturday at Neyland Stadium. The tears had come long ago when Gaffney went to Spurrier and begged for another chance. Just a spot on the roster would do.

And that's all he got.

That's right, arguably the biggest play in college football Saturday was made by a walk-on. Stripped of his scholarship for his misdeed, Gaffney started paying his way through school in June and was allowed in summer school. The grand theft charge disappeared when Gaffney signed a deferred prosecution agreement for petty theft.

"I sent my apologies, and that's that," Gaffney said. "Coach is a forgiving man. He believes every person deserves a second chance."

It wasn't quite that simple. Spurrier said athletic director Jeremy Foley, the compliance department and office of student life had to sign off on Gaffney's return. Even then, the team had to agree to take him back.

Gaffney had stained the Florida tradition, of which he was a legacy. Father Derrick had been a receiver with the Gators in the 1970s and went to play with the New York Jets. An uncle, Don, led Florida in passing in 1974 and '75.

Jabar was so gone from the scene that he is not in this year's 400-page Florida media guide.

"Jabar wouldn't go away," Spurrier said. "That's why he's back. He wants to play for the Gators. ... He's paying his way. He's suffered we thought enough to give him a second chance. Thank goodness he wouldn't go away."

Three games into the season, Gaffney now leads the Gators in receiving with 15 catches. Six of those (for 91 yards) came Saturday after Florida had looked like it was going to be blown out of Neyland.

No. 11 Tennessee (1-1) controlled the ball for 14½ of the game's first 18½ minutes, led 9-0 and kept Florida without a first down until midway through the second quarter.

The No. 6 Gators (3-0) rebounded but still faced near-impossible odds trailing 23-20 with 2:14 left. That's when Palmer, another famous Spurrier doghouse resident, led Florida on one of the biggest drives in its history. Facing a Tennessee-record 108,768 hostile fans, Palmer drove the Gators 91 yards in nine plays for the game-winning score.

"I said, 'Let's go make some memories,'" said Palmer, who a week earlier had been yanked against Middle Tennessee.

Palmer had been the victim of at least six drops by his receivers during a 20-for-43 performance Saturday. But when it counted, they held on. Picking on Tennessee's young secondary, Palmer was 6 for 9 on the final drive for 84 yards.

Florida thought it had won it when Palmer hit a wide-open Reche Caldwell with a 5-yard pass for an apparent touchdown with less than a minute to play. But Florida was called for an ineligible player downfield.

A play later, Spurrier called time out and called the offense to the sideline. The next play would hinge on Gaffney being able to get open between double coverage by cornerback Willie Miles and safety Andre Lott. It was a play Spurrier basically drew up in the dirt.

"We've never done that play before in practice really," Palmer said. "We didn't have that play on the books at all."

Gaffney was able to screen out the two defenders to catch the game winner. A mild controversy erupted when Miles stripped the ball from Gaffney a half-second after the catch. SEC linesman Al Matthews immediately signaled touchdown, then conferred with referee Al Ford.

The call stood.

"I knew they were going to call it complete," Gaffney said. "I had it for about two seconds. They tried to knock it out at the last second but he had already called it a touchdown."

Miles vehemently disagreed.

"The world knows it wasn't a catch," he said. "I can't do anything about it but keep my head up and keep smiling but the world knows ... I can't call them bad refs. The way they were talking I don't think they were sure, but you know the world knows. I thought they were going to overturn. But I saw the dude put up his hands and it was history after that."

That was as vocal as the protest got. The huge Tennessee crowd stood stunned as it watched the Vols lose to Florida for the seventh time in eight tries.

Any moral outrage at Florida should be muted. Gaffney has remained humbled and on the straight and narrow. That included this week, when several of his teammates were popping off about their dominance over Tennessee. Saturday's win put Florida in the driver's seat to win the SEC East. Again.

The game has produced the SEC East winner each year but one since 1992; Tennessee lost to the Gators in the regular season in 1997 but went on to win the league championship.

"One of our players came up to me before the game and said, 'What makes those Tennessee players think they got a chance, coach?' Spurrier said. "He really said that. I looked at him and said, 'I'll tell you why, they aren't afraid of you or me or anybody.'

"We stole the game."

There are worse ways to commit theft at Florida.