Tennessee defensive tackle Jesse Mahelona had a lot more on his mind than the Xs and Os of football the past couple of weeks.

Mahelona, thousands of miles from his home in Hawaii, is mourning the unexpected death of his 45-year-old uncle, Moses Galon, a musician who died of a stroke while performing in Hawaii.

Mahelona, whose play earlier this season brought questions of his possibly early-entry into the NFL, said missing his family was part of the problem. Mahelona's brother, Steven, a football player at Tusculum College, recently returned to Hawaii.

He was asked if he played with a heavy heart the past couple of weeks, at Vanderbilt on Nov. 20 and at home against Kentucky last Saturday.

"I wouldn't know how to say it better than you just said it, 'Playing with a heavy heart,' " Mahelona said.

Mahelona had a vague answer when asked how much he has been able to re-focus this week for Saturday's SEC championship game against Auburn, and he mentioned the death of News Sentinel sportswriter Gary Lundy, who died of a heart attack Nov. 22.

"Yeah, this week, well, this past weekend where you really have no control over what happens to you," Mahelona said. "If God wants you, God will take you. It has to say about Lundy. It's unfortunate for him because I remember talking to him just like I'm talking to you guys.

"That's just something that happens, you know, life's tragedies. You've just got to learn to move on."

Mahelona, who transferred from Orange Coast (Calif.) College last winter, has been an impact player this season. He leads the SEC with 16.5 tackles for loss and was the league's defensive lineman of the week after posting five tackles for loss in the Nov. 6 loss to Notre Dame.

Since then, Mahelona has battled double-teams and the emotional issues.

"I think I saw some (double-teams) against Notre Dame and more against Vanderbilt and Kentucky," Mahelona said, "but really throughout the game I'm learning to play with double-teams, and I watched film thinking I'm being double-teamed the whole game and really I ain't, and so it's more of a mental, emotional thing where I've just got to go play and not worry about those double-team schemes and just play and have fun."

Mahelona, who is seventh on the team in tackles with 37, clearly didn't have his usual game against Vanderbilt when he didn't register a tackle.

He had three tackles against Kentucky.

Mahelona has not played with a brace on his knee since the Oct. 30 game against South Carolina. There was speculation that playing without a brace affected his performances the past couple of weeks, but Mahelona said he is more comfortable without it.

"These past two weeks I haven't really played as I did earlier and it's just a confidence booster for me knowing that I'm being seen out there from different coaches and players and being definitely a threat to other teams," Mahelona said, "and it just makes me try to work harder and be a better player."

Mahelona said his practice time was also affected by his concerns at home.

"It was more me trying to battle a lot of things that were going on in my head and trying to stay focused on what needs to be done on the field because in the long run that's the important thing," he said.