For Tennessee's Kevin Simon, the perfect game would be the Rose Bowl; the perfect opponent would be Southern Cal.

What more could a California kid ask for: a homecoming and a national championship all rolled into one? Better yet, it would be his team against his childhood team. It would be a fantasy game come to life.

And it would make for a fairytale ending to a career that has taken too many unfortunate turns.

"Kevin Simon is as dominating player as we've had when he's at his best," coach Phillip Fulmer said.

Translation: Simon is a dominant player when healthy.

He suffered a severe knee injury in a high school all-star game after his senior season. He broke his right ankle in his first college season. He suffered another knee injury in his third season.

He has been healthy for one college season (2003). All he did was lead his team in tackles and tie for the lead in sacks.

Imagine what he could do with one more full season. He's bigger, stronger and as determined as ever.

"My goal is to get to the NFL," said Simon, a 234-pound, fifth-year senior. "If that's where you want to be, day in and day out you've got to do little things to get there.

"I don't have real hobbies. My hobbies are eating right, lifting weights, doing specific drills, watching film and resting."

He might have added "rehabilitating injured body parts."

His track record suggests he won't stay healthy. But the law of averages suggests he will.

After a career of adversity, he's due to be injury free, due for a big year, and maybe even due for a Hollywood ending.

Simon grew up in Walnut Creek, Calif., played for De La Salle High School and cheered for the University of Southern California. He liked almost everything about the Trojans - their colors, their horse, their tradition.

But those are the likes of a kid. You can't let your inner child decide where you're going to play football, not when you're a high school All-American, not when your options stretch from one coast to the other.

And not when your childhood team has become a dysfunctional family.

"They had always been my school," Simon said. "But the thing is, my senior year they weren't that good. That's the year (coach) Paul Hackett got fired, and Pete Carroll came in."

There was too much uncertainty for a player as serious as Simon. Choosing a college wasn't child's play. It was business.

"I didn't even know who their linebacker coach would be," Simon said. "It would have been hard to jump ship and go to USC, not knowing the success they would have."

Their success has soared off the chart. They have won back-to-back national championships and are an overwhelming favorite to win a third. Two of their quarterbacks - first, Carson Palmer; then, Matt Leinart - have won Heisman trophies since Simon came to UT. And Leinart, who is a friend of Simon's, could win another Heisman, provided, of course, he can beat out teammate Reggie Bush, who was just as deserving of the award last year.

"There's a lot of talent in California," Simon said. "They've got a gold mine out there."

And Carroll is mining it like no USC coach since John Robinson.

That's fine with Simon, who's a fan of California football in general and of Leinart in particular.

"I played against Matt Leinart three years in a row and beat him three years in a row," said Simon, whose De La Salle High School team went 37-0 in his last three years. "But I knew he was going to be good (in college). He threw for 400 yards and five touchdowns on us. That was the closest game we had during our streak."

Leinart's team is the one on a tear now. It's trying to become the first team in college football history to win three consecutive national championships.

As a kid, nothing would have made Simon happier. But the Rose Bowl of his dreams would now have a different ending for the Trojans.

Imagine a California kid beating his childhood team in the final game of his college career for the national championship. And doing it in the Rose Bowl. Could you ask for a better scenario?

"Not for me, you couldn't," he said, laughing. "But we've got a long way to go and a lot of games before that."

His career has already taken him from California to Tennessee and he has come back from three serious injuries. He's well prepared for a long road to a championship.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.