Last August, Jarod Parrish was planning on being the University of Tennessee's starting safety.

This August, he'll be starting a new career.

Parrish, one of 63 Tennessee student-athletes who graduated Friday, won't be going on to the NFL. But he does have a rewarding future lined up.

In a few short months, Parrish will enroll in UT's pharmacy school in Memphis.

"It's a lot of hard work, but once you do it, it's good for you," Parrish said Friday. "It's a career I thought would be good for me to go into."

Parrish, who celebrated his graduation with friends and family from his hometown of Summerville, Ga., enrolled at UT five years ago as an exercise science major hoping to become a physical therapist once his playing days were over.

But pharmacy was always a backup plan that held a lot of promise.

That's kind of how Parrish was on the football field.

Last August, Parrish figured to start for the Vols at safety, and did for UT's first three games of 2007.

But a preseason comment by Parrish proved prophetic in September.

During fall camp, Parrish proclaimed that the Vols would need an All-American to emerge at safety to take away his starting job. That proved true four weeks into the season when freshman All-American Eric Berry moved from cornerback to start UT's final 11 games at Parrish's strong safety position.

That wasn't exactly what Parrish had hoped for heading into his senior year, but he handled the lack of playing time with maturity.

"Everything happens for a reason," he said. "It was tough not getting to play a lot, but you just have to learn from it. Just thank God that you're breathing. There's a lot worse things that can happen. Inky (Johnson) can't play anymore, period. I've got to be grateful that I'm not hurt or anything like that."

Looking at next year's secondary, Parrish sees plenty of athleticism and, more importantly, competition.

"They're great athletes out there," Parrish said. "There will be great competition back there. If you have a bad practice, you might not be a starter anymore. Once you get out there, you've got to keep your position. You've got to be a great player to be out there on the field. They've got guys who can replace you."

This fall, he'll replace the orange and white uniform for a plain old white lab coat.

But that doesn't mean he wouldn't mind suiting up another year for the Vols.

"It would be great to be a part of that group," he said. "The whole defense is going to be better next year. The defensive line will be a lot more experienced, and the linebackers are fast. I feel like they're going to have a fun year back there. Everything's coming together."

Notebook: Among those graduating Friday was fullback David Holbert, who suffered a traumatic knee injury during UT's first scrimmage of the spring. It is unclear whether Holbert, who missed last season with a knee injury, will return this fall or attempt to gain a medical hardship for a sixth year of eligibility. … Five members of UT's Renewing Academic Commitment program for former student-athletes also graduated: Scot Drucker (baseball), Michael Rivera (baseball), Rob Smith (football), C.J. Watson (basketball) and Maurice Staley (football).

Drew Edwards covers University of Tennessee football. He may be reached at 865-342-6274.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.