Albany Herald

Tommy Bridges, left, talks with former University of Tennessee quarterback Heath Shuler — who is now a U.S. Congressman in North Carolina — during the Bruners Landowners’ Appreciation Reception on Thursday at the Albany Civic Center to kick off festivities for the 26th annual Quail Unlimited Celebrity Quail Hunt. (joe.bellacomo@albanyherald.com)

ALBANY — Heath Shuler’s not only one of the celebrities in the 26th annual Quail Unlimited Celebrity Quail Hunt, he’s one of the landowners as well.

Shuler, a part-owner of Wynfield Plantation in Albany, was recognized along with many others Thursday night at The Bruners Landowners’ Appreciation Reception, which serves to kick off a weekend of celebrity quail hunting for the QU organization.

Shuler, though, continues to make waves after staring for the Tennessee Volunteers (1990-93) and then the Washington Redskins (first-round pick in 1994, third overall) at quarterback. These days he’s also the U.S. representative for the Asheville area in North Carolina and says he’s still taking hits.

“It’s far more difficult than the NFL, I promise you,” Shuler said of working in the U.S. Congress. “It’s still a contact sport.”

The Heisman Trophy runner-up in 1993 spent five seasons in the NFL after his first-round selection never materialized, bouncing between three different teams. Shuler, 40, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2007 after wanting to give back once his playing career ended in 1998.

“It was just that born leadership that you have,” Shuler said of wanting to serve in the political arena. “You want to be involved and give back. I never served in the armored services, but this is a way for me to give back.”

Shuler looks back on his time in Knoxville fondly, where he held many Volunteer passing records until most were broken by current Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback Peyton Manning, who also was a Heisman runner-up. He marveled Thursday at the how the SEC continues to improve since his days, and how it has grown into the powerhouse of college football after the conference won its sixth straight BCS title Monday.

“It continues to be the best conference in all of football,” said Shuler, who makes it to Albany a few times each year to hunt.

His alma mater Volunteers, however, struggled to a 5-7 finish and went just 1-7 in SEC play under second-year head coach Derek Dooley in 2011. The Vols also suffered catastrophic injuries to star receiver Justin Hunter and quarter Tyler Bray, but Shuler said continuity and recruiting have to improve to get Tennessee back atop the East standings.

“Before Dooley was there, we had so many different offensive coordinators and now that he’s here we’re going through another change in coordinators,” Shuler said. “It’s going to be very difficult if you don’t have consistency.

"And with us not recruiting (as well) over the last five or six years, we’ve got our work cut out for us in the SEC, as tough as it is. I think we’re 15th in the country right now in recruiting, but seventh in the SEC.”

Now the SEC welcomes two newcomers, Missouri (East Division) and Texas A&M (West Division), to the 2012 schedule. Shuler says he expects there to be some adjustment initially, but the move will help both schools rise to the level of the top conference in college football.

“I think they’ll learn pretty quickly it’s all about recruiting,” he said of Missouri and Texas A&M. “It will also help them in recruiting as well.”