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TennesseeTen Vols football records

The Tennessee Volunteers are a blueblood college football program with a rich history of producing talent in droves, even if it seems like in recent years that supply of talent has dried up some. Every student-athlete that runs behind the Pride of the Southland marching band and through the “T” is considered a “Vol for Life” — but not all leave with their name atop the record books.

 

At Tennessee, it’s not easy to eclipse the top statistical feats. The Volunteers rank No. 13 in NFL talent and it’s difficult to pinpoint which position group has been most productive at the next level. Fans in Knoxville will fervently defend that the school has produced top talent at nearly every key position. A glance at the record books seems to support this: Quarterback (Manning), tight end (Witten), running back (Lewis) and defensive end (White), just to name a few.

 

Tennessee is known for defensive linemen, perhaps none more so than the recent Derek Barnett. Barnett, who is from Nashville, made a name for himself at Brentwood Academy. His career came full circle when he returned to Nashville for the Music City Bowl during his junior season, where he tackled Nebraska quarterback Ryker Fyfe to tally his 33rd career sack, breaking a tie with another Tennessee legend, Reggie White. The defensive end racked up 33 sacks in 39 games for the Orange and White.

 

Believe it or not, the all-time leading rusher at UT hardly played his freshman year. When Henry arrived on The Hill, he had to wait behind a stable of future NFL backs, which contained Jamal Lewis and Shawn Bryson. Even more impressive, Henry continued to split time in the backfield throughout the ‘98 and ‘99 seasons with Lewis, one of which resulted in a National Championship. During his senior season, he ran for 1,314 yards and was named first-team All-SEC. Henry finished his career with 3,078 rushing yards.

 

During the 1970 season, Priest was part of one of the most heralded defensive backfields in Tennessee history. The quartet included Conrad Graham, Bobby Majors, and David Allen. Together they recorded 36 interceptions with Priest contributing nine himself. His career interception return yardage of 305 stood as a Volunteer record for nearly 40 years until it was surpassed by Eric Berry. Priest is Tennessee’s career interceptions leader with 18.

 

No name means more to Tennessee football fans than Peyton Manning. It is well documented the shock that reverberated throughout the college football landscape when Manning chose to spend his college career in Knoxville. Manning started the ‘94 season behind both Jerry Colquitt and Todd Helton. It took four games for Manning to become the starter and remained so for the rest of his college career. He won 39 of 45 games as a starter, threw for 11,201 yards, and accounted for 101 total touchdowns, throwing for 89.

 

Spiva, a Chattanooga native, is regarded as the top linebacker to ever play for Tennessee. To this day, Spiva still holds the SEC’s all-time record for career tackles with 547. He was a two-time All- Southeastern Conference selection who also holds the record for most tackles in a single season while at UT (194). He went on to be a fifth-round draft pick in 1977 by the Atlanta Falcons and shortly thereafter suffered a season-ending knee injury. While rehabilitating, Spiva died in a tragic car accident in Atlanta.

 

Joey Kent is quietly one of the greatest wide receivers in SEC history. Kent has a brilliant highlight reel but the play most iconic to Vol fans occurred on Oct. 14, 1995 against the Alabama Crimson Tide. It was the first play from scrimmage and Manning hit Kent streaking up the right hash for an 80-yard touchdown pass. The following season, Kent registered seven straight 100-yard receiving games and became a second-round draft pick by the Tennessee Titans. Kent had 25 touchdowns and accumulated 2,814 career yards during his time in Knoxville.

 

If you look up into the South end of Neyland Stadium, you’ll see White’s retired number 92 jersey. White also became the first player in NFL history to have his number officially retired by multiple teams. The Minister of Defense was undeniably a heavyweight force that wreaked havoc on opposing offenses. For years, White’s career sack record held strong until recently broken by Derek Barnett, but he still holds the single-season sack record with 15. He went on to become two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, 13-time Pro Bowler, NFL 1980s All-Decade Team, and 1990’s All-Decade Team. He’s both a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame.

 

During the 2012 season, the Vols found themselves in a shootout against the Troy Trojans. This was largely in part due to an abysmal Volunteer defense that gave up a school-record 721 total yards. Fortunately for Tennessee fans, Bray had both Cordarrelle Patterson and Justin Hunter to help mark a career day for the quarterback. Bray set the school-record, bettering Peyton Manning, with 530 passing yards and five touchdowns

 

In 2006, David Cutcliffe returned to Tennessee as the offensive coordinator. This resulted in career seasons for many individuals on the offense, but none more so than Meachem. He had six 100-yard games and 11 scores that season. His 99.85 yards per game average was fourth in the nation. He led the team with a career-high 71 catches for a school single-season record of 1,298 yards. Meachem had such an impressive year that he decided to forego his senior eligibility and was drafted 27th overall by the New Orleans Saints.

 

Sure, football was drastically different in the beginning and is continuously evolving but this list wasn’t worth creating without mentioning General Robert Neyland’s historic discipline and defense. Neyland finished his Tennessee coaching career with 173 wins, 31 losses and 12 ties. Perhaps more impressive than his .829 winning percentage was Tennessee’s 17 straight shutouts across 71 quarters of football between 1938-40. During the 1939 regular season,

 

Tennessee outscored its opposition, 212-0. The Vols are the last major college football program to shut out every regular season opponent.

 

Can Michigan players enter the transfer portal? What you need to know after Jim Harbaugh’s departure

 

Intel and insight into what is next for Michigan after the Jim Harbaugh era. Where does UM turn? How does this impact transfer and the roster? And which players the Wolverines can’t afford to lose?

 

It could be a quick search in Ann Arbor. There’s a belief among industry sources that Michigan offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore, the program’s interim head coach for four games this season, is the favorite to succeed Harbaugh.

 

If that were to happen, it’d be a move that prioritizes continuity and stability for a program just weeks removed from its first national title since 1997.

 

But even if Moore does get the head coaching job, Harbaugh’s departure creates immediate questions about the Wolverines’ roster. Michigan is already losing a large swath of its national title team to the NFL Draft, and Harbaugh’s exit opens the door for contributors to leave.

 

The transfer portal may be closed for most teams nationally, but it’s now back in play for Michigan players.

 

The transfer portal officially closed for underclassmen on Jan. 2, but that won’t prevent Michigan players from entering. When the NCAA introduced portal windows, it made an exemption for players whose head coach departed their program. Once a head coach leaves, a 30-day window is immediately triggered for players on that team to enter the portal.

 

Given that Harbaugh left for the Chargers on Jan. 24, Michigan underclassmen will have through Feb. 23 to enter.

 

As we saw with Alabama a few weeks ago, a head coaching change opens the door for 2024 class members to exit. It’s how five-star QB Julian Sayin ended up at Ohio State and four-star cornerback Jameer Grimsley left for Florida. Both of those players were early enrollees, and those are the Michigan signees who will have the most flexibility.

 

Michigan’s 12 early enrollees are now students in Ann Arbor. They have the same ability to enter the transfer portal during this 30-day window as any other member of the team.

 

It’s a bit more complicated for the 15 members of the Wolverines’ 2024 class who aren’t yet enrolled in the program. Those players have signed a National Letter of Intent, which binds them to the school. But since they’re not yet students, they lack the freedom to just enter the transfer portal and leave. Any signee who wishes to look elsewhere would have to be released from their NLI.

 

It wasn’t long ago that Saban retired, two weeks in fact. But the two weeks between Saban stepping away and Harbaugh leaving for the NFL make a massive difference when it comes to the academic calendar.

 

Saban’s departure led to 11 Tide players exiting the program via the transfer portal, including multiple key contributors. Those Alabama players were able to transfer because of the 30-day window. But something that gets lost in that process is those exiting Crimson Tide players were able to squeeze into new schools near the start of the spring semester.

 

For example, Ohio State landed a pair of former Crimson Tide players last week in Sayin and All-American safety Caleb Downs. Both players committed within a day or two of the Buckeyes Jan. 19 add-drop deadline.

 

Football-focused institutions often give schools a bit of leeway to work around those hard-and-fast deadlines, but the further you get into the semester the more difficult it becomes.

 

Harbaugh’s stretched-out process works in Michigan’s favor, because many of the schools that might try to snatch Wolverine contributors will be unable to get them into school for the spring semester.

 

Said one Big Ten director of player personnel earlier this week: “It’s only benefiting (Michigan) for him to prolong this thing.”

 

Moore is the favorite to get the Michigan job, which will only help the program keep its roster intact. Already a proven stabilizer as evidenced by Moore’s 4-0 record in Harbaugh’s stead as interim head coach earlier this season, Moore has immense respect in the Wolverines locker room.

 

“We’ve already seen it, right?” Harbaugh told 247Sports earlier this month. “You’ve already got a glimpse of the shining star that he is. He’s just phenomenal, so smart, works so hard at it. Knows what it’s like to be a player. Was a player. And really, really composed. Something goes wrong, three, two, one, let it go. He’s tremendous at that.”

 

There’s an expectation from sources within the Michigan program that if Moore is named the head coach that there will be minimal roster attrition. That’s the level of respect Moore commands in the building.

 

Many of the stars from Michigan’s 2023 national title team are gone, but the roster remains incredibly attractive. The Wolverines already went through their normal transfer portal window, which stretched through Jan. 13, so the players who remain in Ann Arbor are those the program wanted to keep.

 

But that doesn’t mean opposing teams won’t try to shake a few players loose. These are the contributors the Wolverines can’t afford to lose.

 

Donovan Edwards, RB: Edwards had a self-described “frustrating” 2023 season, but the former five-star recruit came up huge when it mattered, running for 104 yards and two touchdowns on just six carries in the national title game. He’ll be the face of Michigan’s offense next season with JJ McCarthy and Blake Corum headed to the NFL.

 

Colston Loveland, TE: There’s a chance Loveland is TE1 in the 2025 NFL Draft. An elite athlete for the position with elite production as a sophomore (45 catches, 649 yards, 4 TDs), Loveland is the type of tight end the Wolverines can build the offense around.

 

Mason Graham, DT: Arguably the best NFL prospect on a defense full of them, Graham emerged as a force during his sophomore season, posting 36 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and three sacks while posting a 90 PFF College grade.

 

Kenneth Grant, DT: The other half of what projects to be the best interior d-line duo in college football next season, Grant also had a spectacular sophomore season, posting 29 tackles, five tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks.

 

Will Johnson, CB: A former five-star recruit who spurned Ohio State to come to Michigan, Johnson has lived up to his high school billing and more. He’s shown to be one of the true lockdown corners in college football the last two seasons, while coming up huge when the lights are bright; Johnson had a key interception against both Ohio State and Washington.