Has Tennessee ever had a starter play Basketball and Football?

#1

VFLCodyGBO

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#1
Question is in the title, I mention basketball specifically because it is the 2nd most emphasized sport for UT.

And to be a little more specific, has a football or basketball starter ever cross over to the other sport for Tennessee?
 
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#3
#3
Question is in the title, I mention basketball specifically because it is the 2nd most emphasized sport for UT.

And to be a little more specific, has a football or basketball starter ever cross over to the other sport for Tennessee?

Ron Widby not only played basketball and football here and starred at them, he played professionally in both sports. He was in the ABA and won a Super Bowl. He played baseball and golf at UT too.
 
#4
#4
Ron Widby was a punter, great basketball player, and on the golf team.

Ron Widby - Wikipedia

Sportswriter Ron Higgins would say in 2011, "Few athletes in SEC history enjoyed a better senior year in 1966-67 than Ron in both football and basketball." In football, he led the nation in punting average at 43.8 yards, while in basketball, he averaged 22.1 points and 8.7 rebounds while leading the Volunteers to a conference title.[2] He was named a second-team All-American in basketball, and was also the SEC's basketball Player of the Year.[3] He also thought about continuing with golf, but decided against it because it interfered with NFL contract negotiations.
 
#5
#5
CJ Fayton
CJ-Fayton.jpg
2001-02 Basketball Roster - University of Tennessee Athletics
 
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#9
#9
For Basketball and Football I can't think of any, not to say that there hasn't been, just none in the era of my memory.

I know Basketball and Baseball can sport Gary Carter and Football and Baseball can sport Todd Helton for a short time. Several Football and track guys.
 
#12
#12
Ron Widby was a punter, great basketball player, and on the golf team.

Ron Widby - Wikipedia

Sportswriter Ron Higgins would say in 2011, "Few athletes in SEC history enjoyed a better senior year in 1966-67 than Ron in both football and basketball." In football, he led the nation in punting average at 43.8 yards, while in basketball, he averaged 22.1 points and 8.7 rebounds while leading the Volunteers to a conference title.[2] He was named a second-team All-American in basketball, and was also the SEC's basketball Player of the Year.[3] He also thought about continuing with golf, but decided against it because it interfered with NFL contract negotiations.
He also lettered in baseball..4 sports letters..that's just incredible
Ron Widby « Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame
 
#13
#13
Not sure I’m a huge fan of this with the new guys. There aren’t many examples where this work out great. Charlie Ward and Julius Peppers are the two most successful I can think of, and they were pretty impressive.
 
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#19
#19
Sam Graddy ran the best Fly Pattern in the history of the game. He was drafted by the Broncos in the '87 draft and won Gold & Silver medals in the '84 Olympics. He finished 2nd to Carl Lewis in the 100m and won Gold running the 1st leg of the 4 x 100. He could absolutely fly!
 
#23
#23
Ron Widby was a punter, great basketball player, and on the golf team.

Ron Widby - Wikipedia

Sportswriter Ron Higgins would say in 2011, "Few athletes in SEC history enjoyed a better senior year in 1966-67 than Ron in both football and basketball." In football, he led the nation in punting average at 43.8 yards, while in basketball, he averaged 22.1 points and 8.7 rebounds while leading the Volunteers to a conference title.[2] He was named a second-team All-American in basketball, and was also the SEC's basketball Player of the Year.[3] He also thought about continuing with golf, but decided against it because it interfered with NFL contract negotiations.

Wow. He’s a legend. How come most of us have never heard of this guy?
 

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