All-time best Vols

#26
#26
Really hard to leave Dobbs off this list. He has way more statistical output than a lot of QBs mentioned and on way worse teams with terrible coaching..

5th in yards, 5th in passing TDs, 3rd all time total offensive yards, 2nd all time total touchdowns, tied with Peyton for most TDs in a season responsible for.. I love the legends as much as the next guy but Tony isn't top 10 in any statistical category or even threw for 2k yards in a season lol

Same with Streater.. anything he did Dobbs did exponentially better.
Agree on Dobbs
 
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#29
#29
If you saw Tony play, you know he’s one of the greats. I think an argument could be made that he was the 2nd greatest as a college QB. His career was cut short by injury, but he was a Heisman front runner (perhaps THE Heisman front runner) when he went down. He had an incredible arm, was extremely accurate on all types of throws and had a natural feel for the position you just don’t see often.

It was also a much different offensive era when QBs didn’t put up the stats they did just 10 years later.
I agree completely. It would have been nice to see just how high his stats could have gone without the injury. I was at the game in Birmingham when it happened sitting with the rest of the band. Between the cheap shot itself that took out his knees, the celebration of the two knuckleheads that took him out, the Million Penny band playing their fight song and the fans cheering loudly while he was on the field screaming in pain; no college team will ever be more hated to me.
 
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#33
#33
I wouldn't argue over that...... T. Rob threw the best long ball of any Tenn QB ever IMO.

Watched the Bama game of '85 again and it was amazing the velocity he had on the ball just by flicking his wrist!
 
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#34
#34
Really hard to leave Dobbs off this list. He has way more statistical output than a lot of QBs mentioned and on way worse teams with terrible coaching..

5th in yards, 5th in passing TDs, 3rd all time total offensive yards, 2nd all time total touchdowns, tied with Peyton for most TDs in a season responsible for.. I love the legends as much as the next guy but Tony isn't top 10 in any statistical category or even threw for 2k yards in a season lol

Same with Streater.. anything he did Dobbs did exponentially better.

Dobbs is a great athlete playing the position.
Dobbs also had a full 4 years to play.

T.Rob played 1.5 years....in a different era.
But if you would just go back and watch some tape from the '85 season on T.Rob---you might begin to notice the differences.
 
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#36
#36
Dobbs is a great athlete playing the position.
Dobbs also had a full 4 years to play.

T.Rob played 1.5 years....in a different era.
But if you would just go back and watch some tape from the '85 season on T.Rob---you might begin to notice the differences.
Agree. Love Dobbs, but there’s no comparison between him and TRob, not even close.
 
#40
#40
Dobbs is a great athlete playing the position.
Dobbs also had a full 4 years to play.

T.Rob played 1.5 years....in a different era.
But if you would just go back and watch some tape from the '85 season on T.Rob---you might begin to notice the differences.



I could also watch clips of his completely average backup, Daryl Dickey, going undefeated and putting up better and more efficient numbers than he ever did while winning Sugar Bowl MVP. Y'all associate Tony Robinson with an era of Tennessee football that won games, but he's not really as great of a QB as you say he is. It's just like Tee Martin.. great teams, decent QBs. I don't get the different era argument.. QBs were putting up numbers in the mid 80's. Maybe not like they do now.. but definitely more than 14 TDs in a season lol

Also that 85 team gave up only 34 points total in the last 7 games of the season.. they didn't need Tony and it showed lol

Those teams were good.. not saying Tony wasn't a good player, they seemed to play just fine without him. Generally speaking, that means the team itself is pretty strong. I don't see an argument where he's a better QB than guys who put up way more numbers and stayed healthy.
 
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#41
#41
Shuler
Holloway
The Iceman
T. Martin
J. Dobbs

Honorable mention Erik Ainge and Tyler Bray
 
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#44
#44
I get that it was a big win, but Tony went 10/19 for 130 yards and 1 pick. Not exactly a legendary performance.


Sorry was thinking of the 1984 Bama game - 85 was when he got injured

Robinson delivered another strong performance in Tennessee's game against rival Alabama on October 20, 1984. With Alabama leading 27–13 midway through the fourth quarter, Robinson engineered a scoring drive which culminated with a 17-yard touchdown pass to McGee. Teammate Andre Creamer then returned a punt to the Alabama 11-yard line, and Jones scored from a yard out a few plays later to cut the lead to 27–26 with just over two minutes remaining. Majors opted to go for the two-point conversion, which Robinson scored by faking a pitch to Jones and diving over the goal line, giving Tennessee a 28–27 victory, and setting off a wild celebration at Neyland Stadium.[16] Robinson was named "Southeast Back of the Week" by the Associated Press for his performance.[17]

He did light Auburn up in 1985

On September 28, 1985, Tennessee hosted #1 Auburn, which featured eventual Heisman winner Bo Jackson at running back. On Tennessee's first drive, Robinson broke loose for a 39-yard scramble to set up the Vols' first score. Following an Auburn turnover, Robinson connected with McGee for a 37-yard touchdown. In the second quarter, Robinson engineered a third scoring drive, capped by an off-balance touchdown pass to Vince Carter. When Auburn cut the lead to 24–6 in the fourth quarter, Robinson led the Vols downfield on another scoring drive, which featured a long pass to McGee and a touchdown pass to Clinkscales. After Auburn scored again, Robinson responded with a 30–yard touchdown pass to Eric Swanson, and the Vols held on for a 38–20 win. Robinson finished with 259 yards passing and a school-record four touchdown passes.[26]Having upstaged Jackson, Robinson was featured on the cover of the October 7, 1985, edition of Sports Illustrated under the caption, "The Tennessee Waltz: Tony Robinson Buries Auburn."[3][27]
 
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#46
#46
A difficult discussion because of the era a player played in.

Majors was great, but athletically compared to Cobb, Webb, Jones, Garner, Cheese, Kamara, or even Hurd...left out many outstanding RB's at UT...not even close. But generationally, he can make his case.
 

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