Best Athlete to ever play at UT

#33
#33
From way back in the day, Roland James was a very athletic guy.

In NFL, managed to play 11 years at cornerback for the Patriots.

Deon Grant was another extremely athletic DB.
 
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#36
#36
utvolpj said:
Ron Widby

For reference: Ron Widby « Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame
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I saw Widby play both football and basketball at U.T. An interesting story about Widby was when he was on the U.T. golf team. If my memory serves, the golf team played a qualifying round before every tournament to see who would make the squad for the next event. I believe that once you qualified for that week's event, that 5 guys teed it up, and they used the 4 lowest scores for the team score.

I read about the following in the Knoxville Journal in the early-mid 1960's. I believe it was in the qualifying round for that week's tournament. Widby shot even par at Beaver Brook. No big deal, right? What was unusual was that he made 9 birdies and 9 bogeys. I find that to be incredible.
 
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#41
#41
JettVol said:
Any sport? Bernard King? football.... hmmmm pretty touch on that one Ron Widby would probably be it. I know this is a stretch, but Kelly Washington was an athletic freak, I know not close to the best ever, but I attended school at UT while he was there, and watched him at some of the practices..... that guy was an insane athlete.
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I’ve never seen a bigger “me first” player than Kelly Washington
 
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#42
#42
Clearly UT has had more than its share of great athletes. I did not know the background of Widby but he would be hard to be out for just an overall great athlete, but I'm still sticking with Condrege. Played FB at professional level, in today's NFL he would have been a starter but had to go to Canada, and could have played professional as a BB player. Tough choices. Good TN has so many to choose from.
 
#44
#44
I will stick to my lifetime which started in 1968:

Football-Willie Gault/Reggie White
Basketball-Bernard King/Dale Ellis
 
#47
#47
I think you gotta watch them play to really get a good perspective. As far as pure athlete. Since the late 80's I think it was Cordarrelle Paterson. The guy never really saw his full potential because juco transfer and only focused on the NFL. I hate to say it but I am not sure CP is or was all there mentally. He had had some space cadet responses that I hope he was on drugs because it would make more sense. The guy is a freakish athlete, to be able to go to the NFL and return kicks like he did takes incredible athleticism.
 
#48
#48
sjt18 said:
Depends on sport and position. I had someone with a pretty good long term perspective on UT sports tell me that Heath Shuler was the most athletic QB to ever play at UT. He was born out of season. He would have been incredible running the spread option O... 6'3" 225 with a legit 4.5 forty.
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Not sure he was quite that fast, but he was basically what Tim Tebow would’ve looked like wedged into a multiple I-formation style offense.

...but I think Tony Robinson might have been as good.
 
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#50
#50
It's Widby, by a mile. No one has even come close to competing in that many sports, let alone excelling in all of them! Incredible! If not the best athlete, certainly the most decorated athlete.
 
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