Countdown to Kickoff vs South Carolina

92 days.......

Reggie is too easy:)

The very first Vol to wear the #92 uniform was Vernon “Buddy” Lyons, He was a 172 lbs offensive lineman from ‘49-‘51, and was known for his intelligence and attention to detail. He is remembered for the key block that sprung Hank Lauricella on his 75 yard touchdown in the ‘51 Cotton Bowl. The Vols compiled a 28-4-1 record during his time in Knoxville, with wins in the Cotton Bowl, Sugar Bowl and 2 National Championships.
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92 days.......

Reggie is too easy:)

The very first Vol to wear the #92 uniform was Vernon “Buddy” Lyons, He was a 172 lbs offensive lineman from ‘49-‘51, and was known for his intelligence and attention to detail. He is remembered for the key block that sprung Hank Lauricella on his 75 yard touchdown in the ‘51 Cotton Bowl. The Vols compiled a 28-4-1 record during his time in Knoxville, with wins in the Cotton Bowl, Sugar Bowl and 2 National Championships.
View attachment 284739

If you want to see the differences that improved inoculation, nutrition and vitamin programs adopted in the 50s and 60s made, you need look no further than this. No slight against Buddy Lyons, but he was a standout o-lineman at 172 lbs. The smallest offensive lineman on the 2020 roster is over 100lbs heavier and is faster and stronger. One can notice the same thing among recent immigrants. Mama and Daddy are maybe 4'10" and their kid in the third grade dwarfs them.

A lot of the impetus for this came from George C. Marshall, Army Chief of Staff in WWII. During testimony before Congress he raged that the draftees for the WWII army were no healthier than their fathers and brothers in the WWI army with roughly 20% rejected for physical reasons and something needed to be done about that. Marshall was such a respected and admired individual that the Congresscritters got off their collective duffs and actually did what he asked. Now the Army gripes that kids are too fat, but that is a different discussion.
 
If you want to see the differences that improved inoculation, nutrition and vitamin programs adopted in the 50s and 60s made, you need look no further than this. No slight against Buddy Lyons, but he was a standout o-lineman at 172 lbs. The smallest offensive lineman on the 2020 roster is over 100lbs heavier and is faster and stronger. One can notice the same thing among recent immigrants. Mama and Daddy are maybe 4'10" and their kid in the third grade dwarfs them.

A lot of the impetus for this came from George C. Marshall, Army Chief of Staff in WWII. During testimony before Congress he raged that the draftees for the WWII army were no healthier than their fathers and brothers in the WWI army with roughly 20% rejected for physical reasons and something needed to be done about that. Marshall was such a respected and admired individual that the Congresscritters got off their collective duffs and actually did what he asked. Now the Army gripes that kids are too fat, but that is a different discussion.

A quote from a write up about him
after his passing:

Mr. Lyons always recalled Tennessee coach Gen. Robert R. Neyland telling him, "You'll never play football -- you're too light -- but I guarantee you'll graduate."
When Gen. Neyland further explained why he offered him a scholarship, he said, "I gave it to you because you reminded me of my favorite player, Bowden Wyatt."
 
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92 days.......

Reggie is too easy:)

The very first Vol to wear the #92 uniform was Vernon “Buddy” Lyons, He was a 172 lbs offensive lineman from ‘49-‘51, and was known for his intelligence and attention to detail. He is remembered for the key block that sprung Hank Lauricella on his 75 yard touchdown in the ‘51 Cotton Bowl. The Vols compiled a 28-4-1 record during his time in Knoxville, with wins in the Cotton Bowl, Sugar Bowl and 2 National Championships.
View attachment 284739
I love how you are choosing some of the less obvious choices. I look forward to your post every single day, thank you so much for all the time and effort you put into this thread.
 
I love how you are choosing some of the less obvious choices. I look forward to your post every single day, thank you so much for all the time and effort you put into this thread.
thank you!
I enjoy it too. Takes about 30 mins to an hour to look up something interesting. I’m learning a lot about players I really knew nothing about.
 
91 days.........

Jonathan Brown, #91, was a defensive lineman for the Vols from 1994 -1997. Brown didn’t have the fanfare that Al Wilson and Leonard Little had, but he was just as important. Although not a full time starter until his junior year, Brown was still effective with 5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles through his freshman and sophomore years. As a junior, he recorded 6.5 sacks, but his senior year, Brown exploded. In his All-SEC year in ‘97, Brown recorded 13.5 sacks. Brown was a 3rd round pick by the Packers, but made a name for himself in the CFL as a 2X All-Star and the ‘07 Defensive POY.
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90 days......

From 1977-1980, Brad White, #90, played Defensive Lineman for the Vols. In his first season playing in’78, White burst on the scene with 92 total tackles and 7 sacks, and duplicated that in ‘79 with 90 tackles and 7 more sacks. White finished his UT career with 245 total tackles,4 forced fumbles, and 19 sacks. The Idaho native is one of the best defensive linemen that nobody ever talks about. White was a 13th round pick by Tampa Bay and played 3 seasons there. He then played with the Colts and Vikings before retiring.
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What a collection of Vol Legends!

Reggie White, Carl Zander, Alan Cockrell, Tim McGhee, Jonathan Jones of MUMFORD, Tennessee, Clyde Duncan ...

I especially liked the stat that Reggie was the first UT player to earn SEC Player of the Year since Johnny Majors.
 
89 days.......

I couldn’t pass up the most underrated Vol ever. Larry Seivers, #89, came from Clinton, TN, and tore up the record books in Knoxville from 1974-1976. When he left Knoxville, Seivers was the all time leader in receptions (117) and yards (1,976). Ask him today how many balls he dropped in his career, he will quickly say,”two,” one vs Clemson and one vs Vandy (which was actually called a catch and TD).
What makes him so underrated, is nobody mentions him as an all time great, but he is the ONLY Vols WR to be a 2X Consensus All-American (‘75-‘76). Why his number isn’t retired in Knoxville, and why isn’t he in the college football Hall of Fame, is beyond me.

great read: Seivers in College Football Hall of Fame? Yeah, sure, why not?

7DFEB032-CC0C-4B4D-9FB5-B9B266296A78.png
 
89 days.......

I couldn’t pass up the most underrated Vol ever. Larry Seivers, #89, came from Clinton, TN, and tore up the record books in Knoxville from 1974-1976. When he left Knoxville, Seivers was the all time leader in receptions (117) and yards (1,976). Ask him today how many balls he dropped in his career, he will quickly say,”two,” one vs Clemson and one vs Vandy (which was actually called a catch and TD).
What makes him so underrated, is nobody mentions him as an all time great, but he is the ONLY Vols WR to be a 2X Consensus All-American (‘75-‘76). Why his number isn’t retired in Knoxville, and why isn’t he in the college football Hall of Fame, is beyond me.

great read: Seivers in College Football Hall of Fame? Yeah, sure, why not?

View attachment 285357
Enjoyed the article, one of my favorites to wear the Big Orange.
 
89 days.......

I couldn’t pass up the most underrated Vol ever. Larry Seivers, #89, came from Clinton, TN, and tore up the record books in Knoxville from 1974-1976. When he left Knoxville, Seivers was the all time leader in receptions (117) and yards (1,976). Ask him today how many balls he dropped in his career, he will quickly say,”two,” one vs Clemson and one vs Vandy (which was actually called a catch and TD).
What makes him so underrated, is nobody mentions him as an all time great, but he is the ONLY Vols WR to be a 2X Consensus All-American (‘75-‘76). Why his number isn’t retired in Knoxville, and why isn’t he in the college football Hall of Fame, is beyond me.

great read: Seivers in College Football Hall of Fame? Yeah, sure, why not?

View attachment 285357
You outdid yourself on this one, peaygolf. 👍🏆
 
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Here's a nice episode of Big Orange Sunday and it's Dale Jones last regular season game with the Tennessee Vols.

 
You outdid yourself on this one, peaygolf. 👍🏆
thanks. people look at his numbers and say,"eh. decent." They don't all know the kind of offence that UT ran when he was in Knoxville......or across the country. 50 receptions was a monster year.
In '75, his 840 yrds was 9th in the country (Steve Largent...1000 yrds)
In '76, his 51 receptions was 11th in the country (Bill Ryckman...77 recp.)

#retire89hof
 
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thanks. people look at his numbers and say,"eh. decent." They don't all know the kind of offence that UT ran when he was in Knoxville......or across the country. 50 receptions was a monster year.
In '75, his 840 yrds was 9th in the country (Steve Largent...1000 yrds)
In '76, his 51 receptions was 11th in the country (Bill Ryckman...77 recp.)

#retire89hof
His 1975 catches against Auburn were his very best.

635791387853324969-75then09-060.jpg96930-6817586Fr.jpg
 

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