Linebackers in the last 15 yrs.

#1
N

NomadVol

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#1
I keep hearing we haven't good linebackers in over 15 seasons?

Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Johnson and Maggitt - I thought they were pretty good. I remember this group being held in high regard for on field performance.
Granted the lawsuit and all may shade some people and I don't want to have that sideways the thread.

What groups do you all remember or have to look up to say was descent to good in the last 15yrs?
 
#2
#2
Linebackers have been pretty good, but not close to what they were back in the 60's and 70's. UT was loaded every year. Legends.
 
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#5
#5
vols 30 said:
Over AL?
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He was pretty amazing his last two years and wasn't even here for his Sr year. I believe Al had something like 75 tackles his last seasons and Mayo had 140 or so. Probably partly was that Al had more playmakers around him than Mayo..

Al was definitely the heart and soul of the team
 
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#6
#6
MurphyVol said:
Mayo was a first rounder in 2008 and maybe the best we've ever had
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Mayo was really good......but not even Top 10
 
#7
#7
I agree we have had some great backers, but never a dominant group like we consistently had up during the prime Fulmer years. We had great talent through the 2 and 3 deep for so many years. That is what has been missing. We have had talent in the last 15 years, but no depth.
 
#10
#10
Jackie Walker (1968-71):

Walker returned five of his 11 interceptions at Tennessee for touchdowns, still tied for the most all-time in NCAA history. One of the touchdowns came when he “intercepted” a toss sweep against Alabama and returned it for a score. Tackles didn’t become an official tracked statistic until his junior and senior seasons, but he made 258 in those two years, earning All-American status in both.

Simply put.................The most underrated/underappreciated player in Tennessee history.
 
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#11
#11
NomadVol said:
I keep hearing we haven't good linebackers in over 15 seasons?

Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Johnson and Maggitt - I thought they were pretty good. I remember this group being held in high regard for on field performance.
Granted the lawsuit and all may shade some people and I don't want to have that sideways the thread.

What groups do you all remember or have to look up to say was descent to good in the last 15yrs?
Click to expand...

3 note worthy players in 15 years is not very good.
 
#13
#13
Al Wilson was a leader and physical specimen, a man among boys, who played with a high motor & high football IQ. A.

Raynoch Thompson was a top LB as he played in the NFL and Eric Westmorland, a Butkus award finalist, was drafted in the second round.

We’ve had some quality linebackers in the past but these guys were special. The 98 team also has NFL DBs let by junior Deon Grant.

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#14
#14
Mayo and Rico McCoy, then pretty much the people you listed. Pretty bleak after that. Henry T if you want to count him.
 
#16
#16
In the last 15 years we haven’t had any great LBs. Good ones? Sure. But we haven’t had a Clay Matthews, Nakobe Dean, Luke Keuchly, Von Miller or Will Anderson. We haven’t had any really elite LBs. Maybe Mayo.
 
#17
#17
peaygolf said:
73b1c457cc755f438bd06f7fb517b7ac.gif


Mayo was really good......but not even Top 10
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Most of these kids never heard of the legends though, Kinner, Delong, Walker, Wilson, Reynolds, etc. Thompson, Burnett, were some other recent greats imo. Taking nothing away from Mayo or a player like JRM but idk that either were on the level of that first group I named. And I’m sure I’m forgetting a few as well.
 
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#18
#18
VolMarine1371 said:
Did you purposely forget about Al Wilson?
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No. Had Mayo played his Sr year he'd likely have had 100 more tackles than Al.

Al was drafted 31st overall, Mayo was picked 10th by the Patriots. Both played about 8 years, both made Pro Bowls. Mayo had about 300 more tackles over his NFL career. Belichick made him a captain in his second season.

He might be the most underrated Vol ever, and I think that's largely because he left early and because our program was slipping at that time.
 
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#19
#19
MurphyVol said:
No. Had Mayo played his Sr year he'd likely have had 100 more tackles than Al.

Al was drafted 31st overall, Mayo was picked 10th by the Patriots. Both played about 8 years, both made Pro Bowls. Mayo had about 300 more tackles over his NFL career. Belichick made him a captain in his second season
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I’m sorry but you’re off your rocker if you think Mayo was a better player than Al Wilson. Just absurd.
 
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#22
#22
DaddyChad said:
Most of these kids never heard of the legends though, Kinner, Delong, Walker, Wilson, Reynolds, etc. Thompson, Burnett, were some other recent greats imo. Taking nothing away from Mayo or a player like JRM but idk that either were on the level of that first group I named. And I’m sure I’m forgetting a few as well.
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and THAT is a shame :rolleyes::mad:
 
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#23
#23
BigOrangeTrain said:
In college Wilson was the superior LB and it’s not close.
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That's interesting as he never led the team in tackles in any season. He was definitely superior at forcing fumbles and was great at that his Senior season. He was an excellent player but him winning us the UF game gets him a lot of nostalgia points.

Mayo was a much more controlled player and rarely overran plays. Technically he was near flawless. I believe his 140 tackles (led SEC) in a season was the most since the 1980s and he's the only player close to the numbers guys put up back in the run heavy offense days.

You don't see many NFL rookies that skip their Senior season and have 100 solo tackles. But I'm wasting my time by even typing this, I'll let you have the last word and move on.
 
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#24
#24
Pretty good debate on LB quality here. I have seen them all since Paul Naumoff in the mid sixties. I think we’re all comparing generational players but I agree with Peay that Jackie Walker was the most underrated of all but he was also blessed with a great supporting cast with Kiner and Hacksaw Reynolds ( another greatly underrated LB. ) Al Wilson was a tremendous motivator and captain but I don’t think he was as good overall as Mayo, who I would probably pick as my first choice. AJJ and JRM are the best we’ve had in the last decade. I maintain that the best trio of LBs was the ‘69 team of Reynolds, Kiner and Walker.
 
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#25
#25
MurphyVol said:
That's interesting as he never led the team in tackles in any season. He was definitely superior at forcing fumbles and was great at that his Senior season. He was an excellent player but him winning us the UF game gets him a lot of nostalgia points.

Mayo was a much more controlled player and rarely overran plays. Technically he was near flawless. I believe his 140 tackles (led SEC) in a season was the most since the 1980s and he's the only player close to the numbers guys put up back in the run heavy offense days.

You don't see many NFL rookies that skip their Senior season and have 100 solo tackles. But I'm wasting my time by even typing this, I'll let you have the last word and move on.
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Total tackles at TN:

Wilson- 272
Mayo- 236

Tackles for loss:
Wilson- 27
Mayo- 21

Sacks:

Wilson- 11
Mayo- 6.5

Forced fumbles:

Wilson- 8
Mayo- 0

Fumble recoveries:

Wilson- 3
Mayo- 0

Pass break ups:

Wilson- 10
Mayo- 1

INTs:

Wilson- 7
Mayo- 1

Wilson- 1997 & 1998 1st team All SEC, 1998 1st team AA

Mayo- 2007 1st team all SEC

What they did in the NFL is irrelevant. At TN Wilson was superior and it’s not close. The stats prove that. Yes you can move on now.
 
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