'19 NC RB Quavaris Crouch (Tennessee signee)

I think I’d put Raynoch Thompson on before Jerod Mayo.

I think Mayo was a late bloomer for the Vols. He did have a great senior year and a very good NFL career.

A DB who would have been great in any era was Roland James, an All American at UT who started for the Patriots for 10 or 11 years. Pruitt would have loved Roland James, tall, great speed, very good tackler, played both CB and S, and took some punt returns to the house in his spare time.
 
The 98 defense held Florida to 17. The 97 one gave up 33 to Florida. The 97 defense got obliterated by Nebraska. That “nasty” 97 defense in the SECCG gave up 29 to a one-dimensional Auburn offense. Were it not for the late-game heroics of Manning and Nash, that team loses the SEC championship to an inferior Auburn team and that would have been on the defense. Hard to think of a single game in 97 when the defense played as well as the 98 defense played on average.

I get what you’re saying about their speed and talent. But they underperformed. And performance is what matters. The 98 defense had “it.” They performed. The 97 defense did not. Probably cost Manning a Heisman.
You bring up what I consider to be the worst problem on the 97 team. the number one priority of the coaching staff at that time was to get the Heisman for Manning rather than winning games.
 
Alright. Since we’re talking Defense.

All-Time Starting 11:

DE - Reggie White
DT - John Henderson
DT - Albert Haynesworth
DE - Doug Atkins

OLB - Steve Kiner
MLB - Al Wilson
OLB - Leonard Little

CB - Dale Carter
SS - Eric Berry
FS - Deon Grant
CB - Bobby Majors
Nail on the head with everyone, except...and it's a toughy...sub Raynoch for Kiner, although that's tough. Al said he was the heart and soul of that '98 D.

Carl Pickens would've stayed on D, we would, at least, be mentioning him.

Edit: change my mind, gotta leave Kiner. No way he's not on the list. Sorry, Raynoch.
 
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Nail on the head with everyone, except...and it's a toughy...sub Raynoch for Kiner, although that's tough. Al said he was the heart and soul of that '98 D.

Carl Pickens would've stayed on D, we would, at least, be mentioning him.

Edit: change my mind, gotta leave Kiner. No way he's not on the list. Sorry, Raynoch.

Yeah, it's Kiner all day and all night. Carl Pickens was amazing.
 
All-Time Starting 11:

DE - Reggie White
DT - John Henderson
DT - Albert Haynesworth
DE - Derek Barnett

OLB - Jerad Mayo
MLB - Al Wilson
OLB - Leonard Little

CB - Dale Carter
SS - Eric Berry
FS - Deon Grant
CB - Terry Fair

I'll take Dale Jones over Little
Roland James over Fair
Atkins/White over ALL of them.
 
I was at that game. Huskers beat us like a tom tom drum. Tom Osbourne's team played smarter and tougher. Didn't they beat heck out of Florida in a bowl the following year or year after that? It was the worst beating I ever saw put on a Spurrier team.
Year before if I recall correctly
 
I'm a Barnett fan, but if they kept track of sacks in Atkins day, he wouldn't be close to that record.
Doug told me the same thing once at a golf tournament. He said that in one game alone he knew he had at least 8 if not 9 tackles of the QB behind the line of scrimmage. He also said if he had played in a 16 game schedule with all the passing offenses of today.That he might have had years of 30 plus sacks
 
Doug told me the same thing once at a golf tournament. He said that in one game alone he knew he had at least 8 if not 9 tackles of the QB behind the line of scrimmage. He also said if he had played in a 16 game schedule with all the passing offenses of today.That he might have had years of 30 plus sacks

Sounds very modest about his accomplishments...
 
Sounds very modest about his accomplishments...

"At Tennessee, Atkins also lettered in three seasons in track and field[5] and one season in basketball.[6] He finished runner-up in the high jump at the 1952 Southeastern Conferencechampionships with a mark of 6' 6" (1.98m) which placed him 25th in the world that year."

Dude was a freak. No need to be modest about the truth.
 

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