Tennessee football Mount Rushmore

#1
Jravol78

Jravol78

Now go home and get your shine box
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#1
I searched and didn’t see this topic out there as a thread but if already posted then please merge mods.

My brother and I were discussing our own personal Mt. Rushmore’s of Vol football and I realized what a subjective and thought provoking exercise that creating such a list entailed.

My first draft looked like this …
So I’ll go Majors for Washington , Neyland for Roosevelt , Dale Jones -Lincoln& Travis Stephens -Jefferson. This list was confined to my own remembrance of players / coaches that I physically witnessed either playing or coaching with the exception of
Neyland because how can you not include Neyland? While trying to undertake this impossible task of making your own personal Mt Rushmore of Vol FOOTBALL greats I encourage you to list your 4 nominees totally from personal memory and affection .





What say you VN?
 
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#2
#2
Jravol78 said:
I searched and didn’t see this topic out there as a thread but if already posted then please merge mods.

My brother and I were discussing our own personal Mt. Rushmore’s of Vol football and I realized what a subjective and thought provoking exercise that creating such a list entailed.

My first draft looked like this …
So I’ll go Majors for Washington , Neyland for Roosevelt , Dale Jones -Lincoln& Travis Stephens -Jefferson

What say you VN?
Click to expand...

We've had the thread before in fairly recent years.

But, don't recall ever seeing Dale Jones or Travis Stephens nominated.

Peyton might make a commercial out of this subject matter.
 
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#3
#3
Jax_Vol said:
We've had the thread before in fairly recent years.

But, don't recall ever seeing Dale Jones or Travis Stephens nominated.

Peyton might make a commercial out of this subject matter.
Click to expand...
Yeah like I said I searched under “Mt. Rushmore “ and found several posts but not to a specific thread . The never ending combos is what made me think that is was post worthy . I was a bit surprised myself with my initial list.
 
#4
#4
Perhaps was a bit emotional in the moment with Jones and Stephens nominations. The original context of our conversation was players that slayed rivals .
 
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#5
#5
I dont feel right putting players on any UT Mount Rushmore. They're only here for 4 years and they're gone. I feel like if you are being considered for "Rushmore" status, you need to have been a contributor here for much longer than that.

With that being said, I truly believe only 5 names are worthy...

Neyland
Summitt
Majors
Fulmer
Ward

IF I were to consider a former player, it obviously would be Peyton. But I have to stick to my criteria.
 
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#10
#10
Jravol78 said:
solid list and impossible to argue the validity of your list in the list of all Vol sports but my thought was specifically related to the football side of things.
Click to expand...

I’d put PS right under Neyland if it was UT sports but it was Tennessee FOOTBALL
 
#12
#12
For me, it's Neyland, Fulmer, Barnhill, and Majors.

The one with the best winning % as a Tennessee head coach is the one you know least well of those four.

Yes, even better win rate than the General.

Go Vols!
 
#13
#13
Berry4Heisman14 said:
I keep seeing Eric berry and Reggie white not being listed. Eric was literal a heisman nominee playing safety. Peyton is Peyton, Reggie white arguably the greatest DL of all time. I was born in 93 so if I was gonna pick a coach with them it would have to be fulmer
Click to expand...

I understand your reasoning. I can make a case for Reggie but RW did struggle with injuries his first 3 yrs. He was the best lineman in the nation his sr yr. EB was a great safety but majors & Fulmer made great impacts as players & coaches and Manning’s impact on the program was felt several yrs after he left.
 
#14
#14
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#15
#15
wmcovol said:
I understand your reasoning. I can make a case for Reggie but RW did struggle with injuries his first 3 yrs. He was the best lineman in the nation his sr yr. EB was a great safety but majors & Fulmer made great impacts as players & coaches and Manning’s impact on the program was felt several yrs after he left.
Click to expand...

I think Reggie is top-5.

Neyland, Majors, Manning, Doug Atkins, Reggie White. The first two are locks IMO; the other three could be debated.

I think Manning ranks third. Atkins and White were both great; White played on bad teams. All three were easy first vote NFL Hall of Famers.
 
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#19
#19
Berry4Heisman14 said:
I keep seeing Eric berry and Reggie white not being listed. Eric was literal a heisman nominee playing safety. Peyton is Peyton, Reggie white arguably the greatest DL of all time. I was born in 93 so if I was gonna pick a coach with them it would have to be fulmer
Click to expand...
User name checks out.....


All jokes aside I agree with you. He has to be there.
 
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#20
#20
wmcovol said:
I love Dale but Kiner was a 2time All American, Jackie Walker was an All American that set NCAA records.

It’s a tough choice for 4. Tennessee has more CFB HOFers than any SEC school.
Click to expand...
I was born in 78 and started seriously following Vol football in ‘85 so unfortunately my knowledge of Steve Kiner & Jackie Walker is confined to the antiquities of Vol lore.

I am glad you posted that because I am going to edit the title to include how your own personal remembrance shapes your Mt Rushmore of Vol football
 
#21
#21
Jravol78 said:
I was born in 78 and started seriously following Vol football in ‘85 so unfortunately my knowledge of Steve Kiner & Jackie Walker is confined to the antiquities of Vol lore.

I am glad you posted that because I am going to edit the title to include how your own personal remembrance shapes your Mt Rushmore of Vol football
Click to expand...

My list is out there with reasons. If it’s just players it would be much different but there’s no Tennessee football as we know it today without Robert R Neyland. John Majors was a great player in his era and rebuilt the program to a level many of us enjoy. Phil Fulmer was an All SEC player, great asst coach & NC head coach. I included Manning as the top player & contributor during my memory.
 
#25
#25
Football Players: Manning, White, Majors, Atkins
Football Coaches: Neyland, Fulmer, Majors, Dickey
Everything: Neyland, Summit, Fulmer, Manning

And I’m telling you, Heupel looks really good right now. It’s really early, but this guy has Hall of Fame potential. He just had one of the best seasons of the last 50 years in year 2. Top 10, for sure. To win 11 and a NY6 Bowl in Year 2 is astounding given the state of the program when he was hired. I feel like we are on the cutting edge of offense in 2023. I don’t know if we’ve ever had a coach since Neyland who you’d consider as innovative on one side of the ball as him.
 
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