The Legendary Exploits of Doug Atkins: Must Reading for young Vol Fans

[scienceteaching_vol]

For thier eras..no.

But in all actuality, yes.

Doug Atkins wouldn't even start on our D-line 2020- How he was at 20 years old I mean He might not even be in the 2 deep.

Sorry not sorry.

But i understand why the majority would want him to be . Whatever.

Athlete is an athlete. If you thrust him in this era then you must also imagine him having access to the same strength and conditioning as a modern day athlete.

Also, what separates the good from the great, in my opinion, is between the ears. Attitude and drive to succeed, which from what I've read, he had in aces.

 

[bag12day]

Have worked with two of Dougs sons, very close friend with one of them, some of the stories I have heard. As a preteen he had access to the locker room, nobody told Doug Atkins no

What are the sons like? The older ushers at my current seats loved Mr Atkins but really did not like one of his sons at all. Evidently Doug and family would bring plenty of Jack in and the cops and ushers looked the other way because it was Doug. When he got sick and stopped coming to games the son didn't hold that same influence and I have had these seats for 4 years as result of "some issues they caused". Genuinely curious...

 

[tn4elvis]

For thier eras..no.

But in all actuality, yes.

Doug Atkins wouldn't even start on our D-line 2020- How he was at 20 years old I mean He might not even be in the 2 deep.

Sorry not sorry.

But i understand why the majority would want him to be . Whatever.

He would have started in any era on any team. He was 50 years ahead of his time athletically. He was LT 25 years before LT.Ive met the man several times before he passed away.In his mid sixties he looked like he could still play right now.

 

[mercuryvol]

Have a friend who is a former pro basketball player at 6’10” and 275. He met DA in the 90’s and said he was the biggest man he had ever met. I saw his official Bears photo and I think his leg alone weighed 265#.

 

[Lloyd_Christmas]

He would have started in any era on any team. He was 50 years ahead of his time athletically. He was LT 25 years before LT.Ive met the man several times before he passed away.In his mid sixties he looked like he could still play right now.

You hit the nail on the head. Most legendary players from the 70s couldn't stand out in today's game...let alone a player from the 50s. Atkins is the exception. He would be one of the biggest and best d-linemen in the game today.

 

[Smokey X]

I'm wondering how many of today's players could cut it in the Doug Atkins era....played without face mask's until mid fifty's.

 

[tn4elvis]

You hit the nail on the head. Most legendary players from the 70s couldn't stand out in today's game...let alone a player from the 50s. Atkins is the exception. He would be one of the biggest and best d-linemen in the game today.

Without question he would have been a star even today.He could really run for a guy his size

 

[Volosaurus rex]

For thier eras..no.

But in all actuality, yes.

Doug Atkins wouldn't even start on our D-line 2020- How he was at 20 years old I mean He might not even be in the 2 deep.

Sorry not sorry.

But i understand why the majority would want him to be . Whatever.

There are times when it is far wiser to remain silent and be regarded as a fool than to open one’s mouth and prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that one is a fool.

In Doug Atkin’s case, he was one of three former Tennessee players who made the NFL 100 ALL-TIME TEAM (NFL 100). The other two were Peyton Manning and Reggie White. Do you subscribe to the opinion that the blue-ribbon committee who cherry-picked that roster were collectively wrong in selecting Atkins as a member?

Atkins and Reggie White are currently the “only Tennessee players to ever be voted into both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Professional Football Hall of Fame (1982).” That will, of course, change when Peyton becomes eligible for membership in the Professional Football Hall of Fame. Doug Atkins also “was the only player to be unanimously named to the All-SEC Quarter Century Team and was awarded SEC Player of the Quarter Century (1950-74). He was also selected to the All-Time All-SEC Team (1933-82)” (Doug Atkins - University of Tennessee Athletics).

There is one unalterable truth about the human condition. We are all products of the historical and cultural forces into which we were born. Given how much the game has changed over the years, there is, ultimately, only one way to legitimately compare players from different eras, i.e. to what degree did player X eclipse the accomplishments of his peers? By that criterion, Doug Atkins isn’t simply one of the best defensive linemen to play at the University of Tennessee; he is a consensus first-ballot selection to the “Mount Rushmore” of Tennessee football (Mount Rushmore of Tennessee Football).

 

[rockytophigh]

The man played at a high level in the NFL until 1969 when he was nearly 40. This is when football was brutal and protection wasn't what it is today. Think of just how d**** tough you'd have to be to do that. Truly a man among boys at the highest level.

Some people on here are clueless.

 

[lukeneyland]

I had no idea he was 6ft8. Out of everyone that played in the fifties he is probably the most likely to make it in the modern game

 

[MikeVol44]

For thier eras..no.

But in all actuality, yes.

Doug Atkins wouldn't even start on our D-line 2020- How he was at 20 years old I mean He might not even be in the 2 deep.

Sorry not sorry.

But i understand why the majority would want him to be . Whatever.

sheer and utter stupidity.....from some little peckerwood who has never played a down in his life.

 

[dduncan4163]

Doug was a monster

 

[dduncan4163]

I had no idea he was 6ft8. Out of everyone that played in the fifties he is probably the most likely to make it in the modern game

Him and Jim Brown

 

[dduncan4163]

I had no idea he was 6ft8. Out of everyone that played in the fifties he is probably the most likely to make it in the modern game

Him and Jim Brown

The man played at a high level in the NFL until 1969 when he was nearly 40. This is when football was brutal and protection wasn't what it is today. Think of just how d**** tough you'd have to be to do that. Truly a man among boys at the highest level.

Some people on here are clueless.

Yup

 

[Volosaurus rex]

Him and Jim Brown

Yep. Jim Brown was about 6-2, 228 lbs. He was the first elite back to combine size, speed and power . . . and he was a full generation ahead of Hershel Walker and Bo Jackson. He had some utterly epic duels with a host of great NFL middle linebackers.

 

[MikeVol44]

Yep. Jim Brown was about 6-2, 228 lbs. He was the first elite back to combine size, speed and power . . . and he was a full generation ahead of Hershel Walker and Bo Jackson. He had some utterly epic duels with a host of great NFL middle linebackers.

Many say that Marion Motley was the first...big RB with a lot of speed.....there are some vids out there of him....

 

[Remy]

My father used to run with a bunch of guys in Knoxville that would party on the regular. One of which was Doug Atkins who was the prince of Knoxville at the time. He could do no wrong. Oh the stories the old Del Rio Motel on Kingston Pike could tell.

 

[hndog609]

Athlete is an athlete. If you thrust him in this era then you must also imagine him having access to the same strength and conditioning as a modern day athlete.

This can't be overstated. Atkins was an outstanding athlete and with modern nutrition/training that 6'8" frame would have made for an even bigger and stronger player.

 

[peaygolf]

One of the best threads on VN.

Growing up in Jackson, close to where Doug was from, I learned about the “Atkins Legend” at a young age.
He left a serious legacy for all Vols fans.

 

[NoAlblazervol]

He was the number 1 overall pick the year he was drafted. Put him in today’s game with today’s training methods, he’d still be number 1.

Roger Goodell on the other hand would be in therapy

 

[Remy]

Yep. Jim Brown was about 6-2, 228 lbs. He was the first elite back to combine size, speed and power . . . and he was a full generation ahead of Hershel Walker and Bo Jackson. He had some utterly epic duels with a host of great NFL middle linebackers.

When I was a kid I absolutely loved watching Jim Brown get up from under the pile and kind of limping barely make it back to the huddle in time for the play call. The ball would get snapped, handed to him, and away he'd go brutalizing defenders.

 

[robcovol]

If this has been mentioned, I apologize. I read a story when Atkins was with New Orleans and the Saints were playing the Redskins. Sonny Jurgensen was their quarterback, and Washington was already way ahead. Near the end of the game, Washington was threatening to score. Atkins looked at Jurgensen and said "For a 15-yard penalty, I could end your career." Jurgensen didn't throw.