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Tennessee Football: 10 Vols Who Were Robbed of Postseason Awards in School History

By Caleb Calhoun

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Nov 7, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view of flag after a touchdown against the South Carolina Gamecocks

at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports. Tennessee won 27 to 24.

5. Deon Grant

Year: 1999

Award: Jim Thorpe Award (Best DB)

Winner: Tyrone Carter, Minnesota Golden Gophers

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    • In 1999, Deon Grant was the star of a Tennessee Vols defense by tying for the NCAA lead and tying a Tennessee football record at the time for nine interceptions on the season. That included a three-interception game against the Auburn Tigers, the first of which was the first play of the game from scrimmage and returned for a touchdown.

    But despite those numbers for one of the greatest free safeties in college football history, Grant did not get the Jim Thorpe Award.

    That award went to Tyrone Carter, a safety for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Now it is true that you can’t judge all defensive backs by interceptions.

    But given the fact that both players were safeties, you could at least judge them by interceptions. And Carter was not even in the Top 10 in the NCAA in interceptions that year. So how, again, was he better than Grant? He wasn’t.

    In the NFL, Carter was a member of more team success but he was not a better individual NFL player than Grant. He gets way too much credit for playing like a physical linebacker as safety, which is fine.

    But Grant was the ball-hawking safety, playing the position the way it’s supposed to be played better than anybody in college football. He should’ve been recognized for it.

    Next: #4: Ray Guy-Dustin Colquitt in 2003

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