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

Dec 6, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt (2) punts the ball during an NFL football game against the Oakland Raiders at O.co Coliseum. The Chiefs defeated the Raiders 34-20. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

4. Dustin Colquitt

Year: 2003

Award: Ray Guy Award (Best Punter)

Winner: B.J. Sander, Ohio State Buckeyes

This one was beyond ridiculous. The voters this year put quantity over quality in the worst way. Dustin Colquitt had more yards per punt than B.J. Sander, had a better net average than B.J. Sander, and was more likely to pin the offense inside the 20 on a punt than Sander.

But because Sander had 26 more punts than Colquitt while playing for Jim Tressel’s boring, conservative, non-scoring offense, he was able to rack up more stats. That was flat-out ridiculous.

We can also look far beyond numbers in this game.

Dustin Colquitt can honestly claim that there are four games the Vols would not have won had he not had a great punting day. The two most notable are the South Carolina Gamecocks, when he was literally the player of the game, and the Miami Hurricanes on the road.

In that Miami game, with Tennessee clinging to a 10-6 lead late in the fourth, he hit a 50-plus yard punt into the wind down the sideline, causing the returner, the late Sean Taylor (R.I.P), to fumble, allowing Tennessee to win that game. Nobody can point to Sander winning a game solely on his foot.

He robbed Colquitt of the Ray Guy Award.

Next: #3: Heisman-Peyton Manning in 1997