Tennessee Football All-Time Team: Historical Vols Depth Chart

Oct 25, 2014; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers fans tailgate prior to the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Running Backs

1. Jamal Lewis

This is based on one season and then NFL success. Jamal Lewis does not have the numbers that a Travis Stephens, Jay Graham, James Stewart, Charlie Garner, Travis Henry, or any running back from the first half of the 20th century has.

But what he does have is a borderline hall of fame NFL career as a 2,000-yard single-season rusher and Super Bowl Champion. He also played a pivotal role in the back-to-back SEC Championships of 1997 and 1998. He struggled coming off of injury in 1999 and then left for the NFL, but not before leaving a lasting impact.

Lewis’s emergence is the reason Manning was able to get his SEC title in 1997. And although he went down with a season-ending injury in 1998, it was not before he single-handedly led the Vols to wins over the Florida Gators and Auburn Tigers, giving Tee Martin time to develop. From a raw talent perspective, Lewis is the best running back in Tennessee history.

And his numbers would have shown it had he been given the chance.

2. Johnny Majors

You can’t leave off Johnny Majors. Majors was one of many halfbacks in the 1950s to play the role of quarterback and running back, combining for more than 1,000 yards total that year in that position.

But his primary position was running back, so he is on this list. Majors was robbed of the Heisman this year, just as Tennessee was robbed of the national championship.

But it does not change the fact that Majors was one of the greatest players and legends in Tennessee football history, and he carried that on with a great coaching career.

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