Former Tennessee football wide receiver Chris Hannon said he will finally return to UT with Phillip Fulmer employed again by the Volunteers.
Chris Hannon played for Tennessee football from 2002 to 2005 and was a big part of the 2004 team that won the SEC East.
But after Phillip Fulmer’s firing in 2008, he said he had not been back to Knoxville. So the former Vols wide receiver said he’ll return with Fulmer’s rehire.
Hannon made the comments Friday on The Swain Event.
Like many former Tennessee football players, he described Fulmer as a ‘father figure’ and talked about the relationship they had.
For his career, he caught 69 passes for 850 yards and 12 touchdowns. His most productive season came as a sophomore, during Casey Clausen’s senior year, when he caught 21 passes for 319 yards and an impressive seven touchdowns.
His numbers dipped the next two years, in part because Randy Sanders could never establish any go-to receivers in 2004 and then because of the quarterback turmoil in 2005.
However, Hannon was still reliable.
In the NFL, he never racked up any stats despite signing with and getting looks from numerous teams through 2010.
What’s clear with his comments, though, is he’s like many former Vols who played for Fulmer. And that’s what makes this rehire such a big deal.
It helps to bridge major divides that clearly existed within the university.