Tennessee football: Vols have most all-time Super Bowl players in SEC
Tennessee football has a name for itself in the NFL. The Volunteers have produced the second most players overall in Super Bowl history.
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Derek Barnett is another former Tennessee football player heading to the Super Bowl. This is a tradition for the Vols, and despite their down period of the last decade, they still manage to send guys to the championship game.
Since the merger, according to NFL.com, the Vols have sent 61 players to the Super Bowl since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, including Barnett. That’s the second most of all time only to the Miami Hurricanes, who have sent 62. The USC Trojans have sent 60.
No other program has come within six players of those three. And when it comes to the SEC, the Vols tower over everybody. The second closest program to them are the Georgia Bulldogs, and they have 47.
Yes, Tennessee football has sent 14 more players to the Super Bowl since the merger than any other program in the SEC! If anything, that’s an indictment against the Vols.
How is it that they could only have one national championship during that time? And how could they only have five SEC Championships during that time, two of which are by default and another one that is shared?
This shows how crucial coaching is. The Vols have had some great coaches in Phillip Fulmer, Johnny Majors and Doug Dickey during this time. However, those coaches aren’t Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Steve Spurrier, Bear Bryant, or even Vince Dooley.
The Alabama Crimson Tide are fourth among SEC teams with 40 players in Super Bowls. That’s 21 players less than the Vols.
But they have 19 SEC championships and nine national championships during that same time frame. Mike DuBose even got an SEC title in that time frame.
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So yes, given this stat, it’s safe to say the Vols have underachieved on the field considering their talent in the modern era of football. Perhaps by hiring an Alabama guy, Tennessee football can learn to overachieve for once.