Tennessee football: Top 10 Vols kick returners in school history

Bobby Majors had some major shoes to fill when he joined the Tennessee football program in the late 1960s. He was part of a class expected to carry the elite play the that Doug Dickey brought back to the Vols after reviving the program.

On top of that, Majors’s dad, Shirley Majors, was a legendary football coach in the East Tennessee area. And most notably, his brother, Johnny Majors, was a Heisman Trophy runner-up on the 1956 Vols. He would obviously become a 16-year head coach with the program as well.

Well, he more than lived up to his name. As a defensive back alone, Majors was a superstar and part of arguably the greatest secondary in NCAA history in the early 1970s. Still holding school’s the single-season record for interceptions with 10 shows that.

But Majors’s efforts in the return game were as important as his play on the field. He remains the all-time punt return yardage leader for the school. The guy returned 117 punts for 1,163 yards for his career, averaging 9.9 yards per punt return. That’s a school record as well for anybody with at least 100 returns.

It was his efforts back there combined with his defensive play that earned him back to back All-SEC selections and a consensus All-America selection in 1971. Majors’s special teams play was a huge reason that Tennessee football won an SEC title, a Sugar Bowl match-up and had a Top 5 finish during his time there. And it’s also why he’s on this list.