Tennessee football: Top 10 Vols kick returners in school history

Tennessee football fans are thrilled to have Terry Fair back as a coach with the program. He was a very good defensive back for the Vols and part of that crew of players who came in 1994 and 1995 to take the program under Phillip Fulmer to the next level.

Fair is mostly known for his play as a defensive back and for good reason. A future NFL player who was able to stretch his career to 2005, Fair had 11 career interceptions, including five his senior year in 1997.

But his play as an elite punt returner made him just as important. Fair was the key return specialist for the Vols from 1995 to 1997. He averaged 23 yards a kickoff return, fielding 11 for 253 yards. On punts, he had 53 returns for 745 yards and two touchdowns.

Simply put, those are amazing stats! Fair averaged over 14 yards a punt return for his career. And it wasn’t on just a couple of returns. As we showed you, it was on 53 returns. The guy was a star when it came to fielding punts, and it’s why he belongs on this list.

Back working for Jeremy Pruitt’s, Fair will be coaching defensive backs. But he’ll likely have quite a few pointers for returners as well. It’s hard to ignore just how great he was in that area. His elite play with the ball in his hands also showed on interceptions, as the guy had 94 interception return yards in 1996. He was Eric Berry before Eric Berry in that area.