Tennessee football: Top 10 Vols players who never won a championship

He kind of went under the radar because of injuries early in his career. But Kevin Burnett turned into the leader Tennessee football needed in the mid-2000s on defense, helping them win back to back SEC Eastern Division titles.

Burnett returned from a season-ending injury in 2003 and helped the Vols to a 10-2 regular season record. They won the East in a three-way tie with the Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators that year, but Georgia got to represent the East in the SEC Championship since they played the toughest schedule.

Although that did make sense, it wasn’t a substantial enough difference to call Georgia outright East champions. So the Vols got to claim it, and it was in no small part due to Burnett, who helped facilitate elite defensive games in wins against the Florida Gators and Miami Hurricanes.

Then, in 2004, Burnett became a leader and led a surprise team. The Vols were supposed to be rebuilding and went through three different starters at quarterback that year. But thanks to senior leaders like Burnett, they shocked the world and won the SEC East.

Burnett became an All-American that year, and although they didn’t win the SEC Championship, he earned a ton of praise. Most notably, when Tennessee football lost to the Auburn Tigers early in the year, Burnett guaranteed that the two would meed again in the title game. He was right, as he led the Vols to an upset over the Georgia Bulldogs the next week. A leader like that belongs among the Vol greats. He didn’t win a ring, but he was still an amazing player.