All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee football: Vols top 30 players since 1998 national championship

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 12: Eric Berry #14 of the Tennessee Volunteers looks on against the UCLA Bruins on September 12, 2009 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. UCLA beat Tennessee 19-15. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 12: Eric Berry #14 of the Tennessee Volunteers looks on against the UCLA Bruins on September 12, 2009 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. UCLA beat Tennessee 19-15. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
23 of 32
Next
Tennessee football
Tennessee football. Photo by Elsa/Getty Images /

Tennessee football’s Punter U tradition starts really with David Leaverton. An elite punter who went onto join the Jacksonville Jaguars, he was part of the 1998 national championship team. However, Dustin Colquitt succeeded Leaverton in 2001 and took it to another level.

A member of the traditional Colquitt Family, Dustin Colquitt restored the Punter U prominence on Rocky Top. He was average his first year, hitting only 39.6 yards a punt. It’s worth noting that the offense was so great in 2001 that he wasn’t needed as much.

In 2002, though, Colquitt became a finalist for the Ray Guy Award for his play. He averaged 43.6 yards a punt and was critical in some of their exciting victories, including the Arkansas Razorbacks and South Carolina Gamecocks, in what was otherwise an ugly 8-5 season on Rocky Top.

The next year, however, became arguably the greatest year a punter has ever had. Colquitt single-handedly won two games for the Vols, as they had a 10-2 regular season record and won the SEC East. The first was in a 23-20 overtime win over South Carolina. With horrible offensive play, Colquitt carried them using field position, averaging nearly 52 yards a punt on seven punts.

Later that season, Colquitt single-handedly beat the Miami Hurricanes. As a 12-point underdog on the road against a Top 5 team, when Miami was still Miami, the Vols had forced three turnovers in the game to go up 10-6, while Colquitt was averaging over 40 yards a punt. But he notably sold getting hit on a punt to get the Vols a roughing penalty, keeping their only touchdown drive alive.

In the fourth, UT brought on Colquitt again to flip field position. Injured a bit and clinging to that lead, he hit the most beautiful punt of all-time. The punt went over 50 yards and down the sideline, and the late Sean Taylor misjudged it. In trying to catch it, he fumbled for Miami’s fourth turnover of the game. The Vols scored a huge upset, 10-6. That was the infamous Kellen Winslow “I’m a f***ing soldier!” game.

Colquitt averaged 46 yards a punt that year with 18 punts going for 50 yards or more and 19 going inside the 20, including nine inside the 10. He was an All-American and should have won the Ray Guy Award.

In 2004, he had a bit of a drop-off due to a nagging injury but still managed to average over 40 yards a punt. A two-time All-SEC punter and 2003 All-American, he’s carried his success into the NFL with a 15-year career with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Home/Vols Football All-Time Lists