All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee football: Vols 5 deepest NFL Draft years following losing seasons

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: Mychal Rivera #81 of the Tennessee Volunteers against the Florida Gators at Neyland Stadium on September 15, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: Mychal Rivera #81 of the Tennessee Volunteers against the Florida Gators at Neyland Stadium on September 15, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
Photo by Elsa/Getty Images
Photo by Elsa/Getty Images /

4. 1955

1954 Tennessee football record: 4-6 (1-5)

NFL Draft picks: 6

  • Darris McCord, Defensive end, Detroit Lions (Round 3, pick 36)
  • Ed Nickla, Linebacker, Chicago Bears (Round 14, pick 167)
  • Pat Oleksiak, Back (QB/RB), Detroit Lions (Round 18, pick 216)
  • Jimmy Wade, Back (QB/RB), Philadelphia Eagles (Round 20, pick 238)
  • Joel Kinley, Offensive lineman, Chicago Bears (Round 27, pick 323)
  • Lamar Leachman, Offensive lineman, Cleveland Browns (Round 30, pick 360)

So you have to take earlier NFL Draft years with a grain of salt due to the fact that there were more rounds. Sure, there were also fewer teams, but 30 rounds is still naturally going to mean more picks overall. And with guys always staying four years, it meant that if you were a national title contender even three years earlier, you would load up the NFL Draft class.

Such was the case for Tennessee football in 1955. The Vols were coming off a losing season in 1954, Harvey Robinson’s second as Robert Neyland’s replacement. Unable to recreate the Neyland magic, he left the next year, which puts this draft class in a similar boat as the 2013 one: Both came on the heels of a losing season that was the end of a coach’s tenure.

The 1955 class represented one of Robert Neyland’s final classes. It was the kids he brought in ahead of the 1951 national championship season, which was after the 1950 national championship season. As a result, there was naturally going to be some talent after this group graduated. They were the final group of kids Neyland was ever able to coach, which was in 1952.

Home/Vols Football