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

3. 1978

1977 Tennessee football record: 4-7 (1-5)

NFL Draft picks: 5

• Craig Colquitt, Punter, Pittsburgh Steelers (Round 3, pick 76)
• Jesse Turnbow, Defensive tackle, Cleveland Browns (Round 8, pick 205)
• Russ Williams, Defensive back, Dallas Cowboys (Round 9, pick 250)
• Brent Watson, Offensive lineman, Cleveland Browns (Round 10, pick 261)
• Pat Ryan, Quarterback, New York Jets (Round 11, pick 281)

The 1955 and 2013 Tennessee football NFL Draft classes came on the heels of a coach’s tenure coming to an end. But in 1978, it was the opposite. It came right on the heels of a coach’s tenure just beginning.

Johnny Majors had taken over as head coach of the Vols in 1977 for Bill Battle. Majors was a UT legend, finishing second in the Heisman on the 1956 SEC Championship team, and he was leaving the Pittsburgh Panthers after winning a national title in 1976 to rebuild Rocky Top.

As a result, nobody was a bigger hero in UT history than Majors was when he took the job in 1977. But he got off to a horrendous start, going 4-7 in 1977, the worst year in school history. Still, despite the slide, Battle had enough leftovers who were able to make an impact in the NFL Draft.

Most notable among those players was Craig Colquitt, who was an early architect of the legendary Colquitt family in Knoxville. But five players overall were taken, which was a pretty high number, and that earned it a place on this list.