Tennessee football: Ranking Vols 10 NFL Draft classes after unranked bowl seasons

6. 1987 – Johnny Majors

1986 record: 7-5 (3-3)

Number of NFL Draft picks: 4

• Bruce Wilkerson, OL (Los Angeles Raiders: Round 2; Pick 52)
• Joey Clinkscales, WR (Pittsburgh Steelers: Round 9; Pick 233)
• Dale Jones, LB (Dallas Cowboys: Round 10; Pick 262)
• Carlos Reveiz, K (New England Patriots: Round 11; Pick 302)

In terms of quantity, Johnny Major’s 1987 class matches his 1982 class. But when it came to quality NFL production, Tennessee football was much better with this class. Ironically, the 1981 team was one game better than the 1986 team, as the 1986 team, coming off the 1985 SEC Championship season, started the year ranked in the top 10 only to fall to 7-5.

Anyway, the headliner of the Vols’ class here is their first-round draft pick, Bruce Wilkerson. A second-rounder, he enjoyed an eight-year career with the Los Angeles Raiders before spending one year with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Then he joined the Green Bay Packers for his final two seasons, winning a Super Bowl and making it to two straight.

Joey Clinkscales and Dale Jones added a total of three years to that. Jones played one season, splitting between the Houston Oilers and Dallas Cowboys, and Clinkscales played two years, with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Carlos Reveiz, who had replaced his older brother Fuad Reveiz as the Vols’ kicker, never actually made it in the pros. In terms of number of years of production, this matches Majors’ 1980 class, but with more players drafted, it deserves to be ranked higher on the list.