Tennessee football’s top 10 injury replacements in school history
player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. 1990. 839. Running Back. Tony Thompson. 2
There’s a bit of a tragic story here. Tony Thompson stepped in for Chuck Webb, who was easily the best running back Tennessee football ever had to anybody who saw him play. Webb had 1,236 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging six yards a carry, as a freshman in 1989. However, he suffered what became a career-ending injury in the Vols’ second game of the 1990 season.
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Tony Thompson, a fifth-year senior, remained part of the program despite being a backup to Reggie Cobb and then Webb. A week after Webb went down, Thompson got his first start, and he ran for 248 yards and two touchdowns in a 40-7 win at the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Webb was the only player to ever rush for more yards in a game.
The rest of the year, Thompson emerged into a star. He rushed for 1,261 yards and 16 touchdowns that season while averaging nearly six yards a carry, earning first-team All-SEC honors and helping the Vols win their second straight SEC Championship. It was a great underdog story for a guy who had been a team player and took advantage when his number was called.
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UT faced the Virginia Cavaliers in the Sugar Bowl that year, and Thompson put an exclamation point on his career by scoring the game-winning touchdown in a 16-0 comeback to win 23-22. That remains Tennessee football’s last Sugar Bowl appearance and win.