Tennessee football’s top 10 injury replacements in school history

After sitting out during the 1998 season due to being an academic partial qualifier, John Henderson entered 1999 as a backup to Billy Ratliff. However, he was expected to eventually become a superstar, and when Ratliff suffered a season-ending injury, four games into the year Henderson immediately stepped into that role.

Against the No. 10 ranked Georgia Bulldogs, Henderson earned his first start and was part of a unit that dominated the offensive line all night. Two weeks later, he helped Tennessee football’s defense hold the eventual SEC champion Alabama Crimson Tide to just one score in a 21-7 win in Tuscaloosa.

Throughout the year, Henderson settled into his new role and became a star. He finished the season 43 tackles, four sacks, five tackles for a loss and two passes broken up, helping the Vols to a 9-3 finish and top 10 ranking once again. As everybody knows, that was just a preview of what was to come.

Over the next two years, Henderson would become a two-time All-American and win the Outland Trophy in 2000. He became beloved when he made his decision to return for his senior season despite not needing to.

Henderson was the face of the Vols during their transition into the 2000s, and he anchored arguably the greatest college defensive tackle tandem in school history in 2001 as he started alongside Albert Haynesworth. Needless to say, he became a legend after replacing Ratliff.