Very few people have been as effective for Tennessee football as a punter as Dustin Colquitt. In 2001, Colquitt was following David Leaverton, who had a great senior year and became famous for pinning punts inside the five-yard line.
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Well, Colquitt became famous for actually winning games. A four-year starter, Colquitt initially didn’t want to follow in the family tradition of football. He wanted to play soccer. But his decision to do so turned out to be the right one.
After an inconsistent freshman campaign in which he averaged 39.6 yards per punt on 51 punts, Colquitt immediately became a star as a sophomore in 2002, averaging 43.6 yards per punt on 65 punts and becoming a finalist for the Ray Guy Award. He was great even by Colquitt standards.
Then 2003 came. That may be the greatest single season a punter has ever had on Rocky Top. Colquitt averaged 45.6 yards per punt on 68 punts, and he single-handedly won a game that year with his 51.7 yards per punt average on seven punts against the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Colquitt also nailed the greatest punt ever against the Miami Hurricanes, one that was fumbled and the Vols recovered to pull off a huge upset on the road. As a result, he became an All-American and got robbed of the Ray Guy Award, finishing second. Simply put, the guy is a proven star who has now enjoyed a 15-year pro career with a Super Bowl.