Top 10 single seasons by Tennessee football players of all time

SEC Player of the Year; All-American; All-SEC

Derek Barnett still deserves a ton of credit for breaking Reggie White’s career sacks record in one less season. However, that does not change the fact that White had arguably the greatest defensive season in Tennessee football history in 1983, one that remains almost impossible to match nearly 40 years later. It’s easily the greatest for a defensive lineman.

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After starting his first two years, White played much of 1982 battling injuries, which limited his production. He was primed to breakout in 1983, though, fully healthy and now with more experience under his belt. That’s exactly what he did, becoming a national star and racking up insane stats for a defensive tackle. This was a precursor to his amazing NFL career.

White finished the season with 100 tackles, 72 of which were solo. However, the real story was him setting the school record for sacks with 15. He had a sack in all but two games that year, and he set what was then a school-record with four sacks against The Citadel. Corey Miller surpassed that with four and a half sacks against the Kentucky Wildcats in 2013.

Doing all of that as a defensive tackle was incredibly impressive, and White helped the Vols win nine games for the first time in the Johnny Majors era. He was crucial in their second straight win over the No. 11 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide and their Citrus Bowl win over the No. 16 ranked Maryland Terrapins. It set the stage for the elite years that would come.