Top 10 single seasons by Tennessee football players of all time

Honorable Mentions

Johnny Majors – 1956

A two-time SEC player of the Year, Johnny Majors was a Heisman Trophy runner-up in 1956. He led Tennessee football to a 10-0 regular season and SEC Championship that year. Paul Hornung stole the Heisman from Majors that year. However, he didn’t have record-breaking stats to make the list, and Jim Brown was more deserving of the award anyway.

Reggie Cobb – 1987

Gene McEver still has the record for rushing touchdowns in a single season, but Reggie Cobb has the most in the modern era and is close overall. As the Vols went 10-2-1 in 1987, Cobb rushed for 1,197 yards and had 198 receiving yards. He had 17 rushing touchdowns and 20 total touchdowns overall, a modern-era record for UT.

Marcus Nash – 1997

Robert Meachem broke Marcus Nash’s receiving yards record in 2006. Nash still holds the record for receiving touchdowns with 13 in 1997, making the most of his opportunity when he replaced Joey Kent as Rocky Top’s No. 1 receiver. However, the evidence is clear that Nash’s production was a product of Peyton Manning, and that’s why this is just an honorable mention.

Cordarrelle Patterson – 2012

Playing in a bad year where the Vols went 5-7, Cordarrelle Patterson rewrote the Vols’ offensive record books. He finished with 1,068 yards and eight total touchdowns from scrimmage, but he also had a kickoff return for a touchdowns and a punt return for a touchdown. As a result, he had the most effective all-purpose season in school history, earning his spot on this list.

Joshua Dobbs – 2016

Who wins: Joshua Dobbs in 2016 or Heath Shuler in 1993? Shuler was SEC Player of the Year and a Heisman runner-up, but Dobbs won on production, completing 63 percent of his passes for 2,946 yards, 27 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while running for 831 yards and 12 more touchdowns. That’s the second most yards and tied for the most touchdowns in a year for UT.