Tennessee football: Top 10 Vols who played for Johnny Majors

Johnny Majors tailored his offenses around a variety of quarterbacks during his tenure on Rocky Top, from Jimmy Streater to Alan Cockrell to Tony Robinson to Daryl Dickey to Jeff Francis. All of them brought something to the table with Tennessee football, but in 1989, he made a bold move that forced him to adjust midseason. It was one of the best decisions he made in his career.

Along with offensive coordinator Phillip Fulmer, Majors switched from Sterling Henton to Andy Kelly at quarterback. Kelly, in the process, broke nearly every UT passing record in two and a half years as a starter. Now, he did have help with a slew of elite receivers, a great offensive line and an insane running game. But Kelly himself became the standard for quarterbacks under Majors.

In 1989, Kelly completed 59 percent of his passes for 1,299 yards and seven touchdowns but nine interceptions as the Vols won the SEC Championship. He broke out in 1990, though, completing 59 percent of his passes again for 2,241 yards and 14 touchdowns. As a senior, he upped his production to completing 63 percent of his passes for 2,759 yards and 15 touchdowns.

For the passing standards at the time, these were incredible numbers. Kelly was a clutch performer and started for back to back SEC Championship teams. He engineered the Sugar Bowl comeback to end the 1990 season and the Miracle at South Bend in 1991. Nobody was ever out of a game with him, and that’s why he makes the list.