Continuing with Tennessee football’s tradition of being Wide Receiver U, Willie Gault was one of the first guys to make that a notable thing under Johnny Majors in the early 1980s. Gault arrived in 1979 and played sparingly, catching just three passes for 95 yards and a touchdown. However, for him, speed was the name of the game, and he became deadly as a result.
Moving away from his receiving for a minute, Gault really stood out as a return specialist. After returning just six punts and three kickoffs as a freshman, he broke out in this field as a sophomore, returning three kickoffs for touchdowns. In 1981, Gault built on that by averaging over 12 yards per punt return and running one of those back for a touchdown.
Now, he had 240 receiving yards and 479 receiving yards respectively in 1980 and 1981 with one and then four touchdowns, but his return abilities are what made him stand out. Still, he was seen as a versatile weapon overall. Then, as a senior, he was able to excel on both fronts, becoming an All-American in the process.
In 1982, Gault caught 50 passes for 668 yards and four touchdowns, he averaged over seven yards per punt return and he returned a kickoff for a touchdown. As a result, he finished his career with four kickoff return touchdowns and a punt return touchdown, and he had nearly 1,500 receiving yards with 10 touchdowns. Simply put, he did it all, which is why he makes the list.