All for Tennessee
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Ranking all Tennesse football QBs to start for Johnny Majors

By Caleb Calhoun

Andy Kelly in action with the ball during a game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Tennessee Volunteers at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.
Andy Kelly in action with the ball during a game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Tennessee Volunteers at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. /
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Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images
Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images /

Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. 1981-1983. 17-8-1. Alan Cockrell. 6. player. 839

The quarterback saga between Jeff Olszewski and Steve Alatorre, which plagued the 1980 team, effectively ended after Olszewski was benched after the 0-2 start in 1981. Alan Cockrell came in and started the next two games. He led Tennessee football to a 42-0 win over the Colorado State Rams before getting hurt against the Auburn Tigers.

That Auburn game is the one that we already mentioned Alatorre took over, starting the rest of 1981. However, Cockrell returned in 1982, and he was now the full-time starter. Despite weapons like Willie Gault on the team, he got off to a rocky start. UT was upset by the Duke Blue Devils to open the season, then it fell to the Auburn Tigers.

Cockrell, however, got better, and he helped the Vols tie the No. 18 ranked LSU Tigers to get them to 2-2-1. Then he ushered in the victory that established Johnny Majors in Knoxville, ending the 11-game losing streak to the Alabama Crimson Tide and beating them 35-28 when they were undefeated and ranked No. 2 in what would be Bear Bryant’s last season.

In an up and down year, Cockrell got them to 6-5-1, as they lost the Peach Bowl to the Iowa Hawkeyes. The next year, however, Cockrell led UT to a 9-3 record and a Citrus Bowl win over the No. 16 ranked Maryland Terrapins, its best season to that point under Majors.

Despite one year of eligibility left, Cockrell then left the game to focus on baseball. However, he still finished his career with a 55.8 completion percentage for 3,823 yards and 31 total touchdowns. So he really helped Rocky Top re-establish itself.

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