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Tennessee football: Johnny Majors all-time depth chart

By Caleb Calhoun

ANAHEIM, CA - AUGUST 26: Wide receiver Carl Pickens #15 of the Tennessee Volunteers runs with the ball against the Colorado Buffaloes during the Pigskin Classic at Anaheim Stadium on August 26, 1990 in Anaheim, California. The Buffs and Vols tied 31-31. (Photo by Bernstein Associates/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - AUGUST 26: Wide receiver Carl Pickens #15 of the Tennessee Volunteers runs with the ball against the Colorado Buffaloes during the Pigskin Classic at Anaheim Stadium on August 26, 1990 in Anaheim, California. The Buffs and Vols tied 31-31. (Photo by Bernstein Associates/Getty Images) /
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Middle Linebacker

1. Keith DeLong, 1985-1988

Only one linebacker earned All-American honors for Tennessee football. That winner was Keith DeLong. The son of 1964 Vols Outland Trophy winner Steve DeLong, Keith DeLong was a legacy player who arrived with lots of expectations. It’s safe to say, given his production, that he lived up to those expectations, which is why he’d be the starting middle linebacker for Johnny Majors.

DeLong became a full-time starter his final two years and probably should have been an All-American both seasons. He had 20 tackles for a loss and nearly 300 tackles in those two years, and he broke up six passes and forced two fumbles. With three interceptions, DeLong truly did it all. Despite only five years in the NFL, he did get a Super Bowl.

2. Alvin Toles, 1981-1984

We were down to three guys here: Kelly Ziegler, who played from 1983 to 1987, Carl Zander, who played from 1981 to 1984, and Alvin Toles. Of the three, Toles had the shortest tenure at linebacker. He moved there as a junior after two years at running back. As a result, his career stats don’t match Zander’s or Ziegler’s. However, what he did his one healthy year there was huge.

Toles only started one full season at linebacker, 1983. That year, he earned All-SEC honors with 135 total tackles, eight tackles for a loss and a pass broken up. He got hurt in 1984, but that production was so incredible that he made the list as the backup middle linebacker on Johnny Majors’ all-time team. A four-year NFL career did follow, but Toles’ college play got him here.

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