Tennessee football’s 10 toughest records to break

6. Joey Kent: 2,814 career receiving yards

1993-1996

The closest person to Joey Kent in career receiving yards is Marcus Nash with 2,447, nearly 400 yards behind Kent. Behind Nash is Peerless Price with 2,298 yards. What do all three of those receivers have in common? They spent at least three of their four years with Peyton Manning throwing them the ball.

Unless Tennessee football has another quarterback like Manning come along, it’s hard to see any receivers putting up such numbers over a career the way these guys did. Kent is far and away ahead of everybody else, and it’s worth noting that he was the Vols’ go-to receiver for three straight years, all three under Manning.

As a result, even if a quarterback like Manning does come along, it’s unlikely that his go-to receiver will be the same for more than two years. Of course, if Kent had been with Manning all four years, his record would be even more unbeatable, as Manning’s best year came in 1997, the year after Kent graduated. However, the stars still aligned for him to dominate the stats sheet.

Kent is still the only player in school history to go over 1,000 receiving yards in multiple seasons, and he did it in back to back seasons, 1995 and 1996. That’s a hard act to follow, and as a four-year guy who was so significant for three years, his record is likely going to stand for a long time. Even if better receivers come through, they won’t match what he did here.