Tennessee football proven by NFL Pro Bowlers to be Special Teams U
Former Tennessee football Volunteers specialists are all-stars in 2020.
Punter U is no longer a sufficient title for Tennessee football. The Vols should expand it to Special Teams U, even with the struggles the program had throughout the 2020 season when it came to place kicking.
Three former Vols were named to the 2020 NFL Pro Bowl roster. None of them were punters. Two of them were named specifically as special teams players, and the third and most notable player has been a return specialist in the past.
That third player is Alvin Kamara, Tennessee football’s most recognizable star in the pros right now. The New Orleans Saints all-purpose back made it for the fourth year in a row after gaining 1,516 yards from scrimmage and scoring 15 touchdowns with two games left. He’s only played four years, and this could turn into his most productive offensive season.
Although he wasn’t much of a return specialist this year, returning just two kickoffs, Kamara, who played for thew Vols in 2015 and 2016, has worn that hat in the past. He returned 11 kickoffs, one for a touchdown, as a rookie and has 17 punt returns and kickoff returns each in his career.
Beyond Kamara, though, the Vols have the most recognizable return specialist in the league, one who has become a star specifically as a specialist. We’re talking, of course, about Chicago Bears wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson.
For the second straight year, Patterson, who played for UT one year in 2012, leads the league in kickoff return yards with 942. He leads the league in yards per kickoff return for the fourth time in his career at 29.4, and he leads the league or ties for the lead in kickoff return touchdowns for the sixth time in his career, coming away with one.
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Because of that, this is his fourth Pro Bowl specifically as a return specialist in his eight-year career and his second straight. We should note that Patterson also has 346 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown.
The return game alone is standing out for Tennessee football, but then, even without a professional starting place kicker, the Vols also have a Pro Bowler in place kicking. Long snapper Morgan Cox of the Baltimore Ravens has once again made the roster.
Cox, who was with UT from 2005 to 2009 and started every game from 2007 on, is in his fourth Pro Bowl and second straight as well specifically as a long snapper. Justin Tucker is considered the best place kicker in the game, and for good reason, but we can’t ignore the fact that he has Cox snapping for him, and that’s clearly a huge benefit.
No punters may have made it this year, as Dustin Colquitt has finally shown regression after leaving the Kansas City Chiefs. He was with the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier in the year. Still, he’s in the league, and he could become the second punter ever to reach the Hall of Fame. Colquitt’s brother, Britton Colquitt, is still starting for the Minnesota Vikings.
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When you consider the fact that Trevor Daniel played two games this year and that Matt Darr and Michael Palardy have both started full seasons at some point within the past five years, it’s clear the Vols haven’t lost their Punter U title. Combine that with these three Pro Bowlers, and Tennessee football is officially Special Teams U altogether.