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Ranking Tennessee football’s previous 10 draft classes with five picks

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee's (98) Parys Haralson heads for the fans at the end of the fifth overtime and their win over Alabama. 10/25/2003Utalabama6 Mp227
Tennessee's (98) Parys Haralson heads for the fans at the end of the fifth overtime and their win over Alabama. 10/25/2003Utalabama6 Mp227 /
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Tennessee running back Glenn Ford (25) leaps into the end zone over a pyramid consisting of teammates Tim Irwin (78) and Dwight Wilson (79) and Washington State linebackers Ken Emmil (34) and Dennis Braun (37) to score the Vols first touchdown. Tennessee wins 35-23 before 92,520 fans at Neyland Stadium Sept. 20, 1980.80then09 070a
Tennessee running back Glenn Ford (25) leaps into the end zone over a pyramid consisting of teammates Tim Irwin (78) and Dwight Wilson (79) and Washington State linebackers Ken Emmil (34) and Dennis Braun (37) to score the Vols first touchdown. Tennessee wins 35-23 before 92,520 fans at Neyland Stadium Sept. 20, 1980.80then09 070a /

2. 1981

  • Round 3: Tim Irwin – Minnesota Vikings (Pick 74)
  • Round 5: Danny Spradlin – Dallas Cowboys (Pick 137)
  • Round 7: Alan Duncan – Philadelphia Eagles (Pick 174)
  • Round 10: Hubert Simpson – Cincinnati Bengals (Pick 258)
  • Round 12: Brad White – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Pick 310)

Just like his 1978 class, Johnny Majors’ 1981 class also had five NFL Draft picks and was coming off a losing season. It speaks to how much Tennessee football struggled with the transition in the early years under him. Like the 2006 class, it had three players with solid careers.

One of them, Tim Irwin, did enough to stand out over everybody in both classes. He played 14 years in the NFL, almost all with Minnesota until spending the final half of 1994 in Tampa Bay. During that time, he appeared in 201 games at right tackle with 187 starts.

Beyond Irwin, Danny Spradlin did play five seasons at linebacker, two with Dallas, two with Tampa Bay and one with the St. Louis Cardinals. He appeared in 63 games with two starts. Brad White was a steal by Tampa in Round 12, as he played six years, appearing in 73 games with 18 starts at defensive tackle, three with Tampa and three with Indianapolis.

Two players like Spradlin and White having decent careers as rotational players in the pros combined with Irwin’s long career is enough to put this class so high up. Nobody else from Tennessee football’s 1981 draft class played in the pros, but that’s a decent three with a heck of a top guy.

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