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Tennessee football: Ranking pro careers of Vols drafted by hometown teams prior to Theo Jackson

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee defensive back Theo Jackson (26) shows that the pass was no good after Jackson broke up a pass intended for a BYU receiver at Neyland Stadium on Saturday, September 7, 2019.Utbyu0907 RANK 4
Tennessee defensive back Theo Jackson (26) shows that the pass was no good after Jackson broke up a pass intended for a BYU receiver at Neyland Stadium on Saturday, September 7, 2019.Utbyu0907 RANK 4 /
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Sep 1, 2018; Charlotte, NC, USA; A Tennessee Volunteers helmet is seen pregame before the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 1, 2018; Charlotte, NC, USA; A Tennessee Volunteers helmet is seen pregame before the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports /

Pick Analysis. Guard. Philadelphia Eagles. John Michels. Scouting Report. 4. player. 54

Philadelphia, Pa.; 1953 NFL Draft: Round 25, pick 298

Like Bill Barbish, John Michels played on Tennessee football’s 1951 national championship and was actually born in the city of the team that drafted him, not just the metro area. He graduated from Pennsylvania’s West Catholic High School. Anyway, Michels is the first player on this list who actually had a pro career.

While on Rocky Top, Michels was part of one of the dynasties of UT history. You could refer to the early 1950s as the Silver Age with the late 1930s being the Golden Age. Both happened under Robert Neyland. Anyway, Michels won two national championships in 1950 and 1951 and was crucial to backs like Hank Lauricella thriving.

In fact, Michels was part of that wave of All-Americans during that time along with Lauricella, Doug Atkins, Bill Pearman, Bud Sherrod and Ted Daffer. Although he was a late NFL Draft pick, he still managed to see some action while in the pros.

Michels only lasted one year, but he played 11 games and started one of them as an offensive lineman. Doing that alone is enough to give him a page on his own compared to the first three guys who were mentioned on this list, and Philly was solid that year, going 7-4-1.

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