How Tennessee football QBs who won starting job midseason performed the next year
3. Pick Analysis. Dewey Warren. player. 839. Scouting Report. 1966. Junior
136-of-229; 1,716 yards; 18 TDs; 7 INTs; 5 rush TDs
Probably the first player to play what constitutes today’s version of the quarterback position for Tennessee football, Dewey Warren helped the Vols have their renaissance under Doug Dickey after years of futility with the death of the single wing. Dickey instituted the slot-T formation in 1964, and Warren took over during the 1965 season for Charles Fulton.
In the process, the Vols had a dramatic turnaround from their 4-5-1 campaign in 1964. They went 8-1-2, finished in the top 10 and won the Bluebonnet Bowl. The highlight of the year was a game-winning drive led by Warren in a 37-34 win in Memphis over the Rose Bowl bound and No. 5 ranked UCLA Bruins.
This launched a period of 10 straight bowl appearances. A year later, Warren was the full-fledged starter, and he shattered the old school record for touchdown passes, throwing 18 of them, one that would stand until Heath Shuler broke it with 25 in 1993.
In the process, Warren led the Vols to an 8-3 record. They lost to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Alabama by a combined four points, and they lost to the Ole Miss Rebels by a touchdown. Still, they won the Gator Bowl, and a year later, they went 9-2, won the SEC and were retroactively declared national champions by multiple services.