Tennessee quarterback and "maestro" Peyton Manning leads the Vols' Pride of the Southland Band in a rendition of "Rocky Top" after the No. 3 ranked Volunteers closed out Vanderbilt 17-10 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville Nov. 29, 1997. Tennessee earned its first ever trip to the SEC Championship game to faced Auburn.
Tennessee football: Top 10 passing leaders in Vols history
No. 1 on this list is no surprise, but the Tennessee Volunteers have had a lot of great quarterbacks in their history. That even includes 2022 with Hendon Hooker’s incredible breakout year under Josh Heupel.
There are plenty of familiar names on this list and a few who have made names for themselves at the next level. You can check out the entire all-time passing list HERE, but now we’ll go on a journey through the career of the Vols’ 10 greatest passers.
From a national championship to an NFL hall-of-fame career. Let’s get into the list starting at No. 10.
2 Jan 2000: Tee Martin #17 of the Tennessee Volunteers gets ready to pass the ball as Carlos Polk #13 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers comes at him during the Fiesta Bowl Game at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Florida. The Cornhuskers defeated the Volunteer
Tennessee football career passing leader No. 10: Tee Martin (1996-99)
- 4,592 passing yards
- 32 passing touchdowns
- 55.4% completion
- 7.8 yards per attempt
Martin spent his first two seasons in Knoxville backing up Peyton Manning, so he only threw for 111 total yards across his first two seasons. Then with Manning in the NFL, he did what his predecessor couldn’t, won a national championship.
Martin was far from a perfect quarterback, only completing 57.3% of his passes in the 1998 championship season, but he threw for 2,164 yards and 19 touchdowns with just six interceptions. That along with his 287 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground was enough to lead the Vols to 13-0.
As a starter, Martin went 11-1 against Alabama, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Florida.
