Tennessee football: Top 10 passing leaders in Vols history

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. /

2 of 10

Tennessee quarterback Jeff Francis (19) gets the pass off before Vanderbilt defensive end Rod Keith can get there as the Vols won 14-7 before 41,404 windblown, waterlogged Dudley Field denizens Nov. 26, 1988.88then11 046 /

Tennessee football career passing leader No. 9: Jeff Francis (1985-88)

5,867 passing yards
31 passing touchdowns
62.0% completion
7.6 yards per attempt

Francis took over as the starter in 1986 after only attempting 20 total passes as a freshman. In his sophomore season, he completed 64.4% of his passes (1st in the SEC) for 1,946 yards and nine touchdowns. The Vols went 7-5 that season, but the next year he led the team to a 10-2-1 record.

As a junior, Francis actually completed fewer passes and threw for fewer yards, but the team was much better. He led Tennessee to a Peach Bowl victory.

Finally, in his senior season, he led a 5-6 campaign despite throwing for over 2,000 yards for the only time in his career. Francis was drafted in the sixth round of the 1989 NFL Draft by the LA Raiders.

Home/Vols Football All-Time Lists