1. Charlie Garner "The man with a thousand moves in a two-foot wide hole"- Why number 1? 6.7 y/a. That is almost a full YARD better than second place Chuck Webb and he is second all-time in y/g. Simply a superb back. He had vision, great hands/route running, durable despite his diminutive stature, COULD MAKE YOU MISS IN A SMALL CONFINED SPACE - why am I yelling this? Because this is the single most important determining factor in a running back's success - especially in the NFL - that's why Adrian Foster was so successful in the NFL game - and I would argue Mr. Foster was the better at this than any other UT back we ever had - but he did need a hole - No hole??? Charlie Garner made his own damn hole! You don't believe me? Watch his tape. There is a reason James Stewart and Aaron Hayden sat a lot that year.
2. Travis Henry "The man with a thousand baby mamas" - dependable, #1 all-time in total yards - extremely fertile - ran ball down Arkansas' throat when we had our heart in our throats and VOL fans needed it the most - count the yards after contact in that drive then take a second look and watch Shawn Bryson owning Arkansas' LBs...if they were in prison Arkansas' LBers would have to hold Mr. Bryson's inside out pocket all day after that drive. OWNED. WITHOUT Travis Henry we never get to the NC game. He had 182 yards when the DRIVE started. He was the ONLY thing Arkansas could not stop that day. Great vision, VERY low center of gravity, POWERFUL - He hit you and, unlike Jay Graham, he did it at an angle. Hence the 5.5 y/a vs the 4.8 y/a of Mr. Graham.
3. Jamal Lewis "But I have more talent than the two above me & a SB ring" - I have been lucky enough to be in a stadium to watch some of the best RB not just in the SEC but the country. If your wondering, Bo Jackson is #1 and Herschel Walker #2 but the third most talented back I ever saw in person was Jamal Lewis. His vision, power, speed and ability to cut at an 80 degree angle was simply breath taking. He never truly was the same back after his injury but he always ran HARD. Also, only UT back of the modern era to average over 100 y/g for a career; 107 to be exact. Extra points for his run against Auburn AFTER he tore his knee and knew it. Lewis was tough. Lewis always ran hard.
Lewis CARED. That whole "the next year he played it safe" theory is BS.
4. Chuck Webb "I love being great but not necessarily the game" - best vision of an UT back period. Could make a tackler miss in a phone booth. RELENTLESS. Like Jamal he was never the same after his knee injury...oh let's be honest was never a football player after his injury. Let's move on from talking about Chuck Webb. It makes me sad and always will.
5. James "Little Man" Stewart - 35 touchdowns [Thanks Aaron Hayden] - from my hometown - 3rd in total yards while sharing time with Garner/Hayden - Never met an Alabama goal line he couldn't fumble on - always ran hard, great inside and outside runner, good vision- kind of the AVERAGE of great UT backs. Had he been UT's only option for 4 years might have been the considered the best. Unfortunately, this is a theme for UT backs.
6. Johnnie Jones "Mr. Underrated" - a VERY good back 5.5 y/a - #4 all-time in yards per game. He should get more respect - going mostly on faded memory - not a lot of film I can find on him - one day I will break into the UT football film archive and never leave surviving on Mountain Dew and cheezy poofs until I die... not a bad way to go out... he played with great players on average UT teams
7. Alvin Kamara "Gimme the DAMN ball" - carried the ball about 8.2 times/game from tailback as a soph and 9.4 times/game as a jr - "See I did use him more." - Butch Jones **Interestingly New Orleans let him carry the rock 7.5 times/game even LESS than Butch but threw him the ball an additional 81 times or about twice as much as Butch Jones, hereto referred to as THE MASON. The new prototypical back of the NFL game. He has deceptive speed, an amazing short burst, superior vision and Marshall Faulk's hands and the man can break a tackle and MAKE YOU PAY. Kind of defies traditional RB measuring statistics much like Charlie Garner.
8. Reggie Cobb "I was the man until all that Cobb/Webb business started" - watching Reggie Cobb run a sweep made you want to quit football if you were a DB. He was a freight-train "headed downhill"- means great body lean - ran for over 1,000 yards for Tampa Bay when they still wore orange jerseys - I defy you to name anyone on that team - oh and it being Tampa Bay, they made him play fullback as a rookie A solid back. No true weaknesses.
9. Adrian Foster "Nobody ever called him Normal" - a better pro than collegian? statistically yes, but maybe not - played at the end of the Fulmer Era when UT had begun to struggle. Great Vision, could make you miss, good body lean, did NOT cost us the Penn State bowl game. Mostly, he was frustratingly inconsistent. Maturity? Maybe, I never met the guy. Offensive line woes? Definitely a factor. Nick Stevens as a starting QB? Didn't help. Jimmie Hyams inability to do a decent Teri dactyl voiced interview? Hyams has always been 75% IN at best and yes, I do think he could kill a wolf one on one. He has opposing thumbs and his "strangle it" pre-game strategy could pay off. At least, he wasn't boring. Besides normal is overrated.
10. Tony Thompson "The little Train that did" - Watch his highlights. A home run hitter. He was small, probably less than he was listed, which, if i remember correctly, was about 5'7". Most of his lineman's girlfriends weighed more. But what was there was muscle, determination and two legs which pumped like pistons. In his only season as a starter he rushed for over 1,200 yards. He would get absolutely killed, I mean even the announcers would groan, then bounce up like it was routine and hit you for a 12 yard gain. I just loved him. One of my favorite UT players along with JJ McCleskey and Mose Phillips [see a theme here] of all-time. It's my pick. I'm not dissing Cedric Houston, Travis Stephens or Aaron Hayden all who could go here. Out of those three I'd pick Stephens. But Tony Thompson was FUN to watch. Watching him try to bowl over three defenders and succeed? Priceless.
