ALL-AMERICA LINEMAN GALBREATH DEAD AT 45

The Tennessee athletics family learned Tuesday of the sudden death of former All-America football lineman Harry Galbreath. The Clarksville native was 45 and employed by CSX Transportation in Mobile, Ala.

An All-America offensive lineman and captain for the Vols during his 1984-87 playing career, Galbreath won the 1987 Jacobs Trophy given to the SEC’s outstanding blocker. He was a consensus All-SEC choice that senior season and also earned All-America honors from the Sporting News.

In addition, Galbreath was selected as a member of Tennessee’s 100-Year All-Time Team in 1991.

Galbreath’s professional playing career began when he was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the eighth round of the 1988 NFL Draft. He spent five seasons with the Dolphins, three with the Green Bay Packers and two with the New York Jets before retiring after the 1997 season.

Galbreath then began a collegiate coaching career that included three stops as an offensive line specialist — Austin Peay from 1998-99, Tennessee State from 2000-04 and Hampton from 2005-06.

After that, it was back to Big Orange Country for a two-year stint as UT’s associate strength and conditioning coach from 2007-09. He left the university in 2009 to pursue the position with the railroad industry’s CSX Transportation.

Galbreath was called by Johnny Majors the most dominating and aggressive run blocker Majors ever coached. Galbreath helped open holes for Reggie Cobb, who rushed for 1,197 yards on 237 attempts as a freshman in 1987. It was a then-Tennessee record for individual rushing attempts in a season.

Galbreath appeared in every game of his four-year Vols career, including three years as a starter