All Time UT Team

#52
#52
QB- Peyton Manning
RB-Travis Stephens
WR-Carl Pickens
WR-Willie Gault
WR-Cordarrelle Patterson
TE-Jason Witten
LT-Chad Clifton
LG-Cosey Coleman
C-Bubba Miller
RG-Fred Weary
RT-Jason Layman

DE-Reggie White
DT-John Henderson
DT-Billy Ratliff
DE- L. Little
OLB-Raynoch Thompson
MLB-Al Wilson
OLB-Kevin Burnett
CB-Dale Carter
CB- Dewayne Goodrich
FS-Rod Wilks
SS-Eric Berry

KR- CP and EB
PR-CP

K-James Wilhoit
P-Anyone with the last name Colquitt

Coach-The General
 
#53
#53
#1DicksonVolFan said:
Rex, the topic of how the athletes of yesteryear would fare today has always intrigued me, sports philosophy if you will because no matter how much we talk, we will never know for sure. With regard to Adkins, I would love to see what would happen if you took him out of a game in 1950 and inserted him directly in 2014. Would he be a fish out of water, totally lost in the
quickness of today's game? Or would he dominate, using techniques that today's tackles
aren't used to facing. I think the answer is somewhere in the middle, but we can all agree that more time to take advantage of modern amenities would do nothing but help.

As far as other sports go, baseball would be my favorite to play god with. I think Babe Ruth would look foolish against modern pitching but I'd LOVE to be proven wrong. On the flipside, I would put Cy Young against Miguel Cabrera. Again, I think Miggy would make him look like a chump but would enjoy the outcome no matter what.
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I agree that “the topic of how the athletes of yesteryear would fare today” is intriguing, but that isn’t really what I am talking about. If you asked me, “What would happen if you replicated the genetics of Doug Atkins, placed them in the body of a person born in ca. 1990 and gave him the benefits of modern strength training and sports nutrition?”, I would say that the new and improved version of Doug Atkins would probably be 6-8, 330-350 lbs, and he would be just as dominant as the old version.

On the other hand, I readily concede the fact that players from yesteryear were, for the most part, significantly smaller, slower and weaker. Hypothetically extracting these men from earlier eras and instantaneously transporting them to the contemporary field, however, is patently unfair because that scenario denies them the benefits of contemporary training methodologies, which I believe that all of us would consider a competitive disadvantage. The crux of the matter, in my opinion, is that the enduring measure of greatness is to what degree did the achievements of player X tower over those of his contemporaries.

As for the Bambino, which version are you referring to, the reasonably svelte one who was genuinely considered to be fleet-footed when he first came to the majors or the rotund, 250-lb. version who “graced” the field late in his career? Here is a nugget to consider with respect to Ruth. Sportswriters from that era largely agreed that, if he had continued to pitch exclusively rather than play full-time in the field, he would have been remembered as one of the five best left-handers in baseball history. Not many baseball players have the god-given ability to excel on that level on the mound AND in the field.

With respect to Atkins, here are some hilarious but true anecdotes excerpted from both his collegiate and NFL careers which testify to the fact that he truly was a “Natural,” i.e. one of the all-time greats to ever don an orange jersey:

“For most of his [NFL career,] opposing players faced him with just one thought in mind: "Don't make him mad!" Everyone knew that holding or tripping Doug was an absolute no-no, something akin to committing suicide. When angered, his contemporaries remember, Atkins inflicted the kind of devastation upon enemy lines and quarterbacks that seldom, if ever, has been equaled on any football field. . . . [Baltimore Colts offensive lineman Jim Parker said], "I never met anyone meaner than Atkins. After my first meeting with him, I really wanted to quit pro football. Finally my coaches convinced me not every pro player was like Atkins.”

There is also a story about “the veteran tackle of the Los Angeles Rams who ordered a rookie guard who had just held Atkins to go to him and apologize. "I've got to play against him the rest of the day," the veteran demanded. "Now you go apologize."

Interestingly, Doug's initial athletic interest was in basketball. “He was, in fact, playing with the Detroit Vagabonds professional basketball team when Cleveland Browns' coach Weeb Ewbank found him to offer a pro football contract. Atkins' basketball interest came naturally enough for it was "THE" high school sport in his hometown of Humboldt, Tenn., where he was born on May 8, 1930. Only 5-2, 118 pounds his first year in high school, Doug grew rapidly and, as a senior, was an all-Tennessee star.

He went to the University of Tennessee on a basketball scholarship and immediately did well, scoring 38 points in one freshman game. . . Doug also filled in one year on the track team and won the Southeastern Conference high jump title with a 6-6 leap. . . . Gen. Bob Neyland, Tennessee's football coach and athletic director, spotted Atkins on the basketball court and marveled at the way a man so big could move so well. He knew he had to have Atkins on the Volunteers’ football team. "I enjoyed basketball, I was gonna forget all about football," Doug reminisces. "But they wouldn't let me."

Turning once again to opinions expressed by his NFL peers, 18-year quarterback Fran Tarkenton once described Atkins as "the strongest man in football and also the biggest. . . When he rushes the passer with those oak tree arms of his way up in the air, he's 12 feet tall. And if he gets to you, the whole world starts spinning." "One of his favorite tricks," long-term rival Johnny Unitas remembered, "was to throw a blocker at the quarterback." Two of Unitas' chief protectors on the Colts' offensive line, Bob Vogel and Jim Parker, added to the Atkins legend. "Doug was so strong he could throw me 10 feet," Vogel admitted.” See Chicago | Bears in the Hall - Doug Atkins.

Now just ponder the prospect of taking that natural strength and amplifying it with modern training methodologies.
 
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#55
#55
kentuckianavol said:
Was Listening to the EA show this morning and caught the tail end of the broadcast and got in to work and decided while working i'd make my own list of ALL UT Team and was curious to see what everyone elses would be.?.

QB- Peyton Manning
RB- Jamal Lewis
FB/TE- Jason Witten
WR- Marcus Nash
WR- Alvin Harper
WR- Joey Kent
LT- Michael Munoz
RT- Chad Clifton
LG- Chip Kell
RG- Steve Delong
C- Bob Johnson

LE- Reggie White
DT- John Henderson
DT- Albert Haynesworth
SE- Doug Atkins
OLB- Raynoch Thompson
MLB- Al Wilson
OLB- Leonard Little
CB- Eric Berry
CB- Dewayne Goodrich
SS- Deon Grant
FS- Dale Carter

K- Jeff Hall
P- Dustin Colquitt
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Hey folks, UT football did not begin in the 1990s. An "All Time" list would have to include more players from earlier eras. Where's Hacksaw? Where's Johnny (the Heisman Trophy runner up)? Then there are Naumoff, Lauricella, Feathers, Dodd, etc.? Stanley Morgan has to be on the list.
 
#56
#56
#1DicksonVolFan said:
Rex, the topic of how the athletes of yesteryear would fare today has always intrigued me, sports philosophy if you will because no matter how much we talk, we will never know for sure. With regard to Adkins, I would love to see what would happen if you took him out of a game in 1950 and inserted him directly in 2014. Would he be a fish out of water, totally lost in the
quickness of today's game? Or would he dominate, using techniques that today's tackles
aren't used to facing. I think the answer is somewhere in the middle, but we can all agree that more time to take advantage of modern amenities would do nothing but help.

As far as other sports go, baseball would be my favorite to play god with. I think Babe Ruth would look foolish against modern pitching but I'd LOVE to be proven wrong. On the flipside, I would put Cy Young against Miguel Cabrera. Again, I think Miggy would make him look like a chump but would enjoy the outcome no matter what.
Click to expand...

Baseball is different than football and in my opinion believe "all-time" greats in that sport would be just as good now. Babe Ruth would be a star today as would Mays, Mantle, Williams, Feller, Koufax, Gehrig, and any number of players. The mound was actually lowered to help the hitters. The only difference now is year around conditioning and specialty relief pitchers. I think baseball translates generationally much better and the sport has evolved very little in comparison to the NFL and NBA for that matter.
 
#62
#62
thebjd said:
How is he more of a "winner" than Manning?
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In College, He won at Florida and beat Alabama in Alabama in OT with a 4th and 19 pass play, Drilled Michigan in the bowl game, played hurt against Arkansas in that Marathon 6OT game and pulled out the win...He is just who I would take in the College format.
 
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#63
#63
macrovol said:
QB- Peyton Manning
RB- Jamal Lewis
RB- Chuck Webb
FB - Wiliam Howard
WR- Peerless Price
WR- Carl Pickens
TE - Jason Witten
LT- Antone Davis
RT- Chad Clifton
LG- Chip Kell
RG- Harry Galbreath
C- Bob Johnson

LE- Reggie White
DT- John Henderson
DT- Albert Haynesworth
SE- Doug Atkins
OLB- Steve Kiner
MLB- Al Wilson
OLB- Keith DeLong
CB- Eric Berry
CB- Terry Fair
FS- Deon Grant
SS- Dale Carter

K- Fuad Reviez
P- Dustin Colquitt

KR - Cordelle Patterson
PR - Eddie Brown
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12 guys on offense? Well I know who is coaching this team.
 
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#65
#65
Beattie Feathers ... So good in 1934 he was 1st in NFL to rush for over 1000 yds for Da Bears, even though he broke his shoulder in next to last game and neverfully recovered. He was only 1000 yd rusher for like 13 or 14 years, and his close to 10 yds per carry that year is in a club of THREE up to this day.

So, what'd he do at Tennessee? Led UT to 2 SEC titles among others. "Watching him run was like watching a rabbit chased by hounds".

How do you leave a guy like that off?
 
#66
#66
Orangedogsrule said:
Beattie Feathers ... So good in 1934 he was 1st in NFL to rush for over 1000 yds for Da Bears, even though he broke his shoulder in next to last game and neverfully recovered. He was only 1000 yd rusher for like 13 or 14 years, and his close to 10 yds per carry that year is in a club of THREE up to this day.

So, what'd he do at Tennessee? Led UT to 2 SEC titles among others. "Watching him run was like watching a rabbit chased by hounds".

How do you leave a guy like that off?
Click to expand...

In all honesty, I wished I knew my UT Football history better than what I do. A lot of us just go off what we remember and what some of the ones on here mention. I watched the SEC Storied the other day on Condredge (sp) Holloway and was impressed with his ability and toughness, but had no clue how good he really was. I for one am going to start studying my history more on the earlier teams and players. They deserve to be remembered and their achievements passed on.
 
#67
#67
I'm not going to question anyone's list. My own list would be reflective of some my favorites to the exclusion of guys from eras when I wasn't watching. I will recommend a few names from the past that I did not see earlier in the thread but all Tennessee fans should know: Bobby Dodd; Gene McEver; Herman Hickman; Bowden Wyatt; Roland James; Hank Lauricella, Chip Kell; and Dewey Warren.

edit: I see that Chip Kell was already on the op's list.
 
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