Remembering Coach Cafego

[1974Vol]

For three decades the Vols had great special teams, kickers, punters, punt and kick returners. Ron Widby, Bobby Majors, Stanley Morgan, the list goes on; all due to the abilities of George Cafego to teach the game of football. See link below for those of you who may have never heard of this great VFL.

Player Bio: George Cafego - UTSPORTS.COM - University of Tennessee Athletics

Coach Fulmer kept some of that knowledge alive through the mid 90's but since then the Vols have pretty much stunk in the finer points of the game.

Case in point, last year we had a tight end good enough to be NFL drafted but not coached well enough to know you must field a kick off!:bad: Until we hire a FOR REAL special teams coach, we can look forward to losing 2 games a year to poor ST's play and bad kicking!

Wake up VN its 1/3 of a games plays and we SUCK at it!:angry: JMHO:glare:

 

[tm3]

no problem with motivation for playing the commode doors when coach C was in the locker room, either.

 

[feathersax]

"Bad News" Cafego hated vandie! Tales of how their players spit then stepped on the UT logo at coin toss, ran through the "T" & injured a Vol cheerleader...he told Peyton in an interview: "That made me so angry; God, I couldn't stand that!" Somewhere up there Coach Cafego is standing by the pearly gates with his foot on a vandie player's neck.

 

[supersmo18]

"Bad News" Cafego hated vandie! Tales of how their players spit then stepped on the UT logo at coin toss, ran through the "T" & injured a Vol cheerleader...he told Peyton in an interview: "That made me so angry; God, I couldn't stand that!" Somewhere up there Coach Cafego is standing by the pearly gates with his foot on a vandie player's neck.

Impossible. There are no Vandy players at the pearly gates.

 

[GreyhoundMan]

Years ago I was a sportwriter for the Bristol newspaper and I on the field for Media Day at Neyland Stadium. Coach Cafego was there (his last or maybe next to last year, I think). I said hi and said something along the lines of "You're probably tired of these media things by now, I bet." He just smiled and shook his head. "I never get tired of this stuff!"
I consider myself lucky to even have spoken to a true Vol legend.

 

[EricBerryistheMan]

I'd give anything to hear his Vanderbilt pregame speech.

 

[Positive Plus]

Back in the old days I was the sports editor of the Daily Beacon. I remember talking with Coach Cafego about the kicking game as the Vanderbilt game was approaching. Both teams had great punters. UT had Jimmy Colquitt and Vandy had Jim Arnold. I asked Coach Cafego which punter he thought was better. He said without hesitation, "Colquitt.... he wears orange.''

 

[1972 Grad]

I have a Cafego story from about 25 or so years ago. My brother and I had one of Cafego's former team mates as a teacher and coach in high school. He was a starting fullback and linebacker at U.T. in the late 1930's , by the name of Leonard Coffman. Coffman and Cafego had remained friends through the years, and were both on the great unscored on team.

One day, my brother was in Knoxville and introduced to Cafego by a mutual friend. Cafego was still on staff at U.T. My brother says that he is a friend of Coach Coffman, to which Cafego replies "Is that old S.O.B. still alive?"

 

[OrangeByBirth]

Many years ago, I watched Coach Cafego ask a young recruit that was supposed to be a punter, "Which corner do you kick to if you go for the coffin corner?" The recruit explained that it depended on which hash mark the ball was on and how the receiver was positioned. Cafego told him in exact words that he was a dumbass. He said that a right foot kicker should ALWAYS kick toward the left side and vice versa. He explained that a kick off the side of the foot was always on the outside and at least the ball would go down the field. It was a simple lesson that I never forgot and continue to watch kickers that don't know that simple but effective rule.

 

[NMVol]

I can remember being at the UT All Sports camp in the summer in the late the late 60's and being on Sheilds-Watkins field where George Cafego taught us campers how to basket catch punts. What an honor. Spent some time with Karl Kremser and Richmond Flowers too. Stu Aberdeen took offense to my mop top. Took me into Stokely one after noon and cut it off. I was 10 or 11. Will never forget Cafego.

 

[volboy81]

"Bad News" Cafego hated vandie! Tales of how their players spit then stepped on the UT logo at coin toss, ran through the "T" & injured a Vol cheerleader...he told Peyton in an interview: "That made me so angry; God, I couldn't stand that!" Somewhere up there Coach Cafego is standing by the pearly gates with his foot on a vandie player's neck.

About 20 yrs ago, Vandy, class that they are, before the game started, ran thru our T backwards, and one of their players kicked Smokey, who died shortly after. THAT for all you younger Vol fans who wonder why we hate them, is just one reason why.

 

[1972 Grad]

About 20 yrs ago, Vandy, class that they are, before the game started, ran thru our T backwards, and one of their players kicked Smokey, who died shortly after. THAT for all you younger Vol fans who wonder why we hate them, is just one reason why.

There have been 10 Smokeys since the first one appeared in 1953. I can't find that any died from an injury.

 

[Boca Vol]

One died from complications from the heat of the 91 UCLA game, I believe. I don't recall Smokey being kicked.

 

[hmanvolfan]

Must've read that on wikipedia.

 

[Pump Guy]

My dad was a football coach in Knoxville in the 70's and knew I was not physically gifted enough to play beyond high school so he set me up to have private lessons with Cafego on punting. Of course as a 14 year old I was smart enough to know that punting was for wimps. :bash:

 

[thebjd]

About 20 yrs ago, Vandy, class that they are, before the game started, ran thru our T backwards, and one of their players kicked Smokey, who died shortly after. THAT for all you younger Vol fans who wonder why we hate them, is just one reason why.

Smokey survived a bear mauling. No way a candy azz Vandy player could mortally wound him.

:detective:

 

[StoVol]

My avatar

 

[Jacksonvol]

When Cafego was coaching the kickers, I never had any doubts that whether it was a punt, a field goal, or an extra point, we were going to make it...A long way from the last couple of years when I felt sure that we probably wouldn't make it....He was the finest who ever worked with kickers...Surely do miss him!!!

 

[1974Vol]

When Cafego was coaching the kickers, I never had any doubts that whether it was a punt, a field goal, or an extra point, we were going to make it...A long way from the last couple of years when I felt sure that we probably wouldn't make it....He was the finest who ever worked with kickers...Surely do miss him!!!

Old George was a true kicking guru. Ditto evrything you say here. I can't understand why Vols as a team have just abandoned kicking and special teams as if they're just not all that important. Don't know how CBJ feels about it. ST's during both Kiffens & Dooley's tenure were just awful. Couldn't punt consistently, until C. Patterson couldn't field a punt, couldn't kick FG's or XPTs. How many games have turned against Vols on ST's play over the last few years? Heart breaker at Bama in 2009, who knows how many Gator games cause we can't cover punts. Missed kicks cost Georgia game last year. Well :horse: Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made. Yeah Right

 

[UT Hill Man]

Coach Cafego had an almost Captain Ahab like hatred for Vandy. Seems like I heard he had his leg broke as a player by a Vandy player?

 

[Obsessedvol]

I hate Vandy with a BURNING passion mainly because of their awful fans and people associated with vandy. They're pricks! But the fact that their players even did that just shows how classless that university is!

 

[gnm53108]

Old George was a true kicking guru. Ditto evrything you say here. I can't understand why Vols as a team have just abandoned kicking and special teams as if they're just not all that important. Don't know how CBJ feels about it. ST's during both Kiffens & Dooley's tenure were just awful. Couldn't punt consistently, until C. Patterson couldn't field a punt, couldn't kick FG's or XPTs. How many games have turned against Vols on ST's play over the last few years? Heart breaker at Bama in 2009, who knows how many Gator games cause we can't cover punts. Missed kicks cost Georgia game last year. Well :horse: Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made. Yeah Right

Seems like he's pretty serious about it. This year we're gonna have about twice as many kickers on our roster as we will qb's.