He was the qb my freshman year. I would agree with what you said, His performance in the UCLA game against Heisman winner QB Gary Beban was a classic. I think we won 37-34, and back then UCLA was a great team.
To further illustrate the importance of Dewey's accomplishments for younger Vol fans, Warren was an integral part of Dickey's first Tennessee teams. In 1964, Dickey's first season, we were 4-5-1. In the next five years, Tennessee was 42-10-3 and Dickey went 3-2-1 in head-to-head competition with Bear Bryant, a record rivaled by few SEC coaches of that period.
Dickey also oversaw Tennessee's transition to the modern offensive era of college football. We were the last team in the country to give up the General's beloved single-wing and had lost two local quarterback prospects, Steve Spurrier and Steve Sloan, because they could see no place for themselves in our then-antiquated offense.
Two years after the installation of Dickey's offense, Dewey Warren became the nation's most efficient passer in 1966.
To demonstrate just how thoroughly Dickey revamped Tennessee's offense, consider the following facts: From 1950 to 1965, no Tennessee player threw more than 79 passes, completed more than 44 attempts, passed for more than 588 yds. or hurled more than 8 touchdown passes.
Then, in '66, Dewey Warren attempted 229 passes, of which 136 were complete for 1716 yds. and 18 touchdowns.
During the same period, no Tennessee receiver had caught more than 23 passes or amassed more than 357 yds. receiving in a single season. Then, in 1966, Johnny Mills had 48 receptions for 725 yds. and 4 tds., including a monumental 225-yd. performance against Kentucky, which remains the 3rd most yards in a single game by a Tennessee receiver.
By analogy, you might call that transition comparable to going from a Model T Ford to a Corvette . . . in two years.
Incidentally, the so-called "Rosebonnet Bowl," which 1972 Grad referenced, remains one of the great shootouts in Tennessee football history, particularly for an era when prolific offenses were not commonplace.
