Revisiting Tennessee's most talented team 20 years later

The anticipation of another SEC football season will intensify next week during the SEC Football Media Days in Birmingham, Ala. But for Tennessee, the preseason buildup won’t come close to matching that of 20 years earlier.

No matter what measuring stick you applied, UT’s 1997 season was perhaps the most anticipated in school history. The News Sentinel advertising staff could vouch for that. Our preseason football section had plenty of ads — and for good reason.

The cover boy, Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning, was the preseason favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, and the Vols were expected to contend for a national championship. Both the player and team fell short, but not for lack of talent.

When you look back on that team 20 years later, it looks even more formidable than it did before the start of what was supposed to be a glorious season.

But the Vols finished 11-2, seventh in The Associated Press final poll and won the SEC championship. And 20 years later, the season is still remembered more for losses than victories.

Michigan defensive back Charles Woodson beat out Manning for the Heisman, and the Vols suffered a fifth consecutive loss to coach Steve Spurrier’s Florida Gators and a humiliating 42-17 Orange Bowl defeat to Nebraska, which ended up with a national championship of its own.

Read more:

Never 8: Tennessee always stopped the bleeding at 7 losses

John Adams: Things go better at Tennessee with Peyton Manning

Phillip Fulmer's return gives Tennessee Vols a welcome PR win

Tennessee fans can’t help but remember the losses. They shouldn’t forget the talent, though.

That team had more talent than the one that won a national championship a year later. The talent was validated by the now completed NFL careers of its most prominent players.

Manning was the headliner, of course. When he retired after the 2016 NFL season, he was recognized as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time.

Linebacker Al Wilson became a five-time Pro Bowler in the NFL. Running back Jamal Lewis, who led the 1997 Vols in rushing as a freshman, later starred for the Baltimore Ravens. In 2003, he came only 39 yards short of Eric Dickerson’s single-season NFL rushing record.

Numerous other Vols from the 1997 team had distinguished pro careers. While many of those players also played on the national championship team, the 1998 team didn’t include Manning, defensive end/linebacker Leonard Little, center Trey Teague, cornerback Terry Fair, and wide receiver Marcus Nash. And Lewis played in only four games in 1998 after suffering a season-ending knee injury.

Little made All-Pro in 2003, had double-digit sacks in four different seasons and was named to the St. Louis Rams’ 10th anniversary team. Fair played six seasons in the NFL. Nash, a first-round draft pick, played three. Teague started 80 games and play nine seasons in the NFL.

Two other starting offensive linemen from the 1997 team, tackles Chad Clifton and Cosey Coleman, both had long NFL careers. Clifton was selected to two Pro Bowls.

Wide receiver Peerless Price, who had 48 catches in 1997 and was even more productive a year later, played nine seasons in the NFL. In 2002, he caught 94 passes for 1,252 yards for the Buffalo Bills.

Seventeen of UT’s 22 starters in 1997 eventually made an NFL roster. Another, safety Cory Gaines, was drafted.

That team’s talent also was reflected in the players that didn’t make the starting lineup.

Future Pro Bowl running back Travis Henry played in only seven games. Defensive end Shaun Ellis, another Pro Bowler, was a backup. So was safety Deon Grant, who played 11 seasons in the NFL, and defensive tackle Darwin Walker, who became a 10-year NFL veteran.

Tennessee has had more successful teams, but it never had one with more talent.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams.com. Follow him at: Twitter.com/johnadamskns.