Best football player in TN History?

[Rebel96]

Bob Cifers - Dobyns Bennett

 

In 1938 he shattered the national high school football season scoring record of 211 points. He scored 235 points in his 1938 junior season. He led the nation again his senior year scoring 164 points.

 

Cifers' high school record in Track and Field is even more improbable. He was a member of three Dobyns-Bennett TSSAA State Champion Track and Field teams (1936, 1937, 1940). He was also individually crowned TSSAA State Champion, a record ten times, in five separate events. The first and most impressive was winning the 1936 TSSAA state shot put crown as an eighth grader (Shot Put 50'-0" as an 8th grader!).

 

A total of thirteen (ten individual, three team) TSSAA State Championships is a record in track and field that has stood for six decades and is currently not in jeopardy of being broken.

 

Cifers set the single game punting record in the National Football League with an average of 61.8 yards for four punts. The record still stands.

 

He had a good chance to win the Heisman trophy his senior season at UT, but he hastily signed a contract with the Detroit Lions negating his ability to continue playing for UT.

 

I knew Bob when I was a boy in Chattanooga and he was a really great guy and his family was full of great athletes. Here's a link to an old article about Bob. :

 

 

http://web.archive.org/web/20050112202643/...ffame/Cifers_B/

[BigHairyOwl]

Dante` Hickey from Cleveland High School 93-94-95 State Champs! John Chavis Said,"Dante` was the best player he has ever recruited!"

[hunter]

it has to be either reggie or big john

[DHSFB64]

Doug Atkins from West TN. Played at UT, then on to the NFL. Legend has it he was an animal.

 

 

You are correct.Humboldt,Tn late 40"s... also Phillip KING ala= "The Chief" as he became to be known from Dyersburg,Tn .. mid 50"s. went to Vandy were he was All-AMERICAN two years; played on NY Giants in their glory years ,played in infamous NFL Championship game against J.UNITAS n Balitimore Colts.. latter years of his career played for the Vikings. He was called "The Chief" because he was half Cherokee Indian, He was Competely unstoppable in h.s.,college in the" Good Ole Days" of the Single-wing. Doug Akins was a beast in h.s.,college,and pro ball= HALL OF FAMER

[salty]

Ditto

 

 

 

Todd vs. Reggie

 

umm............thinking here

 

I'll say Reggie.

 

took me 1.8 seconds for that one. duh.

[mcwrestler]

Not sure who Todd is, but I bet most people know Reggie. That is a no brainer. A great player, a good guy, an untimly death.

[Warlock]

Not sure who Todd is, but I bet most people know Reggie. That is a no brainer. A great player, a good guy, an untimly death.

 

 

Todd Collins was the NATIONAL Defensive player of the year in 1987 who played at Jefferson County!

[thorough97]

IMO, there are only 3 legitimate choices in this discussion - Doug Atkins - Humboldt, Reggie White - Howard, and John Hannah - Baylor. All 3 are Hall of Famers, 2 of the 3 are considered the best to ever play their positions by a number of experts (White and Hannah) and the 3rd is considered the prototype for his position (Atkins). Todd Colllins did play in the NFL, but is hardly considered a HOF caliber player.

[bobcat93]

cedric wilson from melrose pretty darn good. i think he's got a state championship,college national championshio,and a super bowl champs ring.

[lionheart6508]

well if we are going on straight high school careers, i would throw in Gerald Riggs Jr. from Red Bank. He was ranked 1 or 2 back in the nation, and some say he was a better linebacker(michigan & LSU) just to mention a couple! shattered all kinds of chattanooga records and didnt recieve the ball all that much!so if we are going on just high school i would consider him!Eric Westmorland great high school and college career at Tennessee!

[NoDoubt]

 

Gotta be REGGIE WHITE!!!!

 

 

Yep... Reggie.

[DBDAD]

Reggie