Best players ever

[takedown3]

John Hannah of Baylor - Sports Illustrated once featured him on the cover under the head line article- Maybe the Best Offensive Lineman of All Time. SI also featured Reggie White on the cover with a similiar line referring to his defensive play. John is a Hall of Famer. Both were perpetual All Pro. Both were multi year All Americans. AND both played their high school ball in Chattanooga.

[1buck2]

WHAT A GREAT THREAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cofo]

9yr....I believe Too Tall Jones olayed at the former Merry High School in Jackson

(before it combined with Jackson High to form the current JCM)

[tackle]

These 2 nominations are for "pound for pound" best players ever.

 

Jimmy Noonan, a nose guard for Dyersburg and then UT in the mid to late 70's.

 

Corey Moore, a defensive end for Haywood County and Virginia Tech in the mid to late 90's.

 

Both of these guys were too small to play Division one football, but they both were great players at that level because they played with such intensity and speed.

 

They are my pound for pound best Tennessee players nominees.

[FenderSRVHendrix]

Reggie White was an excellent example for players, coaches, and fans. If everyone in the league had his morals, there would be no drug use, no steroid use, no idolatry..basically the league wouldn't suffer from fatalities from evil. Today so many football players are lost because they have money flashed in their face. Reggie took his money, and gave it back to the Lord. He invested in his Church. He may not have been the best player through ability, but he sure did have the brightest career.

 

AC

[big poppa]

I would like to nominate two running backs that have not been mentioned: 1. Jeff Vaughn, 1988 Mr. Football from the Dickson County state championship team. He was on that team that won 15 games in 1988 and continued winning until the semi-finals in 1989(27 in a row). 2. Michael Coleman from Stratford. He was on the Stratford team in the early 90's that had four backs rush for a thousand yards. He led their team with 1900. There is no telling what kind of stats he would have had if he did not have to share carries. He was heavily recruited by all SEC schools(planned on going to Alabama on full ride) but was drafted in the third round of the Majot League Baseball Draft. Went on to play for the REDSOX and YANKEES. He is currently back with Boston.

[takedown3]

This is easiest one of the more subjective threads which adds to the fun but I'll let the NFL Hall of Fame make my case for my Chattanooga home town boys John Hannah and Reggie White. I had the honor of playing against John and never realized that a person could move backwards with such speed when being blocked.

 

100 Greatest Players of All-Time

 

#13 John Hannah, Offensive Lineman

 

John Hannah was always big, always mauling and always a technical marvel on the offensive line as one of the finest to ever play the game on any level. Hannah looked the part from the get-go as a 35-pound one-year-old growing to 210 by the eighth grade. By the time he grew into the 6-5, 270-pound blocking machine, "Ham Hocks" was, according to Bear Bryant, "the finest offensive lineman I've ever been around."

 

Hannah had an aggressive streak in him that made him want to destroy his opponents while possessing the quickness to get off the line to handle the fastest defensive lineman. As far as brute strength, it was no contest as there simply wasn't a defensive player stronger than the Hog.

 

The athlete: It could be argued that Hannah was one of the greatest athletes to ever play on the line. Along with being one of the greatest offensive linemen ever, Hannah was one of the great college track athletes and wrestlers as an SEC Champion in the discus and the shot put holding the conference record in the indoor shot put. As a wrestler, he was undefeated in the heavyweight division.

 

The family: Hannah was born into the part as his father, Herb, was an offensive lineman for Alabama and played a year for the New York Giants. Charles and David Hannah, John's brothers, were also All-Conference offensive linemen for the Tide.

 

The team: How did Hannah's Crimson Tide teams do? After a mediocre 6-5 season in 1970, Bama went 21-3 winning two SEC championships. Bama's three losses came to national champion Nebraska in the 1971 Orange Bowl, 17-16 to Auburn in 1972 and 17-13 to Texas in the 1973 Cotton Bowl.

 

NFL: Regarded as one of the greatest professional offensive linemen ever, Hannah was drafted with the fourth pick by the New England Patriots in 1973 and in his 13 seasons with the Pats was a ten time All-Pro player and elected to nine Pro Bowls. Fitting for a player born in Canton (Georgia), Hannah was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1991.

 

Honors:

 

College Football Hall of Fame - 1991

NFL Hall of Fame - 1991

All-America - 1971, 1972

All-SEC - 1971, 1972

NFL All-Pro - 1976-1985

Alabama Sports Hall of Fame - 1988

 

 

Reggie White

 

Born: Dec. 19, 1961

Football DE

 

consensus All-America in 1983 at Tennessee; 7-time All-NFL (1986-92) with Philadelphia; signed as free agent with Green Bay in 1993 for $17 million over 4 years; played key role in Packers 1997 Super Bowl victory; made headlines in 1998 after making controversial public comments about gays and minorities; retired in 1999 but returned with the Carolina Panthers in 2000; all-time NFL leader in sacks (198).

[medman]

From Knoxville Central:

 

Todd Helton. Gatorade player of the year. (he can also hit a baseball a little bit)

Reggie Cobb. UT and a couple of different pro teams.

[STARSNBARS]

Let's see, guys I haven't seen listed yet:

 

The Majors Clan (John, Bill, Bobby)---Huntland and Moore County, U.T.

 

Terry Henry---Rule High, University of Kentucky

 

LeeRoy Thompson---Austin East, Penn State, Steelers

 

Marlon Brown---Loudon High, Clemson

 

Wally Knox---BA, Ole Miss

 

Jimmy Hockaday---BA, UGA

 

Kenny Hooper---Bradley Central, Ole Miss

 

Danny Spradlin---Maryville High, U.T.,Cowboys, Cardinals, Bucs

 

Doug Atkins---Humboldt High, U.T., Bears, Saints, College and NFL Halls of Fame

 

Eric Steele---Germantown High, U.T.

 

Eddie Brown---Marion County (Guild), U.T., Redskins

 

Johnny Jones---Munford High, U.T.

 

Steve Sloan---Bradley County, University of Alabama

 

Bill Bates---Farragut High, U.T., Cowboys

 

Go Rebs.

Edited November 6, 2003 by STARSNBARS

[REBELRON]

Here are the best I have seen.

 

John Henderson Pearl Cohn

Travis Cozart Lenior City

Dante Hickey Cleveland

Danny Spradlin Maryville

Reggie Brown Loudon

Eric Westmoreland Marion County

Todd Collins Jefferson County

Chad Henderson Lincoln County

Leroy Thompson Austin East

Mike Cofer Knox Rule

Jason Layman Sevier County

Jason Witten Elizabethon

Shane Kelly Sevier County

Eric Locke Riverdale

Cedrick Wilson Melrose

Tito Lee Brentwood Academy

Billy Williams Alcoa

Chris Russell Hillsboro

Carl Stewart Maryville

Gerald Riggs Red Bank

[12yr.oldchamps]

9yr....I believe Too Tall Jones olayed at the former Merry High School in Jackson

(before it combined with Jackson High to form the current JCM)

I believe you are correct about "Too Tall".

 

I have another one to add: Earnest Fields - Milan- UT. His senior year at Milan, unstoppable. Around 2000 yds. and I think 32 TD's.

[Drewrod4UT]

Here are the best I have seen.

 

John Henderson Pearl Cohn

Travis Cozart Lenior City

Dante Hickey Cleveland

Danny Spradlin Maryville

Reggie Brown Loudon

Eric Westmoreland Marion County

Todd Collins Jefferson County

Chad Henderson Lincoln County

Leroy Thompson Austin East

Mike Cofer Knox Rule

Jason Layman Sevier County

Jason Witten Elizabethon

Shane Kelly Sevier County

Eric Locke Riverdale

Cedrick Wilson Melrose

Tito Lee Brentwood Academy

Billy Williams Alcoa

Chris Russell Hillsboro

Carl Stewart Maryville

Gerald Riggs Red Bank

It's a shame Chad Henderson along with a couple of others didn't turn out to be the person their potential could have let them be. I grew up watching him play football and was disappointed to see all his talent go to waste. Sometimes I wish I could change the past and see what some of these individuals could have become. On the same note....I agree he and many of the others were head and shoulders above the rest of the state in their respective years.