BEST RUNNING BACKS IN TSSAA HISTORY

[mg]

the person who can proclaim that he alone is the best back in tennessee high school football history is also the one who has the college awards to back it up...

 

he played at Huntland high school.... and was said to be quicker than wind....i spoke with the man who recruited him (ike bulldog peel of Dyersburg) who stated that he was the fastest white man he had ever seen....

 

was an all american and a heisman runner up .......

 

don't know if he really is the best, but he has the college hardware to prove he was one of the best in college......

 

based on numbers, then you have to say troy flemming.....he has the numbers to back up that claim.....

 

based on success, then the (???????) is the best....anyone beside me know who i am talking about????????????

 

Ok all you high school kids, lets do some homework!!!!!!!!

 

who is he, what number was he in high school and college and where did he go to college? and who was his coach (you better get the name of the coach or you will be run out of this state)

Edited July 13, 2004 by mg

[REBELRON]

mg

 

I am not a high school kid but here goes.

 

Johnny Majors

 

Don't know about high school but he was 45 in college at Tennessee.

 

Bowden Wyatt was his coach in college.

[mg]

you are right...i also stand corrected because i thought that the general had not retired until majors freshmen year....

 

but very good rebel ron...wyatt was his coach, neyland retired a couple of years before majors....

 

his number in high school was the same as college, or so i was told by some of the ast coaches from that era.....

[REBELRON]

mg

 

I am as much of a UT football fan as I am a Rebel fan. I know my UT and Maryville football.

[cdragonz123]

Still not alot of people on here arent mentioning Scotty Whitt. He might not have been the greatest example for people to follow off the field. But on the field you cant say too many bad things about his game. He was quick and could cut on a dime and once he got to the cornere he was PROBABLY gone.

[briarcrest23]

another back that goes unmentioned is kyle gowen from mus (96-98). in his three years he managed to break andy mccarroll's single season and career rushing records even though mcarroll started as a freshman and had double the carries of gowen. gowen was also about 5'7 or 8 and from what i hear could never bench over 190 lbs (?).

[Beene_Coliseum]

Bo Hayden - South Pittsburg in the mid to late '70s. Outstanding power and speed. Went on to play at Louisville and then a short stint with the NFL and CFL

Edited July 15, 2004 by Beene_Coliseum

[bo4vols]

Somebody has to agree that Eric Westmoreland from Marion Co. is one of the best! Stats were great, but even better look at his teams record during his four years. I believe 3 State Championships and I think maybe only one loss and that was in the play-offs. I may be wrong about exact numbers, but I'm close. Great player to watch!!!!!

[michaelt35os]

OS - Eric Miller Started The new trend of 2,000 yrd rushers

[GatorLover02]

Def troy fleming

[orangenblack]

Scotty Whitt also had that natural spin move you don't see that often. Size to boot. He could have played WR, linebacker, or DB in college, but no university would touch him with a ten foot pole. Coach Jim Gaylor once was asked how fast was Whitt, and he replied that it was according to who was chasing him. Jermaine Shepherd played for Clinton a few years later, and Ohio State wanted him, but he just didn't have the grades. He was more of a receiver, but was an excellent running back.

 

Going back 30 some odd years ago, no one has mentioned David C. Fritts from Clinton. He's probably the best running back I've seen in high school. UT and several other colleges wanted him, but his knees had been shot since Little League. He did have a successful career at MTSU, and I see his name in the newspapers quite a bit lately. Fritts' teammate, Terry Moore, did get a scholarship to UT and started at fullback. What a 1-2 punch back in those days. Terry's dad, Allen, was a standout at Coalfield High School in the late 1940's. Dang, are we allowed to mention these ancient people?

Edited July 20, 2004 by orangenblack

[tngator]

Stat Wise: Troy Fleming

 

Pure Power (only got to see him on film): Al Davis Sr ---Alcoa

Power & Speed: Leroy Thompson --Austin East

 

 

Homer Vote: 1985 Maryville backfield; they had something like 3,000 yards rushing running the double wing.

 

I have to agree with the guy @ 3 pages back (too late to go that far back to quote verbatim). I was at the Red Bank/MHS game when Riggs was a senior and saw nothing very impressive. He ran down to the MHS end of the field during pre-game and was thumping his chest, LOL. Take away 3 runs late in the game and he has less than 35 yards rushing. He would take himself out of the game and his Dad would be there at the fence behind the bench screaming at him. Riggs may have been running behind an injured line; however, the depth chart said they were all regular season starters. He had good speed, but a terrible head.