Clad in Big Orange! 25 Years Later: The Inside Story of the Tennessee Volunteers' Epic 1998 National

EDITOR

Chris Thomas DESIgNER

Ryan Ford

PHOTO EDITOR

Ryan Ford

THE COVER

Phillip Fulmer points his finger to the sky in one of the lasting images of Tennessee’s epic run to claim the 1998 national championship. After beating Florida State 23-16 in the Fiesta Bowl, there was no doubt: the Vols were No. 1.

MICHAEL PATRICK

ABOUT THE BOOK

“Clad In Big Orange! 25 Years Later” condenses more than a quarter-century’s worth of the world’s best coverage of the 1998 national champion Tennessee Volunteers from across the USA TODAY Sports Network. That includes work from photographers and writers such as:

THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC: Dave Cruz, Paul F. Gero, Rob Schumacher.

THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL: Geoff Calkins, David Williams.

CLARION LEDGER: Mike Knobler.

GAINESVILLE SUN: Stephen Morton.

THE JACKSON SUN: Dan Morris.

KNOXVILLE NEWS SENTINEL: John Adams, Amy Smotherman Burgess, J. Miles Cary, Paul Efird, Dan Fleser, Mike Griffith, Cora Hall, Jimmy Hyams, Gary Lundy, Caitie McMekin, Calvin Mattheis, Clay Owen, Michael Patrick, Randy Sartin, Byron E. Small, Adam Sparks, Mike Strange, Blake Toppmeyer, Mike Wilson.

THE TENNESSEAN: Joe Biddle, David Climer, Jack Corn, Delores Delvin, Frank Empson, D. Patrick Harding, Jared Lazarus, Jeff Legwold, Nina Long, Chris Low, Larry McCormack, Lisa Nipp, Paula Parrish, Sam Parrish, Tom Stanford.

SPECIAL THANKS

Michael Anastasi

Beverly Burnett

Joel Christopher

Kirkland Crawford

Charlie Daniels

Jennifer Dedman

Chris Fenison

Dan Fleser

Bud Ford

Ben Goad

Megan Holt

Phil Kaplan

Tom Kreager

Gene Myers

Mike Organ

&

PUBLISHED BY PEDIMENT PUBLISHING

Smokey VIII barked and howled for the Vols during the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 4, 1999. A bluetick coonhound has been UT’s live mascot since 1953. Smokey VIII is among the winningest, with a 91-22 record from 1995-2003.

DELORES DELVIN

Sarah Riley

Bev Sparks

Clint Stoerner

Brooke Thomas

John Ward

Ellie, Luke & Jon Thomas

Bobo, Schrodinger & Eros

©Copyright 2023 Knox News/The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage system, without the permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law. Printed in Canada.

THE INSIDE STORY OF THE TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS’ EPIC 1998 NATIONAL TITLE

CLAD IN BIG ORANGE!

25 YEARS LATER

THE DREAM

FF Forget the talking heads. The 1998 Vols made their own luck in march to the title.

6

THE SEASON

FF A game-by-game look, including a Florida field-storming and a hog-wild fumble.

22

THE TEAM

FF From Al Wilson to Peerless Price to Tee Martin — even John Ward — all the key Vols.

106

THE FINALE

FF They entered the Fiesta Bowl vs. FSU as underdogs. They left as national champions.

138

THE STATS

FF All the numbers from Tennessee’s ascension to college football’s elite.

154

AN ORANGE DREAM

By Chris Low

Think for a minute about the sweeping changes that have gripped college football over the past 25 years. There’s a playoff, an ever-expanding playoff. Coaches make millions of dollars … not to coach. Players get paid … and it’s legal.

The game clock, starting in 2023, no lon ger stops after first downs, and the geographical landscape of the sport has been turned upside down

by conference realignment.

But in these parts, the one thing that will never change is the way the giant butte nestled up against venerable Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, will forever be aglow in a distinct shade of orange — Pantone 151.

On that Jan. 4, 1999, evening at the Fiesta Bowl, Tennessee celebrated its most glorious football moment since the days of Gen. Robert R. Neyland. The Volunteers capped a perfect 13-0 season with a 23-16 triumph over Bobby Bowden and Florida State to win their first consensus national championship since 1951, which was the last of four national titles under Neyland.

It was a magical season for the Vols, a season that is played and replayed in the

The Vols’ 1998 title run was memorable, magical — and entirely perfect.

Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer and wife, Vicky, celebrate the Vols’ “PerfecT” season after arriving at McGhee Tyson Airport from the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 5, 1999, one day after beating Florida State in the national championship game.

PAUL EFIRD

20 points.

And all this coming after losing one of the greatest quarterbacks in football history when Peyton Manning was selected No. 1 overall in the 1998 NFL draft.

“It was the best feeling in the world because I know how hard we had worked to get there,” star middle linebacker Al Wilson said years later. “Growing up and seeing the Big Orange all my life and being able to give the fans something they could hold onto and say, ‘Hey, we are the undefeated national champions,’ man, that’s why you play the game.

“That’s why you come to Tennessee.” Wilson, who grew up in Jackson, Tennessee, was the heart and soul of that 1998 team. He was so overcome with emotion right after the game that he wiped away tears of joy and went to the locker room to be by himself for a few minutes.

All these years later, Wilson’s voice still drips with emotion when he recalls that moment.

closed with Manning off to the NFL.

Price said the brotherhood was unlike anything else he experienced in football, and he played nine seasons in the NFL.

“That was a perfect example of a team that said, ‘Screw what the pundits say. Screw what the people say outside this locker room. If we do what we do and do it together, ain’t nothing going to stop us but us,’ ” Price said. “That team was more about ‘us’ that any team I played on before or after that.”

That deep sense of team resonates with the Tennessee fans to this day. Sure, the Vols were talented — 26 players who played on the 1998 team would go on to be drafted, including nine of the 11 defensive starters — but the unselfishness, resiliency and willingness to seize the moment were what separated that team.

and left following the SEC Championship Game.

“A lot of us had played, but we hadn’t had our moment,” Martin said. “We were going to have our moment as a team … and we did.”

Fittingly, in what was his final football game as the beloved Voice of the Vols, the legendary John Ward painted the end to that perfect season with divine perfection.

“The national champion is clad in Big Orange.”

minds and hearts of Tennessee fans hoping for that next ascent to the crest of the college football world.

In bringing the first national championship of the BCS era to Good Ole Rocky Top, the Vols broke down barriers (finally ending the Florida jinx), won four one-possession games in the regular season, erased a fourth-quarter deficit to rally past Mississippi State in the SEC Championship Game and played the kind of defense that usually leads to titles. The Vols held 10 of their 13 opponents under

Tennessee fans everywhere will swear they were there that night in the desert — whether they were or weren’t — to see Tee Martin and Peerless Price connect on one long bomb after another; to see punter David Leaverton save a touchdown by tackling FSU’s electric punt returner Peter Warrick in the open field; and to see Dwayne Goodrich intercepting a pass and taking it back 54 yards for a touchdown.

Even with Florida State playing backup Marcus Outzen at quarterback for the injured Chris Weinke, the Seminoles were still a slight favorite in the game. It was the perfect segue for the Vols, who played with a chip on their shoulder all season. All they heard was that their window had

Martin had patiently waited his turn behind Manning. And when it came time to deliver on the biggest of stages, Martin did just that, even after struggling with his accuracy early in the season. The Vols also lost their most explosive threat in the running game, Jamal Lewis, to a season-ending knee injury in Week 4. Waiting in the wings were Travis Henry and Travis Stephens, and Tennessee was good enough in the backfield that Shawn Bryson — one of the fastest players on the team — selflessly moved to fullback. Bryson played seven seasons in the NFL, most of them at tailback.

Something else to remember is that running backs coach Randy Sanders was making his debut as the Vols’ offensive play-caller in the national championship game after offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe was hired as Ole Miss’ coach

As you grow older, it’s funny sometimes what you do remember. I was a younger reporter on a tight deadline that night covering the game for The Tennessean newspaper. The Vols fumbled late to give the Seminoles life, but just as Steve Johnson hauled in his game-clinching interception and went sliding to the ground, I briefly caught my breath and began furiously banging away on my laptop.

The Vols aligned in their victory formation, and sitting right beside me in the press box high atop the stadium was my late colleague, Tennessean columnist David Climer. In that patented nonchalant voice of his, he exclaimed, “Holy (expletive), Tennessee is kneeling the ball down for a national championship!”

I slowly nodded my head, and 25 years later, I still nod nostalgically when I think about what a surreal and thrilling ride it truly was.

Chris Low covered the Vols’ run to the 1998 national championship for The Tennessean before joining ESPN as a senior writer and becoming one of the nation’s leading college football experts. Low, who still resides in Knoxville, wrote this foreword to reflect on UT’s magical run, 25 years later.

It was euphoria for the approximately 40,000 Tennessee fans who came to Neyland Stadium on Jan. 30, 1999, to celebrate the Vols’ national championship. Richard Montgomery, of Knoxville, was among them. He waved his flags as he howled toward the heavens.

NINA LONG

THE DREAM

could 1998 finally be the year? naaaaahhhh. 1997 was supposed to be when it came together, but peyton & co. fell short when it counted. the vols’ early close calls, though, made believers in a hurry: big orange made a big breakthrough.

CLAD IN BIG ORANGE: 25 YEARS LATER

The ’98 national championship was the sixth claimed by the Vols, though only the second consensus title since 1950.

banner years

By Chris Thomas

Tennessee football claims six national championships over 126 seasons of college football, including two consensus titles — in 1951 under Gen. Robert R. Neyland and in 1998 under Phillip Fulmer.

The 1998 title remains the Vols’ most recent national title and among its most legitimate. Earning consensus national champion status, first recognized in 1950, meant finishing No. 1 in one or more of the major polls, including the Associated Press and USA TODAY coaches polls.

The ’98 Vols easily finished No. 1 in both polls after finishing 13-0, the only unbeaten team that season.

But other seasons weren’t as decisive. Here’s a look at each of the Vols’ six claimed national titles:

AMY SMOTHERMAN BURGESS

A statue of Gen. Robert Neyland, the winningest coach in Tennessee football history, was dedicated outside Neyland Stadium on Nov. 12, 2010.

NEWS SENTINEL ARCHIVES

Co-captain Bowden Wyatt helped UT force six shutouts in 1938. In the final game, a 17-0 Orange Bowl win over Oklahoma, Wyatt also kicked a field goal.

Bob Suffridge remains Tennessee’s only three-time All-American, accomplishing the feat from 1938-40. UT was 30-0 in the regular season in his career.

COACH: Robert Neyland

RECORD: 11-0

SEC FINISH: 1st (7-0)

FLASHBACK: The program had slipped dramatically after Neyland left for military service in 1935. But the Vols turned the corner two years after his return, with an 11-0 record and SEC championship behind Heisman Trophy candidate George Cafego at halfback and co-captain Bowden Wyatt at end. Tennessee reached No. 2 in the AP poll and beat Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl in the first bowl game in program history. TCU, also 11-0, finished No. 1 in the AP poll. In a different era, Tennessee likely would have been a consensus champion, considering more major ratings systems — including the Litkenhous Ratings — had UT No. 1 over TCU.

COACH: Robert Neyland

RECORD: 10-1

SEC FINISH: 1st (5-0)

FLASHBACK: A 19-13 loss to Boston College in the Sugar Bowl is all that separated Neyland from his second 11-0 season in three years, a stretch that included zero regular season losses and three SEC championships. Two polls thought enough of the Vols to still rank them No. 1 at season’s end. Lineman Bob Suffridge, the program’s only three-time All-American, won the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy as nation’s most outstanding lineman. Minnesota was the AP national champ.

NEWS SENTINEL ARCHIVES

NEWS SENTINEL ARCHIVES

Hank Lauricella became a star under Gen. Robert Neyland from 1949-51. In 1950, the College Football Hall of Famer was named first-team All-SEC.

NEWS SENTINEL ARCHIVES

Neyland gave UT its first consensus title in ’51, despite losing to Maryland 28-13 in the Sugar Bowl. The AP and United Press ranked the Vols No. 1.

COACH: Robert Neyland

RECORD: 11-1

SEC FINISH: 2nd (4-1)

FLASHBACK: Halfback Hank Lauricella and defensive end Doug Atkins — both College Football Hall of Famers — starred on Neyland’s third national championship team. UT’s only loss was 7-0 to Mississippi State, clearing the path for Bear Bryant and Kentucky — which played six conference games instead of five — to win the SEC title despite losing 7-0 to the Vols. Tennessee, which beat Texas 20-14 in the Cotton Bowl, received multiple national title distinctions, but the AP and UP made Oklahoma the consensus champion.

COACH: Robert Neyland

RECORD: 10-1

SEC FINISH: T-1st (5-0)

FLASHBACK: Lauricella, running behind an offensive line that included 1952 captain Jim Haslam, was a unanimous All-American and Heisman runner-up, and Atkins, tackle Pug Pearman and guard Ted Daffer were first-team All-American. Tennessee finished unbeaten in the regular season for the ninth time under Neyland. The AP and UP gave the Vols their first consensus title, even after losing to unbeaten Maryland 28-13 in the Sugar Bowl.

NEWS SENTINEL ARCHIVES

Dewey Warren, right, passed for 3,357 yards with 27 TDs during his UT career from 1965-67. The Vols’ two losses in ’67 were by a combined six points.

COACH: Doug Dickey

RECORD: 9-2

SEC FINISH: 1st (6-0)

FLASHBACK: Center Bob Johnson was a unanimous All-American before being taken with the first draft pick in Cincinnati Bengals history (No. 2 overall in the 1968 AFL draft). Johnson finished sixth in Heisman voting, two spots ahead of teammate Dewey Warren, the first quarterback in UT history to pass for 1,000 yards in a season (he did it twice). Tennessee beat No. 6 Alabama 24-13 for its marquee win. Its losses came by a combined six points — 20-16 at UCLA and 26-24 against Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. The Vols finished No. 1 in the Litkenhous Ratings and No. 2 in the AP and coaches polls.

COACH: Phillip Fulmer

RECORD: 13-0

SEC FINISH: 1st (8-0)

FLASHBACK: Tennessee’s second consensus title was built on close wins, tough defense and the improved QB play of first-year starter Tee Martin. The Vols beat Syracuse (34-33) and Florida (20-17) on game-winning kicks from Jeff Hall and rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Arkansas (28-24) and then Mississippi State (24-14) in the SEC Championship Game. Al Wilson was UT’s emotional leader and only first-team All-American. It was the first year of the Bowl Championship Series, which used human and computer polls to determine national championship game participants. The Vols toppled Florida State 23-16 in the Fiesta Bowl to win the title.

MICHAEL PATRICK

Tee Martin improved dramatically during the 1998 season to become the first Black starting quarterback in SEC history to win a national championship.

“I really feel we were the better team today,” said Arkansas receiver Anthony Lucas. “We were better than Tennessee. I don’t want to sound like there’s too much ego. But today, we were better than Tennessee. That hurt so bad, to come so close and know you outplayed the opponent.”

The fact that Tennessee, which improved to 9-0, even had a chance to win was almost beyond belief.

The game was, for all intents and purposes, over with 1:54 to play. The Razorbacks, leading 24-22, had the ball at their own 49-yard line, and were about to steal away with their biggest win in more than a decade.

The Vols had just failed on fourth down from midfield when Tee Martin’s pass on fourth-and-9 bounced away from Peerless Price across the middle.

All Arkansas (8-1) had to do was run the ball three straight times, force Tennessee to use its final two timeouts and punt the ball away. But on second down, Arkansas quarterback Clint Stoerner — who threw three first-half touchdown passes — pulled out from center on a bootleg play to the left side.

He later said he had no intention of throwing the ball. But as he started back, he stumbled. Trying to balance himself by placing the ball on the ground, Stoerner lost the handle, and it squirted free. The Vols’ Billy Ratliff was there to pounce on it.

“We had one there,” lamented Arkansas coach Houston Nutt. “We just gave them the ball.”

Tennessee linebacker Al Wilson, who played another courageous game despite an assortment of injuries, had

a different viewpoint. The Vols’ defense, after taking it on the chin in the first half, gave up only a field goal and 86 total yards after halftime.

“It was our destiny to win this football game,” Wilson said.

Tennessee, left for dead, suddenly had new life with 1:43 remaining. Five plays later — and several bruises later — Henry slammed into the end zone to keep the Vols in the thick of the national championship race and set off a wild celebration on Rocky Top.

Henry carried five straight times, breaking tackles and running over what appeared to be stunned Arkansas defenders. Henry finished with a career-high 197 yards on 32 carries.

“We just couldn’t stop them when we had the chance,” said Arkansas defensive end C.J. McLain.

Arkansas got the ball back on its own 9-yard line with 21 seconds left. But needing a touchdown, the Razorbacks didn’t have an answer for the Vols’ miracle.

WIN, LOSE OR DRAW

Daniel Proctor’s illustrated take on the Vols’ weekly matchup. This drawing ran in the Knoxville News Sentinel on Nov. 12, 1998.

HE

“GOd was behiNd us tONiGht. he was sittiNG up there iN heaveN with a ut jersey ON.“

— Tee Martin, Tennessee quarterback

THE CELEBRATION: Travis Henry was mobbed by teammates after carrying the Vols to victory after Stoerner’s fumble. He had back-to-back 15-yard runs to get UT to the 13, then an 11-yard run to get into touchdown position.

THE LEAP: Henry’s 1-yard TD run became the winning score in UT’s stunning victory over Arkansas and capped an epic performance. The sophomore finished with 197 yards on 32 carries.

TENNESSEE ‘ S HUMAN BATTERING RAM

Travis Henry came to Tennessee with high school statistics that caused his Vols teammates to do double-takes.

The 5-foot-11, 224-pound sophomore rushed for an incredible 4,087 yards as a senior in Frostproof, Florida, in 1996. The feat stood as a Florida high school state record until another Henry (Derrick Henry) broke his mark with 4,265 in 2012.

“We all were wondering how he could rush for 4,000 yards in one year,” said Tennessee sophomore receiver Cedrick Wilson.

Henry, a human battering ram, made his mark against Arkansas.

With everyone in Neyland Stadium thinking Jeff Hall would be called upon to win his third game of the season, Henry had other ideas.

His most inspired run came after back-to-back 15-yard gains to get to the 13. Henry ran through a would-be tackler at the line of scrimmage, and with Arkansas defenders hanging onto him, churned his way to the 2-yard line.

After a hurdle attempt on the next play, Henry went airborne once again on second down and vaulted into the end zone.

Henry became the first player since LSU’s Kevin Faulk in the final game of the 1997 season to gain 100 yards on Arkansas’ stingy run defense.

“Tennessee didn’t get to be the No. 1 rushing team in the SEC by mirage,” said Arkansas defensive coordinator Keith Burns. “Henry’s a big, physical back. I don’t know how much he weighs. If he’s 220, 200 of that is from the waist down.”

PHOTOS BY DELORES DELVIN

PHILLIP FULMER HEAD COACH

THE YEARS

Phillip Fulmer finished with 151 wins and a .743 winning percentage over 16-plus seasons at Tennessee, winning two SEC championships (1997-98) and one national title (’98). His season-by season records:

TOTAL 151-52-1 .743

Fulmer, a Winchester native, is seen on Dec. 17, 1992 — at age 42 — after the resignation of Johnny Majors. Fulmer filled in for Majors for three games before being promoted to head coach before the Hall of Fame Bowl.

J. MILES CARY

The Blount County Boys — UT coach Phillip Fulmer (a Maryville resident) and SEC Commissioner Roy Kramer (a Maryville native) — were able to show off Tennessee’s 1998 SEC championship trophy together during the Vols’ national championship celebration at Neyland Stadium. The Vols made five SEC Championship Game appearances under Fulmer, going back-to-back in ’97 and ’98.

NINA LONG

stage with Barnhart and David Cutcliffe, the Vols’ offensive coordinator that season. They are participating before a crowd as a part of the “College Football Legends Night” event in Nashville hosted by radio host George Plaster.

It’s wonderful nostalgia for those in the seats wearing orange, seeing two of the program’s most accomplished and successful football coaches together again.

The first topic for the panel? Tennessee’s 1998 title team, of course.

First thing about that: It was Fulmer’s most successful Tennessee team. But was it his best Tennessee team? Maybe not.

Fulmer makes sure to list off a few of his other Tennessee teams: 1995, 1997, 2001.

“All those teams were probably better,” Fulmer said, “but they got it done (in 1998) in the tough games that we had to win. The Florida game, the Arkansas game — that was unbelievable.”

Indeed, the 1998 team got the rings. It was very good, and it was lucky at times, too.

For Fulmer, that title was about the 1990s in general for Tennessee. That decade — forever marked by quarterback Peyton Manning’s arrival in 1994 and the coaching partnership between Fulmer and Cutcliffe — produced the most dominant span in the program’s storied history.

“But that year was special,” Fulmer said, “because we were able to get it all done.”

From 1995 through 1998, the Vols went 45-5. Of those five losses, three were against one school — Florida.

When the rival Gators finally fell 20-17 in the second game of the Vols’ 1998 season, surprisingly UT’s first win in the series after Manning’s departure for the

Fulmer cashed in on his run through the Arizona desert, which started with the first day of Fiesta Bowl practices at Scottsdale Community College. Fulmer earned a contract extension that took his annual salary to more than $1 million.

NFL, it was a breakthrough moment for a team that wouldn’t lose the rest of the way with Tee Martin as the quarterback.

“To David Cutcliffe’s credit and that group of coaches’ credit,” Fulmer says, “we got better as the season went on. We had a lot of issues, especially offensively, to get fixed. By midseason, Tee Martin was playing like he’s a pro.”

What made the 1998 team special? Both coaches describe leadership, with Cutcliffe mentioning Martin and Wilson in particular.

“He brought it every day,” Fulmer says of Wilson, “and he expected everybody on the practice field to bring it every day. … If

you weren’t going 100%, he was going to call you out in front of everybody.”

And as Fulmer credits Cutcliffe’s work during that 1998 Tennessee season, the former offensive coordinator offers the same in return.

“When I was asked to describe Phillip Fulmer as a coach and what made the difference, it was persistence,” Cutcliffe says. “The persistence of an offensive line coach. The detail. I think a lot of great offensive line coaches have become great head football coaches, and he wasn’t going to stop until we won the whole thing.”

After the 1998 season, Cutcliffe departed UT to become the head coach at Ole

Fulmer took a wave at the crowd after the Vols’ win in the Fiesta Bowl. The victory capped a wild season that saw UT win heart-stopping games (vs Syracuse and Florida and Arkansas) and saw the team improve exponentially from start to finish.

Miss. He’d eventually return for another stint as Fulmer’s offensive coordinator in 2006 and 2007, helping the Vols to their most recent SEC title game appearance before becoming the head coach at Duke.

Cutcliffe now works in the Southeastern Conference office, a role that has enabled him to travel to various league schools and watch practices. He tells Fulmer that he’d “love to watch them practice” at two-time champ Georgia, for instance, “but I don’t think you’re going to get invited.”

For Georgia to win it again in 2023, the coaches agree, fortune will be required as well as good players and hard work. They’d know. They experienced it in 1998.

“A lot of things had to fall in place,” Fulmer says, “and it did.”

LARRY MCCORMACK

DELORES DELVIN

PHILLIP FULMER HEAD COACH

Fulmer’s ascendance with Vols introduces a new word to UT vocabulary: “Relaxed.”

By David Williams

Take a deep breath and exhale slowly.

Now that you’re relaxed, you know what it must feel like to be part of Phillip Fulmer’s football team at Tennessee.

‘’Phillip’s a relaxed person, he’s not hyper,’’ David Cutcliffe, the Vols’ passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach, said in late December 1992. ‘’He’s not a guy who feels that tension has to be a part of work ethic.’’

The Fulmer Era officially began Jan. 1, 1993, when the No. 17 Vols beat No. 16 Boston College 38-23 in the Hall of Fame Bowl in Tampa Stadium. The early reviews suggested Fulmer, a 42-year-old former UT offensive lineman, would be a head coach who believes football need not be an exercise in the deadly serious.

‘’Coach Fulmer believes in hard work,’’ said quarterback Heath Shuler, the No. 3 pick in the 1994 NFL Draft. ‘’On the other hand, he believes in having a lot of fun. He allows us to have a little leeway in what we do.’’

Wide receiver Cory Fleming said, ‘’He’s disciplined, but he’s not real intense the whole time. The players are comfortable with him as coach.’’

Running back Mose Phillips said, ‘’Everything’s real relaxed.’’

Relaxed. It was a word spoken often after Fulmer replaced Johnny Majors, whose successful 16-year reign, which included three Southeastern Conference titles, ended in a forced retirement announced Nov. 13, 1992. Majors, who almost immediately returned to coach the University of Pittsburgh for a second time, was intense

and serious, an admittedly demanding man to play for and coach under.

Tennessee players didn’t publicly criticize Majors’ methods, instead preferring to emphasize the relaxed — there’s that word again — feeling they felt playing for Fulmer.

‘’It was a business to him,’’ Shuler said of Majors. ‘’But that’s just different coaching styles.’’ And different personalities, apparently.

No longer an interim head coach, Fulmer’s first of eight bowl victories at Tennessee came Jan. 1, 1993, in a 38-23 win over Boston College in the Hall of Fame Bowl.

PAUL EFIRD

SAM PARRISH

Phillip Fulmer reached the 50- and 75-victory milestones quicker than any coach in Southeastern Conference history. His tenure ended in 2008.

Fulmer spent 13 years as an assistant on Johnny Majors’ staff before taking over as interim coach and eventually head coach after Majors’ quintuple bypass surgery in 1992. His roles included offensive line coach and offensive coordinator.

‘’I’m trying to be myself,’’ said Fulmer, a member of Majors’ staff for 13 years, including the previous four seasons as offensive coordinator. ‘’As long as we’re getting done what we’re supposed to get done, from a serious standpoint, I don’t think it has to be anything other than that.’’

Fulmer, though, downplayed any effect he may have had on the program so far.

‘’To me it’s still Tennessee football,’’ he said. ‘’I haven’t put my tag on it yet. I hope to be successful and long-lasting. But basically I’ve been so busy trying to recruit and prepare for a bowl game and do the other things that I haven’t had time to reflect.’’

Fulmer, who coached the Vols to three straight victories to open the season while Majors was recovering from heart bypass surgery, appeared comfortable in the spotlight.

No longer was he the interim coach taking over a team

PAUL EFIRD

’98 THE FINAL POLLS AND BOWLS

SEC STANDINGS

The conference went 4-4 in bowl games, including the BCS championship. The final conference standings:

AP MEDIA POLL

First-place votes in parentheses, final records, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:

USAT/AFCA COACHES POLL

First-place votes in parentheses, final records, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:

BOWL RESULTS

MUSIC CITY BOWL (NASHVILLE)

DEC. 29: Virginia Tech 38, Alabama 7

PEACH BOWL (ATLANTA)

DEC. 31: Georgia 35, Virginia 13

INDEPENDENCE BOWL (SHREVEPORT, LA.)

DEC. 31: Mississippi 35, Texas Tech 18

OUTBACK BOWL (TAMPA, FLA.)

JAN. 1: Penn State 26, Kentucky 14

COTTON BOWL (DALLAS)

JAN. 1: Texas 38, Mississippi State 11

CITRUS BOWL (ORLANDO, FLA.)

JAN. 1: Michigan 45, Arkansas 31

ORANGE BOWL (MIAMI)

JAN. 2: Florida 31, Syracuse 10

FIESTA BOWL (TEMPE, ARIZ.)

JAN.

Tennessee 23, Florida State 16

Colorado (8-4) 46; Marshall (121)

(8-5)

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Mississippi State (8-5) 50; Marshall (12-1) 49; Colorado( 8-4) 38; Oregon (8-4) 37; West Virginia (8-4) 18; Kentucky (7-5) 15; TCU (7-5) 11; Mississipp (7-5)i 8; Miami (Ohio) (10-1) 7; Wyoming (8-3)

6; Idaho (9-3) 2; North Carolina (7-5) 1.

GEORGIA DOME, ATLANTA

TENNESSEE 24, MISSISSIPPI ST. 14

’98 BOX SCORES FOR THE BIGGEST GAMES

fiesta bowl: jan. 4, 1999

TENNESSEE 23, FLORIDA STATE 16

Tennessee’s Corey Terry was responsible for one of two sacks against Mississippi State QB Wayne Madkin in the 1998 SEC Championship Game.

Tennessee beat five teams ranked in the final AP poll, including Florida State. Dwayne Goodrich, right, had a 54-yard pick-six in the victory.

DELORES DELVIN

JARED LAZARUS

THE PLAYERS

Known as “Chief,” John Chavis called plays for Tennessee’s defense from 1995-08. He also was a nose tackle for the Vols from 1976-78.

THE COACHES

PHILLIP FULMER: Head Coach

DAVID CUTCLIFFE: Offensive coordinator, assistant head coach, quarterbacks coach.

JOHN CHAVIS: Defensive coordinator, linebackers coach.

MIKE BARRY: Offensive line coach,

MARK BRADLEY: Tight ends coach, assistant offensive line coach.

DAN BROOKS: Defensive line coach.

STEVE CALDWELL: Defensive ends coach.

KEVIN RAMSEY: Defensive backs coach.

RANDY SANDERS: Running backs coach, recruiting coordinator.

PAT WASHINGTON: Receivers coach.

CONDREDGE HOLLOWAY: Assistant athletic director, football operations.

JOHN STUCKY: Assistant athletic director, physical development.

MIKE ROLLO: Head trainer.

LARRY MCCORMACK

ALL STATS THROUGH 11 REGULAR-SEASON GAMES AND SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME.

’98

ALL THE STATISTICS FOR THE 1998 VOLS

DELORES DELVIN

Tailback Travis Stephens helped stabilize the Tennessee rushing attack after Jamal Lewis’ injury against Auburn. Stephens finished with 477 yards rushing and four TDs for the Vols in 1998.

DELORES DELVIN

Linebacker Eric Westmoreland, pictured tackling FSU’s Travis Minor in the Fiesta Bowl, led the Vols with 11 tackles for loss in 1998. His 40 career TFLs are fourth-most in UT history.