‘The Minister of Defense’
By Tom Mattingly
You may not remember it, but there was once a 9-3 Tennessee team that was not ranked by the Associated Press (A. P.) during the entire season. It’s all right there in black agate type in the “Tennessee Volunteers Football Record Book.” That happened in the 1983 season.
Vol fans recalled that 1983 season fondly when news broke that Reggie White had died on Sunday, Dec. 26, 2004. Under White’s leadership and the careful tutelage of defensive coordinator Larry Marmie, the Vols went from worst to first defensively in the SEC.
Reggie was team captain and dominated the proceedings up front defensively. Known as the “Minister of Defense,” a tribute paid to his dual role as an ordained minister and a virtually unstoppable defensive tackle, White earned All-SEC and consensus All-American honors in his senior season.
The SEC named him player of the year that season, making him the first Vol to be so honored since his head coach, John Majors, earned the award in 1956. He was also named to the 1980s All-SEC Team. His No. 92 jersey was retired on Oct. 1, 2005, at the Tennessee-Ole Miss game.
“Reggie White could turn a football game around like no one else,” said Majors when told that Reggie had died earlier in the day. “He could dominate not only the man in front of him, but also the side of the line of scrimmage he was on. People changed their game plan to run to the other side, and he could still make plays. He was a lovable and likable guy with a great sense of humor, who was also serious about football and serious about his religious beliefs.”
Reggie was a 2002 inductee into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame.
In that 1983 season, Alan Cockrell was the quarterback, his second year back under center after his 1981 knee surgery. He threw the ball all over the field in a 41-34 win over Alabama at Legion Field in October. His performance included two 80-yard TD passes, one to Lenny Taylor on the Vols’ first play from scrimmage after the Tide had taken the game’s opening drive in for a score. The other went to Clyde Duncan.
Munford’s Johnnie Jones gained 1,161 yards rushing that season, 66 of which came on a memorable run at Legion Field, as dramatic a moment as any Vol fan could imagine. A crowd of 77,237 watched as Jones hit left end, cut back to his right, and etched his way into the series history books. The play, called “49 Option,” culminated a 17-point rally from down 34-24 to the eventual 41-34 margin.
Brownsville’s Ed Murphey, a Vol track legend who lived in Memphis, had informed Johnnie that he would one day score the winning touchdown against Alabama. Jones initially thought that Murphey was just blowing some recruiting smoke, but thought differently after the game.
“After all these years,” said Jones, “it looked like he knew what he was talking about. At least that’s how it happened that day in Birmingham.”
After that, the Vols played some pretty good football, defeating The Citadel (45-6), LSU (20-6), and No. 11 Alabama (41-34). There was no hangover after this year’s Alabama game, as the Vols found their way down from the clouds to win decisively against Georgia Tech by a 37-3 score. That was in definite contrast to a 31-21 loss to Tech a year earlier.
After a 7-0 win over Rutgers at the Meadowlands, the Vols inexplicably stubbed their collective toes in a Homecoming night loss to Ole Miss by a 13-10 count.
The team recovered to knock off Kentucky (10-0) and Vanderbilt (34-24). The Vols trailed 24-20 in the Vanderbilt game, but rallied behind Jones (who had 248 yards rushing for the game), Cockrell, and Duncan for 14 fourth-quarter points.
The Florida Citrus Bowl win over No. 16 Maryland (30-23) capped the Vols’ finest season since 1972 (10-2) with a 9-3 record.
The Vols trailed 20-16 entering the fourth quarter, but Jones, who gained 154 yards on 29 carries, scored twice to give the Vols the hard-earned victory.
In his final collegiate game before moving on to pro baseball, Cockrell threw a 12-yard TD pass to Taylor, part of his 185 yards passing on the night. Fullback Sam Henderson scored on a 19-yard run, with Fuad Reveiz adding a 25-yard field goal. Linebacker Alvin Toles recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass.
Finally, the national media may not have honored the Vols in their Top 20 rankings, but there were all kinds of memorable moments. When fans think of dominating defensive linemen, such stalwarts as Herman Hickman, Dick Huffman, Doug Atkins, Steve DeLong, and John Henderson come to mind immediately. Looking back at his collegiate and professional career, Reggie White’s name became an integral part of a still-emerging tradition.
