2001 Tennessee Volunteers football team

2001 Tennessee Volunteers football
SEC Eastern Division champion Citrus Bowl champion
SEC Championship Game, L 20–31 vs. LSU
Florida Citrus Bowl, W 45–17 vs. Michigan
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 4
AP	No. 4
Record	11–2 (7–1 SEC)
Head coach	Phillip Fulmer (9th season)
Offensive coordinator	Randy Sanders (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	John Chavis (7th season)
Base defense	Multiple 4–3
Home stadium	Neyland Stadium
Seasons ←  2000 2002  →

2001 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
No. 4 Tennessee x		7	–	1					11	–	2
No. 3 Florida  %		6	–	2					10	–	2
No. 13 South Carolina		5	–	3					9	–	3
No. 22 Georgia		5	–	3					8	–	4
Kentucky		1	–	7					2	–	9
Vanderbilt		0	–	8					2	–	9
Western Division
No. 7 LSU xy$		5	–	3					10	–	3
Auburn x		5	–	3					7	–	5
Ole Miss		4	–	4					7	–	4
Alabama		4	–	4					7	–	5
Arkansas		4	–	4					7	–	5
Mississippi State		2	–	6					3	–	8
Championship: LSU 31, Tennessee 20
$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The 2001 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Phillip Fulmer. The Vols played their home games in Neyland Stadium and competed in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Vols finished the season 10–2, 7–1 in SEC play and won the Florida Citrus Bowl, 45–17, over Michigan. ^[1] Tennessee had National Championship aspirations late in the season. ^[2] A 31–20 loss in the SEC Championship to LSU ended any chance of a National Championship for the Volunteers. ^[3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	4:00 pm	Syracuse *	No. 8	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, Tennessee	ESPN2	W 33–9	107,725
September 8	9:00 pm	at Arkansas	No. 8	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, Arkansas	ESPN2	W 13–3	70,470
September 29	7:45 pm	No. 14 LSU	No. 7	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, Tennessee	ESPN	W 26–18	108,472
October 6	12:00 pm	Georgia	No. 6	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, Tennessee (rivalry)	CBS	L 24–26	107,592
October 20	3:30 pm	at Alabama	No. 11	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Third Saturday in October)	CBS	W 35–24	83,818
October 27	7:45 pm	No. 12 South Carolina	No. 9	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, Tennessee (rivalry)	ESPN2	W 17–10	107,530
November 3	2:30 pm	at Notre Dame *	No. 7	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, Indiana	NBC	W 28–18	80,795
November 10	2:00 pm	Memphis *	No. 6	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, Tennessee	PPV	W 49–28	107,221
November 17	12:30 pm	at Kentucky	No. 6	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, Kentucky (Battle for the Barrel)	JPS	W 38–35	69,109
November 24	3:30 pm	Vanderbilt	No. 7	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, Tennessee (rivalry)	CBS	W 38–0	102,519
December 1*	3:30 pm	at No. 2 Florida	No. 5	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, Florida (Third Saturday in September) (College GameDay)	CBS	W 34–32	85,771
December 8	8:00 pm	vs. No. 21 LSU	No. 2	Georgia Dome Atlanta (SEC Championship Game)	CBS	L 20–31	74,843
January 1	1:00 pm	vs. No. 17 Michigan *	No. 8	Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, Florida (2002 Florida Citrus Bowl)	ABC	W 45–17	59,693
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

• Originally scheduled for September 15, the UT-UF game (along with all sporting events that weekend) was postponed to a later date due to the September 11th Attacks. ^[4]

Neyland Stadium hosted six Tennessee home games in 2001.

Personnel

Roster

2001 Tennessee Volunteers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 7 Casey Clausen So WR 4 Donté Stallworth Jr TE 1 Jason Witten Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 92 Albert Haynesworth Jr DT 98 John Henderson Jr DE 56 Bernard Jackson Sr DE 90 Will Overstreet Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 47 Dustin Colquitt Fr	Head coach Phillip Fulmer Coordinators/assistant coaches Randy Sanders –Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks Woody McCorvey –Running backs Pat Washington –Wide receivers Doug Marrone –Tight ends/offensive tackles Mike Barry –Interior offensive line John Chavis –Defensive coordinator/linebackers Dan Brooks –Defensive line/recruiting coordinator Larry Slade –Defensive backs Steve Caldwell –Special teams/defensive ends Shawn Quinn –Graduate assistant Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

2002 NFL Draft

The 2002 NFL draft was held on April 20–21, 2002 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Tennessee had ten players selected. ^{[5] [6] [7]} The 2002 NFL draft marked the most players Tennessee ever had selected in a single draft. ^[8]

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL team
John Henderson	DT	1st	9	Jacksonville Jaguars
Donté Stallworth	WR	1st	13	New Orleans Saints
Albert Haynesworth	DT	1st	15	Tennessee Titans
Fred Weary	G	3rd	66	Houston Texans
Will Overstreet	DE	3rd	80	Atlanta Falcons
Travis Stephens	RB	4th	119	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Andre Lott	CB	5th	129	Washington Redskins
Reggie Coleman	T	6th	192	Washington Redskins
Teddy Gaines	CB	7th	256	San Francisco 49ers
Dominique Stevenson	LB	7th	260	Buffalo Bills

Source: ^[9]

References

1. "2001 Southeastern Conference Year Summary". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
2. Adams, John (December 2, 2021). "Tennessee football last national hurrah was 2001. Nick Saban ruined it". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
3. Sparks, Adam (December 3, 2021). "What if Tennessee football beat LSU, Nick Saban for 2001 SEC title?". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
4. Harralson, Dan (September 11, 2018). "Sept. 11, 2001: The day Tennessee vs. Florida did not matter". Vols Wire. USA Today. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
5. Stites, Adam (February 16, 2024). "Ex-Jaguars DT John Henderson earns spot in Tennessee Vols Hall of Fame". Jaguars Wire. USA Today. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
6. Rose, Bob (June 20, 2017). "Countdown to Saints Kickoff: A History of No. 83". Canal Street Chronicles. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
7. "Titans Draft Countdown: Albert Haynesworth, Tank Williams Lead Defensive Picks in 2002". TennesseeTitans.com. April 14, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
8. "Tennessee Drafted Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
9. "2002 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 11, 2024.

External links

• Season summary at Sports Reference