Tennessee football recorded 17 consecutive regular-season shutouts from 1938-40.
The victims included Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, Kentucky, NC State and Vanderbilt.
That is a UT record that will never be broken.
Why?
The game has changed. Offensives are more innovative and explosive. Quarterbacks are more dynamic. Skill players are more exceptional.
It’s harder than ever nowadays to pitch a shutout.
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Tennessee has had only four shutouts in the past five years, 12 since Phillip Fulmer was fired after the 2008 season and 16 since 2000. Fulmer’s teams didn’t have a shutout in his last five years.
And only once in the past 23 years did UT have two shutouts in a given season.
The Sports Source revealed in June a number of unbreakable UT football records.
Here are some others:
Andy Spiva’s 547 tackles; Peyton Manning’s 11,201 career passing yards; eighth interceptions in one game (v. Alabama); Erik Ainge’s three sacks in 519 pass attempts; Fuad Reveiz’s eight field goals of 50+ yards in a single season; Chuck Webb’s two 250+ yard rushing games; Tee Martin’s 23 straight completions in a game.
There are more, but those are some of the highlights.
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With that in mind, what are some of the most breakable records in UT’s history?
Here are eight (and all involve offense).
*Travis Henry’s career rushing record of 3,078 yards. Dylan Sampson gained almost half of that in one season. If DeSean Bishop rushes for 800 yards in each of the next two seasons, he’ll replace Henry. If David Gabriel Georges lives up to this 5-star billing, stays healthy and plays three seasons, he could easily eclipse that mark. By the way, the only SEC team with a lower career rushing record is Ole Miss (3,060 Deuce McAllister).
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*Hendon Hooker’s single-season record for completion percentage at 69.6. The Vols will eventually have a QB that completes at least 70%. Seven quarterbacks in Division I did so last year, led by Julian Sayin at Ohio State (77%), Carson Beck at Miami (72.4%), Fernando Mendoza at Indiana (72%) and Diego Pavia at Vanderbilt (70.6%) among others. Alabama’s Mac Jones has the SEC record at 77.4%.
*Another rushing record within reach: 5.91 yards per run in a season with at least 200 carries. Chuck Webb has the record, set in 1989 with 1,236 yards on 209 attempts. Dylan Sampson averaged 6.8 yards on 58 runs as a freshman and 5.9 for his career. Bishop averaged 5.9 on 182 carries last year. The record for yards per carry, minimum of 100 rushes, appears out of reach: 7.94, Hank Lauricella.
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*Receptions in a season. Marcus Nash had 76 in 1997. Three other receivers had at least 70 catches (Justin Hunter, Lucas Taylor, Robert Meachem). UT had two receivers with over 60 catches last season, led by Braylan Staley’s 68. Jalin Hyatt (2022) and Squirrel White (2023) had 67. It seems only a matter of time before Nash’s mark is erased. Staley could set the career record of 183 if he plays two more seasons. He has 71. The SEC season record for receptions is 124 by Alabama’s Amari Cooper.
*Career 100-yard rushing games. Henry had 15. Graham 14 and Sampson 13. Two obvious candidates are Bishop, if he plays two more years, and DGG, if he plays three seasons, maybe two. This has to be one of the lowest figures in the SEC. Interestingly, Graham had 11 in one season, Sampson 10. Those marks are more untouchable.
*Receiving yards in a season. Robert Meachem has the record at 1,298. Hyatt is second at 1,267. If a player breaks the single-season mark (which I predict will happen) then that player will likely have at least 1,300 yards. Watch for Staley on this one.
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*Career receiving yards. Joey Kent has the mark at 2,814, accomplished in four seasons. Kent is the only Vol to have two 1,000-yard seasons. Again, watch for Staley. As a redshirt freshman, he had 68 catches for 837 yards. Obviously, he’s capable of a 1,000-yard season. But much of his success will depend on the success of the quarterback.
*Career receptions. Kent also has this mark at 183. If Staley duplicates his 2025 season twice, he’s got the record. Interestingly, UT’s top receiver under Heupel has been Squirrel White with 131 grabs to rank seventh all-time.
