Vols top five: Reggie White more than ‘ministered’ to team’s defensive needs

Tennessee Athletics photo / In his four seasons as Tennessee's starting defensive tackle from 1980 to 1983, Chattanooga native Reggie White amassed an eye-popping 293 tackles, 51 tackles for loss and 32 sacks. The former Howard standout's 15 sacks in 11 games as a college senior remains the Vols' single-season record. Tennessee Athletics photo / In his four seasons as Tennessee's starting defensive tackle from 1980 to 1983, Chattanooga native Reggie White amassed an eye-popping 293 tackles, 51 tackles for loss and 32 sacks. The former Howard standout's 15 sacks in 11 games as a college senior remains the Vols' single-season record.

By David Paschall May 22, 2020 5 min read

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the last story in a series counting down the top five players in University of Tennessee football history. The Times Free Press previously published companion series on Alabama (May 4-8) and Georgia (May 11-15).

The 1983 college football season provided its share of history within the Southeastern Conference, as five league members won bowl games for the first time.

Auburn (Sugar), Georgia (Cotton), Tennessee (Citrus), Florida (Gator) and Alabama (Sun) ended their seasons on high notes, with Pat Dye’s Tigers finishing atop the league. Sophomore running back Bo Jackson was the star of Auburn’s SEC title team, but he wasn’t the league MVP that season.

That honor went to Tennessee senior Reggie White, the first defensive lineman ever to perform the feat.

The Chattanooga native racked up a staggering 100 tackles in his final 11-game regular season from the left defensive tackle position, including 15 sacks, which still stands as the single-season program standard. Defensive tackles typically don’t register monstrous numbers, but the 6-foot-5, 285-pounder from Howard High School was anything but typical during his time with the Volunteers and professional football after that.

David Paschall

David Paschall has covered sports at the Chattanooga Times Free Press since 1999 and wrote for the Chattanooga Free Press in the nine years before that. David has mostly covered college athletics, with a focus on the University of Georgia from 2000 to 2019 and the University of Tennessee since 2020. He grew up in Chattanooga and is a graduate of the Baylor School and Auburn University. David has received multiple writing awards and has served as a Heisman Trophy voter since 2003. He has also worked in radio in Chattanooga and has been on the SEC Network's "Classic Rewind" series since 2014. David and his wife, Kelly, have three children — Conner, Emily and Spencer.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.