Joakim Dodson already has a claim to fame as a University of Tennessee football player.
Now he wants claims to fame.
The 6-foot, 198-pound receiver replaced running back Daune Morris on the kickoff return team during last December’s Music City Bowl against Illinois in Nissan Stadium. Dodson came through with a 94-yard return for a touchdown with 4:58 remaining that gave the Volunteers their only second-half lead at 28-27, but the Fighting Illini would chew up the yards and the clock in pulling out a 30-28 triumph.
“That was exciting,” Dodson said Monday during a press conference. “They told me at halftime that I was going to be the returner since Daune got hurt. I did it in high school, so I was like, ‘It can’t be that much different.’ On the first kickoff I got, I broke a tackle but didn’t get too far. When I got the second one, I caught it and then dropped it.
“My first thought was not to look up, but I just followed (former running back) Star (Thomas) and didn’t see any Illinois jerseys and kept running down the sideline. I looked at the jumbotron when I got to the opposite 30. It was a surreal moment, and it gave me momentum coming into this year.”