The 1990s
Jamal Lewis (1997-99)
The Vols were loaded at running back in the 1990s. Seven Vol running backs who played in the 90s finished their Tennessee careers with over 2,000 career rushing yards. One of those was Jamal Lewis, and if not for an injury in 1998, he could be Tennessee’s all-time rushing leader. Lewis finished with the second-most rushing yards in school history at the time as a freshman in 1997, totaling 1,364 yards. He was then named a First Team All-American as a freshman. Lewis was well on his way to duplicating that output as a sophomore before an injury in the Vols’ fifth game of the season ended his 1998 campaign. Lewis managed a solid 1999 season to finish with 2,677 career rushing yards, which is good enough for fifth all-time in school history to this day.
Travis Henry (1997-2000)
It’s been nearly two decades since Travis Henry played for the Vols, yet he still holds the school’s record for most rushing yards in a career. Henry never ran for more than 1,000 yards in a season till his final year in 2000 when he totaled 1,314 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was close in 1998, however, rushing for 970 yards on just 176 carries. Henry’s 3,078 career rushing yards are the most by any Vol ever, and his 5.5 yard per carry average in a career is one of the highest in Tennessee history. Henry still has the most 100-yard rushing games in Tennessee history as well with 15 in his four seasons. And Henry totaled all these numbers even with talented teammates such as Jamal Lewis and Travis Stephens taking away carries from him as well.
