GENERAL STAFF Paul Naumoff earned All-America honors his senior year of 1966 after moving from defensive end to linebacker under coach Doug Dickey. He entered the season as a favorite for national notoriety on the line, but volunteered to change positions after linebacker Tom Fisher’s sudden death earlier in the year. Helping the Vols to consecutive eight-win seasons, Naumoff is best remembered for tackling Syracuse’s Larry Csonka in the 1966 Gator Bowl to keep the superstar from scoring and preserving Tennessee’s 18-12 win.
BILL JOHNSON
FRANK EMANUEL
AUSTIN DENNEY
Bill Johnson helped usher in the Bowden Wyatt coaching era with three consecutive winning seasons and an SEC championship. After a 6-3-1 season, Johnson was Wyatt’s starting guard in 1956 and 1957. The lineman pushed Tennessee to the national spotlight his junior season as the Vols finished with an undefeated regular season and won the SEC as the nation’s second-ranked team. But the next year, Johnson earned national notoriety himself when he was given All-America status. On the defensive side, Johnson helped hold Tennessee opponents to 109 pass attempts for just 501 yards on the season, both school records.
Continuing the tradition of stout linebackers, Frank Emanuel fulfilled the role valiantly for two years under coach Doug Dickey, earning AllAmerica status his senior year of 1965. Emanuel started his junior and senior seasons, Dickey’s first two years commanding the Vols in which he eliminated the two-way player. That’s when Emanuel flourished as the Vols went 8-1-2 and beat Tulsa in the Bluebonnet Bowl. Tennessee’s defense allowed only 98 points that season. The Vols haven’t held their opponents to fewer points in a season since. In eight of the 11 games, Emanuel and the Vols held their opponent to a touchdown or less.
Austin Denney set the standard for today’s Tennessee tight end with his versatility, speed and fight. But he wasn’t always a tight end. Denney moved from fullback to the line his junior year partly because of his 6-foot-2, 227-pound body. He established the position as another offensive threat for the Vols. By the end of his senior year in 1966, the co-captain was All-SEC and AllAmerican after catching 21 passes for 264 yards. His seven touchdowns were even more impressive as the big man led the team in scoring. Denney caught nine scores in his career to set a new school record at the time.
Kyle “Buddy” Cruze re-established the wide receiver at Tennessee as coach Bowden Wyatt reconstructed the Vols’ program with a 10-1 season – undefeated in the regular season – and an SEC title. Cruze was just the second receiver to reach double figures in receptions in Tennessee history when he caught 12 balls his junior year for 232 yards and a 19.3-yard average. In 1956, he became the first Tennessee receiver to catch 20 passes and the first to top 300 yards, finishing with 357 to receive All-America status.
1966 /// LINEBACKER HOMETOWN: COLUMBUS, OHIO
HONORS
Steve DeLong made a name for himself through his toughness on the line. His junior year at Tennessee, he received All-SEC and All-America honors. The 1964 season, however, was DeLong’s best. He repeated as All-SEC and AllAmerica his senior year as captain of the team and his work in the trenches led to winning the Outland Trophy as the nation’s most outstanding interior lineman.
1956 /// WIDE RECEIVER HOMETOWN: KNOXVILLE
HISTORY
PAUL NAUMOFF
1963, 1964 /// GUARD HOMETOWN: NORFOLK, VA.
REVIEW
STEVE DeLONG
PLAYERS
KYLE “BUDDY” CRUZE
VOLMANAC RECORDS
1957 /// GUARD HOMETOWN: SPARTA
1965 /// LINEBACKER HOMETOWN: NEWPORT NEWS, VA.
1966 /// TIGHT END HOMETOWN: NASHVILLE
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