Kelley Washington Lucas Taylor
2001 2007
1,010 1,000
Rogers’ 67 receptions also rank sixth in UT annals, and are the most since Lucas Taylor recorded 73 in 2007, which ranks second.
MONEY IN THE BANK
THE CENTURY MARK
100+ 7 7 6 6 6
RIVERA ROCKIN’ IT
Named to the John Mackey Award Watch List in 2011, UT junior tight end Mychal Rivera ranked second on the team in receptions (29) and receiving yards (344). Despite being held without catches against Montana and LSU, Rivera ranked fourth in the SEC and 35th nationally among tight ends with 29 receptions. Additionally, he ranked fourth in receiving yards (344) among SEC tight ends, which was also good for 29th in the country. Top SEC Tight Ends (By Receptions) Name School Receptions Orson Charles Georgia 45 Chris Gragg Arkansas 41 Brad Smelley Alabama 34 Mychal Rivera Tennessee 29 Top SEC Tight Ends (By Receiving Yards) Name School Receiving Yards Orson Charles Georgia 574 Chris Gragg Arkansas 518 Brad Smelley Alabama 356 Mychal Rivera Tennessee 344
TD/G 2.02 1.67 1.67 1.03 1.33 0.88 2.19
Rivera hauled in a career-high six receptions for 54 yards against Cincinnati on Sept. 10, which marked the most catches in a single game by a Volunteer tight end since Chris Brown had seven at Cal on Sept. 1, 2007.
RECORDS
Sophomore wide receiver Justin Hunter recorded 17 receptions for 314 yards and two touchdowns before suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee during the first quarter of Tennessee’s game at Florida on Sept. 17. The Virginia Beach, Va., native missed the remainder of the 2011 season. Before going down with injury, Hunter’s 302 receiving yards in the first two games were the most all-time by a Tennessee receiver in that span, while his 16 receptions are the second-most. Johnny Mills had 17 receptions after two games in 1966. Robert Meachem had 15 receptions for 297 yards in UT’s first two games of 2007. At the time of his injury, Hunter was ranked first in the SEC and among the top 10 in the NCAA in both receiving yards and receptions.
GP 44 45 43 35 27 41 16
VOLMANAC
HUNTER TEARS ACL
Tennessee Career Passing Touchdowns Name TD Years 1. Peyton Manning 89 1994-97 2. Casey Clausen 75 2000-03 3. Erik Ainge 72 2004-07 4. Jonathan Crompton 36 2006-09 Heath Shuler 36 1991-93 Andy Kelly 36 1988-91 7. Tyler Bray 35 2010-
HONORS
UT Single-Season 100-Yard Receiving Games Rank Name Year 1. Marcus Nash 1997 Joey Kent 1996 5. Da’Rick Rogers 2011 Robert Meachem 2006 Joey Kent 1995
HISTORY
Rogers’ six 100-yard games tied for the third-most in a season at UT all-time with Robert Meachem (2006) and Joey Kent (1995) and were just one short of the school single-season record of seven set by Marcus Nash (1997) and Joey Kent (1996). Five of Rogers’ six 100-yard games came in UT’s wins. His average of 126.6 yards per win ranked 10th nationally.
REVIEW
Of Rogers’ 67 receptions, 54 went for first downs or touchdowns (80.6 percent). Of his final 19 catches, 17 either moved the markers or finished in the end zone (89.5 percent) dating back to the second half of the Middle Tennessee win. Nine of his 10 grabs against Vanderbilt were first downs or touchdowns.
PLAYERS
Rec. 76 73 71 69 68 67
Sophomore quarterback Tyler Bray missed five games over six weeks after suffering a fractured right thumb in the fourth quarter against Georgia on Oct. 8. The sophomore slinger leads all active SEC quarterbacks with six career 300-yard passing games. Arkansas’ Tyler Wilson is second with five. Bray has eclipsed 300 yards passing in six of his 12 career starts. Bray’s 14 TDs and 1,579 yards through the first four games were the second-most by a Tennessee QB. In 1997, Peyton Manning (1997) compiled 1,669 yards and 16 TDs en route to single-season school records of 37 TDs and 3,819 yards. Bray has averaged 294.1 yards passing per game in his 12 career starts, and Tennessee is 8-4 in those games, including a 6-1 mark at Neyland Stadium. At the time of his injury, his 315.8 passing yards per game ranked ninth nationally and first in the SEC. He is 8-3 in regular-season starts. Since becoming UT’s primary QB at halftime of the South Carolina game on 10/30/10, Bray is 256-of-439 (58.3%) for 3,688 yards, 35 TDs and just 14 INTs. Bray set a UT record, throwing for at least two touchdowns in 10 consecutive games (10/30/10 at South Carolina-10/1/11 vs. Buffalo). His 17 passing touchdowns still ranked third in the SEC and tied for 54th nationally. With 4 TDs vs. Cincinnati, Bray set the UT record with 8 consecutive games with multiple touchdown throws, breaking Peyton Manning’s previous mark of seven, as Manning accomplished the feat from the 1997 Florida Citrus Bowl vs. Northwestern through the Alabama game in 1997.
STAFF
Tennessee Single-Season Receptions Rank Name Year 1. Marcus Nash 1997 2. Lucas Taylor 2007 3. Robert Meachem 2006 4. Joey Kent 1995 5. Joey Kent 1996 6. Da’Rick Rogers 2011
SPOTLIGHT ON TYLER BRAY
GENERAL
6. 7.
TAUREN’S TIME
Senior TB Tauren Poole recorded three 100-yard rushing games during his senior season, including a season-best 107 yards vs. Vanderbilt. It marked the ninth 100-yard performance of his career, which is tied with Arian Foster for the ninth-most in a UT career. His effort against eventual national champion Alabama (67 yards) was the third-best against the Tide this season.
BIG PLAY NEAL
Sophomore wide receiver Rajion Neal led all active Vols in both average yards per reception (20.7) and carry (5.0/min. 10 carries). His first career touchdown, a 20-yard run vs. Buffalo, was Tennessee’s longest rushing TD of the season. Neal’s biggest plays in 2011 came through the air. In the final game of the season vs. UK, Neal hauled in a 53-yard reception for UT’s lone TD. He also caught a 50-yard pass from Justin Worley vs. Arkansas and a 38-yarder from Matt Simms vs. LSU. Neal’s 134 rushing yards ranked third on the Vols, while his pair of touchdowns on the ground were tied for second. His 269 receiving yards ranked fourth. Operated the wildcat formation for Tennessee for the first time against Vanderbilt, and carried six times for 29 yards (4.8 per carry). UTSPORTS.COM // @VOL_FOOTBALL ON TWITTER
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