Tennessee will open its 2024 campaign against Chattanooga at Neyland Stadium on Aug. 31.

In anticipation of the season opener, VolReport is highlighting a former Vols player whose jersey number matches the amount of days until kickoff.

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With 26 days to go, Willie Gault, who starred for Tennessee as a wide receiver and kickoff returner with world-class speed and was an All-American in both football and track between 1979-82, is selected.

Gault was a standout football and track star at Griffin High School in Georgia before signing with the Vols in 1979. He made limited contributions as a freshman, catching three passes for 95 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown reception in Tennessee's 51-18 win over Utah.

Gault had a record-breaking campaign as a sophomore in 1980, setting a single-season record for kickoffs returns for touchdowns with three, one of which went for 98 yards to headline a 51-13 victory against Vanderbilt in Nashville.

As a receiver, Gault had 14 receptions for 240 yards and a 48-yard touchdown catch in a 51-13 rout of Kentucky that season.

Gault upped his receiving numbers in each of his last two seasons with the Vols, turning a career-best 668 yards and four scores on 50 catches as a senior in 1982, earning both All-SEC and All-America status.

Away from football, Gault won six individual SEC and two national titles for Tennessee's track and field team and was an 11-time All-American. He qualified for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, though the U.S. boycotted the event.

Gault was taken as the 18th overall pick in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears where he spent five seasons and was a member of the Super Bowl XX-winning team.

After being traded to the Los Angeles Raiders, Gault played another six seasons before retiring following the 1993 season. In 11 seasons in the NFL, Gault totaled 333 receptions, 6,635 yards and 44 touchdowns as a receiver and 1,088 yards and a touchdown as kick returner.

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