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 34 days to go, Travis Stephens, who was an All-SEC and All-American running back at Tennessee between 1997-01, is selected.

An in-state standout at Northeast High School in Clarksville, Stephens signed with the Vols after rushing for more than 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns in four seasons.

Stephens entered a crowded running backs room as a freshman at Tennessee in 1997 that included Travis Henry, Jamal Lewis and Shawn Bryson. He played in eight games, but carried the ball just nine times for 36 yards during the Vols' SEC Championship run that season.

A year later, Stephens appeared in 13 games, starting in four and accounting for nearly 500 yards and four touchdowns in a season that Tennessee went unbeaten and won the BCS National Championship Game in 1998.

After red-shirting in 1999, Stephens was second in the running backs rotation behind Henry in 2000, rushing for 359 yards and seven scores, but his best season was still ahead.

With Henry gone, Stephens was the Vols' featured back as a senior in 2001 and made the most the role. He racked up 1,454 yards and 10 touchdowns on 291 carries and became the first Tennessee running back since Johnny Majors to earn All-America honors.

Stephens posted 100-plus yards in five games and 200 or more yards twice, including a dominating 226-yard, two-touchdown performance to help the Vols upset No. 2 Florida in Gainesville and clinch the SEC Eastern Division.

Stephens was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth round of the the 2002 NFL Draft and was a member of the franchise's Super Bowl XXXVII winning team in 2003.

Stephens is ranked 12th in Tennessee program history in career rushing yards with 2,336 yards while his 1,454 yards in 2001 still stand as a single-season best in the Vols' record books.

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