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 four days to go, Jeff Hall, who was a two-time All-SEC and record-setting kicker that played a key role in Tennessee's 1998 national championship run, is selected.

Hall was breaking records before joining the Vols 1995. A standout kicker at Franklin County High School, Hall still holds the Tennessee state record with a 62-yard field goal in a playoff game against Oak Ridge in 1991. He tied the record a year later vs. Brentwood Academy.

It didn't take long for Hall etch his name into Tennessee lore as a freshman. In the Vols' second game of the 1995 season against Georgia at Neyland Stadium, Hall was called on after Peyton Manning led Tennessee on a late drive to inside the Bulldogs' 30-yard line with 15 seconds left in a tie game.

Hall connected on a 34-yard field goal to headlined a 30-27 win, which loomed large in the Vols' 11-1 campaign.

Perhaps the two biggest kicks of Hall's career came four years later. In Tennessee's 1998 season opener at Syracuse in the Carrier Dome, Hall booted a 27-yard kick as time expired to beat the Orangemen, 34-33.

The Vols made a habit of living on the edge that year. Just one week later, Tennessee and Florida went to overtime for the first time. In a game that had essentially decided the SEC champion in recent years, Hall gave the Vols the lead on his 41-yard field.

The Gators' possession ended in Collins Cooper missing a game-tying field goal wide, allowing Tennessee to beat Florida, 20-17 and stay unbeaten. Three months later, the Vols won the inaugural BCS National Championship Game over Florida State.

Hall is among the most productive kickers in program history, ranking first in career points with 371 over four seasons. He ranks second in both career attempts (89) and made-field goals (61).

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