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 45 days to go, Johnny Majors, who was an All-American and Heisman finalist tailback and later a head coach at Tennessee, is selected.

Majors was a standout player under his father, Shirley Majors at Huntland High School in Franklin County. He arrived at Tennessee in 1953 and after being relegated to the JV squad as a freshman, made an immediate impact in his sophomore campaign the following year.

Majors flashed his abilities as a versatile tailback in the Vols' single-wing offense, going 8-of-24 passing for 107 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 416 yards and two scores on 96 carries.

Those numbers swelled as a junior in 1955 as Majors completed 36 passes for 476 yards and five touchdowns. He posted more than 650 yards and scored six times on the ground on his way to SEC Player of the Year, paving the way for one of the most productive individual seasons in program history in 1956.

As a senior, Majors was named First Team All-SEC and All-American and was the league's player of the year for the second time. His 552 passing yards and six touchdowns was complimented by his nearly 550 rushing yards. On special teams, Majors combined for 1,119 yards on 56 punts, averaging 43.0 yards per punt, earning him national recognition.

Majors finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Notre Dame tailback Paul Hornung, who played on a Fighting Irish team that won just two games.

Majors played one season professionally with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League before embarking on a coaching career that spanned 39 years at five schools.

It started at Tennessee as a graduate assistant in 1957. He coached the Vols' backfield in 1958-59 and was hired by Mississippi State where he coached defensive backs for four seasons.

Majors spent another four seasons at Arkansas, then took his first head-coaching job at Iowa State in 1968. With the Cyclones, Majors went 24-30-1 in five seasons, but led them to two bowl games and an eight-win season in 1971.

Majors was hired to take over the Pittsburgh football program in 1973 and improved the Panthers' record each year, going from six wins in his first season to seven and eight the next two seasons.

Pitt capped a perfect 12-0 season with a 27-3 victory over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, finishing No. 1 in the major polls and consensus national champions in 1976.

Majors was set up for continued success with the Panthers, but after Bill Battle was fired by Tennessee following the 1976 season, he opted to return to his alma mater as its head coach.

Majors was in for a slower rebuild than the one he had at Pitt. It took three years for the Vols have a winning season and another two years before Tennessee won a bowl game, but things started to turnaround in 1982.

The Vols upset No. 2 Alabama, 35-28 at Neyland Stadium to end an 11-year losing skid to the Crimson Tide and kick-starting a four-game win streak in the series. Tennessee won nine games in 1983 and won the program's first SEC title in 16 years in 1985, book-ending the season with a 35-7 thumping of Miami in the Sugar Bowl.

Majors weathered the storm after a 2-5 start to the 1986 season, winning the last five games to finish 7-5. Tennessee won 10 games in 1987 and 11 in 1989. It won its second conference title under Majors in 1990.

Majors resigned following the 1992 season, leading to offensive coordinator Phillip Fulmer taking over as head coach. Majors returned to Pitt where he finished out his career, retiring in 1996.

Majors was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987. He died in 2020 at the age of 85.

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