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.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

With 65 days to go, Phillip Fulmer, who was an All-SEC offensive lineman at Tennessee from 1968-71, is selected.

Fulmer played at Franklin County High School before enrolling at Tennessee in 1968. He played guard on the Vols’ 1969 SEC Championship team under head coach Doug Dickey.

Fulmer was later named a co-Captain and All-SEC when Bill Battle took over the program in 1970 and was a part of a dominant four-year stretch that included a 30-5 record, a conference title and a Sugar Bowl win.

Fulmer joined Battle’s staff as a student coach in 1972 before spending five seasons as an offensive line coach at Wichita State.

He returned to the SEC in 1979, coaching one season at Vanderbilt as an offensive coordinator and offensive line coach.

Fulmer was hired by Johnny Majors in 1980 to coach the offensive line. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 1989.

After coaching the first three games of the 1992 season as the interim head coach while Majors recovered from heart surgery, Fulmer was named the 20th head coach in program history before the 1993 season.

Fulmer led Tennessee to a 75-14-2 mark in eight seasons in the 90s, including two SEC titles and a national championship in 1998.

Fulmer was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012.

–––––

– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.

– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.

– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @ByNoahTaylor, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media.

–––––