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

In anticipation for 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 92 days to go, Tennessee defensive tackle Reggie White, who lettered for the Vols from 1980-83 and finished with hall of fame career in both college and the NFL, is selected.

A Chattanooga native who was a prep standout at Howard High School, White made a near immediate impact as a freshman at Tennessee in 1980.

White totaled 51 tackles and two sacks that season, working his way into a starting role late in the year. Three years later, he finished as the record-holder for career sacks with 32 and single-season sacks with 15 as a senior in 1983.

White recorded a sack in all but two games in his last season with the Vols, earning SEC Player of the Year, All-SEC and All-American status.

In 42 games over four seasons, White recorded 293 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, nine passes defended and one interception. He was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

White began his pro football career in 1984 in the USFL with the Memphis Showboats, where he played in 36 games in two seasons, accounting for 23.5 sacks before joining the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles the following season.

After eight seasons with the Eagles, White became a free agent and signed with the Green Bay Packers. In six seasons with the Packers, he set a franchise-record 68.5 sacks and was a key part of Green Bay's Super Bowl XXXI victory over the New England Patriots in 1997.

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White, who spent his last season in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers following a brief retirement, retired for good in 2000 as a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, 13-time Pro Bowl selection and the league's all-time sack leader with 198.

He passed away in 2004 at the age of 43.

White's jersey No. 92 was retired by Tennessee in 2005 and he was later named to the NFL Hall of Fame in 2006. He is one of eight former Vols to have their jerseys retired, joining Doug Atkins, Johnny Majors, Peyton Manning, Clyde Fuson, Rudy Klarer, Bill Nowling and Willis Tucker.

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