KNOXVILLE — The University of Tennessee has a proud football program rich in tradition and history, and over the years many great players have played on Rocky Top.
Vols Wire looks at which players wore each jersey number for the Volunteers.
No. 65
The number goes back to 1937 in Big Orange football history. It was first worn by Bonnie Hodge.
Hodge, a halfback for the Vols, sported the number for one season. It was later worn by Steve DeLong, Phillip Fulmer and Jacques McClendon, who have all made their marks in football.
DeLong, a guard at UT, is a College Football Hall of Famer and a two-time All-American. He won the Outland Trophy in 1964 and went on to have a stellar pro career in both the American and National Football Leagues.
Fulmer was an offensive guard for Tennessee from 1968-71, playing for coaches Doug Dickey and Bill Battle on Rocky Top.
Following his time as a player on the gridiron for the Vols, Fulmer became a student assistant coach on Battle’s staff from 1972-73.
In 1974, the Winchester, Tennessee native went on to Wichita State, where he coached the offensive line and linebackers for the Shockers from 1974-78.
He returned to the Volunteer State in 1979, serving as an assistant coach for Vanderbilt.
In 1980, he joined head coach Johnny Majors as an assistant at Tennessee. He was an assistant at his alma mater from 1980-92, serving as the offensive line coach from 1980-88.
He took over as offensive coordinator and retained his duties as offensive line coach until 1992.
In 1992, Fulmer was appointed interim head coach while Majors was hospitalized. He went 3-0 with wins over Southwestern Louisiana, Georgia and Florida before Majors returned and the Vols finished 9-3.
Majors was forced to resign in 1992 and Fulmer was named head coach.
The College Football Hall of Famer guided the Vols to the first BCS national championship in 1998. He was named Coach of the Year by multiple outlets that season. He also won a pair of Southeastern Conference titles in his career and finished with a record of 152-52-1. He was fired in 2008.
McClendon played at UT from 2006-09. He played in the NFL between 2010-16 for Indianapolis, Detroit, Jacksonville and Miami. The former center in now working for the Los Angeles Rams as the team’s Director of Player Engagement.
All-time players to wear No. 65 at Tennessee:
Bonnie Hodge (1937)
Paul Clark (1939)
Albert “Al” Rotella (1941-42, 1946-47)
Bill Padgett (1945)
John Elkins (1948)
Frank “Boomer” Boring (1948, 1950-51)
Tom Hensley (1952-53)
Bill Hubbard (1954)
Dick Piontkowski (1955)
Bobby Urbano (1956-58)
Paul Inglett (1959-61)
Steve DeLong (1962-64)
Ron Molaskey (1965)
Charles Rosenfelder (1966-68)
Phillip Fulmer (1969-71)
Larry Satterfield (1972-74)
Glenn Tucker (1975-78)
John Gorence (1979)
Mark Furnas (1981-82)
Robby Scott (1983-86)
Patrick Lenoir (1988-91)
Robert Poole (1994-97)
Dan Stacey (2000-01)
Brandon Jefferies (2003)
Jacques McClendon (2006-09)
Joseph Ayres (2010-11)
Jacob Gilliam (2012-14)
Clay Keaton (2015)
Parker Ball (2019)
*Source: 2019 Tennessee Football Media Guide