Pat Narduzzi discusses how Johnny Majors would have been happy with what he saw.
Pittsburgh (2-0) defeated Tennessee (1-1), 41-34, in the Johnny Majors Classic at Neyland Stadium.
Majors served as head coach at Pittsburgh and Tennessee. He guided the Panthers to the 1976 national championship before winning three Southeastern Conference championships at Tennessee (1985, 1989, 1990).
Following the Week 2 contest, Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi discussed Majors and the game that honored him.
“One other thing I want to mention, I wish Johnny Majors was here to see what happened today,” Narduzzi said. “I know he was wearing the Blue and Gold up in the press box up above, and he would have been happy with what he saw today.”
Tennessee and Pittsburgh will honor Johnny Majors who served as a head coach for the Vols and Panthers. Majors won the 1976 national championship at Pittsburgh and guided Tennessee to three Southeastern Conference titles in 1985, 1989 and 1990.
Bob Kesling reflects on Johnny Majors ahead of Tennessee-Pittsburgh.
Tennessee (1-0) will host Pittsburgh (1-0) in the Johnny Majors Classic Saturday at Neyland Stadium.
Kickoff is slated for noon EDT. ESPN will televise the Week 2 matchup.
Ahead of Saturday’s game, the voice of Tennessee football Bob Kesling discussed the Johnny Majors Classic on the show “Football Two-A-Days.”
Kesling reflected on Majors’ career and his time with the former Tennessee and Pittsburgh head coach. Majors won the 1976 national championship at Pittsburgh and three Southeastern Conference titles with the Vols (1985, 1989, 1990).
The show with Kesling can be listened to here or below.
Josh Heupel, Pat Narduzzi discuss the Johnny Majors Classic.
Tennessee (1-0) will host Pittsburgh on Saturday in the Johnny Majors Classic at Neyland Stadium (noon EDT, ESPN).
Former Tennessee player Johnny Majors served as Pittsburgh’s head coach from 1973-76 and 1993-96, winning the 1976 national championship.
Majors won three Southeastern Conference championships while serving as Tennessee’s head coach from 1977-92.
Ahead of Saturday’s contest, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel discussed the impact Majors had on both programs.
“I think it’s fitting that we get an opportunity to honor Coach Majors, just what he’s meant to both programs as well,” Heupel said.
“It’s unique that Coach Majors had such a huge impact on both programs. As a player and a coach, his legacy lives on here at Tennessee. He’s a part of the foundation of who we are. He’s a cornerstone of it. I think it’s a fitting opportunity to pay tribute to him from both programs. It’s unique that you have a coach that is that instrumental in two different programs, and very few opportunities that you get a chance to recognize that with both teams playing.”
In this Jan. 3, 1977, file photo, University of Pittsburgh coach Johnny Majors carries the Sugar Bowl trophy after Pittsburgh beat Georgia 27-3 to win the NCAA college football national championship, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/File)
Pittsburgh (1-0) head coach Pat Narduzzi also discussed Majors and honoring him Saturday.
“I love it,” Narduzzi said of the Johnny Majors Classic. “I like it the best because I’ve had a relationship with Coach Majors from his time spent here at Pitt, the days he’s been here to visit the university he loved here. Spent a couple flights with him. Spent a lot of time with him at some of the Nike clinics he was heavily involved in through his retirement years, I guess.
“I think it’s a great thing in honor of the Majors family. We’re excited about that.”
Memorable Johnny Majors quotes on his tenure as Pittsburgh’s head coach.
Tennessee will host Pittsburgh in the Johnny Majors Classic Saturday at Neyland Stadium (noon EDT, ESPN).
Former Tennessee player Johnny Majors served as Pittsburgh’s head coach from 1973-76 and 1993-96, winning the 1976 national championship.
He left Pittsburgh following the 1976 national championship season, returning to Tennessee as the Vols’ head coach. Majors won three Southeastern Conference championships during his tenure as the Vols’ head coach from 1977-92.
Majors was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987. He was an All-American tailback for the Vols in 1956 and a two-time Southeastern Conference MVP in 1955-56.
Majors died in June 2020.
Ahead of Saturday’s Johnny Majors Classic, the University of Pittsburgh provided memorable quotes from Majors in a press release of his head coaching career with the Panthers.
Johnny Majors Classic: Tennessee-Pittsburgh to honor national championship coach
Tennessee will host Pittsburgh on Sept. 11 at Neyland Stadium.
Kick off is slated for noon EDT. ESPN will televise the matchup.
Tennessee announced Wednesday the matchup between the Vols and Panthers will be the Johnny Majors Classic. The matchup will honor the late Johnny Majors who served as head coach at Tennessee and Pittsburgh.
Majors died on June 3, 2020. He was 85.
“Honoring Johnny Majors in this way creates another really special and unique element to an already-special season as we celebrate Neyland Stadium’s centennial,” Tennessee Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Danny White said in a press release. “I appreciate Pittsburgh’s partnership on this. It will be a memorable day for the Majors family as well as fans of both schools who appreciate Johnny Majors’ hall of fame legacy.”
Pittsburgh’s Director of Athletics Heather Lyke also discussed honoring Majors with the Johnny Majors Classic.
“We are honored to join the University of Tennessee in celebrating the life of Coach Johnny Majors,” Lyke said. “Beyond the victories, Coach Majors made such a huge impact on the lives of his players. That’s his greatest legacy and the University of Pittsburgh is incredibly proud to be part of it. We look forward to being with the Majors family when we visit in September.”
In this Jan. 3, 1977, file photo, University of Pittsburgh coach Johnny Majors carries the Sugar Bowl trophy after Pittsburgh beat Georgia 27-3 to win the NCAA college football national championship, in New Orleans. Majors, the coach of Pittsburgh’s 1976 national championship team and a former coach and star player at Tennessee, has died. He was 85. Majors died Wednesday morning, June 3, 2020, at home in Knoxville, Tenn., according to a statement from his wife, Mary Lynn Majors. (AP Photo/File)
Majors served two tenures as Pittsburgh’s head coach (1973-76, 1993-96) and won the 1976 national championship. He served as the Vols’ head coach from 1977-92, winning three Southeastern Conference championships.
A native of Lynchburg, Tennessee, Majors played for the Vols from 1953-56.
Tennessee and Pittsburgh will also play on Sept. 10, 2022, at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl will be played Jan. 1 at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama.
Sep 15, 2012; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers former player and head coach Johnny Majors watches the video tribute to his career during the ceremony to retire his jersey number prior to the game against the Florida Gators at Neyland Stadium. Florida defeated Tennessee 37-20. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Fulmer discussed Jeremy Pruitt, whom he hired in Dec. 2017, and how the third-year Tennessee head coach compares to Johnny Majors through the first 30 games during their UT tenure.
“I had the experience of being part of coach Majors’ staff in the early 80s, and the programs are kind of in a similar place,” Fulmer said in comparing Majors and Pruitt. “It took Coach (Majors) into his fourth and fifth year to get things turned around, and, right now, everybody wished that it would happen quicker in the process.”
Dec 7, 2017; Knoxville, TN, USA; University of Tennessee Athletic Director Phillip Fulmer (left) introduces Jeremy Pruitt (right) during his introduction ceremony as Tennessee’s next head football coach at the Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Calvin Mattheis/Knoxville News Sentinel via USA TODAY NETWORK
Fulmer served as Majors’ offensive line coach from 1980-88.
Majors’ first season as head coach at Tennessee came in 1977, and through his first 30 games he was 14-15-1. Pruitt is currently 15-17 at Tennessee.
Following Fulmer’s analysis of Majors and Pruitt, Vols Wire discussed the matter on “The Tony Basilio Show” Thursday.
Phillip Fulmer details how he will evaluate Vols’ football from a big picture, realistically, not emotionally.
Tennessee Director of Athletics Phillip Fulmer appeared on the radio show “Vol Calls” Wednesday.
Fulmer provided his support for third-year Vols’ head coach Jeremy Pruitt. Fulmer hired Pruitt in Dec. 2017.
Pruitt is 15-17 during three seasons at Tennessee with one bowl victory.
Tennessee (2-5, 2-5 SEC) will play Florida, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt to conclude the 2020 regular season.
“The coaches right now are fully focused on the three games that we have left and with Florida coming into town,” Fulmer said on “Vol Calls.” “It’s always a tough game, but if we play really hard and take care of the ball better and get the ball back some, I think anything can happen.
“They’re a good, good football team, but as you said, as an athletic director I have the responsibility to lead the program and look it over and evaluate it and the progress that we’re making or not making. I have to really look at it from a big picture, and realistically, and not emotionally.”
Fulmer served as Johnny Majors’ offensive line coach from 1980-88. Majors’ first season as head coach at Tennessee came in 1977, and through his first 30 games he was 14-15-1.
“I had the experience of being part of Coach Majors’ staff in the early 80s, and the programs are kind of in a similar place,” Fulmer said in comparing Majors and Pruitt. “It took Coach (Majors) into his fourth and fifth year to get things turned around, and right now everybody wished that it would happen quicker in the process.”
Fulmer mentioned Tennessee is “a better football team than our record has shown.”
“Team plays hard and I think the Auburn game was a good example of that, but we’re not taking care of the ball and protecting it like we should, and we certainly haven’t gotten the takeaways that you would think a normal aggressive defense would get,” Fulmer said. “Giving great effort and taking care of the ball and getting the ball back are three of the things that you have to do to have a good team, and it’s not one particular group all the time. It’s just we’ve had a very inconsistent group and a lot of that is coming from youth.
“Coach Pruitt’s said it a bunch of times, we’ve offensively and defensively, just can’t have those catastrophic plays that we’ve had, that have cost us games.”
Revisiting UT’s 35-28 win over Alabama in 1982. The game snapped the Vols’ 12-game losing streak to the Crimson Tide.
In its tradition-rich history, the University of Tennessee football program has captured some monumental victories.
This year, each Thursday, Vols Wire will look back at one of Tennessee’s most memorable victories against its upcoming opponent.
This installment will revisit Tennessee’s 1982 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide at Neyland Stadium.
The Vols stunned Alabama, ranked No. 2 in the country, when it edged the Crimson Tide, 35-28, in front of a crowd of 95,000 on Rocky Top.
After losing to the Volunteers, the Crimson Tide would go on to finish 8-4, culminating its campaign with a 21-15 victory over Illinois at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee.
That would be Bear Bryant’s last game as a coach as he would retire, and unfortunately passed away in Jan. 1983.
The 1982 Volunteers carry Tennessee Head Coach Johnny Majors on their shoulders to meet Alabama Head Coach Bear Bryant mid-field after their victory in Neyland Stadium.
Coach Majors And Bear Bryant 1982. Michael Patrick/News Sentinel-Knoxville
Alabama held a perfect 5-0 record when it rolled in to Knoxville as it had victories over Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Arkansas State and Penn State.
The Vols were 3-1-1 entering the game. They would finish the season with a 6-5-1 record after losing to Iowa, 28-22, in the Peach Bowl, however, on this Saturday in October, the Vols had their biggest highlight in an otherwise mediocre season.
Quarterback Alan Cockrell had a pair of touchdown passes for the Big Orange and kicker Fuad Reveiez made four field goals for Tennessee, which opened a 35-21 lead before Alabama’s Linnie Patrick scored on a 14-yard sweep with just over five minutes remaining in the contest to make it 35-28.
The Vols finally clinched their first victory over the Crimson Tide in 12 years when Mike Terry intercepted a pass from Alabama’s Walter Lewis in the waning seconds.
Chuck Coleman had a touchdown run for the Vols, while Willie Gault and Mike Miller had touchdown receptions for the Big Orange.
Gault would go on to have a solid career in the National Football League and win a Super Bowl championship with the Chicago Bears.
Reviez went on to kick in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings.
Cockrell, a two-sport star at UT, played baseball for the Colorado Rockies after a long minor league career.
He would later become a coach for the Rockies, Seattle Mariners and most recently with the New York Yankees.
