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. 48
The number goes back to 1937 in Big Orange football history and it was first worn on Rocky Top by Melvin Lampley.
Lampley, a tackle for the Vols, sported the number for the 1937 and 1938 campaigns.
It was later worn by the late Rocky Goode, a local player from Bearden High School, where he was an all-state prep standout. He was the Tennessee Player of the Year in 1972.
After his playing days at Tennessee, Goode became a Southeastern Conference official on both the field and in the replay booth. He died in 2019.
Later, the number was worn by defensive tackle J.J. Surlas.
Surlas, who grew up in Pennsylvania, remained in Knoxville after his playing days and is the Senior Vice President of Safe T Systems, Inc.
All-time players to wear No. 48 at Tennessee:
Melvin Lampley (1937-38)
Ralph Johnson (1939)
Jim Chadwell (1941-42)
Bo Stewart (1944)
Billy King (1945)
Paul Gearing (1946-49)
Carl Eschenbach (1950)
Dan Butler (1951-53)
Bill Baker (1966-67)
Ronnie Weir (1969)
Danny Jeffries (1970-72)
Rocky Goode (1973)
Jim Embry (1974)
Carl Velander (1975-76)
Mark Burns (1980-82)
David Walker (1986-88)
J.J. Surlas (1989-92)
Grey Barker (1995)
Jeremy Fitzgerald (1997)
Jerrod Hayden (1998)
Sammy Frogg (1999-2000)
Thomas Stallworth (2001)
Sudan Ellington (2003)
Cory Anderson (2004)
Elix Wilson (2005)
Todd Vinson (2006)
Adam Myers-White (2007-08)
Greg King (2009-13)
Ryeon Wedley (2012)
Alex Ellis (2014-15)
Dajour Maddox (2015)
Ja’Quan Blakely (2016-19)
Matt Ballard (2018)
*Source: 2019 Tennessee Football Media Guide