UT Vols: Majors remains Tennessee icon
CROSSVILLE – One guy was able to get away with parking his car in the restricted zone in front of the Lake Tansi Village Golf Club pro shop.
That same guy worked the crowd over breakfast. Then chased down friends on the first tee.
This was Johnny Majors’ time to shine. For two days every mid-July since 1977, the Tennessee football icon has to be on his game.
The Johnny Majors Invitational golf tournament has become as much a staple of summer in East Tennessee as humidity.
The 83-year-old former Vols player (1953-56) and coach (1977-92) hasn’t slowed down much since his heyday. He still talked a mile-a-minute, didn’t let a bunch of guys waiting on the tee box cause him to cut short a good story. Majors had no trouble remembering former players, plays — good or bad — that defined them, the hometown and high school from which they came, and even a tidbit about their family learned in the recruiting process.
Majors still sharp just like day he played QB in 1956
While a steady stream of ex-players, boosters and fans of Majors came through the pro shop, the coach with a 116-62-8 record at Tennessee was holding court.
He was talking about his playing days, recounting when — as the Vols’ quarterback in 1956 — he called a quick kick on first-and-10 from his own 19yard line against George Tech.
“(Georgia Tech coach) Bobby Dodd said it was the best quick-kick anyone ever called against him,” said Majors, an All-American halfback who was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987. “We were third-and-three on our own 15. I ran around end and made (the first down) by a yard. I knew we needed to get the ball out of there. I hit that quick kick 69 yards. We had the field position (edge) the rest of the game.”
Then there was his rise up the coaching ladder. After a one-year pro playing stint with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (cut short by a shoulder injury), he spent a couple years on the Tennessee staff before moving to Mississippi State as an assistant. After four years in Starkville, Frank Broyles gave him a shot as an assistant at Arkansas from 1964-67.
“Playing on that team were (future University of Miami and Dallas Cowboys coach) Jimmy Johnson, (future Cowboys owner) Jerry Jones and (future Air Force coach) Ken Hatfield,” Majors said. “That team had some real personalities.”
Pruitt can learn from the past
The current challenge facing Tennessee football is hardly anything new or unusual.
Three times in his coaching career — first at Iowa State in 1970-71 (from 5-6 to 8-4) and twice at UT, in 1980-81 (5-6 to 8-4) and 1988-89 (5-6 to 11-1) — Majors turned a losing record into success.
The current Vols under first-year coach Jeremy Pruitt are trying to right the ship after a 4-8 campaign. When Majors looked back at the elements that made those recoveries happen, there weren’t any secrets for him to pass on.
“When we had tough times, I knew I didn’t have all the answers,” Majors said. “I’d tell the media, ‘We’re gonna keep on keepin’ on.’ If we keep on keepin’ on, we’re gonna make it better. We’re gonna come back.”
Majors’ philosophy dated back to his upbringing. His dad Shirley Majors, Johnny’s coach at Huntland High (Franklin County, Tennessee) was an inspiration. After going 1-9 in Johnny’s freshman year, Huntland won 70 of its next 71 games — most with Johnny or one of his three brothers leading the way.
“My dad was tough and demanding,” Majors said. “If you respond to coaching and never give up, you’ve got a chance to hold your head up. I’ve been down in the dumps plenty of times, but we rarely had a team that didn’t come back and get better as the season went on.”
Pedigree will make the coach
Since Pruitt was hired last December, Majors said he had the opportunity to sit down with the first-time head coach. It wasn’t a philosophical discussion or a seminar of X’s and O’s.
“I just told him I’m available if he ever needs anything,” said Majors, who guided Pitt to the national title in 1976. “I think he’s going to do fine.”
Majors sees the right qualities in place for a guy taking over the corner office for the first time in his career.
“A new coach, if he has the right background — and has been under the influence of a winning coach; a coach that teaches you never to give up — he’ll succeed,” Majors said.
“You put your coaching outfit on, get out there and do the best you can. As long as you demand hustle and teach technique and fundamentals, you use the knowledge you have and hope you’re going to win. You have to be yourself. You can’t try to be somebody else. It won’t take long for folks to notice that right away.” Al Lesar is a freelance contributor.