COMPLETING HIS DREAM
Lifelong Vols fan Jumper wraps up Vols playing career
KNOXVILLE — Colton Jumper quickly sifted through all of his experiences as a linebacker at Tennessee to try to identify a favorite.
The bowl games were a lot of fun, and so were big victories over Florida and Georgia last season, not to mention any of the team-leading 4.5 sacks he has accumulated this season.
Jumper finally settled on a personally meaningful moment: the Volunteers’ season opener against Bowling Green in 2015.
“That was just kind of validation that ‘Hey, you made it,’” Jumper said this week, recalling the day he made his first collegiate start.
Two and a half years later, the former Baylor School standout will make his final career start Saturday when the Vols close the season against Vanderbilt at Neyland Stadium.
It will be the end of a winding journey that first appeared to be leading to the Naval Academy, took a detour to a New Jersey prep school, then led to a walk-on position and ultimately a key role on the
defense at his dream school.
Before there was Vols football player Colton Jumper, there was Vols fan Colton Jumper.
“From an early age, Tennessee football has played a role in my life,” Jumper said. “So I think that’s what’s really cool is coming here as a kid, not as someone who is seeing themselves as playing here, and then actually kind of living out that dream.”
Jay Jumper took his three children — Hannah, Colton and Will — from Chattanooga to Tennessee games when they were young. For many kids, the Vol Walk or the sheer magnitude of Neyland Stadium is what infuses orange into blood and establishes a connection to the program.
For the Jumpers, it was the time spent outside the stadium after the games getting autographs from the players that left a lasting impression.
“Those were kind of like our idols,” Colton said. “Now when I go back and do my autographs, I make sure to take my time with that, because I’ve been on the other end getting the autographs and looking up to those guys.”
In fact, some of the signed mementos from those trips to Neyland Stadium are still around the house, Dawn Jumper said.
Jay and Dawn Jumper have watched Colton make 123 tackles and play in some of the nation’s largest stadiums against some of the nation’s best teams during the last three seasons, but those moments spent mingling with young fans after the games at Neyland Stadium continue to resonate the most.
“That still means more to me,” Jay said as he and Dawn reflected on Colton’s career during last week’s tailgate on the Tennessee campus. “Just watching Colton come through talking with the little kids. He appreciates it because he was there.”
For two and a half seasons, Will Jumper was on the team, too, as a walk-on tight end, which only added to the significance of those postgame moments.
The Jumpers also appreciate those positive interactions with the fan base in light of the negative interactions that followed Jumper’s 2015 debut.
Colton, still a walk-on, received the validation of making his first start against Bowling Green, and then he pulled out his cell phone after the game. The previously unknown reserve had become a starter, and plenty of fans had opinions about his debut outing. Harsh tweets and rude remarks piled up over the next few games as Jumper acclimated to the speed of Southeastern Conference football.
“But we learned quickly that the negativity is a small fraction of the fans,” Dawn said. “They’re loud and they’re also pretty mean. But we learned that we can’t listen to that and we’re not going to let them steal our joy. We’ve learned to block that out.”
Colton set the example in that regard, Jay Jumper said. There is a famous quote by Theodore Roosevelt from a speech given by the former president. It is about how the critic does not count, but that the credit instead belongs to the man in the arena unafraid to strive valiantly.
“(Colton) put that on his wall,” Jay said. “He quit Twitter. He basically separated himself from the negativity. That’s what amazes me.”
Colton shook off the naysayers and earned a scholarship between the 2015 and 2016 seasons. He finished fourth on the team in tackles in 2016 and has been a consistent recipient of praise from defensive coordinator Bob Shoop and linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen the last two years while directing the defense at middle linebacker. His 9.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks lead the team this season.
He will graduate with a degree in finance next month and plans to give the NFL a shot before he puts the degree to use.
“Now it’s on to a new step in my life,” Colton said.
But first, there is one more game. And after it’s over, there will be one more chance to take a pen, get down on one knee and sign an autograph for the young fan he remembers being.
“I’ll have a box of tissues with me,” Dawn said. “I will too,” Jay added. What about Colton? “I don’t know how I’m going to react,” he said. “I don’t know if I’m going to be emotional or how it’ll be. It’s been a long ride. It’s been fun. I think that’ll be my little thing, like signing out and dropping the mic.”
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress. com.