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It isn't anything that hasn't been discussed before, but I'm sitting here watching the '85 Auburn game and the same question is crossing my mind that crosses my mind every time I watch a game from that era: Just how good could Tony Robinson have been if he had stayed healthy and out of trouble? I don't think he would've been the best UT quarterback ever, because he didn't have the smarts that Manning had, and he didn't have the supporting cast that Shuler and Kelly had. But I don't think I've ever seen a college quarterback - ever - with the physical tools that Robinson had. He was some kind of good.

I think he was the second best QB that UT has had in my 30 years of following the Vols, when you consider the physical tools of the position. Manning is far and away the best, but I put T-Rob just a tick above Shuler, Martin, Kelly, and Clausen.

I would also rank him No. 2. You mention the group behind Peyton and Robinson, which makes me wonder where Kelly should rank on an actual scale of UT QBs. He has always been and will always be my favorite UT player, but he really wasn't all that good. His biggest asset was how cool and collected he was in any situation, but there was just so much talent around him that it made up for things he lacked. To be sure, every quarterback in that group had a ton of talent around him (Clausen maybe less so than any of the others, which speaks volumes about what he accomplished...still the most underranked UT quarterback ever, IMO), but I think those 89-91 Tennessee teams were more talented than even the 96-98 teams.

Kelly got himself and the team out of jams that he often had created. 

I would rank he and Clausen in the 2nd tier.  Clausen was a warrior and had good skills but mentally he isn't anywhere in the same class as the rest.  He left a LOT of points on the field due to that IMO.

Kelly and Clausen were of the same ilk. Both of them were punchers. Punchers miss and get knocked out sometimes.

That last part could spark an interesting discussion... I think that the '89 - '91 Tennessee teams had more offensive skill talent and probably equal OL talent to the '96-'98 teams. If you give Peyton the keys to that '90 offense... Pickens, Harper, Webb, Cobb... I shudder to think what could've happened. Peyton turned Joey Kent and Marcus Nash into stars. What could he have done with those '90 WRs?

However... defensively, the '96 - '98 teams were much more talented than the '89 - '91 teams IMO, Dale Carter nonwithstanding. (Although... I think Carter is romanticized a little by those of us who were coming of age during that era because I think Deon Grant was every bit the player that Carter was. ) But when you look at Leonard Little, Raynoch Thompson, Al Wilson, Darwin Walker, Eric Westmoreland, Jonathan Brown, Dwayne Goodrich... the '89 - '91 team couldn't hang with that level of defensive talent.

Also Clausen had more WR talent than Peyton did. Stallworth and Washington were both better players than Nash and Kent IMO.

Robinson could make plays when the play broke down, and his arm was awesome...and accurate.

he could have had a pretty good NFL career had he not been..well, a criminal.

He had a pretty good scab season if I recall, for the skins.

Yes, the defense was definitely better during the latter era. I give the '89-'91 teams the edge in overall talent because the offensive talent was just so darned good while the defense was good enough to hold its own.

I consider Kent the best receiver UT has ever had once Pickens and Harper left. It helps that he had such a good QB making him look good, but still...

Although Pickens and Harper were definitely the stars of that WR corps, don't forget about Faulkner and Fleming, who were about as good 3rd and 4th options as we've ever had.  That team had a lot of weapons.

Faulkner and Fleming were more Shuler's guys. Harper/Pickens/Morgan was more Kellys.

No mention of Peerless Price for Manning?

 :eek: :crazy: :loco: :wow:

Price to me was hot and cold.  He could disappear at times

Peerless's great season was with Tee, not Manning. Kent was Peyton's #1 target for 3 years and then it was Nash.

True, although I thought Peerless had a pretty good season in '97, including 2 TDs in the SECCG

There's no telling what could have been in 1990 if Webb hadn't gotten hurt.  That team opened with a tie of eventual NC Colorado, and they easily could've won with a little better clock management at the end.  The CW got hurt, they tied Auburn down there, and of course the agonizing losses to bammer (after this game, I was convinced that Gene Stallings had sold his soul to the devil) and #1 ranked ND.  Other than those games, they just steamrolled everyone.  Although Tony Thompson stepped and played well in Webb's absense, he wasn't the homerun threat that Chuck was.  With a healthy Webb, it's not hard to imagine this team going 10-0-1 and going to the Sugar Bowl with a chance to win a NC. :frown:

I always thought Shuler was no. 2, but Robinson is up there, no doubt.