Now Tennessee thinks they're "Linebacker U"

I promise, I'll have ZN's draft coverage up later today. But until then, sink your teeth into this little piece by Drew Edwards of GoVolsXtra. He's trying to make the argument--as so many other schools have for themselves in recent years--that Tennessee is more deserving of the "Linebacker U" reputation than Penn State. Maybe the Vol Nation is still sour that the Nittany Lions absolutely embarrassed them in the Outback Bowl two years ago.

"Type the phrase "Linebacker U" into Google, and you'll find thousands of articles and Web sites extolling Penn State as the preeminent school for linebackers.

Type that same phrase into Wikipedia, and Penn State's football page immediately appears on your computer screen via the Internet's version of Encyclopedia Britannica.

Come this weekend, though, that entry might need a little editing.

When Tennessee linebacker Jerod Mayo becomes the first Vol taken in Saturday's NFL draft (ESPN, 3 p.m.), he'll be the 11th Tennessee linebacker selected since 1999."

I never bought into, nor will I ever buy into the argument that a school deserves "Linebacker U" because of how many NFL players it's produced at that position. But Edwards tries to use both angles for his story, throwing in this number about how many All-America selections UT linebackers have been awarded.

"That dream came from Chavis' two years playing under Lon Herzbrun, who coached four Tennessee linebackers to a total of five All-America honors 1969-76.

"You look at that wall in the complex and see the number of All-Americans he coached at Tennessee," Chavis says. "Back then, Tennessee was known as Linebacker U. When I had the opportunity to coach linebackers here at Tennessee, one of my goals was to put Tennessee back in a position where it was known as Linebacker U. I think we've made some progress."

You can't go "back" to something you never were in the first place. Sure, plenty of other schools have tried to award themselves "Linebacker U"--Ohio State, USC, Miami--but none have been successful. The main reason is that none of those schools, including Tennessee, have maintained the longevity or consistency of excellence at the position.

Since Joe Paterno was hired as an assistant in 1950, the list of All-America linebacker selections goes something like this:

Robert Mitinger (1961), Dennis Onkotz (1968, 1969), Jack Ham (1970), Charlie Zapiec (1971), Bruce Bannon (1972), John Skorupan (1972), Ed O'Neil (1973), Greg Buttle (1975), Kurt Allerman (1976), Shane Conlan (1985, 1986), Andre Collins (1989), LaVar Arrington (1998, 1999), Brandon Short (1999), Paul Pozluszny (2005, 2006), Dan Connor (2006, 2007).

In case you don't know this, those were just the First-Team Al-America selections. That list didn't include the many second and third-team selections. Plus, if you really want to get into it, Sean Lee was a sure-fire selection for 2008, after gaining third-team recognition in 2007. Oh yeah, and Penn State has won the last THREE Bednarik Awards (2005, 2006, 2007) and the 2005 Butkus Award.

There usually isn't such an impenetrable argument in sports as this, so I personally welcome and encourage anyone to take a shot at challenging that Penn State is "Linebacker U." Sorry, but you'll get blown out of the water.