TRAVIS HENRY Tennessee also returned skilled wide receivers in senior Peerless Price and sophomore Cedrick Wilson Tennessee faced a potential crisis when star running back Jamal Lewis injured his knee in the fourth game of the 1998 season The team turned to two backups named Travis Travis Henry and Travis Stephens Stephens had trouble with fumbling So Henry became the main runner and he never stumbled He rushed for 970 yards and scored seven touchdowns that season It was an opportunity to step up and show my talent he said of Lewis's injury I prepared myself for a chance like that On defense ball hawking sophomore safety Deon Grant was back Also returning were junior lineman Shaun Ellis and senior linebacker Al Wilson a tackling machine The biggest question mark regarding ability centered on Tee Martin the junior quarterback But Martin would prove himself to be a winner as Tennessee put together a season to remember Tennessee began the year ranked tenth in the nation Its first game was on the road against No. 17 Syracuse The Orangemen had a star quarterback of their own in Donovan McNabb McNabb threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns in the game Meanwhile Martin at one point threw 10 straight incompletions But Tennessee got a break late in the game Syracuse cornerback Will Allen was called for pass interference on a fourth down Then Tennessee senior Jeff Hall kicked a 27 yard field goal as the clock hit zero Tennessee won 34-33 6
Tennessee offensive lineman Cosey Coleman 52 clears the way for running back Jamal Lewis against Georgia The schedule did not get any easier from there Now ranked sixth in the nation the Volunteers next faced rival Florida The Gators had beaten the Volunteers five times in a row They were also ranked No. 2 in the nation Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer called Florida an all star team The winning team though was Tennessee And the biggest star was Al Wilson the linebacker who chomped up the Gators He forced 7
Tennessee wide receiver Peerless Price races for a 79 yard touchdown in the Fiesta Bowl following the 1998 season a fumble at the Volunteers goal line He also knocked the ball loose two other times Wilson made tackles all over the field and kept the game close until Hall could make another game winning field goal This one was from 41 yards The 20-17 victory showed people that Tennessee had a defense that could handle anyone If the offense could do its part a national title appeared to be in reach Fulmer's team then beat Houston 8
Auburn and seventh ranked Georgia The Volunteers allowed just 19 total points in those three games NEARLY HOG TIED But injuries were hurting Tennessee Lewis tore knee ligaments against Auburn That ended his season Al Wilson was playing banged up But Fulmer had some solid backups Many of them were sensational when they got their chance Tennessee's perfect 1998 season was nearly ruined when No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks came to Knoxville on November 14 Arkansas led 24-10 in the third quarter before Tee Martin ran for a touchdown and Jeff Hall kicked a field goal A safety then cut the Arkansas lead to just 24-22 Henry took over for Lewis He ended up running for 970 yards and scoring seven touchdowns on the season Wilson remained the team's star linebacker But junior Raynoch Thompson became a force at the position as well Tennessee continued to roll Price returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown against Alabama That helped clinch a 35-18 victory The win gave Tennessee its first 6-0 record in 29 years Then the Volunteers dismantled South Carolina on the road A home The Razorbacks were still in control That is until quarterback Clint Stoerner stumbled and dropped the ball at his 43 with 1:43 to play in the fourth quarter Tennessee recovered and then gave the ball to Travis Henry on five straight plays His final run was the game winning 1 yard dive with 28 seconds to go Any game has an element of luck in it Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said That's just part of the game 9
