KNOXVILLE (WATE/UT Sports) - Cordarrelle Patterson
was named to the Associated Press All-SEC First Team as the all-purpose
performer. He is joined on the second team by wide receiver Justin Hunter, tight end Mychal Rivera and offensive linemen Antonio Richardson and Dallas Thomas.
With five honorees on offense, the Vols are tied with Alabama for the
most offensive stars among all SEC teams. With the five All-SEC picks,
the Vols stand only behind Alabama (8), Florida (7) and LSU (6) for the
most selections in the league.
With five selections, the Vols secured their most All-SEC
honorees by the AP since 2009, when UT also had five. The five picks on
offense are the most for Tennessee since 2007.
Patterson is Tennessee's first-ever all-purpose first-team selection.
The junior had a record-setting year as he established the SEC's new
single-season mark for average per return for combined kickoff and punt
returns at 27.6. His kickoff return average of 28.0, ranks second
all-time in the SEC for a single-season. Patterson also established a
new Tennessee record for all-purpose yards in a season with 1,858. His
154.8 all-purpose yards per game led the SEC and ranked in the top 20 in
the nation. Patterson became the first player in the NCAA to record a
touchdown four different ways in the same season since 2008 and the
first-ever to accomplish the feat at Tennessee. He led the Vols with 10
total touchdowns (five receiving, three rushing and one each by kickoff
and punt return). Patterson had 42 catches for 778 yards to go along
with 25 carries for 308 yards. He returned 24 kickoffs for 671 yards and
four punts for 101 yards. He posted the fourth-greatest receiving day
in UT history with nine catches for 219 yards against Troy. Against the
Trojans, he racked up 275 all-purpose yards, the second-most for any Vol
in a single game, ever. He scored the Vols' first punt return for a
touchdown since 2003 with an 81-yard return at Vanderbilt.
Hunter led the Vols and finished third in the SEC with 73 catches
for 1,083 yards. His total for catches ranked second-most in a season
in Tennessee history and his yardage total was third all-time in a
season. Hunter scored nine receiving touchdowns, including a
school-record tying three TDs in two different games this season. He
scored three touchdowns against both Georgia State and Troy. Hunter had
four 100-yard receiving games as a junior including a career-high 181
vs. Troy. He became the eighth Vol with a 1,000-yard receiving season.
Rivera set the record for receiving yards in a single-season by a
Tennessee tight end with 562 yards, surpassing the Dallas Cowboys' Jason Witten,
who has 493 in 2002 with the Vols. Rivera closed his senior season with
catches in 18 consecutive games. He posted career-highs with 10 catches
for 129 yards against Missouri. Rivera had five receiving touchdowns as
part of his career-best 36 catches.
On the offensive line, both Thomas and Richardson, helped the
Vols to one of the most prolific seasons on offense in school history.
Thomas made the move from left tackle to left guard as a senior to make
way for the sophomore, Richardson, who started all 12 games as left
tackle in 2012. The Vols' offensive line allowed just eight sacks, the
fewest in the SEC and fourth-fewest per game (0.67) in the NCAA.
Tennessee racked up 475.9 yards of offense per game to rank 20th in the
nation and 315.6 yards of passing offense to list 15th overall.
Tennessee had five games with 500-plus yards of total offense, the most
by UT since 1997. That included a school-record 718 yards of total
offense against Troy.
