University of Tennessee Athletics
Kiner Enshrined into College Football Hall of Fame
August 11, 2000 | Football
Steve Kiner, Tennessee linebacker of 1967-1969 vintage and a two-time consensus All-America selection (1968-
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| Steve Kiner was a consensus All-America linebacker in 1968 and 1969. |
1969), is in South Bend, Ind., this weekend for the Enshrinement Ceremonies for the College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2000. The two-day festival will be highlighted by an induction dinner at the South Bend Marriott.
Kiner joins players Ross Browner (Notre Dame), Chuck Dicus (Arkansas), Chris Gilbert (Texas), John Hannah (Alabama), Billy Kilmer (UCLA), Chuck Long (Iowa), Frank Loria (Virginia Tech), Joe Palumbo (Virginia), Greg Pruitt (Oklahoma), Herschel Walker (Georgia) and Ed White (Cal) and coaches Jerry Claiborne (Virginia Tech, Maryland and Kentucky), Don Coryell (Whittier and San Diego), Jim Young (Arizona, Purdue and Army) as members of the 1999 Honors Court.
Kiner now lives in Carrollton, Ga., and is a mental health therapist with Columbia Health Care System in Lithia Springs, Ga. He and his wife, Carol, have three daughters.
Kiner was the "SEC Sophomore of the Year" in 1967 and was an All-SEC selection in 1968 and 1969. He led his team in tackles in 1968 and 1969 and intercepted nine passes over the course of his career. He helped lead the Vols to three consecutive victories over Alabama and prompted Alabama coach Bear Bryant to call Kiner the "best in this league since Leroy Jordan played for us."
He was ninth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1969 and played in the 1970 Senior Bowl. He was voted as a member of the "100 Years of Volunteers" team in 1990. He was named to the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. He was a third round draft choice of the Dallas Cowboys in 1970 and played in Super Bowl V. He also played for New England (1971, 1973), Washington (1972-73) and Houston (1973-78).
Other Vols in the College Football Hall of Fame are Gene McEver (inducted 1954), Beattie Feathers (inducted 1955), Gen. Robert R. Neyland (inducted 1956 as a coach), Herman Hickman (inducted 1959), Bobby Dodd (inducted 1959 as a player, inducted 1993 as a coach), Bob Suffridge (inducted 1961), Nathan W. Dougherty (inducted 1967), George Cafego (inducted 1969), Bowden Wyatt (inducted 1972 as a player, inducted 1997 as a coach), Hank Lauricella (inducted 1981), Doug Atkins (inducted 1985), John Majors (inducted 1987), Bob Johnson (inducted 1989), Ed Molinski (inducted 1990), Steve DeLong (inducted 1993) and John Michels (inducted 1996).
