University of Tennessee Athletics
NIU Game Legends: Cedrick Wilson and David Leaverton
October 03, 2008 | Football
Oct. 3, 2008
Continuing with this year's theme of Perfect10n, two more key representatives from the 1998 national championship will be honored Saturday prior to the Northern Illinois game.
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Wilson's career numbers are among the best in program history. His 159 receptions are third on Tennessee's all-time list and his 2,137 receiving yards are fifth all-time. He is one of only six to catch 2,000 yards worth of passes in his collegiate career.
Wilson also posted four career 100-yard receiving games, including a 183-yard performance vs. Wyoming in 1999 that ranks seventh on Tennessee's all-time single game list.
Wilson was drafted in the sixth round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers and played seven seasons with that organization and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was an integral part of the Steelers' Super Bowl XL Championship in 2006, catching nine passes for 216 yards and two scores in the Steelers' four playoff games.
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Leaverton saved one of his better performances that season for the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. He punted five times and three times left Florida State inside their 20-yard line. One of those punts found its way to the nine-yard line and another to the one-yard line. He also made a touchdown-saving tackle of FSU's Peter Warrick after his coverage unit broke down in the second quarter.
For his career, Leaverton lettered three times and was named a captain of the team in 2000, his senior year. He averaged 40.6 yards per punt, which ranks ninth on Tennessee's all-time list.
