Switch in time

Anthony Hancock didn’t come to Tennessee in 1978 with a vision to launch the “Wide Receiver U” era. In fact, he didn’t even come to be a receiver.

“I came as a running back,’’ Hancock said last week. “But we had a slew of running backs.

“There weren’t that many wide receivers.’’

It didn’t take long for Hancock and head coach Johnny Majors to do the math.

The rest is history, and Hancock is headed for induction on July 12 into the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame.

Exactly when the UT football program was first dubbed “Wide Receiver U’’ is unclear. Richmond Flowers had been a football/track dual star in the 1960s. Larry Seivers was an All-American receiver in the mid-70s.

But a case could be made that the arrival of Hancock from Cleveland, Ohio, was a pivotal event for UT.

Also in that class were two other freshman speedsters, Mike Miller and Darryal Wilson. Coming on their heels in 1979 were Willie Gault and Clyde Duncan. All would be drafted into the NFL. Hancock, Gault and Duncan were first-round picks, as would be Tim McGee, Anthony Miller and Alvin Harper over the next decade.

Hancock, Miller, Wilson and Gault would also be All-Americans in track.

“Those guys laid down a heck of a foundation for us to be known as Wide Receiver U,’’ said James Berry, “with the success they had and the way they handled themselves.’’

Berry, father of incoming UT recruit Eric Berry, played a role indirectly. He was one of the running backs keeping Hancock off the field.

Once Hancock started catching passes instead of taking handoffs, it didn’t take long to get him involved as a true freshman.

He was excited to find his name on the dress roster for the Alabama game. He was even more excited when, midway through the third quarter, he was told to get on the field.

“I couldn’t find my helmet,’’ Hancock recalled with a laugh. “My roommate, Kenny Jones, gave me his helmet and he was about 6-6, 280. So my first college game and I’m going in trying to put this big helmet on my head.

“Then I hear the play call, I line up and I see Bear Bryant standing over on the 50-yard line, and I realize the play is coming to me.

“I take one step, catch the pass and I gained 19 yards.’’

It was the first of 106 receptions at UT, still good for 10th place on the school career chart.

Few players ever went out with a bang bigger than Hancock did in the Garden State Bowl after the 1981 season.

He caught 11 Steve Alatorre passes that day for 196 yards against Wisconsin. As they say, timing is everything.

“When I went to the East-West Shrine Game, the scouts were still talking about that game,’’ Hancock said.

A couple of months later, the Kansas City Chiefs made Hancock the 11th pick of the NFL draft.

His pro career lasted a few years but wasn’t all it might have been.

“If I had put more emphasis on professionalism, I would have played a little longer,’’ he said. “I should have moved to Kansas City year-round, but I was still coming back to Knoxville. My parents had moved down here from Cleveland.’’

KC’s loss was Knoxville’s gain. Except for a hiatus to Nashville for several years, Hancock has not only made Knoxville his home but has been an exemplary contributor to the community.

His old teammates aren’t surprised at Hancock’s civic-minded inclinations.

“I remember our freshmen meeting in 1978,’’ said Berry. “He was so energetic, like he was an ambassador of the freshman class.

“Throughout my whole career he never changed. And even when I see him now, he’s still just Anthony.’’

After his NFL days, Hancock served as a Boy Scout executive for eight years, during which time he estimates he also was named to two-dozen community-service boards. He next took a position at UT working with the state department of transportation.

After the Nashville chapter, Hancock and his family returned to Knoxville in 2001. He is a special-education teacher at Whittle Springs Middle School, coaches youth sports and is active at Foster Chapel Baptist Church.

“I’m also playing a lot of golf,’’ said the 47-year-old grandfather of two.

“I’m trying to find out what my next niche is in life. I hope I’m not finished yet.’’

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276.