Position: Halfback
Years: 1949-1951
Place of Birth: Harahan, LA
Date of Birth: Oct 09, 1930
Place of Death: Jefferson, LA
Date of Death: Mar 25, 2014
Jersey Number: 27
Height: 5-10
Weight: 169
High School: New Orleans, LA (Holy Cross HS)
A tailback in College Football Hall of Fame Coach Gen. Robert Neyland’s single-wing offense, Hank Lauricella emerged as one of the first true star players in the history of Tennessee football.
Born Oct. 9, 1930, in Harahan, La., he picked the Volunteers over home state schools LSU and Tulane, partly because Neyland still ran the single wing, when many programs had abandoned it for the newly popular “T” formation.
His prowess on both sides of the ball earned him the nickname “Mr. Everything” at Tennessee. On offense, he called the plays and was a threat both with his arm and his legs, rushing for 139 yards and a touchdown while completing 29 passes for 430 yards and six touchdowns in his initial season of action. On the defensive side of the football, he started at safety and was also Tennessee's primary kick and punt returner and handled the punting duties.
In 1950, Lauricella ran for 575 yards, averaging 4.7 per carry and four touchdowns while throwing for five more scores and 364 yards. Lauricella earned All-SEC honors as the Volunteers went 10-1 in the regular season and were named National Champions by the Dunkel Index before earning a bid to the Cotton Bowl.
In the 1951 Cotton Bowl against Texas, Lauricella set up Tennessee’s first score with one of the most memorable runs in school history. From the Vols’ 20-yard line, Lauricella weaved through the Longhorns’ defense and reversed field three times before finally being brought down at the Texas 5. The 75-yard run led to the Vols’ first touchdown in a 20-14 win. Lauricella finished with 131 yards on the day and was inducted into the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame in 2005.
Lauricella saved the best for his senior season in 1951, becoming Tennessee’s first Heisman Trophy runner-up. Lauricella averaged more than seven yards per carry that season, finishing with 881 yards as the Volunteers earned the program's first Associated Press National Championship and its first SEC title since 1946. He earned his second All-SEC nod and was named a unanimous First Team All-American.
Lauricella was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981 and enjoyed a long career as a public servant in his home state, spending eight years in the Louisiana House of Representatives and serving as a state senator from 1972 until 1996.
He passed away in Louisiana on March 25, 2014, at the age of 83.
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