Former Tennessee Vols fullback Paul Careathers dies at 64

Tom Mattingly

For USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

Paul Careathers was a fullback at Tennessee from 1972-74.

Paul Careathers, a Tennessee fullback and three-year letter winner from 1972-74, died Sept. 4 in Chattanooga. He was 64.

Careathers, a member of coach Bill Battle’s 1971 recruiting class that included Condredge Holloway, Neil and Phil Clabo, Tim Fitzpatrick, Dan Fletcher, Sammy Hair, Robert Pulliam, Gary Rankin, Ricky Townsend, Hank Walter, Jim Watts, Ronnie Wheeler, and John Yarbrough, came to Knoxville from Lafayette, Ga., where he played for coach Ralph Williams. He wore No. 32 on his orange and white jersey and played at 5-foot-11, 207 pounds.

Paul Careathers, right, with Condredge Holloway in 1974. Careathers was a fullback at Tennessee from 1972-74.

In a 20-14 victory over Georgia Tech on Oct. 13, 1973, Careathers had 125 yards, with Bill Rudder adding 105.

“He was strong, tough, and fast and the best running back on our freshman team,” said teammate Hank Walter. “He was devoted to football and did a great job for us.”

He led the 1974 team in kickoff returns, with 18 for 375 yards, a 20.8-yard average. He was a 15th-round pick, No. 389 overall, by the Oakland Raiders in the 1975 NFL draft, the first UT player chosen by the Raiders in their history. He graduated in 1975 with a bachelor’s degree in education.

Careathers 'ca-rooms' against Georgia in 1972

He was listed in Vol publicity materials in his senior season as a “combination fullback-tailback … and tough blocker and capable pass receiver.” He had a 56-yard run in the Nov. 4, 1972, Georgia game at Athens that led to the Vols’ second score in a 14-0 victory. In News Sentinel cartoonist Bill Dyer’s DyerGram the following day, Dyer highlighted the moment as “Careathers ca-rooms” and showed Careathers asking a Georgia Bulldog, “How’s for some big gains burgers!”

He did the job with and without the ball in his hands during his time at Tennessee.

“Blocking assignments, based on equality, are as important to me as running,” Careathers said before his senior season. “I feel that if the people in front of me are blocking well, I should do the same.”

Careathers was a teacher and coach in the Chattanooga school system and was youth minister at New United Missionary Baptist Church for more than 20 years.

He is survived by his wife, Johnequia, and daughter, Lynnequia Davenport.

Services were held on Sept. 9 at the New United Missionary Baptist Church. Burial was in Hamilton Memorial Gardens.