Former Volunteer authors Neyland book
Local Volunteer football fans got a treat recently when former UT fullback Dr. Andy Kozar regaled attendees at the latest meeting of the Warren County UT Alumni Association with tales of legendary UT coach Gen. R.R. Neyland, for whom Neyland Stadium and Neyland Drive are named. Dr. Kozar played under Neyland from 1948 to 1952, and was an integral part of the 1951 National Championship team.
Before his presentation Dr. Kozar, who is promoting his book “Football as a War Game – The Annotated Journals of General R.R. Neyland,” talked a bit about his career at U.T., but began by thanking the fans which are such a big part of UT football.
“This area is really big on the University of Tennessee,” Kozar said. “They are great followers, great supporters, and we really appreciate their coming to the games and supporting the ‘Big Orange.'”
Kozar talked about his experience playing football for the noted coach, and the effect he had on his life.
“I came to the university in 1948,” Kozar said, “and I was able to sit there and listen to his wisdom for five years. He was filled with great ideas and was a tremendous leader.”
Kozar said he treasures his time at UT, though he had somewhat rocky beginnings.
“When I got there, I was a running back out of high school,” he said, “and they tried to make an end out of me. They tried to make me a tackle. They tried me at every position. I kept telling them I wanted to play fullback. After my second year there, I was red-shirted my second year (due to an injury), they finally let me try fullback. I was the eighth fullback in spring practice, and at the end of spring practice I was the third fullback, and the next season I was the second, and then I started from there on.”
Kozar said Neyland tried to inspire a spirit of teamwork in his players which lead to close friendships that have lasted over the years.
“My best memories are all the people I played with,” he said. “I had a great bunch of people I played with, and what made it so great was Neyland coached us as a team.”
According to Kozar, Neyland actually took steps to prevent any one player standing out, even benching players who were close to achieving record statistics.
“He sold us on the concept of team play, and our team played that way,” Kozar said. “Even if we were competing with someone at a position, we were still the very best of friends. And regardless of who started or who played, we got along extremely well, and this resulted in us having three great years where we were in bowl games each year, and we had tremendous success.”
Kozar said his book benefited from his association with Neyland and U.T.
“The book is one of a kind,” he said. “It took me six years to do it. I read about everything that had been written about Neyland. But I was so fortunate, several years back, about six or seven years ago, when I came across his personal diaries from 1926 until 1952. Very few people had seen those, and nobody had ever written anything to any extent using his personal notes.”
Kozar was also able to utilize Neyland’s autobiography, which was never published, and his notebooks, plus a transcribed interview Kozar discovered that was to have been used in a screenplay for a movie on Neyland’s life that was never made.
“I was able to put this book together that’s sort of how Neyland became a coach, why he became a coach, who he learned from, what his approach to the game was. It is everything about Neyland,” Kozar said, “and in his own words, so to speak.”
Kozar said Neyland’s importance to U.T. football can’t be overestimated.
“Football would not be what it is at the University of Tennessee if it hadn’t been for Neyland,” he said.
The book is leather bound, runs 480 pages and is priced at $74.95 plus shipping and handling. Proceeds from the book go to benefit the Robert R. Neyland Athletic Endowment in the Volunteer Athletic Scholarship Fund. Call toll free 1-866-VOLS WIN to order this unique piece of U.T. history.