Three Tennessee football legends now grace Neyland Stadium's video board.
It took a couple of weeks for crews to remove the images of former head coach Butch Jones, former player Reggie White, and legendary coach General Robert Neyland.
A new photo of General Neyland went back on the board. Then a photo of VFL Al Wilson was added. Now, one of the best tight ends in the game--- Jason Witten, has a place of honor at his alma mater.
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Work began Monday to remove former head football coach Butch Jones from the video board at Neyland Stadium.
Jones hasn't been the head football coach at the University of Tennessee for a few months, but his picture remained on the back of the video board nearly all winter long. Jones was fired on Nov. 12.
On the board were pictures of Butch Jones, legendary coach General Robert Neyland and Hall of Famer Reggie White.
Former All-American and '98 team captain Al Wilson has now filled Jones' spot.
“Late November he was fired and we’re pulling it down in early March," said UT student Colin Castleberry.
Castleberry and fellow UT student Shea Payne spent a few hours Monday morning sitting in the bed of a pickup truck in the Neyland parking lot watching the photo of Jones come down.
"This is something you should’ve done the day after you fired him," Payne said.
Along with the new photo of Wilson, the university plans to put up a new photo of General Neyland.
We're hearing Jason Witten will round out the trio.
Al Wilson replaces Butch! @wbir pic.twitter.com/73q1C2oAXG
Witten, who went to high school in Elizabethon, came to UT as a defensive end, but was moved to tight end his freshman year because the team needed more depth at that position. He ended up becoming one of the best tight ends in Tennessee history, finishing 3rd all time at UT with 68 career interceptions, despite not playing his senior year. He has played for the Dallas Cowboys since the 2003 season, breaking franchise and NFL records for his performance.
Wilson lead the Vols defense during his tenure in the late 90s, and was a team captain when the Vols captured the 1998 National Championship. The linebacker was drafted by the Denver Broncos, where he played for eight years. He retired after 8 seasons with 714 total tackles, 21.5 sacks, and five Pro Bowl selections.
Jones' photo came down around 11:30 a.m. Monday. Crews with Sycamore Signs said they will cut up and recycle the picture.
The photo of Wilson went up around 4 p.m. Monday, and work is expected to take a few days to complete as they replace lighting fixtures.
"You could tell there was a cloud over campus,” Castleberry said.
It was a stark contrast to the Vols men's basketball team, who recently won a regular-season SEC Championship.
“(Jones) got to see an SEC championship," said Payne. "I think that’s ironic. He got to watch an SEC championship. I think that’s a form of poetic justice.”
The Vol Network is in charge of changing the pictures on the back of the video board. In January, Steve Early with the Vol Network told 10News there are a lot of challenges when it comes to changing it, and they've been working on it for months.
On Jan. 2, UT Chancellor Beverly Davenport replied to a tweet about the situation, asking fans to "please hang on, a crane has been ordered."
Every VOLS fan New Year Resolution.
Get Lyle off the jumbo tron!@ChancellorDav @phillipfulmer