Editing Mike Stratton (section)

==Early life==
Stratton attended Tellico Plains High in [[Tellico Plains, Tennessee]], a [[hamlet (place)|hamlet]] in the [[Great Smoky Mountains]] region.<ref name=johnson_09041961>{{cite news|last=Johnson|first=Raymond|title='L'l Abner' End Promises Great Things For Vols|date=September 4, 1961|newspaper=The Nashville Tennessean|page=22|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/47438981/|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=March 27, 2020}}</ref><ref name=pfr/> Football players there did not attract [[college recruiter]]s, and Tellico Plains athletes rarely went to college. Stratton played [[tackle (gridiron football position)|tackle]], [[fullback (gridiron football)|fullback]] and [[wingback (American football)|wingback]].<ref name=johnson_09041961/>

Stratton received a [[athletic scholarship|scholarship]] from [[Tennessee Volunteers football|Volunteers]] coach [[Bowden Wyatt]] to play at the [[University of Tennessee]].<ref name=johnson_09041961/> He was a [[two-way player]] with Tennessee, playing [[tight end]] on offense and [[defensive end]] on defense.<ref>{{cite book|last=Miller|first=Jeffrey J.|title=100 Things Bills Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die|chapter=41. The Man Who Made The Hit Heard 'Round The World|year=2012|publisher=Triumph Books|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jJ-jt4WU_YwC&q=buffalo%20bills%20%22wall%20of%20fame%22%20stratton%20-died%20-%22passed%20away%22&pg=PT143|isbn=9781623680183|access-date=March 27, 2020}}</ref>