Why Butch Jones’ refusal to use the word “disappointment” is a good thing
It will come as no surprise to most, but folks are still weighing in on Butch Jones’ response to a question at SEC Media Days yesterday about whether he viewed the 2016 season as a disappointment. Today’s headlines say that Jones did not view the 2016 season as a disappointment. That led to a lot of fans wondering why it is so difficult for Jones to use that particular word to describe that particular situation. After all, Vols defensive tackle Kendal Vickers admitted that 2016 was a disappointment, so why can’t his coach?
For the record, here is Jones’ entire response to the question:
“I don’t view it as a disappointment. The way I view it is we didn’t accomplish everything we set ourselves out to. And, again, our goal every year is to win a championship and compete to win a championship.
“So, was it a disappointment? No. Did we not accomplish some of the things we set out to do? Absolutely. We have to learn from the things that went wrong that we could have done better.
“But I think all you have to do is look at it’s difficult to win and it’s difficult to win championships. And I think this league really exemplifies that. But I’m still proud of the way our team responded. And I told our football team this. The lessons you learned from last year, the resolve, the resiliency, are going to serve you for many years down the road in life.
“And that football team went through a lot of things. I know we started off 5-0, and I believe our first five opponents were divisional champions. And I made a comment going towards the tail end of our season that the back half of our season would be much more challenging than the front half of our season.
Everyone kind of looked at me like, what are you talking about? But I knew where we are at as a program, and we were still needing that competitive depth across the board, and we have some position groups where we couldn’t afford to have injuries.“But, again, this is a results-oriented business and we fell short of our goals. But I don’t like to use the term “disappointment,” because when you still look at it, it’s hard to win in this conference. And only three teams have won nine games, and the University of Tennessee is one of those.”
The entire quote is 1,624 characters, though, and would require 12 total Tweets, so it’s boiled down to the lead: “I don’t view it as a disappointment.”
But did he accomplish what he wanted? No. Did some things go wrong? Yes. Could they have done better? Yes. Did they fall short of their goals? Yes.
But are there any positives to take from last season? Yes.
And that’s why we aren’t going to hear Jones label the whole thing as a disappointment. He’s bent toward the positive. He believes in the Power of Positive Leadership.
Sports Illustrated’s Andy Staples says that Jones should talk like he thinks, that he shouldn’t be “deathly afraid of admitting what any person would feel in his situation.”
What Jones fails to understand is that those fans just want to know he feels the way they feel. They’re disappointed about last season. They would rather have an East championship than a Life championship. They would rather their team sign five-star players instead of five-star hearts. If he were willing to show them he feels the same way—except more passionately, because this is his livelihood we’re talking about—then they might be more understanding if the rebuild takes a little longer than expected.
Fans want to win, Jones believes a positive attitude is the way
Staples is right that many fans want to know that Jones feels the way they feel, but what they want more is to win. My theory is that Jones believes that a positive attitude is the only path to victory and he is absolutely unwilling to deviate from that belief even if it makes some fans and media uncomfortable in the short term. He believes that this is the only way to give fans what they truly want in the end instead of what they’re asking for right now. Jones’ predecessor tried embracing the negativity, and his orange pants are burnt to a crisp in the dumpster. Sure, we fans want a coach to feel the same way we do, but we also want one who will do what it takes to win, and if the coach believes that those two things are in-congruent, he’d better choose the latter.
Butch Jones obviously believes that positive leadership is required to win, and so he views everything from that perspective. It’s what causes him to couch everything in positive terms, including negative outcomes.
And it’s what causes him to see both positives and negatives in a season that had both and boldly proclaim that the only thing it means is that we’re not there yet.
Tennessee’s recruiting is at a 12-year high, but there’s still work to do.
The good news: the five-year recruiting streak Butch Jones has been on since 2014 is the program’s best since 2001-05.
Tennessee just missed the top 15 in February with a #17 finish in the 247 Composite, but they shouldn’t have that problem with the 2018 class. The Vols are currently third nationally and first in the SEC in this cycle, which if it holds would give Jones his third top seven class in five years. That would be more than enough to make this the best five-year run since Phillip Fulmer landed three top five classes and five in the top 11 from 2001-05. With the Vols currently holding at number three, Jones’ five classes (not counting the one finished in the few weeks after he took the job in December 2012) have an average rank of ninth in the 247 composite. Fulmer’s during that 01-05 run finished with an average national rank of 6.4.
Some of Tennessee’s positive momentum in recruiting came from signing huge numbers: counting 17 current commitments for the 2018 class, the Vols have landed 130 recruits since 2014, the most in the SEC. This is one reason why blue chip ratio – the percentage of four-and-five-star players in a class – is the better measurement and predictor of success.
Here too, Butch Jones is doing it better than anyone at UT since 2001-05. His five post-2013 classes have a blue chip ratio of 42.3%; Fulmer’s last great run carried a 51.5% ratio.
The work still ahead: despite the best recruiting stretch in 12 years, the Vols are still behind Georgia over the same span.
These numbers only account for who signs, not who stays. But in the last five years, the Fulmer Era arguments about Tennessee having more talent than Georgia and Florida having more talent than Tennessee are both false: since 2014 the Vols have a 42.3% blue chip ratio, the Dawgs a stunning 59.4%, and the Gators merely 35%. This obviously hasn’t stopped Florida from getting to Atlanta twice in a row, where the Dawgs haven’t been since 2012 and the Vols since 2007. But if you’re looking at accumulating talent, Butch Jones is out-recruiting Florida. These recruiting numbers also make the back-to-back wins over Georgia seem more impressive.
I compiled the blue chip ratios for the last five years (again, including current 2018 commits) from 247 Sports. Here’s how the SEC stands over that span (again, the number is the percentage of four-and-five-stars signed since 2014 plus current 2018 commitments):
| Alabama | 79.3 |
| Georgia | 59.4 |
| LSU | 59.2 |
| Auburn | 54 |
| Texas A&M | 44.1 |
| Tennessee | 42.3 |
| Florida | 35 |
| Ole Miss | 28.7 |
| South Carolina | 26.1 |
| Arkansas | 22.6 |
| Mississippi State | 17.3 |
| Kentucky | 16.6 |
| Missouri | 8.7 |
| Vanderbilt | 7.3 |
Butch Jones is recruiting better than anyone at Tennessee in 12 years. But there is still work to do to match Georgia’s pace in talent, and get the Vols to a championship level. In February there was concern the 2017 class with only five blue chip players would become a new normal; that clearly has not been the case. I’m not sure if what we’re seeing with the current class of 2018 can become a new normal, but I’m also not sure it has to be. Butch and company have done all of this without winning more than nine games. If they can sustain a healthy level in recruiting and turn it into more wins in the fall in the next couple of years, even more talent will find its way to Knoxville.
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Reading between the lines at SEC Media Days: Butch Jones and competitive depth
There’s been some manufactured controversy about Tennessee Vols head coach Butch Jones saying at SEC Media Days that he didn’t think last season was a disappointment while Jashon Robertson was saying that it was. A couple of notes on that first before I get to my main point. First, it’s not like these guys were sitting in the same room arguing with each other. Jones was asked in one room and Robertson was asked in another.
Second, Jones really only said that he didn’t like the word “disappointment.” He said in the same sentence that they didn’t accomplish everything they’d set out to do, that they needed to learn from the things that went wrong, and that they could have done better. He then said that he was proud of how the team responded and that the lessons they’d learned would serve them well in the future, and then he said again that they fell short of their goals. He just doesn’t like the term “disapointment,” probably because of that book he’s apparently been reading and recommending to SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.
What everyone can hopefully agree on is that there are lessons to be learned from last year, and the more important issue is exactly what lessons have been learned.
One guy (high five to The Sporting News) actually asked that question mostly in that form, and Jones’ answer sheds some light on the main thing that he thinks went wrong last year and what he’s doing about it this offseason.
“You can never have enough depth,” said Jones. “Everything is about competitive depth.”
That wasn’t the only time Jones used the phrase “competitive depth,” either. He used the same phrase when someone else asked him what he needed to do to take the proverbial next step:
“I think a lot of times, too, when you’re building a football program, your program goes through evolutions or different stages from being able to compete to having competitive depth.”
Depth was definitely on Jones’ mind. He even mentioned it in response to the question about last year being a disappointment, saying that he knew depth was going to be a challenge in the back half of the season even before it became the problem that it was.
The difference between “depth” and “competitive depth” is presumably the difference between having backups and having backups who are actually ready to play. So, a “competitive depth” problem is a combination of injuries to starters and backups who aren’t quite ready to fill in.
One of the most interesting things I heard out of Jones’ mouth today was his subtly-offered opinion that having to rely on true freshmen more than normal could have been a factor in the rash of injuries last year, that maybe they weren’t physically ready to play. I don’t know whether that’s actually true, but it’s an interesting question: Are younger guys more prone to injury? It has a certain logic to it.
Regardless, it seems that Jones thought his team’s primary problem last year was competitive depth. In other words, not just too many injuries to key guys, but not enough backups who were ready to play.
So if that’s the problem, how do you correct it?
Enter Rock Gullickson
The second most-repeated phrase of the day was this:
This has been the best offseason we’ve had.
I’m not attributing that quote to anyone in particular because I think everybody wearing orange must have said it. I heard it from Butch, and Twitter recorded it from Robertson.. I haven’t read or heard any interviews from Kendal Vickers or Emmanuel Moseley yet, but I’m fully expecting to see the same quote from them. Heck, it was probably a talking point on the plane.
It’s not uncommon for players and coaches to say something similar at media days, but again, reading between the lines provides some glimpse into why they’re saying it, and the why is important to the problem of competitive depth.
“Rock” and “Gullickson” were the first two words out of Jones’ mouth on the SEC Now program after he declared this their best offseason. (For anyone just now tuning in, Gullickson is Tennessee’s new strength and conditioning coach.) He was the first new hire that Jones mentioned in his opening remarks. Butch Jones thinks Rock Gullickson is important.
But important why? Jones mentioned several times that his players are bigger and stronger this year than last. He mentioned it on SEC Now when asked how his defensive line was going to stop the run this year. He specifically singled out Darrell Taylor as a guy who looks completely different now than he did last fall.
Reading between the lines at SEC Media Days today, then, it appears that Jones believes that the thing he needed to fix the most in the offseason was a lack of competitive depth, and that’s exactly what he’s been doing. He’s put former NFL strength coach Gullickson in charge of getting his guys healthier, bigger, and stronger, so that his team will be better.
And he says it’s been the best offseason they’ve had in five years.
We won’t know if that’s true or whether it matters until this fall, but it’s good to know that Jones has identified the issue and is well on the way to executing his plan to correct it.
What to expect from the Vols at SEC Media Days this afternoon
SEC Media Days kicks off today in Birmingham, Alabama. It’s like a much-needed little booster shot, giving college football fans just a little extra juice that you’ll need to make last through the start of fall camp.
The SEC Network will devote more than 30 hours of coverage to the event this week, primarily with its appropriately-named SEC Now: 2017 SEC Football Media Days television show from 12:30-5:30 each day.
Up first is Arkansas, LSU, and Good Ole Rocky Top. (The schedule the rest of the week is here.) Each team brings its coach and three player representatives to the event to sweat under the spotlight and heavy-breathing of about 1,000 sportswriters. In a season without stars, it’s hardly surprising that Tennessee went with seniority in tapping seniors Kendal Vickers, Jashon Robertson, and Emmanuel Moseley to say the right things in front of the microphones today. Generally, these guys are well-coached and will do exactly that, and they’re even getting advice from guys who’ve been there and done that like VFL Chris Walker:
“Engage the reporters,” Walker said. “Don’t get offended at questions that you get asked, because we always have to answer questions and sometimes answer tough ones. I think it’s one of those things where you enjoy the process and the opportunity you get to represent your university.”
If you are tempted to think that the reporters are especially prescient this week because their pre-event “X things to watch for at SEC Media Days,” just remember that they will be the ones asking the questions and thus directing the agenda. Mike Griffith did an especially good job with this, not only asking the questions, but also both predicting the answers and reading between the lines to interpret them. John Adams, though, makes you cock your head like a dog looking at a ceiling fan, wondering exactly what he’s doing. Is it snark? Good-natured humor? There’s enough truth in there to make you wonder about everything.
Anyway . . . by all means, expect these things to be addressed:
- Lack of star power. As a couple of recent tweets from Bobby Rader pointed out that none of the preseason magazines have the same players on their covers, and even the SEC Media Guide punted on the issue and just showed an obscure group of faceless, numberless players. That could be a very good thing for team chemistry, but we’ll just have to wait and see. Expect the coaches and players to spin it positively. Also expect a few references to 1998, when Tee Martin took over after Peyton Manning was off to the NFL.
- The quarterback battle. Will it be Quinten Dormady or Jarett Guarantano? Might it be both? When will they know? What criteria will they use to make the decision? Expect many words and no real information.
- Update on injuries and what they’re doing to prevent this year what happened last year. Recently, Jones has downplayed the ability of a strength and conditioning coach and program to decrease injuries, and he’ll likely do that again. But he’ll also probably talk about the importance of gaining weight and strength and that they’ll be better in those areas this fall. He’ll also likely rattle off the players who have gained weight and make several references as to how Rock Gullickson is improving the program this summer.
- How does everyone feel about Jones being identified by several news outlets as being on the hot seat? I may get this verbatim: “We have the best fans in the nation, and we like the expectations. It’s why you come to a place like Tennessee.” Points to anyone who can communicate that thought in a unique way, though. They may even get a blockquote from me this evening.
- Further comments on Jones’ earlier “Champions of Life” comment. I wouldn’t expect Jones to walk this back very much but instead to clarify by adding more detail. It may lead to eye rolls from the cynical sports writers, but as several are beginning to point out, it’s much more important that the message resonates with players and their parents, and if Jones is saying these things to that audience and getting the results on the recruiting trail that he’s currently getting, then he’ll get no eye rolls from me.
- The impact of the staff changes. These guys — Mike Canales, Walt Wells, Brady Hoke, Kevin Beard, Charlton Warren, and even Larry Scott, who is in a new role this fall — are all essentially the backup quarterback, someone you love because he hasn’t had the opportunity to make any mistakes yet. They’ll all get glowing reviews today.
- The impact of the John Currie and Phillip Fulmer hires. How many times have you heard someone say bad things about their bosses in public? Right. (I actually think the nice things they’re saying about these hires are also true, for whatever that’s worth.)
- The offensive line. I’ve said it many times, but I’ll say it again: these guys are as experienced, talented, and deep as they’ve been in a long time, and if they’re stronger and nastier to boot and can stay healthy, it’s going to go a long way toward having the Vols exceed muted expectations this fall.
We’ll be following along when the Vols step up to the plate, so stay tuned here and on Twitter.
Tennessee Takeover Day on the SEC Network is July 18
The SEC Network has announced that Tuesday, July 18 is Tennessee Takeover Day, a day for which the Vols “will exclusively program 24-hours of the network with classic games, films, ESPN original content and school-produced content.” During a two-week span, each of the 14 SEC schools gets to take the network hostage and use the platform for its own propaganda, and the 18th belongs to the Big Orange.
So what will the Vols choose to show the world with its own 24 hours? The only thing currently listed on the article announcing the Takeover schedule is the 2016 Tennessee-Florida game, which is certainly a great start. I’d expect the Georgia game as well. And maybe the Battle at Bristol or a nostalgic trip back to 2007, 2001, or 1998. Toss in a bit of recruiting news, add in a few sprinkles of Peyton name-dropping and an NFL Draft roundup, and we’d have a nice day. If we could manage the day without Paul Finebaum, that would be a nice cherry on top, but we won’t get greedy.
If you were in charge of programming for the day, what would you serve up?
Whatever the case, expect an awesome 24 hours of orange-tinted goodness. We’ll be watching for sure.
Tennessee’s Biggest 2017 Question: Where’s the Rush?
While some Tennessee fans may be wringing their hands over life after Joshua Dobbs, those concerns need to shift to the opposite line of scrimmage instead.
Between experienced junior Quinten Dormady and talented redshirt freshman Jarrett Guarantano, the Vols will have a capable quarterback behind center. It may be worth your worry to wonder how Larry Scott will fare in his first year as an offensive coordinator, but with running back John Kelly and a quality offensive line to help matters, it shouldn’t be as big of a deal moving forward on that side of the ball as some may think.
The real sweaty palms need to come on defense, particularly on the edges.
A season ago, UT’s defense was horrific in high-dollar coordinator Bob Shoop’s first year on Rocky Top. He has as much to prove as any player on the team after an embarrassing season that saw the Vols completely fall apart down the stretch. Yes, injuries were a contributing factor, but there’s still no reason South Carolina, Missouri, Kentucky and Vanderbilt should have been able to torch Tennessee in Year 4 of a coaching tenure.
If it’s not an indictment of recruiting depth against Butch Jones, then it’s got to fall on somebody. Jones is the head coach, so he deserves a portion of the blame, but Shoop gets paid $1 million a year to scheme things up better than he did a season ago.
If that happens again in 2017, there’s no reason why Tennessee should keep paying him.
“I think at the end of the year you always critique yourself and you quality control your personnel, your philosophy, your scheme, your execution and your personnel,” Shoop told GoVols247’s Patrick Brown recently. “I think I might have billed it (with) some unrealistic expectations, and when we got guys injured, maybe the guy calling the shots was a little bit stubborn right there, me. I really wanted to force-fit, this is my style of defense or whatever. I probably didn’t do a great job at times of tailoring things.”
As the story notes, Tennessee’s defense allowed 353 and 409 yards rushing to Texas A&M and Alabama. Later, it got much worse.
Kentucky gained 635 yards, including 443 on the ground. Missouri rushed for an unreal 420 yards en route to a 740-yard performance, the most yards ever allowed by a Tennessee defense. Then Vanderbilt scored 45 points in a season-ending upset.
Embarrassing.
What led to those gaudy numbers was a fundamental breakdown on all three levels of the defense. When you factor in the fact that Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Cam Sutton and especially Derek Barnett are gone, the Vols are going to have to shake things up under Shoop to improve. And they need to improve dramatically on that side of the ball in ’17 to even match the nine wins from a season ago.
The biggest loss is Barnett — a record-setting Tennessee legend when it comes to sacking the quarterback. Underrated are the losses of his end mates, Corey Vereen and LaTroy Lewis, too. Vereen was sneaky-good, and with all the added attention on Barnett, he performed well, even for an awful defense. Lewis gave quality late-down snaps, too.
Where do the Vols go from here? How do you replace the irreplaceable in Barnett and his supporting cast?
That’s the biggest question mark of the season. Tennessee has to generate a pass rush among the players remaining on its roster. It also has to build quality depth where, at least on the surface, none exists on the roster. While UT has some depth at defensive tackle [though the Vols need Shy Tuttle to get back from his injury sooner rather than later, and the first of the year isn’t looking like it’s going to happen…] the ends are paper-thin.
A year ago, Jonathan Kongbo played much of the time on the interior. Many reports are that he’s gotten his body in a good position, and he is showing the type of leadership that is necessary for a player of his ilk. After showing some flashes late last year, the Vols need the junior former No. 1-ranked JUCO player to live up to his ranking under new line coach Brady Hoke.
The other starter should be battled out between promising redshirt sophomore Darrell Taylor and oft-injured, formerly highly-ranked prospect Kyle Phillips. Neither player has proven he can be an every-down SEC defender, but both have immense talent. Taylor is over 250 pounds and is the kind of speed-rusher teams covet, but he’s got to prove he can get off blocks and play with more consistency than he did this spring. Phillips simply can’t stay on the field. His freshman and sophomore seasons were cut short with injuries, and he didn’t participate this spring, either. The Vols must have him all year.
Beyond that, your guess is as good as any where Tennessee will find depth.
The best guess right now is true freshman mid-term enrollee Deandre Johnson, who the Vols flipped from Mississippi State. The Miami native looked like a player who maybe can help right away this spring, and that’s big news for Tennessee. Perhaps one of the most intriguing players with college-ready bodies is freshman Matthew Butler, too. He is a jumbo defensive end who looks versatile enough to play either inside or out and should get snaps right away for the Vols, too.
Though Austin Smith and Ja’Quain Blakely are listed as linebackers, either could play with his hand down. Smith played defensive end after moving from linebacker a season ago, but he’s back to 236 pounds, and the redshirt sophomore could stay on the next level. With all the glut of second-level defenders, though, the quickest path to the field for him may be at end. Regardless, he’ll get snaps somewhere. He’s too talented to keep off the field. As for Blakely, he’s a good-looking player who redshirted a season ago and, now at 254 pounds, he looks like he can play at end. That’s where he should spend most of his time, and the Vols would love for him to break out this spring and prove deserving of some snaps.
If Mykelle McDaniel can remain in good standing with the Vols after being suspended last year, he’s a guy who could provide meaningful reps or at least is talented enough to.
Anybody projecting Ryan Thaxton, Kivon Bennett or Marquez Bembry right now knows more about the team than I. Nobody knows if those guys are going to be able to help in 2017 or when they’ll be able to at all.
And, yeah, that’s it.
So, as we said, the pass-rushers are far and away the biggest question marks and the utmost concern. If you can’t get to the quarterback and he has all the time to find open receivers downfield, he’ll find them. Tennessee’s defensive backs were terrible a season ago, and though new secondary coach Charlton Warren may actually get a player to turn around and play the ball every once in a while, it’s not realistic to think UT can go from as bad as it was defending the pass to the top half of the SEC.
In other words, the Vols need to find some guys to get after the quarterback from the end position (or from the second level like Quart’e Sapp is possibly capable of doing). If they do that, the defense stands a good chance of being much better.
If they can’t, it’s going to be a tough time to be a Vols fan when the defense takes the field again in 2017.
Tennessee Vols move into the top three in team recruiting rankings
The Tennessee Volunteers moved into the top three of 247Sports’ team recruiting rankings yesterday when they secured the commitment of defensive end Dorian Gerald and defensive end Adam Anderson decommitted from LSU. Gerald’s commitment moved Tennessee into the fourth spot, and Anderson’s decommittment put them into the top three behind Miami and Ohio State.
That puts the Vols first in the SEC, ahead of LSU (No. 5), Texas A&M (No. 12), Kentucky (No. 16), Vanderbilt (No. 28), South Carolina (No. 34), Mississippi State (No. 38), Arkansas (No. 41), and Ole Miss (No. 45) in the Top 50.
Tennessee currently has 17 commitments, including one 5-star, seven 4-stars, and nine 3-stars, which still gives them a blue-chip ratio of under .500. It will be interesting to see what they do with the rest of their class. As DylanVol said yesterday, they can now afford to be especially picky the rest of the way, and they’ll need to to hold off traditional recruiting rivals Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.
Currently, Alabama has only six total commitments, including five 4-stars and one 3-star. Florida and Georgia each have seven total commitments, with the Gators having two 4-stars and five 3-stars and the Bulldogs having one 5-star, one 4-star, and four 3-stars.
It’s, of course, extremely early, and National Signing Day is still seven months away, so a lot will happen between now and then. Alabama has a remarkable ability to finish the recruiting season with the best player available at each position, and Georgia and Florida usually do extremely well, too. Things are going to tighten up.
Currently, Tennessee and Georgia are the only SEC teams to have commitments from 5-star players. There are 25 5-star players in this year’s class (at this time), and 15 of them are uncommitted. There are another 337 4-star players.
Although it’s early and we expect a lot of shifting in the standings over the next seven months, there is no doubt that the Vols are in great position right now. They can hold that ground if they indeed are picky with the rest of their commitments and fill out the class with more blue-chippers.
State of Play: Vols can be picky, and July 20th camp has three major targets
After the Thursday commitment of stud JUCO Defensive End Dorian Gerald,, the Vols now have 17 public commitments (seven of which are early enrollees, by the way) and a class firmly in the top five nationally. With only about eight spots left roughly seven months from National Signing Day, the UT staff is in an enviable spot of being able to be extremely picky with how they fill out the class. At this point, it seems highly unlikely you’ll see any “reaches” for lower level prospects as the board is stocked with elite players at each position.
And while it really is incredible to have this many high level commitments at this point in the cycle, it is more likely than not that the Vols add multiple commitments before the summer is over. A number of big time targets, for whom UT is in a range of “great shape” like WR Shocky Jacques-Louis, LB Cam Jones and fellow Cordovan OL Jerome Carvin to “firmly in the mix” like DE Azeez Ojulari, LB/DE Richard Jibunor and TE Tommy Tremble, are expected to make summer decisions. The Vols are in a major battle with other SEC powers for Ojulari, but have received two campus visits since the spring and are in the top two (but likely trailing at this point) for Jibunor and Tremble with Auburn and Notre Dame, respectively.
In an interesting development in terms of timing, three other very important and elite prospects that would probably fit into the “firmly in the mix” group, are visiting on July 20 for Tennessee’s last camp of the summer:
PJ Mustipher
A big time defensive tackle prospect who is probably the only remaining non-defensive end the Vols would take on the defensive line. He’s just that good, and as everyone knows, you can’t have too many elite DL. Most think that while the Vols are in the final two at the moment for Mustipher, they trail Penn State, a school he’s visited multiple times. Mustipher is scheduled to attend PSU’s big recruiting event shortly before coming back to Knoxville for what would be his third visit to campus. He could decide at any time, and there is some thought that he might not even make it out of Happy Valley without committing to the Nittany Lions. If he does, however, the Vols could find themselves in a prime spot with the opportunity to seal the deal on another elite DT and continue to add to an unprecedented haul on the DL.
James Mitchell
Along with the aforementioned Tremble, Mitchell is one of two tight ends that the Vols would realistically like to pair with local product Jacob Warren. Thought to likely be a slight Virginia Tech lean at the moment, the Big Stone Gap, VA prospect will also be on campus for his third visit on the 20th. Given how much Scott likes the TE spot in his offense, you know he’d like to add another elite talent here. However, as we have talked about before, I am of the opinion that if the Vols miss on both Tremble and Mitchell they shouldn’t take another TE in this class. That makes this visit incredibly important. Mitchell’s decision timeline isn’t as well-known as some other prospects, but this is probably one of the last chances to impress him with an on campus visit other than a potential official visit.
Jaycee Horn
This will actually be the 4th visit for this elite cornerback and is by far the most surprising visitor. After coming to Orange Carpet Day just a few weeks ago and seemingly enjoying himself yet again, Horn abruptly (and somewhat shockingly) cut the Vols and named a final two of Alabama and South Carolina as well as a decision date of July 15th. However, after some recent pro-UT activity on Twitter, news broke on Wednesday night that not only is Horn unlikely to make a commitment in a week or so, but he’s now set to visit Knoxville again on the 20th. While the Vols have two defensive back commitments that they love in Brandon Cross and Tanner Ingle, both of them are probably more suited for either nickelback or even safety. A truly elite cover corner is one of the very few missing pieces in this class, and if the staff was somehow able to not only get back into this recruitment but actually land Horn, it would check that box in an emphatic manner.
What Butch Jones and Co. are getting done with this class is very impressive. As the dead period comes to an end soon, the rest of July is going to be incredibly interesting. With a handful of high level prospects set to make decisions and three big time targets scheduled to visit campus as they wrap up their respective decisions, there could be more fireworks as the Vols add to a class that is shaping up to be Butch’s finest.
Tennessee Recruiting Continues Hot Streak with Dorian Gerald
Over the past few months while Tennessee has been burning up the recruiting trail addressing needs on the defensive interior, offensive line, at quarterback and in the backfield, one glaring concern remained.
Who was going to rush the passer off the edge?
The Volunteers must worry about that in 2017 with the departure of legendary pass-rusher Derek Barnett as well as veteran staples Corey Vereen and LaTroy Lewis. With a ’17 class that failed to feature any marquee names, the Vols have depth and experience concerns off the edge, fielding a unit that will see Jonathan Kongbo, Darrell Taylor, Kyle Phillips and a bunch of freshmen take snaps at defensive end.
Though UT was piecing together perhaps coach Butch Jones’ best haul, defensive end was still a major concern in the 2018 class.
Not anymore.
Less than a week after netting the No. 1 player in the state in Greg Emerson, a 260-pound defensive end who some analysts project to play inside in college, the Vols again struck with a defensive end commitment on Thursday in talented JUCO lineman Dorian Gerald.
This is a big one for many reasons. Not only was Gerald a hotly coveted player with offers from Alabama, home-state South Carolina and plenty others, he’s a pure defensive end with excellent size (6’3″, 260 pounds) and has the ability to step right in and get major reps in 2018.
UT plucked the College of the Canyons (Santa Clarita, California) star away from an opportunity to play for head coach Will Muschamp and his home-state Gamecocks. The Vols actually sold Gerald on the opportunity to be used much like Barnett, according to GoVols247’s Ryan Callahan who quoted Gerald as saying:
“Just last year, with them having Derek Barnett and him having such huge success, and me being — I mean, I wouldn’t say I’m totally identical to him, but me being similar to him in size, height, everything,” Gerald said.
“They play the type of defensive front I need. Coach (Brady) Hoke also is a great D-line coach. I mean, he’s a legendary coach — D-line, head coach, it doesn’t even matter. He’s legendary. And we’ve built great relationships — not with just me. They did a great job building a relationship with my family, and that’s everything. My family is everything to me.”
Gerald may still visit other schools, but he seems sold on Tennessee. That’s huge news for a Vols team that continues to dazzle with a complete, star-studded class that not only is grabbing impact players but addressing major areas of need.
A season ago, UT fleshed out its recruiting class with developmental defensive linemen like Ryan Thaxton, Marquez Bembry, Deandre Johnson and Kivon Bennett to go along with Matthew Butler and Eric Crosby. Some of those guys will likely turn into quality college players, but a lot of them weren’t coveted by the top teams in the nation.
This year, new defensive line coach Brady Hoke (with a strong assist from top recruiter Walt Wells, who, again, was Gerald’s lead recruiter … note a trend?) possibly has amassed the best defensive line class (on paper) in school history.
Gerald is only a 3-star player, but his offer sheet suggests he’s better than that. He’s the nation’s No. 11 JUCO player and the second-ranked strong-side defensive end, and he joins an already strong defensive line class that includes Emerson (who is on the cusp of 5-star status), 4-star in-state defensive tackles D’Andre Litaker and Brant Lawless, and 3-star former LSU commitment Jamarcus Chatman, who flipped from the Tigers shortly after visiting Knoxville for Orange Carpet Day.
Gerald gives UT an embarrassment of riches on the line, and the Vols still would love to add a pair of speed rushers. While Memphis end and Alabama commitment Jordan Davis may be a long shot, the guys seemingly at the top of UT’s list right now are Richard Jibunor (from Athens, Ga.) and Azeez Ojulari (from Marietta, Ga.). There are several other names on the list, but that is a pair who UT is in the top few schools for right now.
Getting some pin-your-ears-back-and-go guys would be ideal with the jumbo duo of Emerson and Gerald already in the fold.
This is a major commitment for the Vols, who appear to have assembled an ace recruiting staff.