Just few thoughts on Butch Jones' recruiting and what is happening...
When CBJ signed on to right this sunken ship back in Dec 2012, he had never recruited or coached in a true Power 5 conference, much less the SEC. CBJ's recruiting system was that of finding the lower 3* steals that he could coach up enough and instill enough discipline to win at schools like Central Michigan and Cincy. With these type recruits, you can sell the chance to win conference championships and go to decent bowls. These type recruits are not as concerned with making it to the NFL and it all being about them. It is easier to manage a team like that.
To really compete in the SEC and for SEC and National Championships, Butch knew he had to recruit the 4* & 5* talent, which he had really never done until coming to UT. CBJ put his best pitch on for the 14' & 15' class, especially with the legacy & TN recruits. He made promises he had to in order to get these great and elite recruits to commit here. What CBJ was not ready for was the attitude and ego management that comes with recruiting 4* & 5* talent that have real aspirations of playing in the NFL and are going to be a bit more "me" centered...not to mention promises that may have been made on the recruiting trail. Now Butch is having to really deal with these type issues over the past couple of years and this is the "learning on the job" part that he is struggling with. Winning the last half last season and first half of this season masked those issues, but now that the Vols have lost 3 in a row, these issues that have been there are starting to surface and the fan base just doesnt seem understand why it is happening. I hope Butch can figure it out.
When CBJ signed on to right this sunken ship back in Dec 2012, he had never recruited or coached in a true Power 5 conference, much less the SEC. CBJ's recruiting system was that of finding the lower 3* steals that he could coach up enough and instill enough discipline to win at schools like Central Michigan and Cincy. With these type recruits, you can sell the chance to win conference championships and go to decent bowls. These type recruits are not as concerned with making it to the NFL and it all being about them. It is easier to manage a team like that.
To really compete in the SEC and for SEC and National Championships, Butch knew he had to recruit the 4* & 5* talent, which he had really never done until coming to UT. CBJ put his best pitch on for the 14' & 15' class, especially with the legacy & TN recruits. He made promises he had to in order to get these great and elite recruits to commit here. What CBJ was not ready for was the attitude and ego management that comes with recruiting 4* & 5* talent that have real aspirations of playing in the NFL and are going to be a bit more "me" centered...not to mention promises that may have been made on the recruiting trail. Now Butch is having to really deal with these type issues over the past couple of years and this is the "learning on the job" part that he is struggling with. Winning the last half last season and first half of this season masked those issues, but now that the Vols have lost 3 in a row, these issues that have been there are starting to surface and the fan base just doesnt seem understand why it is happening. I hope Butch can figure it out.
