This class was HUGE; 31 signees.
But....take a look at the details, and you'll probably be mad, by the time you finish reading this post:
Michael Sawyers, DT, Nashville
Never contributed
Darrell Scott, North Carolina
Was gone as quickly as he arrived
Jason Robertson, DT, Nashville
Was a starter at OG, but seemed to regress. Undrafted
Charles Mosley, OL, Brighton
Never contributed
Josh Malone, WR, Nashville
Top-level performer, NFL Draft choice
Owen Williams, DT, El Dorado, KS
Solid, steady, two year contributor.
Jakob Johnson, LB, Jacksonville
Never really found a niche. Special teams/FB/TE contributor
Evan Berry, DB, Atlanta
Great returner. One of our best ever. Not much of a DB contributor
Dewayne Hendrix, DE, O'Fallon, IL
Gone before his first cup of coffee
Von Pearson, WR, Quincy, CA
Was a solid contributor at wideout. Slow times cost him any NFL shot
Derek Barnett, DE, Brentwood
Stud. Pure and simple
Dontavius Blair, OT, Garden City CC
The Legend that *pffffft*
Emmanuel Moseley, DB, Greensboro, NC
A solid contributor, on the back end of his career. Current 49er
Rashaan Gaulden, DB, Nashville
Strong performer for two years. Currently looking for another NFL shot
Ray Raulerson, OL, Tampa
Never contributed
Cortez McDowell, Locust Grove, GA
Grew into a LB. Solid contributor for two years
Dillon Bates, LB, Ponte Vedra, FL
Never developed. Special teams contributor
Gavin Bryant, LB, Jackson, AL
Never developed. Left after two years
Chris Weatherd, Athens, TX
Part-time contributor for two years
Joe Henderson, DE, Cleveland, OH
Here and gone, in the blink of an eye
Aaron Medley, K, Lewisburg, TN
Had a solid Vol career.
Daniel Helm, TE, Chatham, IL
Never really found his groove here. Transferred to Duke
Ethan Wolf, TE, minster, OH
Solid player. Perhaps under-utilized
D'Andre Payne, DB, DC
Left after his first season
Treyvon Paulk, RB, Alpharette, GA
Dismissed during his freshman season
Jalen Hurd, RB, Hendersonville
Elite athlete who may have been playing the wrong position. Lots of controversy here
Neiko Creamer, ATH, Elkton, MD
Recorded no catches in his only season at Tennessee
Todd Kelly, JR, DB, Knoxville
High level contributor from the start. Injuries robbed him of speed, late in his tenure
Coleman Thomas, OL, Max Meadows, VA
Played multiple positions, out of necessity. Never a star, but an important contributor.
Vic Wharton, WR, Nashville
Never really contributed. Amid controversy, he packed his bags for Berkley
Elliot Berry, LB, GA
Was a contributor at LB, late in his career, after contributing on ST for the first three
So in a class of 31 signees, we essentially had 16 career contributors, and three true 'stars' out of that list (Barnett, Malone, and Kelly).
The rest of this list either never contributed, transferred, or was dismissed.
You can't help but speculate on the reasons why this class was such an epic failure. Was it bad evaluation by the staff? Was it bad development, once the players arrived? Was it the culture?
Regardless, if you are looking for reasons that contributed to our downfall before Coach Pruitt, you can look squarely at this class, as a major factor.
OUCH!!!
But....take a look at the details, and you'll probably be mad, by the time you finish reading this post:
Michael Sawyers, DT, Nashville
Never contributed
Darrell Scott, North Carolina
Was gone as quickly as he arrived
Jason Robertson, DT, Nashville
Was a starter at OG, but seemed to regress. Undrafted
Charles Mosley, OL, Brighton
Never contributed
Josh Malone, WR, Nashville
Top-level performer, NFL Draft choice
Owen Williams, DT, El Dorado, KS
Solid, steady, two year contributor.
Jakob Johnson, LB, Jacksonville
Never really found a niche. Special teams/FB/TE contributor
Evan Berry, DB, Atlanta
Great returner. One of our best ever. Not much of a DB contributor
Dewayne Hendrix, DE, O'Fallon, IL
Gone before his first cup of coffee
Von Pearson, WR, Quincy, CA
Was a solid contributor at wideout. Slow times cost him any NFL shot
Derek Barnett, DE, Brentwood
Stud. Pure and simple
Dontavius Blair, OT, Garden City CC
The Legend that *pffffft*
Emmanuel Moseley, DB, Greensboro, NC
A solid contributor, on the back end of his career. Current 49er
Rashaan Gaulden, DB, Nashville
Strong performer for two years. Currently looking for another NFL shot
Ray Raulerson, OL, Tampa
Never contributed
Cortez McDowell, Locust Grove, GA
Grew into a LB. Solid contributor for two years
Dillon Bates, LB, Ponte Vedra, FL
Never developed. Special teams contributor
Gavin Bryant, LB, Jackson, AL
Never developed. Left after two years
Chris Weatherd, Athens, TX
Part-time contributor for two years
Joe Henderson, DE, Cleveland, OH
Here and gone, in the blink of an eye
Aaron Medley, K, Lewisburg, TN
Had a solid Vol career.
Daniel Helm, TE, Chatham, IL
Never really found his groove here. Transferred to Duke
Ethan Wolf, TE, minster, OH
Solid player. Perhaps under-utilized
D'Andre Payne, DB, DC
Left after his first season
Treyvon Paulk, RB, Alpharette, GA
Dismissed during his freshman season
Jalen Hurd, RB, Hendersonville
Elite athlete who may have been playing the wrong position. Lots of controversy here
Neiko Creamer, ATH, Elkton, MD
Recorded no catches in his only season at Tennessee
Todd Kelly, JR, DB, Knoxville
High level contributor from the start. Injuries robbed him of speed, late in his tenure
Coleman Thomas, OL, Max Meadows, VA
Played multiple positions, out of necessity. Never a star, but an important contributor.
Vic Wharton, WR, Nashville
Never really contributed. Amid controversy, he packed his bags for Berkley
Elliot Berry, LB, GA
Was a contributor at LB, late in his career, after contributing on ST for the first three
So in a class of 31 signees, we essentially had 16 career contributors, and three true 'stars' out of that list (Barnett, Malone, and Kelly).
The rest of this list either never contributed, transferred, or was dismissed.
You can't help but speculate on the reasons why this class was such an epic failure. Was it bad evaluation by the staff? Was it bad development, once the players arrived? Was it the culture?
Regardless, if you are looking for reasons that contributed to our downfall before Coach Pruitt, you can look squarely at this class, as a major factor.
OUCH!!!
