2) Butch Jones wasn't a terrible recruiter. Most of our roster had offers by the right schools
It's exciting to see what our highly recruited players can do with a staff that has a history of improving kids above their high school reputations as opposed to a staff that had never had success at the position they were coaching. With that said, it might be interesting to look at some of our returning players through the lens of their offer lists in high school.
Offensive Line:
Trey Smith: Everyone wanted him (correctly)
K'rojhn Calbert: Florida, Louisville, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Missouri, USF, and Memphis
-not an elite offer list, but 4 of those offenses were in the top 10 in production
Riley Locklear: Florida State, Louisville, Miami, Michigan State,Penn State, and West Virginia
Marcus Tatum : Alabama, Arkansas (Pittman), Auburn, Florida, Louisville, Miami, Miss State, and Nebraska
Ryan Johnson: Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, and Clemson
Devonte Brooks: Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, and Virginia Tech
Drew Richmond: Everyone..
Wide Receiver :
Josh Palmer : Michigan, Nebraska, Penn State, and Purdue (Brohm)
Jordan Murphy : Alabama, LSU, Ole Miss, and Miss State
Jacquez Jones: Michigan, Miami. Louisville, and Wisconsin
Princeton Fant : LSU, Miami, Louisville, Ole Miss, and Miss State
Brandon Johnson : Clemson, Georgia, LSU, and, Miami
Marquez Callaway : Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, and Notre Dame
Jauan Jennings : Alabama, Auburn, Ohio State, and Penn State
Running Back:
Tim Jordan: North Carolina, Iowa State, and Purdue
Ty Chandler : Florida, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Nebraska, and Notre Dame
Carlin Fils-Aime : Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Miami, Michigan and Ohio State
Quarterback:
Jarrett Guarantano : Everyone wanted him... Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, LSU, Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and UCLA
- This kid is NOT a bust! There is no position in football where coaching is more
important and he was in a terrible situation with our previous staff. The best thing about last year is that he proved that he can take a punch. The position is really thin, but I honestly expect a dramatic turn around. Let's hope he doesn't get hurt.
Will McBride : Boise State, Memphis, SMU, and Utah (all good passing offenses)
Jauan Jennings : Highly ranked QB out of high school. He could be useful in an emergency.
Tight End :
Austin Pope: Arkansas, Mississippi State, Louisville, Nebraska, and Oklahoma State
Latrelle Bumphus : Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Penn State, Southern Cal, and Texas A& M
James Brown: Auburn. South Florida
Princeton Fant : LSU, Miami, Louisville, Ole Miss, and Miss State
Eli Wolfe : walk-on
If you made it to the end, I am sorry for the length of the post. I have read countless posts on this board bemoaning the talent, heart, and dedication of our current players. These players all chose Tennessee over other top programs. It is an improbable possibility that we "missed" on all of these players and all of the other successful programs that offered them were also fooled. The offensive coaching staff was horrible and our players were the victims of a dysfunctional environment. I would hope that we would try to judge their potential rather than focus on the results of a system that they couldn't control.
It's exciting to see what our highly recruited players can do with a staff that has a history of improving kids above their high school reputations as opposed to a staff that had never had success at the position they were coaching. With that said, it might be interesting to look at some of our returning players through the lens of their offer lists in high school.
Offensive Line:
Trey Smith: Everyone wanted him (correctly)
K'rojhn Calbert: Florida, Louisville, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Missouri, USF, and Memphis
-not an elite offer list, but 4 of those offenses were in the top 10 in production
Riley Locklear: Florida State, Louisville, Miami, Michigan State,Penn State, and West Virginia
Marcus Tatum : Alabama, Arkansas (Pittman), Auburn, Florida, Louisville, Miami, Miss State, and Nebraska
Ryan Johnson: Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, and Clemson
Devonte Brooks: Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, and Virginia Tech
Drew Richmond: Everyone..
Wide Receiver :
Josh Palmer : Michigan, Nebraska, Penn State, and Purdue (Brohm)
Jordan Murphy : Alabama, LSU, Ole Miss, and Miss State
Jacquez Jones: Michigan, Miami. Louisville, and Wisconsin
Princeton Fant : LSU, Miami, Louisville, Ole Miss, and Miss State
Brandon Johnson : Clemson, Georgia, LSU, and, Miami
Marquez Callaway : Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, and Notre Dame
Jauan Jennings : Alabama, Auburn, Ohio State, and Penn State
Running Back:
Tim Jordan: North Carolina, Iowa State, and Purdue
Ty Chandler : Florida, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Nebraska, and Notre Dame
Carlin Fils-Aime : Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Miami, Michigan and Ohio State
Quarterback:
Jarrett Guarantano : Everyone wanted him... Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, LSU, Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and UCLA
- This kid is NOT a bust! There is no position in football where coaching is more
important and he was in a terrible situation with our previous staff. The best thing about last year is that he proved that he can take a punch. The position is really thin, but I honestly expect a dramatic turn around. Let's hope he doesn't get hurt.
Will McBride : Boise State, Memphis, SMU, and Utah (all good passing offenses)
Jauan Jennings : Highly ranked QB out of high school. He could be useful in an emergency.
Tight End :
Austin Pope: Arkansas, Mississippi State, Louisville, Nebraska, and Oklahoma State
Latrelle Bumphus : Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Penn State, Southern Cal, and Texas A& M
James Brown: Auburn. South Florida
Princeton Fant : LSU, Miami, Louisville, Ole Miss, and Miss State
Eli Wolfe : walk-on
If you made it to the end, I am sorry for the length of the post. I have read countless posts on this board bemoaning the talent, heart, and dedication of our current players. These players all chose Tennessee over other top programs. It is an improbable possibility that we "missed" on all of these players and all of the other successful programs that offered them were also fooled. The offensive coaching staff was horrible and our players were the victims of a dysfunctional environment. I would hope that we would try to judge their potential rather than focus on the results of a system that they couldn't control.
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