Some other interesting info in this article:
Tennessee’s Butch Jones knows the math, accelerated recruiting cycle
KNOXVILLE — Butch Jones knows the math, and he’s aware some Tennessee fans are curious about the relatively high number of commits the Vols have taken at this point of the recruiting season.
“I can assure you we are doing our due diligence,” Jones said Thursday morning in an exclusive interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s SEC Country. “A lot of these early commitments are a byproduct of relationships that have been in place for years.
“We have a very strong recruiting process that we go by.”
The process has netted 23 verbal commits in the 2017 class with signing day more than six months away.
Jones, who in his three years at the helm has resurrected the Tennessee program into a championship contender, indicated he’s not in any particular rush for commits, despite what the numbers might suggest.
“It always comes down to the right fit for us, and when we are the right fit and they want to be a part of it, that’s what we’re looking for,” Jones said “We can be very selective. We’re in a position now where people understand Tennessee and what we’re about.”
No doubt, entering the 2016 season, Jones has the Vols riding a six-game win streak — the program’s longest since Casey Clausen’s senior season of 2003.
As Jones said, Tennessee has once again become “a commodity” among football prospects after Lane Kiffin’s tenure put the program under the dark cloud of NCAA investigation and Derek Dooley was unable to right the ship.
Jones acknowledges that attrition has been part of what most would agree has been a successful rebuilding process, the Vols going from five wins in 2013 to seven wins in 2014 and nine last season.
The attrition is part of the reason Tennessee has only 11 seniors, but it has been in the best interests of the team in most cases, Jones said.
“The players we have believe in the program and they are our ambassadors,” Jones said. “They understand what the expectations are, and they are proud of the program expectations. I think that has helped our recruiting.”
And, even with 23 commits, Jones said there’s a great deal of work to be done in the 2017 class.
Tennessee had 11 decommitments in the 2016 class, and Jones isn’t naive enough to think there won’t be some attrition in this class, as well.
“I think recruiting attrition is a byproduct of how accelerated the recruiting process has become,” Jones said. “So even when a young man commits, recruiting isn’t over with — in some senses, it’s just beginning.”
Jones said other programs continue to recruit prospects, even after they are committed, “and the competition picks up.”
Tennessee’s Butch Jones knows the math, accelerated recruiting cycle
KNOXVILLE — Butch Jones knows the math, and he’s aware some Tennessee fans are curious about the relatively high number of commits the Vols have taken at this point of the recruiting season.
“I can assure you we are doing our due diligence,” Jones said Thursday morning in an exclusive interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s SEC Country. “A lot of these early commitments are a byproduct of relationships that have been in place for years.
“We have a very strong recruiting process that we go by.”
The process has netted 23 verbal commits in the 2017 class with signing day more than six months away.
Jones, who in his three years at the helm has resurrected the Tennessee program into a championship contender, indicated he’s not in any particular rush for commits, despite what the numbers might suggest.
“It always comes down to the right fit for us, and when we are the right fit and they want to be a part of it, that’s what we’re looking for,” Jones said “We can be very selective. We’re in a position now where people understand Tennessee and what we’re about.”
No doubt, entering the 2016 season, Jones has the Vols riding a six-game win streak — the program’s longest since Casey Clausen’s senior season of 2003.
As Jones said, Tennessee has once again become “a commodity” among football prospects after Lane Kiffin’s tenure put the program under the dark cloud of NCAA investigation and Derek Dooley was unable to right the ship.
Jones acknowledges that attrition has been part of what most would agree has been a successful rebuilding process, the Vols going from five wins in 2013 to seven wins in 2014 and nine last season.
The attrition is part of the reason Tennessee has only 11 seniors, but it has been in the best interests of the team in most cases, Jones said.
“The players we have believe in the program and they are our ambassadors,” Jones said. “They understand what the expectations are, and they are proud of the program expectations. I think that has helped our recruiting.”
And, even with 23 commits, Jones said there’s a great deal of work to be done in the 2017 class.
Tennessee had 11 decommitments in the 2016 class, and Jones isn’t naive enough to think there won’t be some attrition in this class, as well.
“I think recruiting attrition is a byproduct of how accelerated the recruiting process has become,” Jones said. “So even when a young man commits, recruiting isn’t over with — in some senses, it’s just beginning.”
Jones said other programs continue to recruit prospects, even after they are committed, “and the competition picks up.”
