'14 MD LB Jerome Dews (UT Commit 6/24)

[GLDunlap]

People really need to stop listening to Jerome and that twitter nonsense, i guess he felt he needed to say that because people were wondering why he didn't sign and guessed he was worried about what people would think if he grey shirted, he needs to stay of twitter.

Well anyway not looking to argue, you have brought some good insight to this board that we as fans usually don't have. I think you are a class act and wish Jerome nothing but the best whether it be here at Tennessee or somewhere else outside the SEC.

PS. I read Jerome's quotes on his academics on 247/sports not his twitter. I guess that's where the info originated from though. Personally I despise twitter and have no desire to look at what recruits are saying on there.

 

[MDObserver]

Well anyway not looking to argue, you have brought some good insight to this board that we as fans usually don't have. I think you are a class act and wish Jerome nothing but the best whether it be here at Tennessee or somewhere else outside the SEC.

Not trying to argue, just don't want Jerome name ran thru the mud, like he didn't do his part, only we and Tenn knows the details of Jerome commitment, and Jerome fulfilled every need Tenn ask of him, im not here to bash Tenn or the coaches, but i will not let people speculate that Jerome did not hold up his end of the deal, yes his test scores were an issue, not his grades, this is coming from his father and not twitter, he got the scores he needed,thus qualifying and cleared by the clearing house, so no, grades had nothing to do with it.

 

[MDObserver]

Well anyway not looking to argue, you have brought some good insight to this board that we as fans usually don't have. I think you are a class act and wish Jerome nothing but the best whether it be here at Tennessee or somewhere else outside the SEC.

PS. I read Jerome's quotes on his academics on 247/sports not his twitter. I guess that's where the info originated from though. Personally I despise twitter and have no desire to look at what recruits are saying on there.

247 got the quotes from twitter

 

[Probably_in_Class]

Not trying to argue, just don't want Jerome name ran thru the mud, like he didn't do his part, only we and Tenn knows the details of Jerome commitment, and Jerome fulfilled every need Tenn ask of him, im not here to bash Tenn or the coaches, but i will not let people speculate that Jerome did not hold up his end of the deal, yes his test scores were an issue, not his grades, this is coming from his father and not twitter, he got the scores he needed,thus qualifying and cleared by the clearing house, so no, grades had nothing to do with it.

I don't think anyone here is trying to drag a kid through the mud (not in this thread at least, plenty others are brutal), but let's be honest here. If he didn't have the grades til June, then grades were an issue. Just ask Loften or currently Weatherd where dealing with academic questions into summer can get you. Out of curiosity, was he completely cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse at any point?

 

[Tennsolider1]

I think grades may have been the start of the ball rolling down hill, but at in the end I think BETTER TALENT is what did him in. Butch Jones is building the foundation and needs the best talent he can get. Grades are a big issue with CBJ and his recruits.

 

[KnoxVillain]

Thats not the point, and i'm not sure what school will give a kid a offer just because another school offered without seeing for themselves, he earned every offer and accolade he received.

I think he's saying that Jerome got his name out there and more attention because of the Tennessee offer not that he got offers because TN offered him.

 

[VolSteve]

I don't know how I feel about this...so many conflicting emotions. If UT accepted his commitment before knowing what the bulk of the talent was going to look like, honors the commitment, and then JD gets recruited over in future classes, have they done him a favor? Has JD benefited from the exposure of being a UT commit? If you make this such an issue that UT gets burned over it, they will simply quit accepting commitments from lower ranked players...ever. On the other hand, this has got to be pretty painful for JD, and no doubt smells like a breach of trust. I am a big believer in your 'yes' meaning yes. Again...conflicted.

Best thing to do is move forward. Being offended won't make it any better, but it can definitely make it worse. If JD is in better position now, with better offers as a result of waiting, focus on the positive...you'll be happier in the long run.

Well written post.

 

[Vol Main]

I think he's saying that Jerome got his name out there and more attention because of the Tennessee offer not that he got offers because TN offered him.

Yes, I think that the UT offer brought attention to Dews which he had not received before. Also, if you look at how he is positioned now compared to how he was positioned a year ago, my guess is that he is on a higher road at this time. I'm not saying that he was treated exactly right, but there are those in the world who will suck the blood out of your life and then there are those who will give you a leg up. In the middle of his disappointment, it might help to realize that he got a leg up. And he can take satisfaction in knowing that he earned it.

 

[Nashvegas31]

Unfortunately its a business where each side gets burned at some point. Coaches get burned by kids flipping last minute and some kids get burned by getting recruited over or needs changing.

If the original plan was to play Dews as Leo as mentioned, we all of a sudden on have a logjam there. Jakob Johnson was expected to be LB and he gets to campus and is a weight room freak that puts on so much that he is now a DE. Maggit got a waiver and is now DE for 2 more yrs at that spot that's 2 lbs turned DE after NSD. Then you look at what else can he play. Saftey? We don't need more than 1 Saftey in class and we had one committed. We may take McGraw but it a longshot but we would because we need to get that Ensworth pipeline rolling along smoothly.

 

[zehr27]

Thats not the point, and i'm not sure what school will give a kid a offer just because another school offered without seeing for themselves, he earned every offer and accolade he received.

Schools do it all the time. Once one big school gets on a lesser known recruit it puts that recruit in a new light and other big schools start checking him out. They don't just offer without seeing the recruit but they now look at film on a recruit they may never had. Best of luck to Jerome.

 

[MDObserver]

I think grades may have been the start of the ball rolling down hill, but at in the end I think BETTER TALENT is what did him in. Butch Jones is building the foundation and needs the best talent he can get. Grades are a big issue with CBJ and his recruits.

Grades were never the issue because the plan from the jump was prep so it wouldn't have mattered, because test scores and grades could have been taken care of at the prep school, Jerome can only take 2 classes because he already qualified, so it never was a grade issue, the man said they didn't have need at the Leo position, cool they made their decision, we got to eat it and deal with it!

 

[zidanefan]

never that, just curious to know how yall felt, clearly last year and some of the comments that were made when he first committed were brutal...lol we pass that, if some still feel that way thats cool, i was just curious for the sake of conversation to see how some felt, your opinion is your opinion, no hard feelings with how one feels.

My opinion is that college football is a rude awakening. It's not always fair, and all parties should go into it with eyes wide open. It's a good life lesson for an 18 year old.

All that said, do I like the way this played out? Not at all. Do I understand why it played out this way? Yes, I do.

 

[butchna]

Grades were never the issue because the plan from the jump was prep so it wouldn't have mattered, because test scores and grades could have been taken care of at the prep school, Jerome can only take 2 classes because he already qualified, so it never was a grade issue, the man said they didn't have need at the Leo position, cool they made their decision, we got to eat it and deal with it!

Doesn't sit well with me or several others in here...seems a violation of sorts with the family/handshake environment we envision with our coach. Glad your man is going to have an opportunity to ball out at another university and display a lesson in honoring agreements.

 

[highspeed]

Doesn't sit well with me or several others in here...seems a violation of sorts with the family/handshake environment we envision with our coach. Glad your man is going to have an opportunity to ball out at another university and display a lesson in honoring agreements.

Couldn't have said it any better.

 

[volinexile17]

Grades were never the issue because the plan from the jump was prep so it wouldn't have mattered, because test scores and grades could have been taken care of at the prep school, Jerome can only take 2 classes because he already qualified, so it never was a grade issue, the man said they didn't have need at the Leo position, cool they made their decision, we got to eat it and deal with it!

JMO, if a kid has a scholly on the table, he should take it. Always. The risk and opportunity cost is too high otherwise. Not criticizing the decision you and your family made - I completely get it. But you open yourself up to the whims of the recruiting process rather than taking control otherwise.

I've said the same thing about coaches who pass on HC jobs.

 

[DaddyChad]

I don't like it but at the end of the day CBJ has to do what is best for the team and maybe he did what was best for Dews as well. If circumstances changed and Butch thought the team and the kid were better off cutting ties then maybe it will all end for the best. That said I hope Dews is successful wherever he lands. Loyalty like his is a rarity in the current day perhaps he was a little too loyal for the broken system we have now.

 

[SSVol]

What is the correct response by the staff if they realize a particular recruit would end up recruited over? Delicate issue and may have nothing to do with integrity.

 

[Vol Main]

Well, some players who are already on the team do not have their scholarships renewed. It happened last year, and we expect it to happen this year. Personally, the delayed commitment never made sense to me. I'm sorry it happened, but I still wonder if Dews isn't better off for his relationship with UT than he would have been without it. I suppose there is no way to know.

 

[GOATeric14berry]

Grades were never the issue because the plan from the jump was prep so it wouldn't have mattered, because test scores and grades could have been taken care of at the prep school, Jerome can only take 2 classes because he already qualified, so it never was a grade issue, the man said they didn't have need at the Leo position, cool they made their decision, we got to eat it and deal with it!

U should disappear before the morons make u angry at our team. chances are Nothing good is gonna come from this. Think u for your class and good luck to your son.

 

[Probably_in_Class]

U should disappear before the morons make u angry at our team. chances are Nothing good is gonna come from this. Think u for your class and good luck to your son.

Very true, though poorly written, post

 

[GLDunlap]

U should disappear before the morons make u angry at our team. chances are Nothing good is gonna com from this. Think u for your class and good luck to your son.

Haven't seen anyone being out of line or acting like morons in this thread today.

 

[VOLorNuttin]

I would say its the nature of the beast and part of the politics of recruiting, no hard feelings from us, a little disappointed but no hard feelings, if that was his only option then that's a different story, we have been contacted by about 7 more schools since Monday, so its not as bad as it seems, and im sure this is one of many phases in recruiting process.

I remember seeing him catching passes in part of his tape, last year. IMHO, his HS coaches should have featured him more as a WR, rather than on the defensive side of the ball (even though he shows mad skills on defense).

His size/frame is what College coaches want in a WR, and that is probably where he would have stood out to recruiters/coaches the most. Playing him so much at LB probably hurt his stock in recruiting circles, IMHO. Nevertheless, I hope he lands with a really good program and has a ton of success there.

 

[InVOLuntary]

MDO, I was reading some of the early part of this thread and came across a tidbit of info that I was not aware of. It was posted that JD transferred from "Wise". Would that be Wise VA?

 

[UT's#1Fan]

curious to hear your opinion on why it turned out this way, and speak freely.

My opinion has already been posted in this thread. It hasn't changed. Feel free to go back and revist my posts. You and I had quite an exchange back several months ago. I don't wish to beat dead horse at this point.

I wish him and your family nothing but the best. :hi:

 

[walkenvol]

As a fan I really enjoy reading the insights of a recruit's family member. For good guys like MDO or Mz Terry, it strikes me as a very risky activity. There's too many crazies out there as proven by the death threats some QB's and kickers have received after a poor performance. Those types are only going to write hateful things. The fan can pass those over and ignore but when its your child they're talking about it's not so easy to ignore.