'15 NC DT Sterling Johnson

#702
#702
Simple way to prevent this type of issue IMO. If your a recruit or the parents of a recruit always ask this question right after the offer comes.

"Would you take my commitment today"?

If the answer is no, that tells you all you need to know about the "offer". Your being "recruited" and it's not actually an offer for anything.

IMO it would help kids not end up in this situation.
 
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#703
#703
BowlBrother85 said:
His comments have a "I didn't like that b**** anyway!" feel to them. Revisionist history if you will. I doubt he was ready to commit to Tennessee yesterday just because of the SEC Network but if it helps his pride to say that then so be it.
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He had been talking about interning at our new media center since the first article I read about him. I thought he was a lock to us and I believe the desire to commit was sincere. I was really surprised we turned him down because I thought he was a stud but I guess it's just a reminder that it's best to leave the evaluations to the pros (coaches, not opinionated sports journalists who may have never even strapped up for a game)
 
#704
#704
BowlBrother85 said:
His comments have a "I didn't like that b**** anyway!" feel to them. Revisionist history if you will. I doubt he was ready to commit to Tennessee yesterday just because of the SEC Network but if it helps his pride to say that then so be it.
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I don't like the negative publicity. That won't sit well with a lot of recruits.
 
#705
#705
palmer103 said:
Weird recruitment overall. As a Clemson fan, definitely took me off guard. Here's an interview and some insight from him last night after everything went down:


"To be completely honest, Tenn was my favorite leading up to Tuesday. Then they told me they weren't going to accept my commitment with the way their depth chart played out. They wanted me to come to camp with the other defensive tackles they've offered, then they'd take the best one."

"Honestly, that wasn't the part that bothered me. Spring ball has been over for a month now, and they knew that was their plan, but they waited till I asked for a commitment before they even said anything. That's what bothered me."

"The only reason Tenn was above Clemson was because I could intern at the SEC Network there. But then I thought about it, and I've even told this to recruits and the Tenn coaches when asked who I have the best relationship with; it's Clemson coaches.

"I thought about that and the family environment there. Both of my parents liked it there, and they're graduating six defensive linemen. So I said to myself, some people may question whether I'm just trying to get this over with, but I believe my heart is in Death Valley."

"I don't believe it was a coincidence I talked to Clemson the night before and Tenn ended up telling me they weren't going to take me. I felt like it was an act of god. He was telling me to make this right move."
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#708
#708
Bowlbrother, can't really agree with you. He was very forefront about saying Tenn was his leader and that they were the ones that declined his commitment. I'm sure a lot of 17 year olds would try to save face that they were even denied.

Anyways, hard not to understand why he feels this way. He layed it out pretty well in that interview, IMO.

"Spring ball has been over for a month now, and they knew that was their plan, but they waited till I asked for a commitment before they even said anything. That's what bothered me."
 
#709
#709
sigchig said:
I don't like the negative publicity. That won't sit well with a lot of recruits.
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It's bad publicity and I'm sure that Clemson's staff will direct Johnson to Tim Settle to try and score some points. I'm sure Butch and Co. are out in front of it though....I think Johnson's feelings are hurt and he will be talking garbage about us to any recruit that will listen.
 
#710
#710
sigchig said:
I don't like the negative publicity. That won't sit well with a lot of recruits.
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It's a bit negative I suppose, but I would rather see this happen than take a kid and then cut him loose later on to make room for a kid with more *'s.

Slow playing is a part of recruiting and kids just have to ask the right questions and understand where they stand with the coaches board. Ask a coach a direct question and I'd like to think you would get a direct answer.

"Coach, how many DT's are you planning to take this year"?

Coach answers and adds "your one of the top kids on our board".

"Would you take my commitment today"?

Coach says, "No, not quite yet".

IMO the kid has a much better understanding of things.
 
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#711
#711
palmer103 said:
Bowlbrother, can't really agree with you. He was very forefront about saying Tenn was his leader and that they were the ones that declined his commitment. I'm sure a lot of 17 year olds would try to save face that they were even denied.

Anyways, hard not to understand why he feels this way. He layed it out pretty well in that interview, IMO.

"Spring ball has been over for a month now, and they knew that was their plan, but they waited till I asked for a commitment before they even said anything. That's what bothered me."
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...but, Johnson was not scheduled to commit until October(i think this is accurate). Why would our coaches call him ahead and tell him he is not a take? He moved his committment date up, coaches could not accept it with what was on the boards. It really sucks, but I dont know how this could have been avoided....
 
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#712
#712
CountVolcula said:
I will revisit this thread if we get spurned by Settle and the rest of the DTs on the board
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I look at Howard as a very possible back up plan at this point if the coaches miss on Settle, Jones, and a couple others. Howard has looked good in camps. Not sure how long his recruitment plays out but I think he is a quality option. Rolling the dice when you need to add 1 more is a lot less to worry about when you need 3-4 and the board is thinning out.

Of course taking Dews could play into how Howard as an option plays out. Some on here seem to like the idea of dropping Jerome. I'd rather the staff did not do that. Pretty sure Howard and Dews are close.
 
#713
#713
sigchig said:
I don't like the negative publicity. That won't sit well with a lot of recruits.
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Maybe, maybe not. I remember a lot of people (including myself) thinking that when we cut Dom Booth loose last year and then we ended up getting Malone one week later. So it's usually not as bad as it looks.
 
#714
#714
Vol_sanity said:
...but, Johnson was not scheduled to commit until October(i think this is accurate). Why would our coaches call him ahead and tell him he is not a take? He moved his committment date up, coaches could not accept it with what was on the boards. It really sucks, but I dont know how this could have been avoided....
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Hasn't heard anybody make this point yet. Too bad he didn't stick to his original commitment schedule
 
#715
#715
NashVOL93 said:
Maybe, maybe not. I remember a lot of people (including myself) thinking that when we cut Dom Booth loose last year and then we ended up getting Malone one week later. So it's usually not as bad as it looks.
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Was it ever confirmed if it was UT coaches cutting him loose altogether or him just losing the chance at being an EE? I thought I read not being an EE after being told he could caused him to open things back up.

A lot of situations like that are hard to know what actually happened unless your a part of it.
 
#717
#717
Vol_sanity said:
...but, Johnson was not scheduled to commit until October(i think this is accurate). Why would our coaches call him ahead and tell him he is not a take? He moved his committment date up, coaches could not accept it with what was on the boards. It really sucks, but I dont know how this could have been avoided....
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I was wondering the same thing. He said originally he wasn't going to commit until the all-star game and then it was fall sometime. Obviously the coaches weren't expecting him to call and try to commit in May.
 
#718
#718
clarksV0L said:
Hasn't heard anybody make this point yet. Too bad he didn't stick to his original commitment schedule
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Yep, I think it says a lot about our coaches that they did not have a "knee jerk" reaction and take this committment. Had to be a tough thing for them, but they stuck to the plan. I like it!!
 
#719
#719
Vol_sanity said:
...but, Johnson was not scheduled to commit until October(i think this is accurate). Why would our coaches call him ahead and tell him he is not a take? He moved his committment date up, coaches could not accept it with what was on the boards. It really sucks, but I dont know how this could have been avoided....
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Just tossing this out as a possibility. Maybe Johnson was under the impression he was a take and or the staff told him to pick his "special day" to commit. Maybe he felt that meant his spot was in stone. He then had concerns if that was accurate and he moved the date up to his BDay as his "special day" and then found out he was not a take.

Having kids set up a "special day" to commit way off in the future could absolutely be a slow play tactic. Probably not a great idea IF that is happening.
 
#720
#720
Ron Swanson said:
I was wondering the same thing. He said originally he wasn't going to commit until the all-star game and then it was fall sometime. Obviously the coaches weren't expecting him to call and try to commit in May.
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Isn't Settle planning to commit in September? Maybe he was hoping to get on board before Settle. Probably could see the writing on the wall and really wanted to be a Vol.
 
#721
#721
Vol_sanity said:
...but, Johnson was not scheduled to commit until October(i think this is accurate). Why would our coaches call him ahead and tell him he is not a take? He moved his committment date up, coaches could not accept it with what was on the boards. It really sucks, but I dont know how this could have been avoided....
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Just FWIW, I'm not saying Butch did anything wrong. Obviously he assumed he had a committable offer, and you would also have to think he thought that b/c at some point he was told that. Things changed with the depth chart a month ago, and he wasn't made aware. I'm sure he's had constant contact with the staff and felt like they should have been proactive in telling him that former DE's were now moving to DT's and their numbers have changed. That didn't happen, and that's why we are where we are.

Anyways, I don't think the "bad publicity" is much to overcome at all. This whole situation will be swept under the rug with little/no lasting effects, IMO.


I
 
#722
#722
LebanonVolunteer said:
Was it ever confirmed if it was UT coaches cutting him loose altogether or him just losing the chance at being an EE? I thought I read not being an EE after being told he could caused him to open things back up.

A lot of situations like that are hard to know what actually happened unless your a part of it.
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You are correct, he only lost his EE spot, he and his Dad tweeted that they still have a scholly, but would have to wait until the summer. There was always speculation about what the coaches wanted him do to, but I dont remember any facts.
 
#723
#723
Vol_sanity said:
Yep, I think it says a lot about our coaches that they did not have a "knee jerk" reaction and take this committment. Had to be a tough thing for them, but they stuck to the plan. I like it!!
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Butch Stones would probably have to Google knee jerk reaction to learn the meaning haha. There's no doubt that there's a chance that this could come back to bite us in the butt but I've got to respect our staff's dedication to bringing the best possible players to ut
 
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