While UT now has very talented players in "skill" positions and nice depth at QB and defensive line (which was awful couple years ago), there is major concern at OL and LB positions. The current '17 class has 2, yes 2, offensive linemen committed. Only 1 having a reputable offer list. With the growing concerns and lack of depth at LB, UT currently has 3 verbals. Don't know much about those players. Need 2 at least to be serious prospects to get significant playing time.
The current OL situation and lack of recruitment reminds me sadly of Dooleys era. Where, it appeared, his inability to sign any or any competent OL players seemed literally intentional.
What the hell is going on and why can't the Vols get strong and deep upfront? That's where it all starts...
TL
R Win baby win! 
I think our recruiting this year is a bit of a struggle. At one time we had the #1 QB in the country committed. We had one of the top receivers in the country committed. I have almost no doubt that the staff knows our needs but closing the deal with our top targets seems to be increasingly challenging. How we end up with this class is obviously too early to tell. I think it depends largely on how we do going through the gauntlet.
Last year Butch pointed out that we had top 5 classes in 2014 & 15 and 2016 would be another top 5 class - only it didn't quite turn out that way. We - He - got a lot of negative press for losing the close games. The themes of some of those writers claimed that our players won the games and coaching lost those games. It doesn't matter what we think on this forum. Rival recruiters are telling kids that Butch Jones isn't a very good coach and they're sharing those articles with our common targets. I think recruiting is more difficult now - especially with the apparent absence of legacy guys to fall back on. Kiffin isn't trolling Butch on losing the top recruits in the state by accident.
I believe this season will define our recruiting class this year and may go a long way to establishing the future or lack thereof for Butch Jones at Tennessee. Forget Dooley; remember that Fulmer's recruiting drop off was an early sign that his days were numbered. I might also point out that this past summer Butch said the 2016 class will turn out to be better than either of the highly touted 2014 & 15 classes. Whether you agree or not - that's a sales pitch. It's not a fact because it's far from proven as yet. jmo.
The blue-chip ratio is thought to be one of the better predictors of the talent level on a team and its potential for future success. Below is the number of blue chip players we signed verses the total class size and the national ranking for that class, Source: 247 Composite.
2000 15/22 #3 Fulmer
2001 7/21 #4 Fulmer
2002 11/26 #1 Fulmer
2003 8/18 #10 Fulmer
2004 6/20 #11 Fulmer
2005 11/21 #3 Fulmer
2006 1/18 #26 Fulmer
2007 14/33 #3 Fulmer
2008 4/18 #34 Fulmer
2009 9/21 #8 Kiffin
2010 10/28 #9 Dooley
2011 9/27 #14 Dooley
2012 8/23 #20 Dooley
2013 4/25 #24 Jones
2014 16/32 #7 Jones
2015 16/30 #4 Jones
2016 10/24 #14 Jones
2017 4/25 #12 Jones
While the current class is ranked #12, the composite points equate to #22 in the 2013 class, #23 in the 2014 class, #22 in the 2015 class, and #23 in the 2016 class. We're almost full right now while almost everyone both above us and below us has several open spots. There's a good likelihood that we'll end up with a good class after the usual shuffling but it really may depend entirely on whether Butch can back up his sales pitches with the team's performance on the field over the next few weeks.
Recruiting, they say is based on relationships and relationships are based on trust. We see all the time posters saying I trust the staff. I suppose there are folks that trust 100% of what Butch says but there are probably people that only trust about 75% of what he says, and others who trust maybe 50%. There may even be some who dont trust a single word he says. I think I come in around 70%. It doesnt really matter where we stand; whats important is where our targets stand after their conversations with our rival recruiters.
The seemingly better informed in the recruiting forum last year were saying the drop off in the 2016 class didnt matter all that much because we had the #1 QB and #1 WR (a kid from Knoxville) already in the 2017 class and the state was loaded with 2017 talent. As is to be expected, theres a new story to hang your hat on today, but I think many believe that we have to WIN some or most of the gauntlet games to get back on track with our top targets in recruiting regardless of position.
Again, there is almost no doubt in my mind that the staff knows what we need and know who they want. If they can get who they want we'll have one of the very best classes in the country and our needs will be met at the highest level. If they can't get who they want, they'll sell us who they can get. jmo.
Lastly - from a tin foil hat perspective - our offensive line play in the first 2 games could be an asset in a sales pitch to blue chip offensive linemen recruits and the fact that we have a walk-on starting at MLB over highly touted blue chip LBs on the roster could support the view that playing time is available at that spot as well.
