2010 UT NSD Offensive Class Grades....

#1
g8terh8ter_eric

g8terh8ter_eric

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#1
In these grades, I will attempt to dissect why we took the prospect, how they relate to our program, and what I believe their potential could be while here at UT.

QB

Tyler Bray

  • Grade - A
  • How he relates to UT - UT needed a play-making QB, this is their guy. He's a student of the game and relates to Chaney VERY well.
  • Potential - The sky is the limit with Bray. He probably has the most upside of any QB in this class, and this a a fairly weak class of QBs. With that being said, I see a QB that by his junior year, should be challenging to be the best in the SEC.
Matt Simms

  • Grade - D+
  • How he relates to UT - IMO, this is the guy that replaces Lamaison. Simms is a body to me, and not much more. There is even the possibility that he could transfer again in the future, IMO.
  • Potential - Simms has some upside, but even that is minimal, IMO. Going to have to work his tail off to prove himself, but even having Simms pedigree, I don't see him seeing the field very much.
Nash Nance

  • Grade - C+
  • How he relates to UT - Without even have played a down or stepped foot on campus, Nance should be a favorite recruit because of who he helped us land. This guy helped us replace Markeith Ambles with Da'Rick Rogers. I would even say that he will help with getting Rogers academically eligible for this fall.
  • Potential - Nance is the prototypical cerebral QB. He doesn't have a lot of the tool right now, but he's smart enough to develop. He also has some speed. He reminds me of a Drew Brees type QB. Always being told you can't do it, but proving everyone wrong on each level.
RB

Rajion Neal

  • Grade - B+
  • How he relates to UT - He's a physical runner, with speed to boot. Reminds me of a faster Toney Williams. He is going to push to be in the rotation this fall.
  • Potential - This kid has a ton of upside. He's built, he's physical, and he's fast. I look for him to be pushing to start in 2 years.
Channing Fugate

  • Grade - B+
  • How he relates to UT - He's the H-Back that we need. He will also compliment Austin Johnson well.
  • Potential - This is a guy I would look for to start at FB after Austin Johnson leaves. He's also going to catch a bunch of passes out of the backfield and punish some CBs.
WR

Da'Rick Rogers

  • Grade - A+
  • How he relates to UT - He's a 10 year type receiver, IMO. He's a guy that can just change games and beat you at any time. Reminds me of a more athletic A.J. Green.
  • Potential - What can't this guy do?? He's got the measureables to do anything he wants, he's just got to keep up his grades as well.
Justin Hunter

  • Grade - A+
  • How he relates to UT - Chaney wants to throw the ball, and with Hunter and Rogers, he can stretch the field like no one else's business.
  • Potential - If you redshirt this guy, he becomes a better player in the long run. Hunter has the ability to stretch defenses, but he's rail thin and needs a year in the weight room. He's a guy that will burn you though, if your not careful.
Matt Milton

  • Grade - A-
  • How he relates to UT - He's a redzone nightmare. Chaney will utilize him as such.
  • Potential - He's not a burner, but he's not slow. With the proper coaching, he may be the best route runner of all the other receivers in the class.
Ted Meline

  • Grade - B+
  • How he relates to UT - This guy is a tweener. He's got the moves to be a WR, but he can also run and cover and be a DB. His true position may not be known for sometime.
  • Potential - This guy has all the potential in the world to be a really strong slot receiver, or a shut down corner. Like I said though, his true position won't be known for sometime. Kid has skills though.
TE

Mychal Rivera

  • Grade - B-
  • How he relates to UT - We had a need for a TE in this class, and we landed Rivera.
  • Potential - This guy has great potential, but he's going to have to work to get quicker off the line. He also catches everything thrown his way, I have been read.
OL

Zach Fulton

  • Grade - B
  • How he relates to UT - He earned an offer at camp, and the rest is history. Going to be a Offensive Tackle, IMO.
  • Potential - He could end up being great tackle. I just don't know if he will end up seeing much playing time before his RS sophomore year. He will redshirt, IMO.
Marques Pair

  • Grade - B-
  • How he relates to UT - Plain and simple, he's an athletic OL at a position of need.
  • Potential - This is the one that really stumps me. He dominated at camp, but never really gained any strength in the rankings or had much chatter in the recruiting circles. So, at this point, it's hard to really put a finger on where he might be down the line.
Jawuan James

  • Grade - A+
  • How he relates to UT - Need a studly LT?? This is your guy.
  • Potential - Out of everyone on the offensive side signing today, this is the guy I am most excited about. I think he starts in the fall.
James Stone

  • Grade - A-
  • How he relates to UT - He's going to be other pillar of the left side of our line. Starting by RS Freshman year. I do think he redshirts.
  • Potential - With James playing beside him, I think Stone has All-SEC OG written all over him.
Overall, I give this offensive class a B+. Could have gotten one more lineman and I would have given it an A-. I will review the defensive side sometime later today or tomorrow.
 
#4
#4
Great review....I agree D won't be pretty at all.

But that is to be expected when you don't have a DC and you are losing a DC legend.
 
#5
#5
i like this and also think D has holes. can we expect an evaluation of the D soon? ha
 
#6
#6
Are we really fortunate enough in terms of depth to be redshirting 2 or 3 or our OL? Isn't this a huge area of need?
 
#7
#7
QB

Grade: B

Bray obviously pushes this grade. I think we do have one of those kids that with some conditioning and him taking a Peyton-esque approach to the game will be very good in the SEC. Nance has Chaney's approval but I think his arm and the circumstances of taking Rogers just makes this too much of an uncertainty right now. Simms doesn't excite me one bit. Kiffin just needed an arm and I think his scholarship would've been better used elsewhere.

RB

Grade: B-

I think Neal is going to be a good back, he would've been one of those guys that if he had gone elsewhere I think we would've said "man, I wish he had come to UT." Well, now we have him, but with our stable of backs who knows when/where he'll be on the depth chart as a freshman. Fugate is in that tweener spot where he can be used in different ways. Who knows, the new staff may want him at LB but his versatility is a plus.

WR

Grade: A+

This is just a great haul. Rogers is a definite playmaker, Hunter's raw talent is dangerous if tapped. And I am very excited to see Matt Milton playing for us, I think he's going to be really really good. Ted Meline is another guy we don't know where he's going to play yet, but if it's offense I think he'll be just fine.

TE

Grade: C

Rivera was great to pickup late, but we're going to be suffering at depth here over the next season or two. Losing Delvin Jones to Ole Miss and grades counts against this grade, as well, since his versatility could have put him at TE.

OL

Grade: C-

This is more of a quantity thing as I think every lineman we picked up has the "potential" to be a key component of our line at some point in their career here. Stone and James are great, and I think Fulton and Pair are undervalued players that will be at the very worst serviceable SEC backups. But we needed another guy like Chaz Green, or Torrian Wilson, or a Damien Robinson. And if we couldn't have gotten them, we needed one or two more projects. To me, a project > a walkon.

DL

Grade: C-

Getting Brown qualified is integral to this grade, which isn't really that high. The loss of Copeland is really really painful. Not being able to secure a Calvin Smith, or a McAdoo, or another guy who projects at DT was not good. But at least based on their current listed positions, Miller and Smith are guys that any Vol fan can find themselves rooting for easily. Martaze Jackson looks to be an LB at the college level but I think he was a good late pickup.

LB

Grade: D+

This is where I am worried and just not really impressed overall. Propst *might* be nice, and we're hearing good things about Crump and Martaze Jackson also, but it's hard to be excited about these guys right now. Dontavis Sapp might even bulk up to play LB, but I think whether he stays at S or LB he isn't going to see any significant time here. It's just frustrating because at one point we were hot on the heels of Jeff Luc and Christian Jones, and we had Michael Taylor and Ralph Williams committed for a long time. Hopefully some of the young guys we have now already on the team will progress well.

Secondary

Grade: B

After watching film on Marques Dixon and Dave Clark, I think these are two really good players that will contribute. Dixon may not right away, but I would not be shocked to see Clark as the #2 corner next year. If Loften stays at safety he'll need to improve his cover skills, but man can he hit.

Special Teams

Grade: A

Michael Palardy. There's really nothing else to say. :rock:
 
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#8
#8
I'll play.

QB

Grade: B-
Bray has a ton of potential, but is raw and not ready for the wear and tear of the SEC. Nance is a solid get if you are just adding a second quarterback. Sims drops this rating a tad.

RB

Grade: C+
We weren't really looking for a knock-out punch here. One guy rated highly. Good compliment to the backs on roster. I'd rate Neal individually as a B+. Channing Fugate is a C player. Guy with potential, but his success is only going to come from hard work and determination. We won't know for awhile if he has it in him.

WR

Grade: A++

Even without Ambles this is one of the better WR classes in UT history. All of these guys are very talented. Rogers is going to really impress you this year. I predict he starts from day 1.

TE

Grade: D-

Not much to say here. We got a guy that can play early, but he's not the most talented in the nation. Could have used two TEs and the loss of Delvin Jones hurts this ranking even as an ATH because he has potential to be a very good TE if not a prototypical one.

OL

Grade: B
Even though we could have used another guard and another tackle. The haul we got is impressive. Pair has a ton of potential. Very athletic. Great potential to be the future RT here. James Stone is one of the best guards in the country. A world of potential, but he won't play early. Fulton is a guy that we were really high on. Ja'Wuan James is a future NFL tackle IMO. We missed on Chaz Green, but I think for what we got we did really well. No reaches here whatsoever.

DL

Grade: F

We did okay if not great at DE, but we may go into the fall with no DT in this class at all after signing one last year who may end up being an offensive lineman once they look at him. Very alarming situation.
LB

Grade: D
We missed on the big names, but we got warm bodies which is where we failed on the D-line. I really like Propst as a MLB. Heady guy. Crump is under-valued IMO. The coaching staff thought a lot of him and offered him a scholly before knowing how spaces were going to pan out. Losing Stanley hurts us bad here.

Secondary

Grade: B
Not a need position, but we added some really talented players here with the exception of Sapp.

Special Teams

Grade: A

Palardy.

[/QUOTE]
 
#9
#9
Nice recap guys ya'll really put this class into perspective :thumbsup:
 
#12
#12
I really like the guys we got on the offensive side though I would have liked to have another OL instead of a load of QB's. Couldn't have a better WR group period.

Defense looks good all-around but we really needed one or two DT's. We do get two solid DE's. Secondary looks solid. Sure we may got shorted with LB's but we got plenty last year. Instead of being RS they got experience due to injuries.
 
#13
#13
random off topic question that definitely doesn't deserve its own thread: Who (if anyone) will wear #7 next year? I need someone to put a good name on it so when I wear mine it isn't a "nuke jersey"
 
#14
#14
Good work E-Rock.

Channing Fugate

  • Grade - B+
  • How he relates to UT - He's the H-Back that we need. He will also compliment Austin Johnson well.
  • Potential - This is a guy I would look for to start at FB after Austin Johnson leaves. He's also going to catch a bunch of passes out of the backfield and punish some CBs.
Does anybody know if we will be using the fullback as much this year or will we just have to wait and see? With the WR talent I would think alot of 3 and 4 wide. That would take the fullback out of alot of plays
 
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