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I went over the 2014 recruiting class tonight...and well I thought it was interesting to look at the results. Tennessee had 32 enrollees and finished #7 on 247 sports in the class. I decided to go through each player and give them a ranking of 1-5 based on how they turned out. Obviously, the 2014 class isn't completely finished but it feels like we have a good idea of where everyone is.
5- NFL Player
4- Starter
3- 2 Deep Player
2- Contributor (special teams, role player)
1- Attrition
I went by 247 sports individual rankings for that class.
WR Josh Malone-5 Two year starter, drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals and had an excellent junior year. Disappointment the first two years, but definitely lived up to his ranking.
RB Jalen Hurd- 4 So yes, he's attrition. But if you told me that Hurd would 3,100 scrimmage yards and 26 TD's in three years, I would have easily taken that. I'm going to mark this up as a 4.
Todd Kelly Jr- 4 I am not sure what Kelly's NFL prospects are at this point, but he's been a major defensive player since day one and will be a two-year starter. With a better 2017, this can be a 5.
Dillon Bates- 2 If Bates was a mid three-star player and was not a legacy, I think people would be perfectly fine with his career. He's played decently at linebacker and is a good special teams player, but he looks like someone who will be career depth.
Dewayne Hendrix- 1 Hendrix looked like he had a bright future at Tennessee, but got passed over and transferred to Pittsburgh. I believe he was injured last year and didn't play.
Derrell Scott- 1 Another attrition guy that got in trouble at Tennessee and never really got a chance. Transferred to East Carolina.
Von Pearson- 4 Pearson had a really good junior year and was derailed by an unfortunate situation his senior year. I am very surprised an NFL team has not given him a shot.
Cortez McDowell- 3.5 I'm cheating here because this is my scoring system and McDowell hasn't locked up a full time starting job yet. He will most likely be a 4 at the end of the year and maybe a five. I think he's going to have a great 2017 season.
Daniel Helm- 1 Lost the starting job to Ethan Wolf, never fit into the culture at Tennessee and is the starter at Duke. Would be nice to have him here.
Derek Barnett- 5 Yeah, I'd say he was pretty good.
Dontavius Blair- 1 Yeah, that didn't go well.
D'Andre Payne- 1 Man, I was really excited that he would be the long term guy at nickel. He actually had a good year at Iowa State. He was voted newcomer of the year in 2016 and is the starting nickel there.
Gavin Bryant- 1 I had trouble finding out where he ended up. I was really excited when he committed and he actually was a good special teams player. But wasn't a SEC linebacker
Chris Weatherd- 3 I thought he was underused here at Tennessee. Loved his pass rushing ability and also played special teams.
Charles Mosley- 1 This shouldn't even count. He never had a chance after his car wreck. Unfortunate.
Evan Berry- 4 One of the best returners in Tennessee history, he's a nice depth option at safety and I think will be an NFL player just for his returning abilities.
Ethan Wolf- 5 He's not in the NFL but he's going to be a four-year starter and will most likely get drafted in 2018. He's a good blocker and solid pass catcher.
Michael Sawyers- 1 Trouble from the start and never panned out.
Joe Henderson- 1 I don't think he ever played a down at Tennessee.
Rashaan Gaulden- 4 Good nickel cornerback and actually better than I thought he would be. I don't know if he will get drafted but still has two years at Tennessee.
Treyvon Paulk- 1 Never was a factor at Tennessee.
Vic Wharton- 1 Played his freshman year, but transferred to Cal after not fitting in at Tennessee. Had a pretty good year at Cal too.
Jashon Robertson-5 Same thing here as with Ethan Wolf. Four-year starter, most likely an NFL player if he can stay healthy.
Dimarya Mixon- 3 He counts as attrition, but he was a contributor here for three years. So kind of like Jalen Hurd, I'm going to make an exception.
Coleman Thomas- 4 I don't know if he is going to be the starter at center this year, but I feel like he's worthy of a 4 because he has almost two years of starts under his belt. At the very least, he's a high 3.
Neiko Creamer- 1 Never found a position and got lost in the shuffle at Tennessee.
Jakob Johnson- 2 Personal feelings, I felt he never should have been moved to offense and redshirted in 2015. But he's a great kid, good special teams player, and I hope he can contribute at TE this year.
Elliot Berry- 3 I don't believe he will start this year and he struggled last year, but still is nice depth at the position and play special teams.
Ray Raulerson- 1 Got lost in the shuffle and transferred.
Emmanuel Moseley- 3 Chance to be a 4 or a 5 depending on how his senior year to go. He's regressed in 2016, but still. Considering where his ranking was I think this can be a win for the staff.
Owen Williams- 4 Had a really good 2015 year as a starter. Really good JUCO get by the staff.
Aaron Medley- 4 He's not special at the position, but he gets the job done.
5- NFL Player
4- Starter
3- 2 Deep Player
2- Contributor (special teams, role player)
1- Attrition
I went by 247 sports individual rankings for that class.
WR Josh Malone-5 Two year starter, drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals and had an excellent junior year. Disappointment the first two years, but definitely lived up to his ranking.
RB Jalen Hurd- 4 So yes, he's attrition. But if you told me that Hurd would 3,100 scrimmage yards and 26 TD's in three years, I would have easily taken that. I'm going to mark this up as a 4.
Todd Kelly Jr- 4 I am not sure what Kelly's NFL prospects are at this point, but he's been a major defensive player since day one and will be a two-year starter. With a better 2017, this can be a 5.
Dillon Bates- 2 If Bates was a mid three-star player and was not a legacy, I think people would be perfectly fine with his career. He's played decently at linebacker and is a good special teams player, but he looks like someone who will be career depth.
Dewayne Hendrix- 1 Hendrix looked like he had a bright future at Tennessee, but got passed over and transferred to Pittsburgh. I believe he was injured last year and didn't play.
Derrell Scott- 1 Another attrition guy that got in trouble at Tennessee and never really got a chance. Transferred to East Carolina.
Von Pearson- 4 Pearson had a really good junior year and was derailed by an unfortunate situation his senior year. I am very surprised an NFL team has not given him a shot.
Cortez McDowell- 3.5 I'm cheating here because this is my scoring system and McDowell hasn't locked up a full time starting job yet. He will most likely be a 4 at the end of the year and maybe a five. I think he's going to have a great 2017 season.
Daniel Helm- 1 Lost the starting job to Ethan Wolf, never fit into the culture at Tennessee and is the starter at Duke. Would be nice to have him here.
Derek Barnett- 5 Yeah, I'd say he was pretty good.
Dontavius Blair- 1 Yeah, that didn't go well.
D'Andre Payne- 1 Man, I was really excited that he would be the long term guy at nickel. He actually had a good year at Iowa State. He was voted newcomer of the year in 2016 and is the starting nickel there.
Gavin Bryant- 1 I had trouble finding out where he ended up. I was really excited when he committed and he actually was a good special teams player. But wasn't a SEC linebacker
Chris Weatherd- 3 I thought he was underused here at Tennessee. Loved his pass rushing ability and also played special teams.
Charles Mosley- 1 This shouldn't even count. He never had a chance after his car wreck. Unfortunate.
Evan Berry- 4 One of the best returners in Tennessee history, he's a nice depth option at safety and I think will be an NFL player just for his returning abilities.
Ethan Wolf- 5 He's not in the NFL but he's going to be a four-year starter and will most likely get drafted in 2018. He's a good blocker and solid pass catcher.
Michael Sawyers- 1 Trouble from the start and never panned out.
Joe Henderson- 1 I don't think he ever played a down at Tennessee.
Rashaan Gaulden- 4 Good nickel cornerback and actually better than I thought he would be. I don't know if he will get drafted but still has two years at Tennessee.
Treyvon Paulk- 1 Never was a factor at Tennessee.
Vic Wharton- 1 Played his freshman year, but transferred to Cal after not fitting in at Tennessee. Had a pretty good year at Cal too.
Jashon Robertson-5 Same thing here as with Ethan Wolf. Four-year starter, most likely an NFL player if he can stay healthy.
Dimarya Mixon- 3 He counts as attrition, but he was a contributor here for three years. So kind of like Jalen Hurd, I'm going to make an exception.
Coleman Thomas- 4 I don't know if he is going to be the starter at center this year, but I feel like he's worthy of a 4 because he has almost two years of starts under his belt. At the very least, he's a high 3.
Neiko Creamer- 1 Never found a position and got lost in the shuffle at Tennessee.
Jakob Johnson- 2 Personal feelings, I felt he never should have been moved to offense and redshirted in 2015. But he's a great kid, good special teams player, and I hope he can contribute at TE this year.
Elliot Berry- 3 I don't believe he will start this year and he struggled last year, but still is nice depth at the position and play special teams.
Ray Raulerson- 1 Got lost in the shuffle and transferred.
Emmanuel Moseley- 3 Chance to be a 4 or a 5 depending on how his senior year to go. He's regressed in 2016, but still. Considering where his ranking was I think this can be a win for the staff.
Owen Williams- 4 Had a really good 2015 year as a starter. Really good JUCO get by the staff.
Aaron Medley- 4 He's not special at the position, but he gets the job done.
