247's Highest All Time Rated Vols Recruits

[chattavol420]

Derek was like a football version of Grant Williams...high level blue collar guy with intelligence and motor.

Think some of high level recruit busts earlier this past decade had to do with playing too many snaps early in career, where often injuries come because of PT...lack of consistent strength program and type of practice and development program Pruitt runs, as opposed to Butch/Dooley. Lastly, because of high talent defections, every year we churned players, causing Vols to be eternally young, where frosh were asked to carry the load. In 2020, we'll finally start to have veteran type squad, where, for any particular year, I'd rather have a highly developed 3-4 year 3* guy than a higher rated frosh having to play out of the gate (disclaimer...Henry T, Morris, Morris high talent frosh are exceptions to the rule, obviously)

Couldn’t agree more. Great post

 

[Exiled]

Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry, Travis Stephens, Shawn Bryson was a pretty good RB crew...

 

[golfballs]

Phillips and McKenzie are very disappointing. But they played under a coach who couldn't develop players.

McKenzie had the opportunity to

 

[Jdw2920]

Yea I see more busts than ones that actually helped. The big kid from northwest just never panned out for sure if memory serves me correct.

 

[MrVolton]

Phillips and McKenzie are very disappointing. But they played under a coach who couldn't develop players.

Hate to say it, but substantial amount of disappointment all over the top 25 of that list. For various reasons..

 

[BanditVol]

I'm surprised Bryce Brown was so high on that list. He definitely underachieved. He wasn't awful, but really played more like a middling 4-start than a 5-star IMO, while he was at UT.

I guess he ulimtately counts as a bust since he transfered.

I think these ratings only go back to about 1999 or 2000. Would be really interesting to see Peyton's rating! Also Big John, Big Al, and a few others.

 

[BanditVol]

Derek was like a football version of Grant Williams...high level blue collar guy with intelligence and motor.

Loved Barnett, best player of the Jones era. My favorite story about him is that his mother lives in Nashville and didn't want to come to the games his freshman year. He was really tight with her and so was disappointed, and she told him that "you probably won't start anyway".

Which apparently really motivated him. LOVE that story!

But that explains his success...he didn't need Butch to develop him, he was a proactive self-starter.

 

[LowKey]

Didn't realize time started in the year 2000. Dang Y2K!

 

[RICK0380]

McKenzie has the opportunity to

He is on an XFL team this off season. Hopefully that helps him get better

 

[LittleVol]

Phillips and McKenzie are very disappointing. But they played under a coach who couldn't develop players.

Rocker in one season turned him into an NFL player.

 

[Roustabout]

Brandon Jeffries Gave up football and never played a down. The sad part is that Marcus McNeil was begging to committ. Woody McCorvey was pissed that they passed on McNeil for Jeffries. Example of Fulmer recruiting stars. It’s how they missed on Patrick Willis as well. Glad we have a coach that evaluated on camps and not stars alone.

 

[golfballs]

He is on an XFL team this off season. Hopefully that helps him get better

I meant had the opportunity. He could have played a season under Pruitt

 

[ksgovols]

I went to High School with Gerald Riggs, crazy I didn't realize that he was the 2nd highest rated RB in Tennessee history. He was the best high school running back I've seen in person though. As a freshman I didn't know who he was, I thought he was a senior transfer student. Guy was 6'0 210lbs at 15 years old, and all muscle lol.

Yeah. History is a long time. 2000 not so much. Vols made a bunch of hay in the 90's on RB's that we don't know their composite star rating. I can't remember if the Forrest Davis Southeast Recruiting magazine had stars or what, but Forrest rated them, so pretty subjective. I think Chuck Webb would have been on this list and Charlie Garner, Reggie Cobb and Little Man Stewart.

 

[RAVOL]

Brian Darden RB from Mississippi was 5 star BUST.

 

[Kinglberry]

Bryce reminded me of Dupree, great talent, head case that prevented it from achieving.

 

[JettVol]

Yeah. History is a long time. 2000 not so much. Vols made a bunch of hay in the 90's on RB's that we don't know their composite star rating. I can't remember if the Forrest Davis Southeast Recruiting magazine had stars or what, but Forrest rated them, so pretty subjective. I think Chuck Webb would have been on this list and Charlie Garner, Reggie Cobb and Little Man Stewart.

Yep. Should have put since 2000. But remember that these are star ratings from when they were still in High school, not what they became after that. having a score of .9970 is really damn high, I would venture to say he probably isn't the 2nd best RB recruit Tennessee has had, but he is absolutely a top ten for the school at that position. I mean Travis Henry, J Lewis etc were all better running back than Riggs in my opinion, but not sure if they were right out of high school.

Aside from that Manning at QB was the number 1 overall player when he was in Highschool correct? I would think he would be Tennessee's top player of all time, but again I don't have those figures just my opinion.