Biggest bust as a highly touted recruit.

[Devo182]

He quit on his team. He got lit up and fumbled in the Georgia game because he lost focus and tried to showboat into the end zone. Then he refused to play in the A&M game and left at the end of the season. I don't care what the coach did or didn't promise him. He handled that situation about as terribly as you can. Plus wasn't he the catalyst who pushed for the firing of S&C coach Dave Lawson? Yeah, the impact of that was definitely felt the next season when we looked about as soft as marshmallows against Appy State. I'm not saying CBJ didn't do him wrong but the way Hurd handled it was bad. He SHOULD'VE been a beloved VFL, up there with Al Wilson, Manning, Eric Berry, etc but because of how he acted, he's all but forgotten about now. Truly a shame.

The answer is in between.

He was far from a bust and made the freakin NFL lol. That's never a bust.

That said, as an RB, at UT, he wasn't very efficient and took snaps from a clearly better RB. By his last season, he averaged something like 3.5 ypc lmao. But he did have his moments.

Like I said, somewhere in-between. But to call him a bust is ludicrous. People seem to just be going after players they have grudges with, not actual busts.

 

[BoonshillVol]

O.J. Owens

His high school tape is still one of the best ones ever

 

[RDU VOL#14]

What exactly are we defining as a bust? Is it guys that were highly rated coming out of high school that never lived up to the billing like a JG or Harrison Bailey ? Or is it guys that fizzled out and were dismissed from the team due to off the field stuff like drugs or arrests ? I wouldn’t call Da’Rick Rogers a bust, he was an incredible player when he was eligible. Same with Lamarcus Coker.

 

[snappervol]

Travis Cozart

Cozart not so much of a bust, in that he could play and then some. He simply could not obey team rules, and was let go.

 

[Cobb-Webb 1989]

From all the hype

Eric Locke

 

[eskimovol]

He not only put up respectable stats, but has played in the NFL lol.....and he was only ranked in the top 70...not like he was top 10 or something.

And yet his QBR is better than all but a few modern UT QBs. People just hated he was on a losing team. Worst rushing attack in the SEC b2b years and a porous OL like no other. Guy took a beating, graduated, and gave all he had. VFL in my book. Unlike others that quit midseason on their "brothers"

I don’t think most people fully closed the door on JG until he tried to be the hero in the Alabama game. Like you said though, atleast he didn’t quit mid season; played decent coming off the bench.

 

[snappervol]

This is a great off-season subject, in my opinion. Does anyone recall the intensity and perceived significance of the recruitment of;
Chris Donald (LB)?

 

[Cobb-Webb 1989]

Crompton

What? That was Fulmer and his offensive staff's blunder.

He was top notch with Kiffin, and still went pro.

Just imagine if Crompton had four years under Kiffin.

Sterling Henton was aweful, thankfulling Andy Kelly was ready to take over Henton's reins.

 

[Clad in Big Orange]

?

He was pretty good. You're comparing a multiyear SEC starter ranked in the top 50 iirc vs guys that have hardly, if ever, started. Big gap.

Might as well say JJ Peterson...ooh that's a good one.

He's an epic bust of a Vol. Big-time recruiting "win", solid 2 seasons, defensive captain....and then he left for Bama. Turns out he probably took money to be here. That's a bust in my opinion.

 

[VaBornVol]

Sterling Kazee or something like that I believe

Isn’t he in one of those 30 for 30s about a Texas high school team? Committed from a hot tub or something?

 

[LeannaVol]

This is a great off-season subject, in my opinion. Does anyone recall the intensity and perceived significance of the recruitment of;
Chris Donald (LB)?

I think Donald’s biggest problem was his motor. He lacked the Al Wilson intensity. He and Bill Bates son were supposed to be the next great UT linebackers . Bates always looked like he had heavy feet to me.

 

[bpalmer28]

Chris Donald.

Bryce Brown was not a bust… wasn’t he our #2 rusher as a true freshman?

 

[Rememberthelate90s]

Kelley Washington. I think touted himself as “the Answer “. Ended up as more of a cancer.

Nope

 

[Offset Eye]

Cozart not so much of a bust, in that he could play and then some. He simply could not obey team rules, and was let go.

Some guys from the '95 team told me that if Travis had stayed out of trouble, Jay Graham never would have seen the field except for mop up duty. They said he was the single best athlete on the team hands down.

 

[swampfoxfan]

He ended up being a WR didn’t he?

Yes and he could kick it into high gear

 

[LargeOrange1]

Jim Bob Cooter......

All my teen years I had high hopes for Cooter but, alas, Cooter always let me down.

 

[Hank Bukowski]

He ended up being a WR didn’t he?

Yes, as I recall.

 

[VaBornVol]

Butch holds a lot of the blame in the Hurd saga, but I also think Hurd took some really bad advice in quitting/leaving/switching positions. At the time he left, he was 6 weeks away from being an all-time Tennessee HS/College football legend. Had he stuck it out and declared for the draft as a RB after his junior year, he probably would’ve been drafted in the first three rounds and maybe on his second NFL contract now

 

[tellicoflash]

Washington

 

[VolinMichigan]

The answer is in between.

He was far from a bust and made the freakin NFL lol. That's never a bust.

That said, as an RB, at UT, he wasn't very efficient and took snaps from a clearly better RB. By his last season, he averaged something like 3.5 ypc lmao. But he did have his moments.

Like I said, somewhere in-between. But to call him a bust is ludicrous. People seem to just be going after players they have grudges with, not actual busts.

Agreed. I wouldn’t consider a guy who would have easily been the all time rushing yards leader at UT a bust. Kamara was clearly the better player, but Hurd wasn’t terrible.

 

[Jackcrevol]

Chris Donald

 

[BoonshillVol]

Isn’t he in one of those 30 for 30s about a Texas high school team? Committed from a hot tub or something?

Not sure about that he was one of the top db's in the nation a waste of talent

 

[OrangeTsar]

Yeah Hurd went out like a little b_tch but he definitely wasn't a bust! If he had stayed he would be the all time rushing leader at UT and beloved by fans for years to come. Instead he decided to become a whiny prima donna and took his ball and went home! What a punk!

I used to think along those lines but as I learned more and more about Butch, I can see why some players just felt like they had to get out. That man absolutely ruined some potential careers

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

Most people won't remember Stephon Moore. He was signed by UT but couldn't qualify academically. He went to TMI with Sam Henderson, Dale Jones and a few others in fall 1981. After what should have been their collegiate freshman year at UT, a few of them went to UT after a year at TMI in Sweetwater. Stephon made the grade to matriculate, but flunked out fall quarter of 1982. If you look back at the preseason periodicals before 1982, you'll see his name mentioned as a big play guy. Played TB and was brilliant as both a runner and receiver

 

[volanatic]

Travis Cozart

Would’ve likely been elite if he could’ve kept his nose clean (no pun). Glad to see he’s turned his life around now. As a kid growing up in LC, I idolized him as a Panther. Absolutely a man among boys on the gridiron.