'19 CA LB Henry To'oto'o (Tennessee Signee)

[SLICKYINC]

Leave it to the Alabama guy to have a better pulse of our program than 95% of Vol fans.

Good post @TideWarrior. But we ain’t giving Pruitt back.

I'd hate to be the guy who has to follow Saban after he retires.

 

[Grudenator]

Seems really unlikely still. Dont see him falling under "safety, health, or well-being"

I know I read where if the player left in good standing with the last university, there could be a waiver as well.

 

[TideWarrior]

I know I read where if the player left in good standing with the last university, there could be a waiver as well.

There is also a new rule/loophole that if a guy leaves the team before the season starts he can be replaced as well without hurting other numbers.

 

[TideWarrior]

@TideWarrior

Any more word from the UA websites on this one?

Seems to be a lot of doom and gloom here.

Nothing more then what has been posted here. No interviews a little more positive on our side.

 

[Devo182]

I know I read where if the player left in good standing with the last university, there could be a waiver as well.

That is just one of the requirements, not a reason for a waiver. In good standing, school oks waiver, and on track to graduate are requirements.

 

[shoney]

I'd hate to be the guy who has to follow Saban after he retires.

Yep, it's going to be a bumpy ride for whoever it is. There is no duplicating Saban.

 

[butchna]

I think what Pruitt is doing is great and this is coming from a UA fan that hopes we get him when Saban retires and yes I prefer him over Dabo.

Butch seemed to focus on top players that were legacies and went after other players where he did not try to go head to head with the big time programs. Maybe every now and then he may have stepped out of his comfort zone but his approach was very low risk and went after players he had a legit shot to bring in. Even then no matter what you do on the trail you only get so many years to keep saying you are rebuilding. Eventually you have to produce results. Pruitt on the other hand he will go head to head with anyone in the country. Yes a little more risky considering you may yield less in the return with all the resources you put into those recruits but he understands that for UT to compete with the best in the SEC and country UT has the get the same players. I believe Wright will end up at UT and with Crouch and few others Butch would have not pulled those type of players.

Again Pruitt is one of the best recruiters in the country and considering what he is doing with the recent history of the UT program is pretty impressive.

Lot of truth in your post but also a subscription to a fallacy many in our fanbase already bought. NONE of Butch’s classes were built around “legacies”. Todd Kelly Jr and Dillon Bates were two that exhausted their eligibility who joined the same class that Vic Wharton was the first to commit. Derek Barnett and Jalen Hurd were the jewels of that class and never looked back. Believe it had 31 eventual signees. A last addition blueshirt, Jashon Robertson had more impact than any legacies...including Nikko Creamer. What other Butch class even had one?

 

[Devo182]

The in-home is on according to Toot's dad. Saban going Thursday. Not sure when Pruitt is.
- Ramey

 

[shoney]

The in-home is on according to Toot's dad. Saban going Thursday. Not sure when Pruitt is.
- Ramey

Pruitt needs to be sure and bring flowers. I bet Saban forgets, it could push us over the top.

 

[onevol74]

Since the family is moving I have to wonder if employment would be a deciding factor?

 

[Devo182]

Since the family is moving I have to wonder if employment would be a deciding factor?

Apparently his dad builds boats. He builds vessels for seaman.

 

[swchandler1988]

Apparently his dad builds boats. He builds vessels for seaman.

Mastercraft HQ is just 40 min south of Knoxville...

 

[Bring_Back_Dooley]

Just because we have had a low ROI in recent years, doesn't mean there is an excuse to not have a respectable return going forward. Even Dooley consistently had top 20 recruiting classes here. There should be a floor for a staff with these resources, regardless of record from the previous year.

Yes, I expect this program to have a better record over the next few years. But it's been one year with a staff that inherited a program severely lacking SEC-quality players. It's going to be a slow process back to respectability. Why some fans expected 9 wins and a Top 5 recruiting class this year is beyond me.

 

[SugarCC]

*cough* Simonton *cough*

Also, they were definitely salty about being shut out of the OC search.

I've always thought if I put much stock into what Simonton says, I was just asking to get burned. The dude is a Gator, and hates UT; he let's it show all the time, in the most subtle ways. I've always taken what he says with a grain of salt, or not at all. I can't believe Hubbs hired the guy.

 

[TideWarrior]

Lot of truth in your post but also a subscription to a fallacy many in our fanbase already bought. NONE of Butch’s classes were built around “legacies”. Todd Kelly Jr and Dillon Bates were two that exhausted their eligibility who joined the same class that Vic Wharton was the first to commit. Derek Barnett and Jalen Hurd were the jewels of that class and never looked back. Believe it had 31 eventual signees. A last addition blueshirt, Jashon Robertson had more impact than any legacies...including Nikko Creamer. What other Butch class even had one?

I thought Kahlil McKenzie was legacy as well. Either way I was not trying to infer that is who he built the class around but that Butch seemed to go after players that he had a great chance in landing due to other variable besides him as a recruiter or coach. A lot easier for a coach to sign(should be at least) top tier talent that are legacies and instate players especially in a state like TN where the flagship school is full of tradition. Yes he pulled other recruits but very seldom did it seem(at least to those on the outside) that he exhausted a lot of resources going head to head with Saban, Meyer, Dabo, whoever. Pruitt will and like Saban will miss on far more then he will get.

 

[peaygolf]

Yes, I expect this program to have a better record over the next few years. But it's been one year with a staff that inherited a program severely lacking SEC-quality players. It's going to be a slow process back to respectability. Why some fans expected 9 wins and a Top 5 recruiting class this year is beyond me.

Disagree with this. Slow to being a NC roster, but not respectable. That can be done, and should be, this coming year.

 

[Bring_Back_Dooley]

I've always thought if I put much stock into what Simonton says, I was just asking to get burned. The dude is a Gator, and hates UT; he let's it show all the time, in the most subtle ways. I've always taken what he says with a grain of salt, or not at all. I can't believe Hubbs hired the guy.

Simonton does do a good job of analyzing statistical trends during the season, and other football-related information, but I find him overly pessimistic re: recruiting. I'm not looking for a sunshine pumper either, but I find his perspective on UT recruiting to be the most negative of the four VQ guys.

 

[Bring_Back_Dooley]

Disagree with this. Slow to being a NC roster, but not respectable. That can be done, and should be, this coming year.

That's fair. But it depends on how you define "respectable." Eight, nine wins? Beating USC, KY, Mizzou, and Vandy regularly? Not getting blown out?

 

[Smokeytom]

eh, those big classes almost never work out. i did some lookin back at classes of that size some time ago, and what i found was when you sign classes at 30+, the attrition rate for those sized classes was 5 to 10% higher than normal.

as was the case with Butch's classes. experienced very high attrition rates, and not all for good reasons.

But all the more likely some of those guys will be studs. Its a give and take. I think with the new transfer rules they should still allow the over-signing.

 

[SSVol]

If you will go back and read you will know that we are talking about closing toss-ups on nsd. Not players that have been committed or loans for months

Then the argument was failed to begin with. The only thing that matters to winning is the quality of the players we end up with after player development. Losing a small fraction of late signers is noise.

 

[butchna]

I thought Kahlil McKenzie was legacy as well. Either way I was not trying to infer that is who he built the class around but that Butch seemed to go after players that he had a great chance in landing due to other variable besides him as a recruiter or coach. A lot easier for a coach to sign(should be at least) top tier talent that are legacies and instate players especially in a state like TN where the flagship school is full of tradition. Yes he pulled other recruits but very seldom did it seem(at least to those on the outside) that he exhausted a lot of resources going head to head with Saban, Meyer, Dabo, whoever. Pruitt will and like Saban will miss on far more then he will get.

Kyle Phillips? Trey Smith? Nigel Warrior? Jonathan Kongbo? There are other examples but I explained one “legacy class” and the disingenuous nature of that term. K-Mac’s class wasn’t built on just him and didn’t Ole Nick put on the Crimson Blazer and helicopter in to see Trey Smith at his high school? He and Urban share a Whopper later on? Yeah Saban and Urban outrecruited our former coach...like they did everybody else. Note to self, quit advocating for Bammers on our board. They all have their inner Surge.

 

[titansvolsfaninga]

Apparently his dad builds boats. He builds vessels for seaman.

Catch The Semen....in my Sean Connery voice.

 

[Volfan76]

Then the argument was failed to begin with. The only thing that matters to winning is the quality of the players we end up with after player development. Losing a small fraction of late signers is noise.

That must be why all these 2 and 3 star teams are winning National Championships.

 

[Sudden Impact]

Recruiting Rankings, W-L records, Social Media Hype, Relationships, Facilities, Fandom all mean and contribute to recruiting. Over the past several coaches, We have not recruited to our team's needs. Butch recruited * power. Dooley did not recruit but 1 high end Quality OL in his 3 years? Kiffin it was like an expendable list of 4 star 5 stars.

No Coaching with what they had and Butch managed to sit quality players on the bench. He was all about rankings and look where that got us.

This mess is going to take some time to fix... If Henry, Poppoe, Bogle, Norton, decide not to come here it may not be all about purse strings of other schools but also about what needs we are not meeting for the recruits that choose other schools. Plus we are dealing with 17, 18, 19 year olds whose minds change with the wind.

Sometimes insider info does more harm than good because even though we have interests and the kid also has interest in the program. Sites have a tendency to blow it up or amp it up 10x-20x time more than what it actually is at the moment and builds like a snowball rolling down a hill.

 

[BigOrangeVols]

You and your Butch Jones profile pic can get the f*** out.

For stating the obvious? Nice