Recruiting Forum Football Talk II

[tennesseefan31]

Ideal finish:
Washington
Hardy
1 more OL (St. John/ Miller)
1 more WR (Caldwell, Beckwith, Williamson)
1 more DB (no idea)

 

[jakez4ut]

Actually looks like some bumps happened after ESD. We now have all 3 ILBs in the top 15. Oregon (#1 & #2 ILBs), LSU (2 in the top 7) and Bama (2 in the top 8) are the only schools that have better ILBs this class.


So imo I'd say the 3 spots this class could still improve are:

OL - A 4 star OT would really be nice, but any good high 3 or 4 star additions would be welcome
WR/TE - putting this together because landing Washington would be enough imo
RB - I like both, but neither is truly "elite"

And then really best available after that, I think this 2020 class has a lot of DL talent so wouldn't be surprised if we're taking another 1 or 2 DL/OLB type guys

pretty much agree, but i'm willing to put RB to the side for now. that room is pretty good and we got deeper yesterday.

i'd switch RB on your list for pass rusher. we need more of those....as many as we can get.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

I love that u put banks on there like its settled.. i sure hope he comes back

No further trouble, made excellent grades this semester (3.3 GPA I believe). I think he's done more than enough to return, and his original punishment was far too harsh.

An upset immature teenager popping off at the mouth to officers over something they deem to be harassment was only made into a story because our local media (as well as national outlets) seem to want to really run UT through the ringer, it's the fanbases fault for being so active in clickbait type reporting though.

Was he wrong? absolutely. But look at what some other football players have done and gotten a pass for, I mean Cam Newton...Jameis Winston...Tyreek Hill...Adrian Peterson...Ray Rice...Kareem Hunt...and the list can go on and on. If the worse thing Banks ever does is what happened that night, he'll be one of the best ambassadors for football to ever play the game honestly.

Even Peyton has a very specific (inappropriate) story about his college days that surfaces every once and awhile.

 

[StoVol]

Hubbs saying outside of Holiday, Reginald Perry may be the most intriguing prospect in this class

 

[bignewt]

Hubbs saying outside of Holiday, Reginald Perry may be the most intriguing prospect in this class

get off my coattails Hubbs ya turtle

 

[Vols4us]

No further trouble, made excellent grades this semester (3.3 GPA I believe). I think he's done more than enough to return, and his original punishment was far too harsh.

An upset immature teenager popping off at the mouth to officers over something they deem to be harassment was only made into a story because our local media (as well as national outlets) seem to want to really run UT through the ringer, it's the fanbases fault for being so active in clickbait type reporting though.

Was he wrong? absolutely. But look at what some other football players have done and gotten a pass for, I mean Cam Newton...Jameis Winston...Tyreek Hill...Adrian Peterson...Ray Rice...Kareem Hunt...and the list can go on and on. If the worse thing Banks ever does is what happened that night, he'll be one of the best ambassadors for football to ever play the game honestly.

Even Peyton has a very specific (inappropriate) story about his college days that surfaces every once and awhile.

He's learned, grown up and moved on. Time to play football again - talented player. Current version of JJ - can come back stronger than ever with a voice of maturity to help his teammates.

 

[Bassmaster_Vol]

The more I look at this class the more I love it, and it’s going to get better come February.

We added speed at the skill positions in Holiday, Hyatt, and Calloway. We added size and strength on the OL and DL. We added elite playmakers on the DL in Baron, Bailey, and Big O. Add Hardy and that’s one of the best DL classes in the nation. Added an extremely high upside pass rusher in Joseph.

We also added quite possibly the best QB in the nation on Bailey. Speed and tenacity in the secondary in Slaughter and Lawrence. Bruisers at LB. Eason is an absolute freak.

We got a lot better yesterday. If we add Wash and Hardy, this class is an A+

 

[jakez4ut]

The more I look at this class the more I love it, and it’s going to get better come February.

We added speed at the skill positions in Holiday, Hyatt, and Calloway. We added size and strength on the OL and DL. We added elite playmakers on the DL in Baron, Bailey, and Big O. Add Hardy and that’s one of the best DL classes in the nation. Added an extremely high upside pass rusher in Joseph.

We also added quite possibly the best QB in the nation on Bailey. Speed and tenacity in the secondary in Slaughter and Lawrence. Bruisers at LB. Eason is an absolute freak.

We got a lot better yesterday. If we add Wash and Hardy, this class is an A+

totally agree. and aside from the obvious Hardy/wash deal, i'd like to see another pass rusher added.

i dunno about any transfers or anything, so w/out speculating there, i think our main priorities are Wash, Hardy and probably Beckwith. and i think we'll have room for one more....and i'd like that to be a pass rusher....or OL/OT, i'd be cool w/that too.

but yeah, i like the way this class filled out. we did get better.

 

[StoVol]

Price saying Aaron Hayden told him that Eason and hardy are the two best players he's seen this year. Eason is 250 to 260 but moves like a smaller lb he said

 

[HoleInTheRoof]

Random thought or two:

A few weeks back it seemed like Vai Kaho was our next commit. CB’s rolling in. Pruitt himself visited. Kaho spoke glowingly about all things UT. Decommited from Nevada right after the visit, etc.

Despite all the hoopla, @Atlanta VOL declared he was a back up plan only.

Someone scoffed and suggested Pruitt himself and Ansley doesn’t make that visit for a back up option. AV said it was a convenient visit because the staff was already in NV to see DW.

Lo and behold- 21 kids signed yesterday and Kaho wasn’t one of them. He signed with SDSU.

When everyone - including some other “insiders” on this forum to the VQ mods were saying Kaho was gonna be in the class.... AV warned otherwise.

—————

Also just want to point out how much I hate it for Art Green. Didn’t sign anywhere. Doesn’t seem to be a lot of options for him. Kid was all Vol. Came with some of his family for an OV not long ago and they all seemed to love it. Sucky part of recruiting. Hope he ends up in a good situation.

 

[Vols4us]

The more I look at this class the more I love it, and it’s going to get better come February.

We added speed at the skill positions in Holiday, Hyatt, and Calloway. We added size and strength on the OL and DL. We added elite playmakers on the DL in Baron, Bailey, and Big O. Add Hardy and that’s one of the best DL classes in the nation. Added an extremely high upside pass rusher in Joseph.

We also added quite possibly the best QB in the nation on Bailey. Speed and tenacity in the secondary in Slaughter and Lawrence. Bruisers at LB. Eason is an absolute freak.

We got a lot better yesterday. If we add Wash and Hardy, this class is an A+

Agree completely. This is the class we will point to in the future as the one that helped them take the step to the big time. We get to see the vision of CJP's guys going forward. Love it. Real football players who are good athletes, have strong character/work ethic, and will do well in the classroom.

Knowing they have Chaney and Ansley/Pruitt to lead in their development makes me one happy Vol fan.

 

[BearCat204]

Also just want to point out how much I hate it for Art Green. Didn’t sign anywhere. Doesn’t seem to be a lot of options for him. Kid was all Vol. Came with some of his family for an OV not long ago and they all seemed to love it. Sucky part of recruiting. Hope he ends up in a good situation.

Wonder if he's even an option for us if we miss out on anyone. He will still have an opportunity somewhere I would assume.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

pretty much agree, but i'm willing to put RB to the side for now. that room is pretty good and we got deeper yesterday.

i'd switch RB on your list for pass rusher. we need more of those....as many as we can get.

Yeah, taking into account "on roster" I wouldn't bother signing another RB. You have Holiday and Whitehead who both could play the position (the latter wants to apparently).


If we stick to signing just 25 that leaves us with 4 spots, these are the 4 guys I'd personally sign (if we could get them)

ATH - Darnell Washington (obvious reasons) AND/OR Damarcus Beckwith OR Darion Williamson
DL - Jay Hardy (if he wants to flip) OR Demon Clowney
OL - Marcus Henderson OR Kyree Miller OR Jalen St. John

A few "wildcard" names that could still end up here if some of the above don't workout.
White (JUCO RB, would help allow Hodge/Small to RS and would likely mean Whitehead stays at LB)
Corey Wren (speeeeed, ATH who could play a few spots)
Edgerrin Cooper (who? a 4 star OLB from LA that's unsigned and likely becomes a hot name from now until NSD)
Donate Manning (4 star CB in Missouri Ansley & Tee been working on, should announce first of 2020 would be a huge get)
Ty'kieast Crawford (OT from Texas, 4 star Friend has been down there visiting Miller so you know he's still working this guy too)
DJ Lundy (ATH 3 star georiga kid, has played RB/LB tape shows he's got good speed (4.6s) 6'0" 225)

Might be some unexpected names we don't know too...

Pure speculation by me, but I think Miller delayed signing because he was asked to shed some weight before NSD...370 even at 6'4" is too heavy, he drops some of that the next 2 or so months and shows the staff he's ready to work I fully expect he'll be a Vol.

 

[volfaninpa]

The more I look at this class the more I love it, and it’s going to get better come February.

We added speed at the skill positions in Holiday, Hyatt, and Calloway. We added size and strength on the OL and DL. We added elite playmakers on the DL in Baron, Bailey, and Big O. Add Hardy and that’s one of the best DL classes in the nation. Added an extremely high upside pass rusher in Joseph.

We also added quite possibly the best QB in the nation on Bailey. Speed and tenacity in the secondary in Slaughter and Lawrence. Bruisers at LB. Eason is an absolute freak.

We got a lot better yesterday. If we add Wash and Hardy, this class is an A+

Totally agree. And the fact that this class has come together like it has after starting 0-2 is a testimony to the team getting up off the mat, the coaches developing players, and them being non-stop recruiters. The only schools I see from the Rivals/247 rankings that had as bad of a win/loss record as Tennessee were Texas and Texas A&M. That makes me even more impressed with Tennessee's class as we know of the large amounts of football talent that are in that state. The future is bright!

 

[jakez4ut]

Agree completely. This is the class we will point to in the future as the one that helped them take the step to the big time. We get to see the vision of CJP's guys going forward. Love it. Real football players who are good athletes, have strong character/work ethic, and will do well in the classroom.

Knowing they have Chaney and Ansley/Pruitt to lead in their development makes me one happy Vol fan.

i think it's just really important, and really good, that we stacked two very similar classes on top of one another.

and while last year's class had more at the top........i think this year's class has more throughout....maybe a lot deeper than last year's class.

you start stacking classes that are around top 10ish, and in a year or two we'll be able to look eye to eye with anyone we play. doesn't guarantee a W. but we're at least leveling the playing field from an overall talent standpoint.

still gonna be young 20 in some spots, but i think we return so much on defense, return almost the whole OL, QB, RB's...if the WR and TE group get up to speed, who knows what happens in 20...but i really think 21 could be a good/great year with what this roster could look like....

i think it's gonna be ok again to be excited about football.

 

[HankHill]

i think it's just really important, and really good, that we stacked two very similar classes on top of one another.

and while last year's class had more at the top........i think this year's class has more throughout....maybe a lot deeper than last year's class.

you start stacking classes that are around top 10ish, and in a year or two we'll be able to look eye to eye with anyone we play. doesn't guarantee a W. but we're at least leveling the playing field from an overall talent standpoint.

still gonna be young 20 in some spots, but i think we return so much on defense, return almost the whole OL, QB, RB's...if the WR and TE group get up to speed, who knows what happens in 20...but i really think 21 could be a good/great year with what this roster could look like....

i think it's gonna be ok again to be excited about football.

Yea assuming we lose at least one (maybe 2 QBs) before next year...i would really like to take a flyer on a transfer QB. Never know when you may find a minshew. Experience would help our QB room too.

 

[Bassmaster_Vol]

totally agree. and aside from the obvious Hardy/wash deal, i'd like to see another pass rusher added.

i dunno about any transfers or anything, so w/out speculating there, i think our main priorities are Wash, Hardy and probably Beckwith. and i think we'll have room for one more....and i'd like that to be a pass rusher....or OL/OT, i'd be cool w/that too.

but yeah, i like the way this class filled out. we did get better.

Agree about pass rusher. Think that’s where French will play

 

[jakez4ut]

Yea assuming we lose at least one (maybe 2 QBs) before next year...i would really like to take a flyer on a transfer QB. Never know when you may find a minshew. Experience would help our QB room too.

see, i don't get that at all. i htink we lose one for sure. if i had to guess, i'd say Shrout. we already have one transfer QB on campus and took two in this class. i think taking another transfer QB is a waste of a roster spot at this point....

if we take a transfer, i'd prefer it be a GT, and it be on the LOS, either to add depth on teh OL or someone that can play in the DE/OLB rotation....or a big tall, rangy, fast WR.....that will absolutely, 100% graduate.

past that...i'd stay in the HS ranks.

 

[StoVol]

price said we are probably the favorite for dee beckwith

 

[MoCo_Vol]

Yeah no way I'd take another QB, especially not a 1 year "burn it" transfer. Not worth it.

Why?

JG likely returns, even with Bailey coming in he's most likely the starter next year.
Hill didn't just PWO here to transfer again, may never start a down but he's depth
JT will be in year 3 and has already used a RS, people think he's likely to leave but he could graduate after 2020 and not have to sit to go back home (Cali) or have his pick of the lot AND STILL HAVE 2 YEARS TO PLAY...I think he might wait it out, unless him & his girl split then he might bail lol
Maurer - says he's all vol, but if I was picking someone to leave I'd think it might be him

Incoming
Bailey & Holiday (we all just seem to think he'll be a WR, but the dude threw for over 3500 yards the last 2 seasons and would be an ELITE RPO QB for Chaney so if he wants to be a QB and will RS why not?)

 

[wuwh_08]

We didn't sign a single juco this year did we?

No. But Mississippi State signed like 7 of them...yesterday!

 

[ionaVOL]

I really agree with everything positive you guys are saying about this class, it checks off a ton of boxes IMO. I think my favorite underrated aspect of this class and even the last one, is the crazy amount of versatility these recruits bring with them. I think its super valuable that these kids have so much versatility and experience playing different positions. I think in a class restricted to 25ish it can be another difference maker to have guys that you can move around to cover needs and find out where they fit the best.

Holiday - QB/WR/DB
Whitehead/Hodge - RB/LB
Calloway - WR/DB
Perry - DL/OL
Baron/French/Eason/McDonald - DL/OLB/ILB?

 

[StoVol]

i think it's just really important, and really good, that we stacked two very similar classes on top of one another.

and while last year's class had more at the top........i think this year's class has more throughout....maybe a lot deeper than last year's class.

you start stacking classes that are around top 10ish, and in a year or two we'll be able to look eye to eye with anyone we play. doesn't guarantee a W. but we're at least leveling the playing field from an overall talent standpoint.

still gonna be young 20 in some spots, but i think we return so much on defense, return almost the whole OL, QB, RB's...if the WR and TE group get up to speed, who knows what happens in 20...but i really think 21 could be a good/great year with what this roster could look like....

i think it's gonna be ok again to be excited about football.

hangin around the top ten coupled with the ability to DEVELOP talent should do us well if we hit on a few of these guys and they turn out to be steals like Pruitt thinks they are, nobody batting a 1000 but if we were more than a little right on our gambles this class and they are developed like we saw in the last half of the season...

we are gonna see some upset city before long and this train will be gaining some serious momentum. He's recruited winners from successful programs which means they were probably coached/guided well

Feelin a 180 from where i was at mentally after BYU

 

[Bassmaster_Vol]

I’m also curious to see where this class finishes in the ranking, even before adding someone else. 247 has not evaluated Slaughter or Holiday. Rivals has Slaughter as a 4 star. If 247 evaluates and agrees and raises both, this class will rise. Further, Bailey is about to be a 5 star on Rivals which will bring his composite score and thus our class ranking up as well. I also believe he’ll get another bump on 247. So we aren’t finished rising yet.

 

[VolsdeepVFL]

Actually looks like some bumps happened after ESD. We now have all 3 ILBs in the top 15. Oregon (#1 & #2 ILBs), LSU (2 in the top 7) and Bama (2 in the top 8) are the only schools that have better ILBs this class.


So imo I'd say the 3 spots this class could still improve are:

OL - A 4 star OT would really be nice, but any good high 3 or 4 star additions would be welcome
WR/TE - putting this together because landing Washington would be enough imo
RB - I like both, but neither is truly "elite"

And then really best available after that, I think this 2020 class has a lot of DL talent so wouldn't be surprised if we're taking another 1 or 2 DL/OLB type guys

We dont need another RB, but we need a minimum of 2 next cycle.