Recruiting Forum Football Talk III

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#43,806
#43,806
After several days of rumors and speculation, things are quiet on the Tennessee football front on this Christmas Day.

Coaches are at home with family, many of them quarantined and isolated but no one has been in the office this week other than to be tested and players are home for the holiday and won’t return until the spring semester in January provided it starts on time and all students and out of season student athletes get to return (they are expected to).

The obvious question is what happens next week with the holiday over. Now campus is still closed but it’s expected that more conversations about the current state and the future of Tennessee football will resume.

It’s safe to say everyone knows where Phillip Fulmer stands. As we have noted for several weeks and as Fulmer noted in his Liberty Bowl release that was sent out before the game got cancelled, Fulmer’s belief is to stay the course and continue to move forward with Jeremy Pruitt. The question is where do those above him stand and where do other key people of influence stand?

Do they trust Fulmer’s judgement and move forward or do they decide to go a different course. It certainly seems like Fulmer’s implied message to them is trust me and he has spoken with those above him and other key people explaining where he sees things at over the last few weeks. How has that message resonated from the hall of fame who has sat in Pruitt’s seat? That’s a great question.
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#43,807
#43,807
Now, the elephant in the room is where are things with this internal investigation? There was definitely great frustration on campus that the news of the internal inquiry broke in the media. Plenty have wondered aloud and asked “how did that get out” particularly in light of the fact that the investigation at Florida was handled very privately. The investigation itself at Tennessee wasn’t a shock to Fulmer or Plowman.

It was a surprise to the donors, fans and others of influence and now the question is what comes from it? Is Jeremy Pruitt involved in it? If so how? Was he aware of the things at the time of them happening? Of the things being investigated how serious would they be in terms of level one, two or three violations in the eyes of the NCAA, who are yet to be involved in any way with the investigation?

So there are still plenty of answers to be found before any judgement is made. How quick do the answers surface? Is the investigation completed? Are there more people to interview? Again a lot questions and uncertainties. Some believe we will start to get some answers in the next two weeks.
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#43,808
#43,808
Pruitt does have two openings now on his staff as Will Friend is heading to South Carolina to rejoin his long time friend and former boss Mike Bobo on Shane Beamer’s staff.

With Friend gone where does Pruitt turn on the offensive line? As we mentioned in the podcast a couple of names that could be possibilities are Ryan Pugh who is at Troy. Jim Turner is the OL coach with the Cincinnati Bengals and Matt Moore who is on Neal Brown’s staff at West Virginia.

On the defensive line we still think it starts with Bo Davis in terms of the top candidate.
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#43,809
#43,809
Tennessee had two players enter the transfer portal this week in JT Shrout and Austin Pope. We expect there to likely be more but the question is how many? The portal is busting at the seams with names. More names than spots at the power 5 level. It’s why so many schools didn’t sign a full class during last week’s early signing period.

Many schools including Tennessee are holding spots for transfers.

The Vols would like a quarterback, pass rusher, defensive back and maybe an offensive tackle in the form of a transfer. Tennessee offered defensive tackle Latrell Bankston who’s transferring from Iowa State. Bankston had 16 tackles, 4.5 TFL’s, and 3.5 sacks.

One challenge right now with guys in the transfer portal and Tennessee is that they are asking the Vol coaches what’s going to happen with them? Will they be at Tennessee?

We certainly could see Ty Chandler enter the portal. That running back room is becoming more full by the day so it will be interesting to see how they handle things in that room going forward. Might some of those guys move to defense?
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#43,811
#43,811
In the 2022 class, it will be interesting to see where and when Ty Simpson commits. This continues to be a three-team race with Alabama having a lot of momentum in our opinion. Jeremy Pruitt works Ty as hard as anyone that has a legitimate shot to land the Martin, Tn. native. So where is Clemson? In our opinion they have surged a little bit as they are the safest option in terms of staff continuity.

Some people have suggested that Simpson picking Alabama would be hard for the strong Tennessee town of Martin to swallow which makes Clemson a safe alternative. As you look from the outside, you have the in-state school with a struggling offense and coaching questions battling two teams that will likely do battle for another National Championship. Now the one thing Simpson will have to weigh in the Vols’ favor is the fact that they aren’t likely to be able to recruit past Simpson as Clemson and Alabama can continually bring in top quarterbacks because of where their programs are.

Tennessee needs to focus hard on the instate talent for 2022 as this class could be the game changer for this program.

Ty Simpson
Walter Nolen
Dallan Hayden
Cam Miller
Kody Jones
Jordan James
Isaiah Horton
Barion Brown
Fisher Anderson
Keaten Wade
Destin Wade
Anthony Brown
Jacob Hood
Kaydin Pope
Taylor Groves
Karsen Gay

The Wade Twins are leaders. They have an IT factor in our opinion and they can play multiple positions. Kaydin Pope is dynamic and as solid as they come. Jacob Hood is an intriguing prospect once he lost the weight. It’s a year filled with skill players much like 2017 was when the Vols missed out on Jacob Phillips, Jacoby Stevenson, Tee Higgins and Amari Rogers. Simply put, there are so many good players it’s hard to see them striking out in state but it starts with Simpson and they need to find a way to land him.
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