'22 TN ATH/RB Dallan Hayden (Ohio State commit)

#208
#208
I can't believe we let Jay Graham walk. Hard to believe there are many better RB coaches & recruiters that JH would rather work with.

Oh well, still seems like we have a great chance to land this kid. Cannot understate the importance of every piece of this in-state class. If JH spent 100% of his recruiting time on the state of Tennessee, that's a top 10 class. Gotta lock this historic class down.
 
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#209
#209
TheMookieMonster said:
I can't believe we let Jay Graham walk. Hard to believe there are many better RB coaches & recruiters that JH would rather work with.

Oh well, still seems like we have a great chance to land this kid. Cannot understate the importance of every piece of this in-state class. If JH spent 100% of his recruiting time on the state of Tennessee, that's a top 10 class. Gotta lock this historic class down.
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Graham has said before that he would not stay on with a new staff like he did between Dooley and Butch. He really disliked the way he felt like an outsider in that situation, and has claimed he wouldn't do it again.
 
#211
#211
Volfanatic_20 said:
-AP

Yikes
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OSU coaches have been recruiting him longer, they've been recruiting him as a RB no less, they have an explosive offense, and are perennial NC contenders.

Not at all surprising, but I would give it time. Dad likes this hire, lets see how it shakes out. Plus, even if he commits to OSU tomorrow, if the other in-state guys like Ty start to commit, there will be pressure for DH to join the group.
 
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#218
#218
“He’s a guy who cares about his family. He wants everyone to be a family,” Hayden told Volquest. “He asked about my family and how everything was going. He is just a really easy guy to talk to. The conversation had a great flow.”

The new Tennessee coach had two messages for Hayden and they were simple.

“He said Tennessee is going to start putting up some points and that he wants to keep guys in state,” the four-star said. “He wants me to be a part of this group of talent that stays home and comes to Tennessee. He wants to showcase an electric offense and wants me to be a part of it.

“He said he plans to build the program back up to where it was.”

All the talk about Heupel since coming to Knoxville has been on offense. And rightfully so as his squads finished in the top-six in total offense every season he was at the helm in Orlando. The 2020 unit actually finished second in the nation.

With that comes the passing game conversation. But, running backs have had their fair share of success in Heupel’s offense as well.

“It’s exciting to think about the productive numbers I could put up in this offense,” Hayden said. “I could catch the ball out of the backfield too. I could develop even more in that regard. I’m a versatile guy.”

The Christian Brothers star had an incredible junior campaign in 2020 – one that finished with a Mr. Tennessee Football award and two honors from MaxPreps – the Tennessee Player of the Year award and an All-American tab.

“Those honors mean a lot to me,” Hayden admitted. “Last season as a sophomore, I felt like I did alright, but I knew I could do much better. I put in the work that offseason and it has paid off.

“So, I can continue to develop. I typically just run the ball, but I have caught several screens and lined up in the slot sometimes.”

The 6-foot-0, 195-pound athlete announced his top-4 on New Year’s Day, a list that included Tennessee, Ohio State, Oregon and Notre Dame.

Wanting to play running back, these four programs are giving him that chance to do just that. And Tennessee will always be in the running considering his father, Aaron, is a letterman.

But when it comes down to it, it’s going to be a business decision for Hayden.

“I know a lot of these guys in-state. I’m friends with
Ty Simpson, Jordan James, Isaiah Horton and a lot of these guys,” Hayden concluded. “It would be pretty cool to play with them and if that happens at Tennessee, that’s cool. But we all have to do what’s best for us.

“Coach Heupel is trying to recruit and keep us in-state and he’s already reached out to a number of us. That shows us that we are priorities, so that’s pretty cool.”
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- E. Cain
 
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#219
#219
TheMookieMonster said:
I can't believe we let Jay Graham walk. Hard to believe there are many better RB coaches & recruiters that JH would rather work with.

Oh well, still seems like we have a great chance to land this kid. Cannot understate the importance of every piece of this in-state class. If JH spent 100% of his recruiting time on the state of Tennessee, that's a top 10 class. Gotta lock this historic class down.
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His Player Personnel guy is a UT Grad and from Tennessee. Also, used to work in our Football program. That should help.
 
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#221
#221
I’ll never understand why so many of our past head coaches kept trying to recruit top talent out of position. If they kid wants to be a RB, recruit him as a RB. The same crap happened with Mecole Hardman. He wanted to be a WR and Butch Jones said “Nah, you’re a DB.”

Mecole excelled as a skill player at UGA and now he has been to two Super Bowls with the Chiefs as one of their most dynamic skill pieces.

Idk, maybe we let the kids tell us what position they prefer and not try and change their mind?
 
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#222
#222
TheMookieMonster said:
I’ll never understand why so many of our past head coaches kept trying to recruit top talent out of position. If they kid wants to be a RB, recruit him as a RB. The same crap happened with Mecole Hardman. He wanted to be a WR and Butch Jones said “Nah, you’re a DB.”

Mecole excelled as a skill player at UGA and now he has been to two Super Bowls with the Chiefs as one of their most dynamic skill pieces.

Idk, maybe we let the kids tell us what position they prefer and not try and change their mind?
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Most of the time we did recruit players at the position they wanted to play at. It's the services that disagree. Look at Jimmy Holiday, Quavaris Crouch, Len'neth Whitehead, Alontae Taylor, etc...
 
#223
#223
TheMookieMonster said:
I’ll never understand why so many of our past head coaches kept trying to recruit top talent out of position. If they kid wants to be a RB, recruit him as a RB. The same crap happened with Mecole Hardman. He wanted to be a WR and Butch Jones said “Nah, you’re a DB.”

Mecole excelled as a skill player at UGA and now he has been to two Super Bowls with the Chiefs as one of their most dynamic skill pieces.

Idk, maybe we let the kids tell us what position they prefer and not try and change their mind?
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Pruitt did that

That’s why Crouch was a LB and Whitehead was a RB, Amari McNeil wanting to play DL, etc.

Pruitt let kids play what position they want.. only problem is the kids wanted to play the wrong position
 
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#224
#224
VOLUNTEERSZN said:
Pruitt did that

That’s why Crouch was a LB and Whitehead was a RB, Amari McNeil wanting to play DL, etc.

Pruitt let kids play what position they want.. only problem is the kids wanted to play the wrong position
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You can't be a best friend and a "parent" and based on the development we saw Pruitt was definitely being too much of a friend. Hopefully Heupel can get us back to the glory days, but I will settle for a few years of mediocrity just to wash the stink off. Legacy kids like Dallan coming are the first step towards getting the younger kids that don't know what Tennessee really is in the fold. I just get the feel that this kid is a natural leader and a top 3-5 need in this class for that reason alone, not even taking into consideration the kid's crazy talent. Long winded I know I just want to have hope again.
 
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