Tom Smith commits to the Vols

#276
#276
according to one of Smith's coaches, he is as fast as Jeremy Gallon (a Speed back) who was an Army All American in 2009 & signed with Michigan

Smith played against the best defensive speed outside of South Florida and Texas he didnt have a problem with speed.
 
#277
#277
Not sure if it's been said or not, but his running style, particularly his gait reminds me a bit of Hardesty.

His level of competition shouldn't be questioned...Apopka is 6A and he actually shakes Ha'sean Clinton-Dix (Bama Commit) once or twice in his highlights. Rushing for 1600+ and 27 TD's vs. that comp is impressive and a testament to his durability.

Looks to be a solid pickup and it might not be completely out of the question that he grows into a FB or even an LB down the road given his size and athleticism.
 
#278
#278
sjt18 said:
Depends on how they were timed. Hand timed, 4.5 is very average. Laser timed, he's fast.

Either way he seemed to run away from a lot of guys with the pads on.
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Your exactly right. Someone mentioned he ran a 4.62 laser time 40. That is still extremely fast if compared to hand time 40. I used to workout at D1 with some players who went on to walk-on at UT and currently play alot on special teams. One of the kids easily ran in the low to mid 4.4's hand timed every time he ran a 40, but when we ran the 40 laser timed he only ran a 4.6 or 4.65 (which still was the fastest laser time out of all of us). This goes to show that just because a kid's laser timed 40 doesn't sound to great, it doesn't mean he isn't "fast". The kid I was mentioning earlier got alot of PT on UT's kickoff team as a walkon so he is fast enought.

And back to Smith I think it's ridiculous for people to question the staff taking his commitment just because he is just a 3*. His highlight tape obviously shows he is fast as he consantly ran away and through defenses in a very tough Florida division.
 
#279
#279
At the end of the year and if this kid ends up a 4* people will be saying what a great job DD did to land this kid.
 
#281
#281
I agree. His running style is so comparable to Hardesty its uncanny. He also seemed to be out running a lot of guys in that film with his size as well. Very talented classification. The stars don't show it now but I think he'll be a 4* before it's all said and done. He looks legit.
 
#282
#282
Excellent pickup by our staff. This kid will definitely be in the Rivals250 when all is said and done. The chicken littles in this forum continue to show their ignorance though.
 
#283
#283
utsportsfan28 said:
Excellent pickup by our staff. This kid will definitely be in the Rivals250 when all is said and done. The chicken littles in this forum continue to show their ignorance though.
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who gives a flying turd where he ends up in Rivals' rankings?
 
#286
#286
judojew said:
I see your point, but there are other contributing factors:
TN owned the state of Georgia in recruiting before Mark Richt came. TN did not capitalize on the Ron Zook years in Florida. Fulmer making a bad decision on hiring Clawson Fulmer, Mallett And The Decision That Doomed Tennessee Vols Football | Bleacher Report
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began and continued downhill with Randy Sanders. Should have pulled the plug on him after two years. That was Fulmer's biggest mistake. Clawson never really had a real chance.
 
#287
#287
I haven't read through all this thread, but this kid is the real deal. Pulling him from FSU was big here. We still may have some trouble holding on to him if FSU offers and pursues, but for now, he's ours and we just won a recruiting battle in Florida.

Great job, IMO.
 
#288
#288
volwarrior33 said:
If you have a team full of them like UF or Bama, some are going to be busts but it won’t matter because enough will perform on the level expected out of 4 stars and 5 stars. That’s why it’s almost impossible for a team full of 3 stars to compete with Bama or UF. Though some 3 stars turn out to be 4 stars, some turn out to be 1 stars (Nick Stephens, Tyler Maples, etc.).
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excellent point. But most three stars that get in and work their butts off to hopefully get to the next level and want to win are the ones that truly succeed.
 
#289
#289
tnvols72 said:
At the end of the year and if this kid ends up a 4* people will be saying what a great job DD did to land this kid.
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Right. All these (H.S.) recruits for every school are still juniors in H.S. They haven't even played their senior season. Nobody knows the # of stars they may have by this time next Feb. Injuries, growing up, problems with school, etc.
 
#290
#290
I will be surprised if he ends up anything other than a 3*. If production were a real measure the recruiting svcs look at then T Williams wouldn't have been better than a 5.5 3*. He had excellent stats and played against great competition.

DD's tenure at UT will rise or fall on his ability to find guys who can play football. If this kid is around in 4 years then he'll help UT more than guys like Creer, Coker, and possibly Bryce Brown even if he's running with the scout team and keeping the team GPA up so they don't lose scholarships.
 
#292
#292
While stars and hype matter, it really boils down to how the kid plays football. I dont care if he's 3 star or 5 star. I dont care if he runs a 4.4 or a 4.7. Kid looks like a legit, durable football player to me playing against arguably the best competition in the nation.
 
#293
#293
sjt18 said:
DD's tenure at UT will rise or fall on his ability to find guys who can play football. If this kid is around in 4 years then he'll help UT more than guys like Creer, Coker, and possibly Bryce Brown even if he's running with the scout team and keeping the team GPA up so they don't lose scholarships.
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exactly. Really goes back to how CDD said he would build the team. If he gets a 3* then the kid would be a great character guy and somebody he believes will bleed orange. Will only take "chances" on the elite athletes. With us only having 75 players now, we have to make sure the kids that we get are going to be here and working to build the program back to where it was in the late 90's and early 00's.

Welcome Mr. Smith. I look forward to seeing you run thru the T.
 
#294
#294
gwgvol said:
began and continued downhill with Randy Sanders. Should have pulled the plug on him after two years. That was Fulmer's biggest mistake. Clawson never really had a real chance.
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Good point... The problem with Sanders was that he was too predictable or maybe conservative in his play calling. What is his position at Kentucky now?
 
#295
#295
gwgvol said:
excellent point. But most three stars that get in and work their butts off to hopefully get to the next level and want to win are the ones that truly succeed.
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From 2005-2009, Miami avg'd a #12 class according to Rivals. They never finished outside the top 20 during that time.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin recruited "smart character guys". Their best class was #34. They avg'd #38. In fact, I don't believe they've broken the top 30 in this whole decade.

It only matters because Wisconsin beat Miami this year in the Citrus Bowl. The game wasn't nearly as close as the score. Wisconsin dominated physically and statistically- 430 yds to 249 yds.

In 2008, they gave our "East Champion" Vols all they wanted after finishing 4th in the Big 10.

In 2007, they beat an Arkansas team led by McFadden and Jones.

In January 2006, they beat Auburn 24-10 outgaining them 548 to 236.

They've played in 5 consecutive NYD bowl games and won 3 of them... with mostly 2* and 3* players that they found and coached up.
 
#296
#296
VERY good looking downhill runner. And for all the morons too stupid to look up his offer sheet, Wisconsin, Colorado and Pitt offered among others (not FAU, FIU, etc.) He's also smart and looks like he will put in that extra effort it takes to succeed at the next level.

Also, what was that kid who won big east player of the year last year for Pitt? Wasn't he an undersized back that not many "big" programs pursued? Rushed for like 1800 yards as a redshirt freshman? Yeah, I suppose I'll burn a scholly on a guy like that. Jesus Jumpin Christ.
 
#297
#297
judojew said:
Good point... The problem with Sanders was that he was too predictable or maybe conservative in his play calling. What is his position at Kentucky now?
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Sanders is a pretty smart guy. He's creative as a play caller. However he was not a good leader. His teams were characterized by poor effort and mistakes. He lacked the ability to instill discipline even in the most fundamental things. Since CPF was not a disciplinary either, the combined to be poison. Cut and Fulmer were good together because Cut was a disciplinarian. He demanded and got execution from his players... Fulmer gave them "understanding".
 
#298
#298
judojew said:
What is his position at Kentucky now?
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Sanders is a QB coach. Clawson is the HC at the same school that gave Urban Meyer his head coaching start.

That tells you what the people who sign HC paychecks think of the two guys.
 
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