The Rearview 6/25

In this edition of The Rearview, we stop at the beginning of the recruiting season to take stock of what the Vols have accomplished so far, and take a rare look ahead from here. And I got to be honest, I’m fairly impressed with the early commitments they’ve been able to get thus far.

And it got me to thinking, what is different? Last year we were coming off a great class, had a decent year, played in the bowl game, won it, played in the SEC title game, lost it….etc…..

Now the obvious answer is the coaching staff change, which I will say is the #1 reason our recruiting struggled last season. Instability with the coaches is tough to over come. Recently Coach Clawson even spoke of the struggles coming in last year. He and his staff knew they were behind the 8 ball, as did Fulmer. They got what they could, and probably knew what the end result was going to be before they got started. I’m giving Fulmer and Co. a big benefit of the doubt here.

But past that, in looking what has happened thus far, and what happened in 06, there’s enough happening on the recruiting front to at least give the perception that the Dean actually knows what he’s doing……shocker huh?

But here we are, in June, and old Phil and company have about got half their class wrapped up. Not too shabby, I must admit.

So what has brought these kids to this decision so early? I thought it would be interesting to go back and see the comments these kids made about Tennessee and Coaches, so here you go (these are all found on Govolsxtra.com under their football recruiting, the below is just a simple recap of comments made by the recruit”:

Damien Thigpen, 4 stars, ATH: Says he likes the way they move the offensive skill position players around, thinks it will best take advantage of his speed and elusiveness. He was impressed with the caliber of athletes currently here. He will also run track here.

Je’Ron Stokes, 4 stars, WR: The first big time recruit for this class. Credits visits to Knoxville with his pastor to visit Mark Jones and WR coach Latrell Scott with sealing the deal with him. “He really kind of sealed the deal,” Stokes said of Scott, the first-year UT assistant coach. “His personality, his style, his fairness, I have an opportunity to come in and play. That’s all I asked for.”

He also appreciated Coach Fulmer’s spirituality and family atmosphere.

Dominique Allen, 3 stars, full back: Grew up a Tennessee fan, refers to himself as a Tennessee boy. Accepted as soon as they offered.

Bryce Petty, 3 stars, QB: a bit of reach for the coaches, they got impressed with him at a camp, and made him an offer. He had visited several other Big 12 school camps, rec’d no offers. If he turns out to be a good one, credit the coaches for having a good eye. Biggest thing thus far is that this is a good character match. He likes the coaches, they like him. They will have to develop him in to an SEC QB.

JerQuari Schofield, 0 stars, OL: Another guy that impressed at a camp, great size, but cited the coaches were the deciding factor. “Great area. Great people. I love Coach (Phillip) Fulmer and (offensive line) coach (Greg) Adkins,”

Nyshier Oliver, 3 stars, ATH: Credits position coach, Larry Slade and head coach Fulmer as primary reasons why he came here. “We mesh well,” he said. “They remind me of my high school coaches.”

Keep in mind, Oliver chose UT over Michigan, Ohio State, Boston College, Georgia, Alabama, Virginia and North Carolina.

Aubrey Phillips, 0 stars, OL: he was originally being recruited by Coach Cutcliffe and his staff. Clawson came in picked up where they left off. Phillips, when he found out about the change, had no idea what he would do. “I thought they wouldn’t even know me when I came in, but they knew me already,” Phillips said. “That was good to see.

“… I can get along with all the coaching staff. They’re friendly. The other coaches (at other schools), they don’t really pay attention to me. The coaches at Tennessee are very down to earth.”

Phillips chose UT over Florida State, Duke, Penn State, Arkansas and Alabama.

Jarvis Giles, 4 stars, RB: A big time recruit, really credits Stan Drayton, among other things, for his commitment. “I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. Everybody here’s a family. I respect that. There’s a lot of love.”

When asked about Knoxville and the UT campus in general he said “I’ve never seen anything like this community. Never.”

Kevin Remis, 3 stars, OL: Another instate kid, has always been a Tennessee fan, however, did not think he would get an offer. He considers it a blessing to be able to play for Coach Fulmer, a former offensive lineman.

Josh Nunes, 4 stars, QB: The one Clawson wanted. Another big time recruit that had offers from Nebraska, Florida, and Oklahoman among others. I haven’t read too much on him, and I’m sure there are recruiting experts on this site than can expound on this, but I would venture to say that Clawson’s system didn’t exactly turn him off.

I guess you can glean what you want to out of that, but I would say that given the past performance in recruiting this is the norm for our coaching staff. And like it or not, coaching stability does play a part in this process. As was discussed a lot last year, recruiting now is not simply based on who you are as a program and what you did or did not do on the field last season. It really is more about relationships. It would appear, in this facet of the game, our coach is well versed in establishing those relationships and capitalizing on them more times than not.

I’ll take the momentum that seems to be building right now. Cross your fingers, but there haven’t been any off the field issues since Fulmer’s last team meeting, the Spring Game gave us plenty to look forward to, the new coaches seem to have generated some buzz about the ‘new’ offense and the early signs on the next recruiting class indicate we’ll do well.

Add it all up, and all that’s left is really to have some serious on field success. I know 9-3 is ‘success’. But, I would contend that for the first time in at least 5 years, there is some real positive momentum building up to this season. Let’s see if we can cash in on it. And I’m sorry, 9-3, again, wouldn’t do it for me. When I say cash in, I mean it quite literally, because the BCS pays out quite nicely. If we can get 10-11 wins, a BCS at large, or (gasp) an SEC title, then this would be the launching pad for getting back to elite status on a regular basis.

Time will tell, but I’ll take what I can get for now. Go Vols.