The Recruiting Fix: Surprises in Store

It seems that every time we do this we have more good news to talk about. Today is certainly no exception, though this entry will be shorter than previous ones because of much happening due to the road game.

The future anchor of the Tennessee offensive line, JaWuan James, announced his intentions to become a UT Vol just last evening. In a class that was already highly ranked, adding offensive linemen was said to be the most important step to taking it from “good” to “great.”

On the cuff, James may not seem to have much star power at the position, especially when you compare him to the stud left tackles we’ve had in this league in recent years who became immediate contributors, (Andre Smith, Michael Oher) but what he does have is tons and tons of potential. James is 6-foot-6, 300 lbs, and guess what? He can get bigger. He carries his weight so well that he looks more like a defensive tackle than a lineman. The payoff at offensive tackle is that he can put on at least 30 more pounds of good weight.

The biggest thing that stands out about James is his athleticism for his size. His 40 speed isn’t going to blow you away (5.34 sec) — it’s his initial burst and acceleration that makes him such a special prospect from an athletic standpoint. He has the athleticism to deal with even the most ferocious blind side pass-rushers in the SEC. He has excellent feet, long arms and huge hands — prototypical of an NFL left tackle He has been timed at 4.94 in the shuttle. That’s incredible for a guy his size.

What JaWuan James lacks in the immediate “wow” factor category, he more than makes up in potential. He is a future star on the Tennessee offensive line and has a future playing on Sundays if he lives up to potential.

The visitor list for the Memphis game shrank from promising to satisfactory as several expected visitors failed to make it into town for one reason or another.

Kelcy Quarles, surprised many, including the coaching staff by announcing his intentions to trip to Knoxville for an unofficial visit for the game. For some reason or another he ended up at Clemson, a school that is a real long shot to ever get his signature, for a visit along with 2011 Vol linebacker commit, AJ Johnson. At this point though, I’d say anyone but South Carolina is a long shot to get his signature. This is the third time he has announced that he is coming to Knoxville and he hasn’t made it in yet. That, coupled with the coaches surprise at even hearing he was planning a visit, leads me to believe he is not a very good possibility to end up here. It has been said that he is planning on a belayed visit, but I will believe that when he shows up. He’ll be in Columbia for the Florida game this weekend.

Another guy who was supposed to be here but didn’t make it is linebacker prospect Corey Nelson. Nelson was due to be in town on an official visit but could not get everything arranged in time. The news isn’t all bad, however, as Corey has rescheduled for the Vanderbilt game.

Now onto who actually made it into Knoxville. Safety prospect Ahmad Dixon seemed to come almost out of nowhere with his seemingly legitimate interest in the Vols. The rumors about him de-committing from Baylor have been flying around since he first committed there. Recently they got much stronger to the point where it was suggested that he was almost certain to end up somewhere else, most likely in the SEC.

Dixon took a visit to Auburn with friends, Lache Seastrunk and Trovon Reed and they were rumored to be leading prior to his visit to Knoxville, but Tennessee made quite an impression on Reed.

“It went good. I got to meet both coach Kiffins (head coach Lane, defensive coordinator Monte), and I got to see the campus. It was an amazing visit. It was great. I mean, I really can’t explain how good it was.” Dixon told Rivals.

Now Dixon claims that he has opened his recruiting up and the Vols are at the top of his list. Whether or not that means he is no longer committed to Baylor isn’t completely clear, but what is clear is that the Vols are the school with the best chance to land his signature on Signing Day currently.

Dixon says that he and his parents are driving back up to Knoxville to visit Tennessee again for the Vanderbilt game. If they make that trip, it would be hard to deny that the Vols have the best chance at the talented safety.

Dixon has claimed in the past that his final decision will come down to Signing Day.

As badly as we need help immediately on our offensive line, the coaches are still looking towards the future with prospects such as Marquis Pair.

The coaches have made no secret their love for him as a prospect and their desire to keep him as a member of this recruiting class. An official visit to Knoxville appears to have sealed the deal.

“I was real impressed by the atmosphere,” Pair said to Rivals. “It was amazing. The way the fans treated the players was just off the wall. Man, it was just a great visit overall.”

Pair will need a year in the strength and conditioning program before he will be in a position to help out on the line. Expect him to redshirt.

Let’s talk quarterbacks.

Many expected us to offer a junior college prospect by this time, yet nothing has materialized in the form of an offer.

The coaches are still looking at Matt Simms. The fact that they have taken this long to look at him should tell you a lot about his prospects of ever playing at a high level here. He’s the best chance of bringing in a QB that can compete with Stephens and if they do not offer him, it is because they think Stephens is clearly better.

They are still talking to some four year guys and trying to get someone to visit. Jesse Scroggins and Barry Brunetti appear to be completely solid in their commitments to other schools. The coaches have basically given up trying to get Scroggins to visit Knoxville. For better or worse, it appears he will stick with USC.

On Brunetti, I’m hearing that the coaches gave a “last ditch” effort to get him up here on a visit and when he didn’t bite, they moved on. Barry is still hearing from Dan Mullen though which is odd considering the rumors of Cameron Newton to MSU. Is it possible that UT is continuing to evaluate Cam as well?

Tommy Rees and Chase Rettig would be the most likely to visit though there is no indication of any interest on the part of the prospects in doing so.

At this point, I think the most likely scenario is that they stick with Bray and look to land two quarterbacks next year. Nothing would really surprise me, but I think all of the highly-regarded non-quarterback prospects that are looking real hard at Tennessee are making it more difficult for the coaches to spend a scholarship on Simms. Watching him on film, it was difficult for me to see why they would be interested in him to begin with other than the name. His arm is average, he doesn’t show good awareness in the pocket, and his delivery is suspect at times.

After losing last week to the former school of current UT QB Nick Lamaison, Mount San Antonio, Simms was pulled with 5 minutes remaining in the first half of this week’s game vs. Citrus in favor of the backup. He never made it back in.

You are beginning to see some of the prospects already committed to UT look around. Don’t be alarmed. This may not be true in every case, but in most cases these are guys that are either taking up a spot that is keeping a more talented prospect from committing, or are not likely to make the grades required for admission. This is the time when it the picture begins to get clearer in regards to who will graduate in December from JuCo or will not, and who is going to make the grades to qualify.

I’ll throw around a couple of names of guys that may fit in one or more of these categories but this list is by no means definitive. Pat Harris, John Brown, Jose Jose, Ralph Williams, Risean Broussard. Delvin Jones appears to be looking as well although I think he is a guy the coaches clearly want.

Notice that this list is defensive tackle-heavy. Thus why it is so important to go hard after guys such as Calvin Smith, Kelcy Quarles and even Mike Thornton.

In regards to prospects in Junior College graduating, it is important to note that John Cullen and Dequan Menzie will not be among them. Neither will John Brown by all indications. They each will require more classes in order to graduate which is a requirement in order to transfer to a four year institution.

All of these guys are still just possibilities for UT at this point as they remain uncommitted, but this could be viewed as a negative aspect that may cause the coaches to favor other prospects that would be here in December or have full eligibility upon arriving. I don’t know that this is the case, I am simply presenting it as a possibility.

A tentative list of who is currently on track to enroll early is:

QB Tyler Bray, WR Ted Meline, WR Kembrell Thompkins, WR Matt Milton, FB/H-back Channing Fugate, OG/C Jose Jose,OT JuWuan James, TE Ken Adams, DE Corey Miller, DE Brandon Willis and DE Jacques Smith.

You are also going to see some guys that are considered firm UT commitments take some visits soon for a couple of reasons, 1. to recruit other prospects and 2. just to enjoy the process. Look for Corey Miller and Brandon Willis to be employed in the first respect. Since the season is over for some prospects they now find themselves with time to devote to taking visits.

Let’s talk a little about Jeff Luc. He seems to be the prospect everyone wants to know about. He is also one of the most secretive, in terms of what exactly he is thinking.. He talks very little to the press and when he does, he doesn’t say much.

Luc was in Gainesville this past week to watch the Gators play Vandy. Humorously when asked what stood out to Jeff about the visit, his brother said that it was that he “stayed overnight which helped him absorb everything he witnessed during the weekend.” Good job making an impression, Florida. To be fair though, Luc has been to Florida so many times that he knows what it’s about. That is one reason I would not get too concerned over the fact that Luc is taking visits there. He’s not going to learn anything new and if UT is already ahead, then chances are they stay there. He is just trying to be sure of his decision.

Jeff will be in Athens this weekend officially to take in the Auburn-Georgia affair. Georgia isn’t thought to be a strong player for his services which leads one to believe Luc is now taking visits just to use up his allotted officials.

I continue to hear that Luc to Tennessee is more of a probability than a possibility and that the Vols have nothing to worry about.

A couple of random thoughts and ruminations:

Watch who Memphis hires to replace ousted head coach Tommy West. I doubt they get any of the big names that are being tossed around, it’s most likely going to be a young up-and-coming assistant from somewhere, and likely someone who can relate to recruits much better than West could.

Our coaches have made no secret of their desire to pilfer top talent from Memphis in the future and a guy like that will make it more difficult to do so. He may be able to convince a big prospect or two to stay close to home every once in awhile.

This game against Ole Miss is huge for recruiting. Ole Miss has a pipeline right into the heart of Memphis and has been able to snag Middle Tennessee prospects from time to time as well. Also we would love to do some more damage down in Mississippi and we have the man to get it done from the standpoint of having inroads to the schools in Frank Wilson. Orgeron obviously has some connections in the Mississippi area as well.

Watch Ole Miss’ defensive line closely for a preview of what the Vols’ line is going to look like in a couple of years. There are a lot of NFL players on that d-line and they have very little drop-off when the starters are spelled.

Also it has been requested that I mention something in my blog to the effect of “We’ve got a coach now! Wooooo!” and “Take that fat Phil!” Just trying to satisfy my audience here.

Briefly on Calvin Smith and Corey Lemonier, they are all but destined to wind up at the same school and that will either be Tennessee or Illinois. They will visit next week for the Vandy game and we will discuss them more in depth then but sources continue to say look for the Vols to land both as long as their visit goes well. Illinois appears to have little chance. It’s hard to imagine a visit not going well with this staff as host.

Don’t be surprised to see JuCo DT David Mahoney reenter the picture at some point.

Watch for Chris Dunkley to possibly make a return visit with his parents. I doubt it happens, but it has been mentioned that he is trying to arrange it.

I know it’s early to talk about 2012 prospects, but this one warrants a mention. There is a sophomore offensive lineman at MUS in Memphis that is already drawing quite a bit of interest. His name is Ben Still and his dad is a former Vol All-American and NFL player. He already checks in at 6’4″, 285lbs and is still growing. Better yet, this kid is a freak athlete. Not just a big body, but a big athletic body which is exactly what this staff loves to see in a lineman.

He should be one of the more coveted OL in the southeast and most likely the country over the next couple of years. This kid naturally does things that some linemen don’t get down until late in their college careers.

There are going to be many surprises over the next several months so get ready for a roller coaster ride. Before you even ask what those surprises may be, I feel compelled define the word surprise for you.
sur·prise n. Something, such as an unexpected encounter, event, or gift

There is no box under the tree to shake. We can guess, but we will likely be wrong. Who reading this thought that Janzen Jackson was going to be a Vol up until Signing Day when rumors started to swirl?

The surprises may not be all good, but it will be “all good” in the end.

It will be fun too. I promise you that.