The Recruiting Fix

And so goes around 4 months of research that I have piled up on this recruiting class. Most of what I have gathered will never see the light of day due to it’s complete irrelevancy now that the program was left high and dry and now is scrambling to put together the kind of recruiting class that is so desperately needed due to the mass-exodus of players under the former staff.

So we start anew. This is a difficult task as the few of you who have decided to continue following recruiting have begun to see. The amount of prospects wavering and the lack of good information on who is truly looking to stay and who may go elsewhere is daunting, but I will try to report everything as accurately as I can and if something or someone is omitted, you will just have to forgive me. A lot of the faces will be familiar, some of them will not.

It will be hard selling this crop of prospects on being part of the rebuilding efforts of a program that was clearly headed in the right direction in terms of talent before the coaching change and now has a very uncertain future. It’s easy to sell names like Monte Kiffin and Ed Orgeron. Much more difficult to sell names such as Joseph and Russell. So it’s understandable if the outcome of these efforts isn’t immediately successful. (Since penning this, Dooley has hired Charlie Baggett who has an resume ripe with NFL jobs.)

The one thing that you can hang your hat on in recruiting is that winning produces interest especially from a recruiting standpoint so until there is something tangible in the way of victories it will continue to be difficult. But this is a guy that spent a lot of time under Saban — several years as his recruiting coordinator and he knows how to recruit.

Saban isn’t successful because he’s flashy — he’s successful because he does all of the little things right and pays an enormous amount of attention to detail. That’s exactly what it is going to take to return respectability to this program and I think that’s exactly what you will get under Derek Dooley.

If Tennessee hangs on to finish in the top 10 recruiting classes this year much of the credit should go to Lance Thompson. He has been relentless in his attempts to hold this class together. It’s pretty obvious that Thompson never really “meshed” with what Kiffin was trying to do so it’s no wonder that he decided to remain in Knoxville and continue to try and build something special at the University of Tennessee. I’m sure he learned a lot from spending a year under Monte Kiffin but I think he learned a lot more about the right way to go about things and the wrong way.

Thompson’s success in Georgia and his connections there are, and will continue to prove, invaluable to this new coaching staff and their recruiting efforts.

I cannot predict the reaction from recruits when asked to come join Tennessee and play for Derek Dooley vs. Lane Kiffin, but I’m sure there are many parents who would feel much better sending their kids to play for someone with integrity and that goes about things in a classy manner. Several examples have already surfaced of recruits who did not like the way Kiffin and co. went about things. These are obviously two totally different schools of thought on how to build a championship football program.

In the surprise of the week category, 6’4″ WR Justin Hunter who had been an LSU commitment but always mentioned the Vols has now became a UT commitment after a visit from Coach Dooley. The guy is super quick and has soft hands. He will never be a guy that out-muscles his opponent for the ball, but is an excellent leaper and can run.

Weekend visits were productive as several prospects reaffirmed their commitment to the Vols and one announced the Vols his leader.

ATHMarcques Dixon, who figures to end up in the defensive backfield, announced after his visit that he is still committed to the Vols. He praised the Vol faithful for sticking behind their team when he spoke with the Knoxville News Sentinel.

“If they can stand behind me and welcome me I’m guessing it will be that way all four years. I’m looking forward to being there.”

D-lineman J.C. Copeland, who will likely slide to the interior of the line in college, credits Lance Thompson for seeing him through the surprise of losing the coach he committed to. He told the KNS “He (Thompson) said just stick with it and we’ll get through this.”

Copeland said he enjoyed everything about his visit and is 100% committed to Tennessee.

LB Ralph Williams is as committed as he ever was after a visit to Knoxville. He still intends to see Ole Miss and Louisville, but remains a solid commitment to the Vols.

LB Corey Nelson did not see enough in Knoxville to sway him from his A&M commitment but none of the recruits were able to meet with Head Coach Derek Dooley this weekend. Dooley intends to visit Nelson and we will see if anything can be done to pry him away from A&M.

Other solid commitments for now appear to be KMichael Palardy and OG Zach Fulton who took a visit to Nebraska this past weekend but tells NWI.com:

“I talked with (new coach Derek) Dooley, and I liked him,” Fulton said. “He seems like a nice guy, and I am staying at Tennessee.”

Also solid is Marquis Pair whom the former staff really liked as a future tackle. He said that he is not leaving “no matter wat.”

ATH Delvin Jones was one of the more publicly upset commitments when hearing the news that former coach Lane Kiffin was making a move to Southern Cal and he promptly de-committed from the Vols. He now says the Vols still lead for his services and after a visit from the head coach he will likely re-commit. As we have seen this year though, nothing is written in stone.

All of the early enrollees are sticking with their team and none appear ready to appeal to the NCAA for transfer to another institution. These include Jacques Smith, Ja’wuan James, Tyler Bray, Matt Milton, Channing Fugate, Ted Meline and Corey Miller.

DE/DTBrandon Willis decided to enroll at UNC. WR Kenbrell Thomkins is going to take some time to find a new home but it is not likely to be Knoxville. Also de-committing were SAhmad Dixon (Baylor) and ILBMichael Taylor (Florida). Calvin Smith, who I figure to end up at offensive guard, is de-committed and again taking visits. FSU is a big player for him as is Miami. Tennessee has a chance to get back in, but odds are against it.

I wouldn’t expect Markeith Ambles to be part of this class. It just doesn’t sound good with he and UT right now. While Tennessee is still in play after his de-commitment, they are fading. We will see if a visit earlier today from the coaching staff and an in-depth explanation of the offense was enough to get seriously back in the mix. My feelings now are that he is likely to end up elsewhere, but not likely on the West Coast. Alabama is a possible destination. The commitment of Justin Hunter is not a good sign for the potential of an Ambles’ re-commitment.

Tennessee is still in it with safety Ahmad Dixon despite his reaffirmation of his Baylor commitment. I wouldn’t think the chances are very good, but Dixon has said that Tennessee is still in the picture. I think it much more likely that the Vols focus on Eddrick Loften, who claims the Vols are at the top, and try and secure a commitment from the one-time OU pledge.

The offensive line situation is now fuzzier than ever. I had thought that the intention was to bring 3 more if not 4 offensive linemen on board. There is no question though that Tennessee’s chances have faded with the likes of John Cullen, Chaz Green, and Shon Coleman — no doubt Tennessee’s top targets on the offensive line.

Cullen re-announced the Vols his leader just one day before the Kiffin news broke but it now isn’t clear who leads. James Cregg was a huge part of his interest in Tennessee and obviously he is at Tennessee no longer. It will be important to see who Coach Dooley hires to handle the offensive line duties as that will likely be key to landing Cullen. I don’t think that the Kiffin move really bothers him all that much. This may be one that we can win.

Cullen also took visits to Oklahoma, Kansas State, Utah and Arizona State in addition to Tennessee.

Chaz Green took a visit to Florida this past weekend along with teammate (no relation) Christian Green. He told Rivals about Florida’s chances.

“It’s definitely an option I’m considering,” he said. “Talking with coach Urban Meyer this weekend, I had a really, really good talk with him. There is a lot of good that came out of this. It’s one of the places I can see myself playing. I have to take my visit out to Southern Cal in a couple weeks and then just compare options.

So obviously Kiffin and co. are still targeting the talented offensive tackle. I think Florida is a more realistic destination for him — they once led, and we will see if Tennessee can get back into the mix there.

Shon Coleman was likely to stick to Auburn all-along and now that seems to be even more likely. He is going to be a force playing on that line with his length and athleticism.

The only visitors for this weekend that I can confirm are Calhoun teammates QB Nash Nance and WR Da’Rick (pronounced DAY-rick) Rogers. Chaney made an in-home with Nance and secured the visit this weekend. The latest to offer Nance are Louisville and Arkansas. He also holds offers to Mississippi State and West Virginia which tells you a little bit about his mobility.

Other names are out there including RB Rajaan Bennett whom Dooley has offered and we will discuss these further next week in addition to updating you on Nance and Rogers.

That’s all I have for you this week, recruiting junkies, but be sure to stay updated here at VolNation.com in this — the busiest time in recruiting for the latest news on prospects and commitments. If it’s anywhere, it’s here. Thanks for reading.