'Signing Class Awards

My favorite signee. LaDarrell McNeill. I never thought he would make it to Tennessee. It was a shock when he committed. You knew the Texas and the rest of the Big 12 schools would make a serious run at him which they did. He stayed true to his word. McNeil was the one the staff was most concerned about losing. Oklahoma State threw the kitchen sink at him. McNeil is the best high school prospect in Tennessee's signing class.

Signee likely to buy Dooley more time. Hands down it’s Cordarrelle Patterson. If he is as good as he looks on video, Patterson with the other offensive weapons give Tennessee one of the most explosive offenses in the country and buys Dooley a couple of more wins next season. This may be enough to earn Coach Dooley more time at Tennessee. Note to Coaches Dooley and Chaney. Use Patterson often. You may only have 13 opportunities to do so.

Sounds Like Sour Grapes But Could Care Less. X spent many a football weekend in Texas in his prime. One thing I can tell you. Folks grow up in Texas being Texas fans or A&M fans. Lifelong Texas fans, as the Santos family alleges to be, don’t spend 8 months of the recruiting process flirtin with A&M.

Signee Having the Greatest Risk /Reward. Davante Borque. Borque has so much athleticism it’s sickening. Jay Graham is now tasked with molding him into an SEC running back. It will take time. If Borque and Daddy are patient, Borque has a chance to be special. If he has trouble getting his feet under him and is slow to adjust to the college game, his time at Tennessee could be a colossal mess.

Signee That Is Going to Have to Show Me. Defensive Tackle Daniel O’Brien. First, I'm glad Daniel O'Brien is a VOL. Watching his video though, I couldn’t figure out why Tennessee had O’Brien rated so high. Of course this is why X writes and doesn’t coach. He looked a little slow, had trouble getting off blocks, and seemed easily blocked by smaller offensive lineman. Coaches know more than I. O’Brien is the one I will be waiting to see how he develops and how fast he sees the field at Tennessee.

Signee(s) You Shouldn’t Forget About. (1) Jason Croom is flat out the best wide receiver prospect in Georgia. Tennessee went and got Croom committed early. After that, all the “homer” Georgia recruiting analysts begin picking at his skill set finding all these reasons to downgrade him in their rankings. This kid can play. (2) Tennessee didn’t get many in state kids this cycle but they may have got the best in Drae Bowles. I don’t know where he winds up playing wide receiver, linebacker, and defensive back. I do know he’ll play a lot of will be one Tennesseans will be proud of. (3) Trent Taylor. Darin Hinshaw stayed on this kid after he committed to Miami got Taylor to visit Tennessee and that was it. Whether at defensive end or defensive tackle, watch for Taylor to be in the rotation next season. Watch his film. Taylor is athletic and smart football player.

The Signee whose ranking makes no sense. Deion Bonner. Again, the homer Georgia recruiting analysts working for the state’s flagship newspaper don’t even have Bonner ranked in their top 50 prospects in the state. Talk about laughable. Bonner is the best cornerback prospect in Georgia and one of the top cornerback prospects in the Southeast.

Signee I can’t wait to see play. Patterson of course but digging a little deeper I would say Pig Howard. Coach Chaney has a new toy and it will be interesting to see how and how much Tennessee utilizes his skills. On defense, it’s LaDarrell McNeil. He looks like a cant miss player on video. If he can step in and play early. He can change the dynamic of the defensive secondary.

Signee(s) that make the Star Gazers say whaaaa? Cody Blanc and Justin King. Blanc and King are versatile, fast and athletic. I don’t know what their respective positions will ultimately be at Tennessee but these signees will be special team staples. You need players like this. King is so athletic. He has a chance to help in a number of different spots. Don’t forget about him. Same goes for Blanc.

The prospect we literally stole from other Schools. Nathan Peterman. Kudos to Jim Chaney. Coach Chaney just beat all the Florida schools to the punch in his evaluation of Nathan Peterman. Peterman committed to Tennessee and shut his recruitment down. Then, went out and had a phenomenal senior season. Florida recruiting analysts believe Peterman is the best 2012 quarterback prospect the state produced. Florida, Miami, and Florida State all had great recruiting classes but they got caught flat footed in their evaluation of Nathan Peterman. Glad he is a VOL.

Signees that will make the most immediate impact. Well, let’s hope its Daniel McCullers, Cordarrelle Patterson and Darrington Sentimore. That is why you signed the JUCOs. To be honest, I’m hopeful it’s George Bullock the kicking specialist from Knox West. I’m not sold on Tennessee's current kicking specialists. A lot to ask from a true freshman kicking in the SEC. I will throw you a sleeper. Running back Alden Hill. Running backs can play early. Hill will have benefit of spring and fall practice under his belt. Hill will likely get a lot of short yardage and goal line work.


In closing, this class includes two potential All SEC type performers in the defensive backfield in Ladarrell McNeil and Deion Bonner.


Notes

Dooley gets it when it comes to recruiting but he needs to step it up a notch . His first three classes have stabilized and rebuilt the roster. This next class needs to be chocked full of difference makers.

Good to see Coach Dooley acknowledge all the negative recruiting he and staff have endured. It was real folks. Also, glad to see him take a swipe at the ole chest bumper. Classic.

Amazing….. Tennessee held this class together with tape, string, Darin Hinshaw, Terry Joseph, Coach Dooley, and a little bit of Jay Graham.

Darin Hinshaw. Recruiter of the year for this staff. One of the best in the SEC.

Can you remember the last time Tennessee official visited only one prospect the next to last weekend and two prospects the last weekend of a recruiting cycle? Unprecedented. The last two weekends are traditionally heavy visit weekends for Tennessee. Wonder if Coach Dooley regrets visiting such a small number of kids during these weekends. He walked away from this recruiting cycle with 18 or so official visits in his pocket.

Recruiting is changing. Kids are making decisions sooner. Tennessee already has 4, 2013 commitments. BAMA has 7. A&M has 5. This is why you saw Jay Graham and Joe Pittman and a little bit of Darin Hinshaw spend the last two weeks of the 2012 recruiting cycle focusing primarily on 2013 kids. Tennessee is already ahead of the recruiting curve for 2013.

Has anyone filed a missing persons report on Jim Chaney? Thought Coach Chaney would be more prominent in recruiting after all the coaching flux with the staff. Rarely did you hear of Coach Chaney being out on the road or involved with recruits. Hmmmmm

How long has the silent majority been clamoring for Coach Dooley to hire running backs coach? It has already paid huge dividends. Thank you Dave Hart.

Guess Coach Dooley finally got tired of hearing me complain and/or of seeing Florida have its way in the state of North Carolina. Tennessee is now trying to re-establish its brand in the Carolinas. In 2013, North Carolina is a recruiting battleground state for Tennessee. Virginia very well could be as well.

Can’t wait to see what Joe Pittman brings to recruiting in the Carolinas. A well liked coach spurned by the home state schools with tons of contacts in the Carolinas.


Don’t remember Tennessee offering as many in state kids so soon in the process as they have offered for the 2013 class. The mid-state and Memphis are two areas of focus. 3 in state prospects already committed. All three will be pre-season top 10 prospects in the state. Tennessee could sign between 8 and 10 in state prospects in 2013. Could be the same for 2014 as well.

Good to see Tennessee beat Alabama for McCullers. The future needs to include Tennessee winning more of those battles.

Look for Tennessee to have more battles with Florida next recruiting cycle as Tennessee makes a few tweaks to its recruiting focus.

Tennessee still has a few spots to work with in this 2012 class. There are a few kids on the radar. More to follow on this right here tomorrow.

As always, I remain,


1 tired X'