'Tony World:
Random musings as we reflect on a nice, peaceful Indian summer weekend in East Tennessee:
HOW WE GOT HERE:
REMEMBER that Butch Jones is one of the last remaining gifts from former AD Dave Hart. Hart shot higher than Jones but failed to land the likes of Mike Gundy. It is perhaps unkind but accurate to say that Hart was fairly desperate to get the search over with by the time he met the energetic and charismatic Jones in a hotel room in Lexington, Ky. Jones was a long shot to become a HC at a major program like Tennessee. He wasn't part of any "tree" of a legendary coach like Nick Saban. He didn't distinguish himself as a coordinator. But, he could sell and he sold Hart on that long night in Lexington.
JONES got off to a great start in charming Vol fans and generating interest in his program among recruits. One of his big early accomplishments was signing Atlanta QB Josh Dobbs shortly after taking the job. Jones and staff did a nice salvaging that 2013 class, coming in at 25th in the nation and 11th in the SEC.
YEAR ONE of the Jones era featured a spunky Vol team that took Georgia to overtime before losing 34-31 and the unquestionable highlight was a 23-21 upset of #11 South Carolina in a game that was the beginning of the end for Steve Spurrier. Though Tennessee missed a bowl at 5-7, a big recruiting year was underway as Jones delivered a class ranked 7th in the country and 5th in the league.
YEAR TWO saw the Vols manage a 6-6 record and earn the opportunity to pop Iowa 45-28 in the Taxslayer Bowl in Jax. No doubt the highlight was a 45-42 overtime win over the Gamecocks once again, but there was also the beginning of a troubling pattern as the Vols blew a 9-0 lead at home vs. Florida in the fourth quarter and lost 10-9. That game was preceded by a great UT effort in losing in OT to Georgia.
YEAR THREE will go down as the one Jones showed he couldn't reach the highest level. His talented, young team with dual threat ace Josh Dobbs dominated Oklahoma for most of the contest before bowing 31-24 in two OT's and launching QB Baker Mayfield. Of course, the lasting memory from that epic game, other than the fantastic Big Orange crowd, was Jones' failure to understand the gravity of the moment when his team had a chance to score a touchdown early and he instead opted for a field goal on the one-foot line instead of trying Dobbs or 235-pound back Jalen Hurd.
Another lasting Vol Scar was the long TD UT gave up to Florida's Antonio Callaway with less than a minute to go at The Swamp for a 28-27 Gator win. There were bright moments as Jones got his first "W" over Georgia and won six straight down the stretch to claim an 8-4 record and the nod to administer a beat down to Northwestern in the Outback Bowl.
YEAR FOUR carried a certain sense of déjà vu' and foreboding for Vol fans as their team was a consensus pick to win the SEC East. However, the 2016 season started with a bang with the historic 45-24 win over Virginia Tech in the Battle of Bristol. Jones' program looked like it had arrived in storming to wins over Florida and Georgia and carrying a 5-0 record to College Station to play the Texas Aggies.
THE TWO-OVERTIME slugfest at Kyle Field may have been the turning point for Butch Jones at Tennessee. His team rallied valiantly from a 28-7 deficit to pull within one point at 35-34 with 41 seconds to go. The Aggies jumped off sides in attempting to block the extra point and gave Jones a golden opportunity to go for two and the win. Jones never considered it and instead kicked the point and lost in two overtimes. The beaten-up Vols were non competitive at home against Alabama but the real crash came when Gamecock QB Jake Bentley outplayed Dobbs in a 24-21 upset in Columbia. The loss derailed Tennessee's SEC East hopes and then things got worse when the Vols went south in the second half and got whipped by Vanderbilt, 45-34. UT returned to Nashville to play Nebraska in the Music City Bowl, but the 38-24 win did little to mend the wound.
YEAR FIVE started with Butch Jones on most every college football pundit's Hot Seat list. He avoided calamity in Atlanta's new Mercedes-Benz Stadium with a 42-41 double OT win over Georgia Tech. But the old Florida hex reappeared in Gainesville with a last-play TD giving the Gators a 26-20 win. And, of course, the Sept. 30 whitewashing by Georgia brings us to this critical week.
WHAT WENT WRONG:
RECRUITING: Jones' first full-year recruiting class in 2014 was an outstanding group but it suffered an inordinate amount of attrition. RB Jalen Hurd might be the poster child of this group. He was heading toward a school record in rushing then flamed out during the 2016 season and quit the team. Nashville DE Derek Barnett was the best player in this class and turned pro after his junior year. The best remaining contributors from that class are DB Rashan Gaulden, OL Jashon Robertson and TE Ethan Wolf. Safety Todd Kelly Jr. and KO return specialist Evan Berry are injured.
THE 2015 CLASS was more celebrated but has been disappointing.
Five-star Kahlil McKenzie has become a starter in the defensive line but would probably be better at offensive guard. The class held great promise on defense but DE Kyle Phillips, DT Shy Tuttle and LB Darrin Kirkland Jr. have been hurt most of their time in Knoxville. Everyone knew WR Preston Williams was a high risk take and he didn't do much before transferring. OT Drew Richmond has fought off injuries to become a starter but has yet to approach being the 56th best player in the nation. OL Jack Jones has played a lot of football but hasn't distinguished himself. Jauan Jennings is forever etched in UT lore as the recipient of the Dobbs Nail Boot pass at Athens but an injury has robbed him of this season.
The Quinten Dormady signing in 2015 was curious because he was not a dual-threat QB and his performance so far this season has been dismal. Alvin Kamara was the prize recruit from this class as a juco but he turned pro. RB John Kelly turned out to be a great get.
THE 2016 CLASS has proven to be largely lacking in play-makers so far. Floridian Tyler Byrd came out of Naples with great DB credentials but Jones stubbornly put him at WR and has even more stubbornly kept him there. Marquez Callaway is a nice player at WR. DE Jonathan Kongbo has become a starter by default but hasn't been close to his #1 rating coming out of junior college. Nigel Warrior is improving at safety and Daniel Bituli looks like an outstanding prospect at LB, when DC Bob Shoop chooses to play him. At least Jones and staff signed a true dual-threat QB in this class in Jarrett Guarantano and we will probably see a lot of him in the next two games. This class is woefully short on RB's (Carlin Fils-Aime is the only signing) and offensive line quality (Ryan Johnson, Marcus Tatum, Nathan Niehaus), although Tatum could develop if he gains bulk.
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT/ROSTER MANAGEMENT: The aforementioned Kamara was underutilized by OC Mike DeBord. DeBord and Nick Sheridan were unable to tap the passing potential of Josh Dobbs. Warrior should have played more as a freshman. Tennessee's defensive backs in general have been lousy under several coaches. As we mentioned, Tyler Byrd should be at corner. Brady Hoke is afraid to rotate defensive linemen.
GAME MISMANAGEMENT: Too many examples to list. Jones doesn't have the "feel" you need to manage a game and make quick decisions. He still thinks there's a rule against quarterback sneaks on the one-foot line.
IT ALL ADDS UP TO A PROGRAM ON THE BRINK as the scrappy South Carolina Gamecocks come to town Saturday.
AROUND THE SEC:
Speaking of those Gamecocks, QB Jake Bentley threw for three TDs in a 48-22 rout of ARKANSAS. We were dead wrong in picking the Hogs in this one and pig fans must be squealing with dismay right now ... LSU provided Vol fans with some fun with a 17-16 upset of FLORIDA, another poor pick by your correspondent. Tiger QB Danny Etling threw a TD pass and Gator counterpart Feleipe "Alou" Franks did not and that was the difference.
Speaking of bad picks, we'll back off VANDY now that GEORGIA ground the Commodore defense into dust with 423 yards rushing in a 45-14 rout ... We feared a back door cover by OLE MISS QB Shea Patterson and sure enough he threw for two late TDs in a 44-23 loss at AUBURN. Tiger RB Kerryon "Bag" Johnson ran for 204 against the porous Rebel/Landshark defense ... TEXAS A&M played ALABAMA tough in a 27-19 loss. The Aggies took the game to Bama in the second half and A&M has a real shot at beating Florida in The Swamp this Saturday.
MISSOURI gave KENTUCKY A tussle in Lexington before losing 40-34.
Orange Throat
IGYHB'
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