X's Recruiting Updates

'X' Says:
'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'
'X' Says:
'I love following and being a part of recruiting. However, this thing we call recruiting has changed so much in recent years. Some for the good but so much has changed about recruiting for the bad. I no longer get worked up or upset if a kid says he is going to Tennessee then changes his mind and goes to another school. You see, WORDS MEAN NOTHING ANYMORE. COMMITMENTS MEAN EVEN LESS.


Honestly, it seems anymore its which school or coach gets the last word with the prospect. During the month of January many football coaches assume this alter ego as high pressure salesmen. And what is worse, coaches can up and leave for another dollar anytime they want and the kids are stuck for the next 4 to 5 years of their lives. Is what it is. Maybe the NCAA will reform this one of these days.

Hindsight is 20/20 and everyone is an armchair quarterback. With that said, I was concerned Tennessee chose to only officially visit 1 prospect the next to last visit weekend and only officially visit only 2 prospects the last visit weekend of the 2012 recruiting cycle. With all the negative talk and message board nonsense out there, you had to know that type of nonsense just added fodder for the programs chirping away at Tennessee's commitments that thrive on negative recruiting. Seems like Tennessee gave rivals a couple of weeks to work over some of our commitments. In my opinion, that was an error.



Each school gets 56 official visits in a recruiting cycle or calendar year if you will. You use them or lose them. This said, it should be noted that Tennessee had plenty of official visits left to use at the end of January.


If nothing else it seems you would want to use an official visit or two on prospects who are back up plans in case you lose a kid or two. As we have seen in the last couple of days, it happens.


My guess is that when Coach Dooley goes back and critiques this recruiting cycle you'll see more official visits used and the "big" official visit weekend being either the last or next to last official weekend of next recruiting cycle ..... instead of mid January.


I'm sure there was a calculated reason why Tennessee chose their big visit weekend to be relatively early in January. Seems like Tennessee just backed off the recruiting gas a little regarding officially visiting kids toward the end of January. Seems like Tennessee thought it was running out of spots. Well, it wasn't.


I have already said this but I think you will see Tennessee get back to more Tennessee, Virginia, and Carolinas recruiting going forward. With respect to the state of Tennessee, there were a handful of 2012 in state kids Tennessee either got a late start or a bad start recruiting this past year.


One or two of these prospects could have easily been a part of this class. Going forward, Tennessee as a staff has a much better group of recruiters than it had twelve months ago. Also, as a staff, I believe they are much better organized in state than in previous years.


Another thing, Tennessee now has coaches that want to be here. I’m not sure that was the case previously......


This much I know. Tennessee still needs another recruiter on this staff. Here's hoping the new defensive backs coach but whoever it is better is a very good recruiter.

X'
'X' Says:
So what is the line from the that old Tom Petty song, “The Waiting is the Hardest Part”. Is there any better way to describe what most of us will be doing between now and Wednesday morning?

For Tennessee, the recruiting hay is in the barn. Now it’s the waiting. Big picture. Recruiting boards are paired down to a select few. Contingency plans are in place. In home visits are over. Coaches are off the road for the most part. This is the last recruiting visit weekend before recruiting goes dark Sunday night. Then, you hold your breath until Wednesday, February 1.

The numbers tell the story for Tennessee. 2 spots left in the class. 3 maybe 4 committed prospects taking visits this weekend. A pool of 5 prospects still on the board. 1 with an outside chance of 2 visitors on campus this weekend.

Information will be very scarce from now until Sunday afternoon or Sunday evening when kids get back from their final visits. Then, it is complete craziness until Wednesday.

After midnight on Sunday, there is not to be any contact between recruited prospects and coaches. This is a complete farce. Everybody knows it. There are plenty of ways coaches can get connected to prospects during this so called dead period. It is really a joke. This maybe the most stressful time for the kids and their families. I’m convinced many kids really don’t make their final decisions until the evening before or morning of National Signing Day. I remember Jacques McClendon, one of my favorite Vols of all time and one who had been committed to Tennessee for months, having a few second thoughts before he signed the papers. Big decision. First decision with consequences many of these kids have had to make.

The question for Coach Dooley is how solid are the relationships built with a couple of kids who are being pursued by other schools. Now, do these kids hold true to the commitments made for months or, do family or other pressures prevail? Coach Dooley knows the prospects he has to worry about keeping their end of the bargain. Tennessee has planned accordingly.

Even though this is all suppose to be about the prospects. It never amazes me how in some cases a parent or both parents begin to enjoy “being recruited” more than the player enjoys it. Honestly, the kids get sick of it after awhile. Tennessee has 2 of these situations in this class. Wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if Tennessee lost one or both of these prospects.

The following is the worst part of the whole process for me. Not the waiting until Wednesday. Not a prospect being committed to a school for months and then on signing day sign with another school. Remember it is kids we are dealing with and kids change their minds..... frequently. If you have one of these like I do you know what I'm talking about. No, the worst part for me is Basilio makes me predict how Tennessee is going to close this thing out. I don’t know for sure. I can tell you with certainty that while recruiting staff members have a feel for how they close they won’t know for sure about these kids until Wednesday morning. That is just the way it is. So here goes ......

I will break this into a couple of parts. The first is who stays and who goes and the second is how does Tennessee close.

Who Stays & Who Goes

Tennessee has 4 committed players still taking visits. I’m worried about all of them but I worry about everything. Let’s look at each one.

Dalton Santos. Down to Tennessee or Texas for Mr. Santos. If the kid, who has to spend the next 4 years of his life in either Austin or Knoxville, is making the choice, he picks Tennessee. Tennessee is giving him the opportunity to play his natural position (inside linebacker) and play early. Texas will likely move Santos to defensive end. He is too much of a tweener in my opinion for a defensive end.
My gut says the dad is going to be influential in the final decision . With that said, in my opinion Santos is headed to Texas. I think a lot of people involved in recruiting of Santos from Tennessee’s side feel the same way.


If Davante Borque is left to make the decision, he comes to Tennessee. If he and his father take the trip to Nebraska this weekend, we’ll have to wait until Wednesday morning to see where he ends up.


Otha Peters. I think he signs with Tennessee.


Ladarrell McNeil is a tough one. Oklahoma State has put an enormous amount of heat on McNeil. Oklahoma State is closer to Dallas than Knoxville is. McNeil would be a boost to an otherwise dreadful recruiting class Oklahoma State has put together. McNeil has steadfastly told Tennessee he is coming. We’ll see what he says next week. McNeil’s family loved its time in Tennessee. I’m going against most traditional thinking that he flips to Oklahoma State and say he sticks with Tennessee. Whether he signs with Tennessee or Oklahoma State, he will be the best prospect in either class.


How Does Tennessee Close

These are difficult because there are compelling reasons to be made for each of these prospects choosing Tennessee. Here are the 4 uncommitted prospects left on the board.


Wide Receiver Cordarrelle Patterson. Tennessee is getting the last in home visit with Patterson. In my way of thinking this is key. Six weeks ago Tennessee was completely out of the Patterson sweepstakes. When Charlie Baggett “retired”, Tennessee was dead in the water with Patterson. Moving Darin Hinshaw to Wide Receiver Coach was the first step in repairing the relationship with Patterson. Hinshaw has done the rest. I do know Patterson feels comfortable at Tennessee. Even when the recruitment seemed off track, Tennessee just kept in touch and over time has seemed to re- capture whatever momentum there is with Patterson. Off the record, Tennessee is cautiously optimistic here. You look for any sign you can find in recruiting. Maybe it is me gasping for things but I think it speaks volumes Darin Hinshaw gets the last visit with Patterson.


Defensive lineman Korren Kirven. Kirven could step up Wednesday morning and sign papers with Virginia Tech and I wouldn’t be one bit surprised. His family has ties to Virginia Tech, he has a number of friends on the Virginia Tech team, and Blacksburg is a very easy drive for his parents to make every Saturday instead of driving down that gosh awful I-81 to Knoxville. Virginia Tech is the easy choice for him. The problem is Kirven loves Tennessee. He has been on campus so many times since the summer Tennessee is almost like a second home to him. Tennessee has the momentum here. This is another one where family may prevail though.



Quinshad Davis. Davis could be the steal of the class. The next great Tennessee receiver . A star in waiting. You wonder what Tennessee sells Davis if Patterson commits to Tennessee ? Let’s look at it. Tennessee could barely put 5 receivers on the field in a 5-wide set last season especially after Justin Hunter’s injury. Tennessee has already lost two receivers in the off season (Arnett and Milton), Zac Rogers graduates after the 2012 season; and you have the feeling some combination of Hunter, Rogers, and even Patterson could leave for the NFL draft after next season. Now , the depth chart doesn’t look so bad. Davis could very likely be an every down receiver by 2013. All the so-called analysts and experts are picking Tennessee here ...something tells me to watch Wake Forest.


Jacoby Briscoe. Defensive lineman like Kirven and Briscoe, are the type Tennessee needs to sign more of to return to SEC prominence. You simply stockpile and redshirt defensive tackles. Follow the Alabama model. I have always been told this late in the game you don’t turn down defensive lineman. It is clear Kirven is the top defensive line target. Briscoe is scheduled to visit this weekend. Honestly, I will be surprised if this happens. As good a prospect is Briscoe is, simply don’t think Tennessee has room.


Demetrious Wilson, Wide Receiver. How bad is Arkansas looking the last couple of days. Cutting loose a long time commitment two days before the last visit weekend. Then, 4 hours later not taking the commitment from Demetrious Wilson. a kid they have seemingly wanted and have been recruiting hard. Regardless, Wilson is the third of three wide receiver options Tennessee has remaining on its board. If Patterson doesn’t sign with Tennessee, look for Wilson to be a VOL. If Patterson falls to Tennessee and Davis goes elsewhere, I don’t think Tennessee can take 2 JUCO wide receivers.


To sum up, while Tennessee's board says "5" prospects are on it, I really think the pool of prospects to watch is more like "3". Kirven, Patterson and Davis.

That is it. Another recruiting cycle in the books. Look for updates between now and Wednesday morning
I will have a wrap of 2012 recruiting on Thursday after the smoke clears and a look ahead .

Have a great weekend.

Buckle the seat belt.

X'


PSX: If and if...If Tennessee ends up signing only 24 prospects in this class, watch Tennessee and Rutgers commitment Quanzell Lambert. Right now Lambert isnt planning to sign with any school next Wednesday. He doesn't have any official visits left but he can visit a school like Tennessee on his own dime. Lambert is a big time inside linebacker prospect. If Santos does go to Texas as many think, Tennessee would have a spot for an inside linebacker. I know there have been discussions between Lambert and Tennessee as late as last evening.

Now I'm

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