So this is obviously a very different update than the one I intended to publish up until today, but I felt obligated to say something…anything to help people understand what we are looking at and what the possible outcomes could be.
So far we have lost Delvin Jones, Michael Taylor, and Brandon Willis from our commit list. I am sure there will be more names. As far as who is staying, right now it appears that most of our early enrollees will remain enrolled but that will become more clear when we see who shows up for class on Wednesday.
It appears that Corey Miller is planning to stay according to those who have spoken with him. I think you can expect Jacques Smith to stay as well and Tyler Bray is not going anywhere. I have also heard that Matt Milton will stay. As I have said we will know more as this unfolds and a lot will depend on how quickly Hamilton makes a hire and who that hire will be. All indications are that Hamilton wants to make a quick hire due to the timing and something should be known very soon.
There are a lot of rumors out there that the Vols have Will Muschamp at the top of their list and will try to move quickly to offer him. Again, the upcoming days will tell us much more about the plausibility of that and who possibilities may be for the staff. I have seen Kirby Smart’s name out there for DC under Muschamp and I realize that he just turned down UGA but he may see this as a more promising position.
Rumors are out there that Hamilton may target Houston Nutt. I’m not sure where these rumors originated or how much truth there is to them but I cannot see us going that route and would be disappointed if we did. I think we will go after Troy Calhoun, Gary Patterson or Doug Marrone before Nutt.
So far, Kippy Brown is staying and taking over immediately as interim head coach. Lance Thompson appears to be staying put as well. Obviously Orgeron and Monte went to join Lane at USC.
The best advice I can give you guys is to just wait and see. This is obviously completely out of any of our control and there is nothing to do but watch and wait. I think if a “splash” hire like Muschamp is made than the possibility of hanging on to a top 10 class is very realistic.
Be sure to stay tuned into VolNation for all the breaking news on recruiting and the coaching search. When it’s out there, you will hear it here.