Did anyone really expect Butch Jones to recruit this well for Tennessee?

[VolFreakJosh]

I may get blasted for this but I questioned his recruiting ability when this hire was made. Now, I'm eating crow and the job him and his staff has done on the recruiting trail is outstanding. He could become one of our all time best recruiters if he keeps this up. Recruiting is very important when you're rebuilding a program. My question is, did anyone really expect Butch Jones to recruit this well for Tennessee?

 

[Falcons02]

I may get blasted for this but I questioned his recruiting ability when this hire was made. Now, I'm eating crow and the job him and his staff has done on the recruiting trail is outstanding. He could become one of our all time best recruiters if he keeps this up. Recruiting is very important when you're rebuilding a program. My question is, did anyone really expect Butch Jones to recruit this well for Tennessee?

Short answer: No.

Long answer: Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

[turambar85]

The honest answer will be no. It would have been insane to have *expected* any coach in America to be in the position to average a top 5 class his first two years here - following the putrid mess of a team we had the 4-7 years prior, let alone to be threatening another top 5 class in his third year.

Even the most optimistic of us have to bow to his recruiting prowess.

 

[JackHVFL]

If you dig hard enough you can find several threads that said he couldn't recruit. Doubt anyone would say that now.

Just be glad we didn't end up with... really anyone else we had previously wanted.

 

[Dave1967]

I was more than pleasantly suprised

 

[olbemw7]

No worries. When he was hired the first thing I did was tweet at him "GTFO YOU CAN'T RECRUIT IN THE SEC!!!!"

I like to pretend it motivated him to work harder...

 

[LouderVol]

if anyone says yes they are lying. no one could have expected him to come out like this and immediately brought in a top 5 class after a 5-7 year. that was always the biggest concern when he was hired, was how good of a job could he do recruiting.

 

[millst987]

Butch is a great recruiter for sure. However, I don't think it should be hard at all to recruit well at UT. Just get them on campus and let the fans, facilities, and atmosphere take care of the rest.

 

[wtorange]

I don't think anyone thought any coach in America could have recruited this well this soon. At least half this board questioned his ability to recruit at the SEC level and said his staff was mostly bald headed white guys who would not relate to African American players. I remember Coach Jones saying he had never had a program like Tennessee to sell before. People just assumed that was coach speak but he was a lot smarter than we gave him credit for.

 

[TNVolunteerGrad]

.

 

[Vol-in-Atlanta]

I'm a little disappointed.

Kidding! The man can recruit like a boss!!!!

Yeah, I didn't expect it.

 

[turambar85]

Butch is a great recruiter for sure. However, I don't think it should be hard at all to recruit well at UT. Just get them on campus and let the fans, facilities, and atmosphere take care of the rest.

False. Period. At least if by "recruit well" you mean to 5 classes. And if you're contextualizing this to account for our recent s*itshow of a program.

 

[BaldBiker]

I expected him to "LOOK" like a miracle worker after Dooley. What I didn't expect was this.

Not gonna lie. I have a man crush now.

 

[jspvol76]

I was all like....

 

[BearCat204]

I knew it from day 1.....................

 

[McGeesPub]

I may get blasted for this but I questioned his recruiting ability when this hire was made. Now, I'm eating crow and the job him and his staff has done on the recruiting trail is outstanding. He could become one of our all time best recruiters if he keeps this up. Recruiting is very important when you're rebuilding a program. My question is, did anyone really expect Butch Jones to recruit this well for Tennessee?

No. In fact, I thought he just wouldn't "get it" with regard to recruiting in the SEC. I thought we would be a perennially well-coached team that wouldn't have the athletes to make much noise past an 8-4 season, 9-3 if all the bounces went our way. While we still haven't gotten to those type of records, we are certainly recruiting the type athletes to be conference contenders.

 

[TAF]

Negative Ghost Rider

Just ready to see translation on-field...

 

[Coastypop]

Butch is a great recruiter for sure. However, I don't think it should be hard at all to recruit well at UT. Just get them on campus and let the fans, facilities, and atmosphere take care of the rest.

This same philosphy worked well for Dooley

 

[TnTech_Vol]

The "Best staff in the country" aholes are eating crow too.

Didn't think he'd recruit this well, but was willing to sit and watch them work.

 

[kyvol98]

I hoped he would recruit well, but never could even hoped he would do what he has done.
He has done a great job selling UT based on early opportunities to play. That said, with the quality of players he has gotten, that will soon not be the case. Players will come based on the success we have. It will be his first 4 classes that we will all remember as the bricks on which our future championships were built. These kids believe. So do I.

 

[VolGee4]

Butch is a great recruiter for sure. However, I don't think it should be hard at all to recruit well at UT. Just get them on campus and let the fans, facilities, and atmosphere take care of the rest.

It's just not that simple anymore. The environment in the SEC has changed. Just like everything else in life, recruiting is about relationships, and this staff is unbelievable with developing relationships. They also understand connections and do their homework. The fact that Vic Wharton was one of Butch's first offers and first commit should tell all that you need to know. He had done his homework, and Dooley obviously didn't care.

 

[Rudy123]

I may get blasted for this but I questioned his recruiting ability when this hire was made. Now, I'm eating crow and the job him and his staff has done on the recruiting trail is outstanding. He could become one of our all time best recruiters if he keeps this up. Recruiting is very important when you're rebuilding a program. My question is, did anyone really expect Butch Jones to recruit this well for Tennessee?

Yes! The reason is because (1) he is a gifted speaker and can sell the program (2) Tennessee has everything it needs except a good coach and good players. It has the facilities. It has the history. It has the fan support. So,once we got the good coach, the program began to sell itself. (3) When bUTch first arrived, he could sell immediate playing time to the recruits and they would most likely rather go to Tennessee and play immediately rather than go elsewhere and have to red shirt.

Dobbs played as a freshman. Barnett played as a freshman. Hurd played as a freshman. Several offensive linemen have played as freshmen. At places with depth on the roster, they would have been buried behind the upper classmen.

Now, once the roster is full and depth is added, can bUTch continue to sell the program???????????

 

[TBtheGBwiththeTD]

There were people saying after last years class that they were still worried because all the legacy players may have made it easier for him...

Nobody is questioning it now. I promise you that.

 

[Pump Guy]

On day one I didn't know who Butch Jones was

 

[tnvols72]

not at all and but Im sure there is some that will say they knew he could.