Underrated Freshmen from the 2017 recruiting class

[tennrich1]

The problem with Jumper is how much he regressed as the season went on. He looked decent early but the bottom completely fell out with him about halfway through the season and it just kept getting worse and worse. The guy was awful the last 5 games or so and he probably had more mental busts that anyone else on that defense during that stretch. His play against Vandy was probably the worst individual LB play I've seen in one game. I'm assuming the staff saw this as well considering he was pretty much benched for the bowl game. For me, McDowell is the dark horse with the LB unit this year. If he can get back into better shape like he was in as a sophomore and gets his explosion back he could have a monster senior year.

When you have DEs playing down in the front of you like he did in the Vandy game then any LB looks bad. I saw that from the stands. That's the part of the game a lot of people miss.... and that's why a lot of folks don't understand when the unit is coming off the field why a certain player that wasn't involved in the play is getting chewed out. Perfect example....

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

This. Good lord I'm assuming this guy is predicting an 11-1 or 12-0 season with the way he's hyping everyone.

I've been saying we're gonna surprise everyone this year. We're at the very least winning the East with a 10-2 record. Most likely we win the SEC Championship and make the playoffs.

I wouldn't be surprised if we won it all. I have that much faith in the team.

 

[jakez4ut]

When you have DEs playing down in the front of you like he did in the Vandy game then any LB looks bad. I saw that from the stands. That's the part of the game a lot of people miss.... and that's why a lot of folks don't understand when the unit is coming off the field why a certain player that wasn't involved in the play is getting chewed out. Perfect example....

your point on who the DT's were at the end of the season is valid.

that said, while i think Jumper made some athletic plays last year that i didn't think he was capable of...(FL game was by far his best game), the LB play was not very good from the start.

we didn't really stop the run all that great early, and by the end, the flood gates were open with how the DT situation played out.

Jumper was not good at getting off blocks...heck for that matter, aside from a couple of guys, once we got blocked, we stayed blocked.

if our DT's can eat some of that up this year, and with who will be lining up at LB....i think we should see a significant improvement in the run game defense.

 

[Montrell Hardy]

When you have DEs playing down in the front of you like he did in the Vandy game then any LB looks bad. I saw that from the stands. That's the part of the game a lot of people miss.... and that's why a lot of folks don't understand when the unit is coming off the field why a certain player that wasn't involved in the play is getting chewed out. Perfect example....

Weren't our DE's for the Vandy game Barnett and Vereen? As painful as it is I suggest people re-watch that Vandy game, especially the 2nd half just to see how poorly he played. Missed tackles, huge busts, not tackling a guy with the ball right in front of him on 3rd and long, instead choosing to engage a lineman. It was a comedy of errors.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Frosh who have generated buzz from teammates and coaches early in #Vols camp: Ignont, Palmer, Butler, Jordan, Bumphus, Labruzza and Reid. - Simonton"

Looks like my guys are showing out early. Now all I need is for Ryan Thaxton to flash and I'll be 5 for 5 on under the radar recruits that would shine in fall camp.

 

[bignewt]

Jacquez Jones will be a star.

 

[Power T-Rev]

Palmer is going to be a star. Maybe not this year, but before he graduates he looks like he could be the hidden gem of the recruiting class

 

[KBVol]

Is there really a lot of depth at LB?

No, there's not. Perhaps the biggest position of concern right now.

 

[ruger1234]

Looks like my guys are showing out early. Now all I need is for Ryan Thaxton to flash and I'll be 5 for 5 on under the radar recruits that would shine in fall camp.

Ignont was never under the radar. Just a a northern Alabama 4 star that we were able to pick up

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Kamari was only slightly better than Kelley last year, Sutton didn't play at 100% but rarely, and if the line holds up the qb can still be quite productive. Dobbs was here when we needed him. He was great, no Barnett this year

If Kamara would have been the starter from day one and used correctly, he likely would have broken every rushing record we have. Kamara was not utilized properly. I like Kelly but to say Kamara was only slightly better is very shortsighted.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Ignont was never under the radar. Just a a northern Alabama 4 star that we were able to pick up

I know. I mentioned that in my post. There just wasn't much buzz about him at all going into camp eventhough he was one of our highest rated recruits.

 

[armchair]

Nobody is underrated or overrated right now. We'll have to see, among all the frosh, who gets on the field in the next two+ years and how they play when they get there. All else is idle speculation, which, yes, is a speciality of this board!

 

[beneVOLence]

Bumpus has a nice ceiling IMO. It'll be interesting to see what side of the ball he ends up on. No clue what people are seeing in Thaxton. There is a reason why someone of his size and frame had such poor offers. He looks like a major reach to me. Thought he looked very stiff and rather unathletic for an SEC caliber DE prospect.

I watched Bumpus one time in high school so this isn't a professional evaluation by no means, but he was way better and dynamic as a TE than a DE. I was hoping they would try him at TE before DE. He definitely had a SEC body in high school though.

 

[bignewt]

Nobody is underrated or overrated right now. We'll have to see, among all the frosh, who gets on the field in the next two+ years and how they play when they get there. All else is idle speculation, which, yes, is a speciality of this board!

And so out of character for a message board!

 

[bowlinggreenvol]

9-3 talent may be too optimistic with all the unknowns, don't you think?

4 top 15 classes in a row should be enough talent to not yield a 6-6 or 7-5 season. If it does then coaching is the issue; plain and simple. It amazes me the way the media is jumping on the UK bandwagon when their talent is far inferior on paper to what we have.

 

[patrick]

Looks like my guys are showing out early. Now all I need is for Ryan Thaxton to flash and I'll be 5 for 5 on under the radar recruits that would shine in fall camp.

2 whole practices without pads and frosh "showing out"..... just wow....

:crazy:

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

If Kamara would have been the starter from day one and used correctly, he likely would have broken every rushing record we have. Kamara was not utilized properly. I like Kelly but to say Kamara was only slightly better is very shortsighted.

You can say that about a lot of RBs from UT though. In our peak years we were a RB by committee team. Its never been just one guy. Which is why Jalen Hurd got so high in the record books. I think we split the carries this year .

 

[photovol]

We have very good talent overall, even great talent in certain positions. Do we have the elite talent that's needed to compete for SEC and national championships? Do we have Bama, Florida State, Ohio State, and Clemson talent? No, sadly we don't. We have 9-3 talent.

I'll take 9-3 all day long for team 121, won't you?

 

[KBVol]

Yup. Darrin Kirkland Jr., Daniel Bituli, Austin Smith, Quart'e Sapp, Cortez McDowell, Colton Jumper, and Dillon Bates are all expected to play this season. All have playing experience, most have starting experience. LB is one of the positions I feel best about. After all the injuries we suffered last year, we've built up some nice depth at that position.

Will Ignont will be a menace on special teams this year and I could see him pushing for a starting spot next season.

Lol.

Linebacker is one our biggest concerns at this point. Our two potentially best/most talented LBs (DKJr, Bituli)are, in Butch's words, "extremely, extremely limited to begin fall camp", so Jumper begins at starting MLB this week. Smith and Sapp have never played in an SEC game, Bates can't play at this level, McDowell and Berry were serviceable last year but didn't play at a competitive SEC level, and the rest of the guys are true freshmen...........but LB is a position you feel the best about for team 121. Lol. Sounds about right.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Lol.

Linebacker is one our biggest concerns at this point. Our two potentially best/most talented LBs (DKJr, Bituli)are, in Butch's words, "extremely, extremely limited to begin fall camp", so Jumper begins at starting MLB this week. Smith and Sapp have never played in an SEC game, Bates can't play at this level, McDowell and Berry were serviceable last year but didn't play at a competitive SEC level, and the rest of the guys are true freshmen...........but LB is a position you feel the best about for team 121. Lol. Sounds about right.

We have 4 future NFL players to choose from (Darrin Kirkland Jr., Daniel Bituli, Austin Smith, and Quart'e Sapp). Unlike most I look at the amount of NFL talent we have at each position group when judging how good I feel about them for the upcoming season. And LB is one of the position groups with the highest concentration for future NFL talent. That is why I feel so good about it.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

For the record here is the NFL caliber talent I see at each position:

QB - Quinten Dormady, Jarrett Guarantano
RB - John Kelly, Tim Jordan
WR - Jauan Jennings
TE - Ethan Wolf
OL - Trey Smith, Marcus Tatum
DE - Jonathan Kongbo, Darrell Taylor, Kyle Phillips
DT - Kendal Vickers, Kahlil McKenzie, Shy Tuttle, Matthew Butler
LB - Darrin Kirkland Jr., Daniel Bituli, Austin Smith, Quart'e Sapp
CB - Justin Martin, Emmanuel Moseley, Baylen Buchanan, Cheyenne Labruzza
NB - Rashaan Gaulden
S - Nigel Warrior, Micah Abernathy

KR - Evan Berry
P - Trevor Daniel

Now this list isn't all encompassing, these are just the guys I feel best about RIGHT NOW. As you can see, I believe we have more talent on defense. And it'll be the defense that powers us to a national championship in 2017.

 

[VOLFan65]

I've been saying we're gonna surprise everyone this year. We're at the very least winning the East with a 10-2 record. Most likely we win the SEC Championship and make the playoffs.

I wouldn't be surprised if we won it all. I have that much faith in the team.

Dude...You keep us entertained for sure. You are like the Rick Warren of volnation. Sometimes you say things and I'm like "Yes, D4H! YES!" and then other times I'm like :thud:

Man, I agree that the talent is there. The issue isn't the talent with the starters. No-one here would question that. The issue is depth and coaching. What do we do if we have the injuries we had last year?

We also have to see if Butch Jones has grown as a game day coach. We all know he can recruit, but can he take a team with less talent than last year to a 10-2 season?

Talent? Absolutely. East champs? Possibly if things go well and we stay healthy. Playoffs? We would have to shock the world and have players improve tremendously. Honestly, if we went to the playoffs this year, I would question why some of them weren't starting last year, and why we weren't better when we had all those injuries.

 

[volnbama_]

What has Baylen Buchanan shown that makes him an NFL guy? He clearly wasn't ready to play last year

 

[Burger]

We have 4 future NFL players to choose from (Darrin Kirkland Jr., Daniel Bituli, Austin Smith, and Quart'e Sapp). Unlike most I look at the amount of NFL talent we have at each position group when judging how good I feel about them for the upcoming season. And LB is one of the position groups with the highest concentration for future NFL talent. That is why I feel so good about it.

So if we had complete "NFL Talent" at linebacker who were all true freshmen, we would have the best linebacking core right now?

 

[KBVol]

We have 4 future NFL players to choose from (Darrin Kirkland Jr., Daniel Bituli, Austin Smith, and Quart'e Sapp). Unlike most I look at the amount of NFL talent we have at each position group when judging how good I feel about them for the upcoming season. And LB is one of the position groups with the highest concentration for future NFL talent. That is why I feel so good about it.

And this is where we usually part ways. You're constantly talking about abstract things and your opinions....I'm much more interested in things that can be proven with evidence, which informs my opinions. So while you think our linebacker situation is great because we have all these "future NFL players", I'm looking at who has proven themselves capable of playing at a high SEC level thus far, and we got one, maybe one and a half of those guys right now. So until guys like Smith and Sapp and Bituli show that they are good enough and can do the job, we still have a major gap at the linebacker position imo.