Looking back at the 2015 class

[Freak]

In light of the Draft, it's interesting to look back at that 2015 signing class that was ranked No. 4 in the nation and No. 2 in the SEC.

Micah Abernathy ★★★★
Venzell Boulware ★★★
Jocquez Bruce ★★★
Andrew Butcher ★★★★
Quinten Dormady ★★★★
Stephen Griffin ★★★
Chance Hall ★★★
Jauan Jennings ★★★★
Jack Jones ★★★★
Sheriron Jones ★★★★
Alvin Kamara ★★★★
John Kelly ★★★
Darrin Kirkland Jr. ★★★★
Riley Lovingood ★★
Justin Martin ★★★★
Kahlil McKenzie ★★★★★
Darrell Miller ★★★
Kyle Oliver ★★★
Vincent Perry ★★★
Kyle Phillips ★★★★★
Quay Picou ★★★
Drew Richmond ★★★★
Quart'e Sapp ★★★★
Austin Smith ★★★
Zach Stewart ★★★
Darrell Taylor ★★★★
Tommy Townsend ★★★
Shy Tuttle ★★★★
Preston Williams ★★★★
Joe Young ★★

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[photovol]

In light of the Draft, it's interesting to look back at that 2015 signing class that was ranked No. 4 in the nation and No. 2 in the SEC.

Micah Abernathy ★★★★
Venzell Boulware ★★★
Jocquez Bruce ★★★
Andrew Butcher ★★★★
Quinten Dormady ★★★★
Stephen Griffin ★★★
Chance Hall ★★★
Jauan Jennings ★★★★
Jack Jones ★★★★
Sheriron Jones ★★★★
Alvin Kamara ★★★★
John Kelly ★★★
Darrin Kirkland Jr. ★★★★
Riley Lovingood ★★
Justin Martin ★★★★
Kahlil McKenzie ★★★★★
Darrell Miller ★★★
Kyle Oliver ★★★
Vincent Perry ★★★
Kyle Phillips ★★★★★
Quay Picou ★★★
Drew Richmond ★★★★
Quart'e Sapp ★★★★
Austin Smith ★★★
Zach Stewart ★★★
Darrell Taylor ★★★★
Tommy Townsend ★★★
Shy Tuttle ★★★★
Preston Williams ★★★★
Joe Young ★★

.

Not 1 over achiever in the bunch, says it all!

 

[MikeVol44]

In light of the Draft, it's interesting to look back at that 2015 signing class that was ranked No. 4 in the nation and No. 2 in the SEC.

Micah Abernathy ★★★★
Venzell Boulware ★★★
Jocquez Bruce ★★★
Andrew Butcher ★★★★
Quinten Dormady ★★★★
Stephen Griffin ★★★
Chance Hall ★★★
Jauan Jennings ★★★★
Jack Jones ★★★★
Sheriron Jones ★★★★
Alvin Kamara ★★★★
John Kelly ★★★
Darrin Kirkland Jr. ★★★★
Riley Lovingood ★★
Justin Martin ★★★★
Kahlil McKenzie ★★★★★
Darrell Miller ★★★
Kyle Oliver ★★★
Vincent Perry ★★★
Kyle Phillips ★★★★★
Quay Picou ★★★
Drew Richmond ★★★★
Quart'e Sapp ★★★★
Austin Smith ★★★
Zach Stewart ★★★
Darrell Taylor ★★★★
Tommy Townsend ★★★
Shy Tuttle ★★★★
Preston Williams ★★★★
Joe Young ★★

.

Yeah--it lets all of us know that the folks responsible for ranking athletes are just guessing like the rest of us most of the time.

Jennings, Kamara, and Tuttle were probably ranked correctly. Kelly made the most of his opportunity for sure.

Otherwise--I see the rest as grossly over-rated.

I think that Chance Hall showed some real potential before injuries decimated him.

 

[Orangetoes]

In light of the Draft, it's interesting to look back at that 2015 signing class that was ranked No. 4 in the nation and No. 2 in the SEC.


.

In my head, I reply to almost every post lately with "we only had football meetings twice a week." Then I mentally apologize to every player that has donned the O&W for the last few regimes for the lack of development.

 

[Grudenhaslanded]

Not 1 over achiever in the bunch, says it all!

John Kelly? Chance Hall before the injuries? Alvin Kamara looked every bit like a 5 star, just didn’t get playing time.

Lots of players on that list who would have been really good with a decent strength and conditioning program to keep them healthy.

 

[VolMarine1371]

Not 1 over achiever in the bunch, says it all!

Alvin Kamara? How he turn out I forgot

 

[vols 30]

Kamara and Kelly and a bunch of other guys.

 

[BowlBrother85]

Shy Tuttle was on his way to a very good freshman season in 2015 until the Georgia center (Brandon Kublanow) speared the back of his lower leg. He was never the same after that. Darrin Kirkland Jr also had a solid freshman season.... and you have the Jack Jones situation. Injuries played a part in this. Justin Martin, however, was just a really bad evaluation. Overrated doesn't begin to describe him. I feel like Kyle Phillips was just never properly coached and could still have a good pro career under the right tutelage.

 

[Ertel]

Yeah--it lets all of us know that the folks responsible for ranking athletes are just guessing like the rest of us most of the time.

Jennings, Kamara, and Tuttle were probably ranked correctly. Kelly made the most of his opportunity for sure.

Otherwise--I see the rest as grossly over-rated.

I think that Chance Hall showed some real potential before injuries decimated him.

Jack Jones was on his way to being a high end player too. He and Chance Hall both had so much potential.

The shocking thing to look at is the initial perceived quality of the trench guys who were then constantly injured, transferred or busted.

DL
Kmac- constantly hurt, bust
Tuttle- constantly hurt
Butcher- had to retire
Picou- transferred

OL
Hall- had to retire
Jones- had to retire
Boulware- transferred
Zach Stewart- quit football for family issues
Richmond- bust

I remember when this class signed that i legitimately thought wed finally landed the depth and talent in the trenches that we needed to get back to SEC championships. On stars alone we easily had a top 3 class at D Line, with arguably the best DT haul in the nation and probably a top 5 class on the Oline. I thought we were back. Best big ugly class ive ever seen us land before or since.

 

[HuntlandVolinColo]

In light of the Draft, it's interesting to look back at that 2015 signing class that was ranked No. 4 in the nation and No. 2 in the SEC.

Micah Abernathy ★★★★
Venzell Boulware ★★★
Jocquez Bruce ★★★
Andrew Butcher ★★★★
Quinten Dormady ★★★★
Stephen Griffin ★★★
Chance Hall ★★★
Jauan Jennings ★★★★
Jack Jones ★★★★
Sheriron Jones ★★★★
Alvin Kamara ★★★★
John Kelly ★★★
Darrin Kirkland Jr. ★★★★
Riley Lovingood ★★
Justin Martin ★★★★
Kahlil McKenzie ★★★★★
Darrell Miller ★★★
Kyle Oliver ★★★
Vincent Perry ★★★
Kyle Phillips ★★★★★
Quay Picou ★★★
Drew Richmond ★★★★
Quart'e Sapp ★★★★
Austin Smith ★★★
Zach Stewart ★★★
Darrell Taylor ★★★★
Tommy Townsend ★★★
Shy Tuttle ★★★★
Preston Williams ★★★★
Joe Young ★★

.

A lot of injuries and a lot of transfers.

Are Kamara, Kelly and KMac the only ones that got drafted? Jennings will next year.

I thought Preston Williams (CSU) would get drafted but he wasn't and some of the analysts thought that Venzell Boulware would be drafted out of Miami but he also wasn't.

 

[Savannahbayvol]

Yeah--it lets all of us know that the folks responsible for ranking athletes are just guessing like the rest of us most of the time.

Jennings, Kamara, and Tuttle were probably ranked correctly. Kelly made the most of his opportunity for sure.

Otherwise--I see the rest as grossly over-rated.

I think that Chance Hall showed some real potential before injuries decimated him.

Zack Stewart's mother passed away the summer after he graduated and as far as I know he never played another down anywhere. Combination of bad luck, bad evaluation and most of all bad coaching.

 

[zaqhhh]

OL/DL has been a gauntlet of horror for Vols in the past decade.

We had Dooley not take any OL that one year, the slew of injuries listed above in the 2015 class (due in large part to Butch, but unlucky, dirty plays also played a factor), and then Trey Smith's situation which again just seems unlucky.

I am one to legitimately believe we have been cursed as a university (see 4 of 5 NCAA Basketball losses coming by 1 possess/OT).

 

[XknoxvolsX]

Ask yourselves this: How can teams like Bama, Clemson, others, and not excluding Georgia have high ranking classes and be successful with those classes? It's not all about busts!

 

[CA_Vol]

Biggest bust class in SEC history? It has to be. Butch should be sued civilly for ruining so many careers.

 

[Ertel]

A lot of injuries and a lot of transfers.

Are Kamara, Kelly and KMac the only ones that got drafted? Jennings will next year.

I thought Preston Williams (CSU) would get drafted but he wasn't and some of the analysts thought that Venzell Boulware would be drafted out of Miami but he also wasn't.

I read a post draft write up about Preston, thought hed get drafted too but apparently off the field issues from a couple years ago combined with a lackluster 40 and vertical were the cause. Maybe he was just a big fish, small pond out at CSU, but i still think hes talented enough to make it in the league for awhile in a rotation.

 

[NUMBER1VOLFAN]

Cause AL does it EVERY year. Next year, the next line steps up. How many AL players got drafted? They'll never notice. Just reload. They turn away 5 & 4 stars cause they run out of room. GA is close behind. I hate Saban, but I respect what he does. Lose coaches and you hardly see a crack in their armor.

 

[Ertel]

Biggest bust class in SEC history? It has to be. Butch shouldn’t be sued civilly for ruining so many careers.

Its gotta be up there for sure. Take away Kamara and this class is atrocious overall, 0 future NFL impact potential other than MAYBE Jennings. And i genuinely think it wasnt a lot of these kids faults. Bad breaks, bad coaching and development and lack of discipline and structure sealed a lot of fates. Hell even Alvin, as talented as he was, had to overcome questions about his durability due to underuse by Jones. Pathetic. Kiffins class is about the only other one i can think of that was close.

 

[HuntlandVolinColo]

Cause AL does it EVERY year. Next year, the next line steps up. How many AL players got drafted? They'll never notice. Just reload. They turn away 5 & 4 stars cause they run out of room. GA is close behind. I hate Saban, but I respect what he does. Lose coaches and you hardly see a crack in their armor.

It will be interesting to see how AL does this year, especially early on. They lost a ton of talented starters (10 drafted, a few others undrafted). But we all know they are stocked with talent so it comes down to experience. But they lost I think 6 or more coaches including both coordinators (2nd year in a row). I don't think the coaching replacements are quite as good either.

They will still win at least 10 games minimum.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

A lot of injuries and a lot of transfers.

Are Kamara, Kelly and KMac the only ones that got drafted? Jennings will next year.

I thought Preston Williams (CSU) would get drafted but he wasn't and some of the analysts thought that Venzell Boulware would be drafted out of Miami but he also wasn't.

Why do you think Jennings will get drafted?

 

[Ertel]

It will be interesting to see how AL does this year, especially early on. They lost a ton of talented starters (10 drafted, a few others undrafted). But we all know they are stocked with talent so it comes down to experience. But they lost I think 6 or more coaches including both coordinators (2nd year in a row). I don't think the coaching replacements are quite as good either.

They will still win at least 10 games minimum.

It honestly scares me that they got blasted by Clemson. Its almost like the giant needed a wake up call to get back to the grind and needed a new nemesis to keep them sharp. Saban has never been embarrassed like that and i doubt he will let it happen twice.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Ask yourselves this: How can teams like Bama, Clemson, others, and not Georgia have high ranking classes and be successful with those classes? It's not all about busts!

The only reason UGA isn’t more dominant is because of Saban. If it weren’t for him, UGA would have probably been in the title game the past 2 years. Also, Kirby is still a very young coach. He will only get better.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

It honestly scares me that they got blasted by Clemson. Its almost like the giant needed a wake up call to get back to the grind and needed a new nemesis to keep them sharp. Saban has never been embarrassed like that and i doubt he will let it happen twice.

Scared you why? Regardless of the outcome of that game, they will still destroy us.

 

[Ertel]

Why do you think Jennings will get drafted?

I think he goes late rounds for sure as long as he can run sub 4.6 at the combine. Hes versatile, has the size, has big game clutch moments, hes a leader and has had solid production when healthy despite not having much help on offense at times. I think he has top end potential to make a starting rotation as the 3rd guy and at worst is a career special teams guy due to his passion, hustle and toughness.

 

[Ertel]

Scared you why? Regardless of the outcome of that game, they will still destroy us.

I was hoping it was the beginning of the slow downfall and that some cracks were showing but i think with a guy like Saban it has the opposite effect. Hes been beaten before, but never like that and especially not on the biggest stage. Now he has a new purpose and mission.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

I think he goes late rounds for sure as long as he can run sub 4.6 at the combine. Hes versatile, has the size, has big game clutch moments, hes a leader and has had solid production when healthy despite not having much help on offense at times. I think he has top end potential to make a starting rotation as the 3rd guy and at worst is a career special teams guy due to his passion, hustle and toughness.

I don’t think he has that kind of speed. Now if he has a good season this year, it will definitely help his draft stock. But I think he is going to have to have a really good season. 60 catches for 900+ and 9+ TDS plus a really good combine could get him drafted in the later rounds.

I sure hope he gets drafted and has a great career.