'15 IN LB Darrin Kirkland Jr (UT Commit 12/15/14)

#1,853
#1,853
A middle linebacker has a best friend. They are called DT's. He has had a chance to work behind the most dominant DT this year in AA practice. On top of that Tuttle is killing it at the UA practice. Kirkland will do work behind those two and he sees it. I think he stays put
 
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#1,854
#1,854
"Kirkland started the day on a good note by filling gaps well during run drills and making several stops at or near the line of scrimmage. He also ended well, showing good speed to the sideline to track down a running back who had bounced it outside and preventing him from a touchdown."

"The 6-foot-1, 233-pound Tennessee commit is a true middle linebacker prospect who shows the speed, athleticism and ability to play in space that you would normally see out of a weakside linebacker."

-Rivals

He's drawn rave reviews pretty much every day.
 
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#1,855
#1,855
TriCitiesVol said:
"Kirkland started the day on a good note by filling gaps well during run drills and making several stops at or near the line of scrimmage. He also ended well, showing good speed to the sideline to track down a running back who had bounced it outside and preventing him from a touchdown."

"The 6-foot-1, 233-pound Tennessee commit is a true middle linebacker prospect who shows the speed, athleticism and ability to play in space that you would normally see out of a weakside linebacker."

-Rivals

He's drawn rave reviews pretty much every day.
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At first I was sorta butthurt to lose Cherry and his head-hunting style. But after reading about Kirkland and how he's performed at the all american camp, there's no doubt he's an upgrade over Cherry. Yeah, Cherry may take a dudes head off every game, but he seemed like he would be a liability in pass coverage with his lack of speed. That last quote about his athleticism has me amped for him to get here.
 
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#1,856
#1,856
Texas just landed Anthony Wheeler...what does that do to Cherry?
 
#1,861
#1,861
JacketVol said:
Makes him regret that Texas visit.
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Would be interesting to hear the real story on that someday...did Butch rub him the wrong way about not taking visits and he burn that bridge?...or was he pushed out? Truth may be somewhere in the middle. :dunno:
 
#1,862
#1,862
butchna said:
Would be interesting to hear the real story on that someday...did Butch rub him the wrong way about not taking visits and he burn that bridge?...or was he pushed out? Truth may be somewhere in the middle. :dunno:
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I practically got fired from a job because I inquired about another. My bosses told me "well, if you're looking for somewhere else, then we're going to look for someone else as well."

I think this is how Butch and them do business. There are certain players that they will encourage to keep the process open because they may or may not end up with them (Dominique Booth, for example), and then there are players that they tell them "If you are with us, then stick with us, or else we'll be forced to protect ourselves." I think they told this to Cherry. No doubt, Cecil is a good prospect. But he's not so good that we were going to leave ourselves vulnerable to not landing what we needed. So when he started taking visits to other places, then we started looking in on prospects that we already had on our board in case that happened.

I guarantee you this staff has backup plans for their backup plans. I think even if everyone decommited today, they still would land a full class, because they have worked hard enough to build enough connections. It's just a matter of if they get the guys they want.

I think they wanted Cherry and Jerome Baker initially. But when Baker went elsewhere, they took Austin Smith. When Cherry looked around, they seized the opportunity with Kirkland.

I think they wanted Reid as a minimum, and I don't think that Rocky was the one who terminated everything. I think that the coaches told him that it was fluid, and that he may want to stay in contact with other schools. I think when Kamara committed, Rocky started contacting other schools, and then when we knew about Bussey, Rocky decommited and visited other schools.

I think Rocky and Cecil were two different "types" of commitments. Rocky's place on our roster was conditional on what happened between now and signing day, and more for Rocky's benefit, as being committed to Tennessee got him more exposure than not being committed anywhere. But Cecil's commitment was "we are committed to you as long as you are committed to us."

I'm honestly wondering about Preston Williams. There's a part of me that feels that he is going to screw us. I'm not sure yet. I think the coaches are quietly preparing for that possibility. I just know he is not as solid as he appears, because he too has been taking visits. I would not be surprised at all if he is not a part of this class. Would suck, but just my opinion.
 
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#1,864
#1,864
Atlvol313 said:
A middle linebacker has a best friend. They are called DT's. He has had a chance to work behind the most dominant DT this year in AA practice. On top of that Tuttle is killing it at the UA practice. Kirkland will do work behind those two and he sees it. I think he stays put
Click to expand...

This.
 
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