Offensive Line Situation, is Kiffin planning for the future?

#1
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NATidefan

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#1
So, I was reading on another forum about Tennessee’s OL situation and it got me wondering about Kiffin and how important a good OL was to him. It seems to me that Kiffin is more concerned with recruiting skill positions such as RB, WR, and QB than he is OLineman. This kinda makes sense considering Kiffin was the former OC at USC and that was his main focus while there. After looking at Tennessee’s current OL and the ones on the horizon, I was wondering if any of ya’ll consider this an area of concern.

From what I understand ya’ll have 12 current OL. Ten of those are on scholarship with two scholarship coming in this fall for a total of 12 scholarship and 14 overall. Here’s the list with both scholarship and non-scholarship combined. Please forgive me if I forgot one, but I think this is very close.

Player Ht. Wt. Yr. Rivals/Scout ranking

1. Vladimir Richard 6-4 300 Sr. ¾
2. Jacques McClendon 6-3 320 Sr.
3. Josh McNeil 6-4 280 Sr.
4. Chris Scott 6-5 310 Sr.
5. Cody Sullins 6-1 285 Sr.
6. Jarrod Shaw 6-4 330 Jr.
7. Carson Anderson 6-2 275 So.
8. Preston Bailey 6-4 325 So.
9. William Brimfield 6-5 320 So.
10. Cody Pope 6-6 285 So.
11. Dallas Thomas 6-6 260 So.
12. Aaron Douglas 6-6 280 So.

Incoming
1. Kevin Revis 6-4 265 Fr.
2. Jerquari Schofield 6-6 298 Fr.

So for the 2010 season, you’ll have these for sure.
1. Jarrod Shaw 6-4 330 Sr.
2. Carson Anderson 6-2 275 Jr.
3. Preston Bailey 6-4 325 Jr.
4. William Brimfield 6-5 320 Jr.
5. Cody Pope 6-6 285 Jr.
6. Dallas Thomas 6-6 260 Jr.
7. Aaron Douglas 6-6 280 Jr.
8. Kevin Revis 6-4 265 R/S Fr. Or So.
9. Jerquari Schofield 6-6 298 R/S Fr. Or So.

Which is not even enough to be two deep on the line. So I would think that one of the MAJOR recruitment areas for the 2010 class would be the OL. But so far, Tennessee has only offered three OG, one center, and nine OT.

The OG offered have all committed elsewhere (Bama, FSU, and Georgia)

The Center, Brandon Linder is a 4 star and still uncommitted.

Three of the OT have already committed (5 star to NC and a two 3 stars to Va Tech)

So, taken that into consideration, here’s who is left with an offer and non-committed.
1. Brandon Linder – 4 star C – Seems to like OSU/Florida/ LSU
2. JaWuan James – 4 star OT – Seems to like Georgia/Bama/Florida
3. James Stone - 4 star OT – Instate guy, but hasn’t been showing a lot of Vol love so far.
4. Matt James – 4 star OT – Can’t get a read on this guy, but ya’ll could be in decent shape.
5. Wes Rea – 3 star OT - Can’t get a read on this guy, but ya’ll could be in decent shape.
6. Dan Koenig – NR - Don’t know much about him, but good offer list.
7. David Yankey – NR - Got bad reviews in Atlanta and has a so-so offer list.

And that’s it, out of those, I really only see you getting one or two of 4 stars and if lucky two of the other three guys. I’m not saying ya’ll can’t get guys, just playing the odds, I figure at least 3 of 7 are going elsewhere.

I know it’s early, but the way I see it, ya’ll really need to bring in several OL this year if possible, and from the amount of offers that are out there it doesn’t seem like it is a top priority for the staff at the moment.

If the 2010 class pans out the way it’s looking right now offer wise, ya’ll are gonna be thin for awhile, and an injury or two(which are common for lineman) could be devastating.

Do ya’ll think that Kiffin is possibly too concerned with getting the next “Reggie Bush” or “Matt Leinhart” and not focusing on the infrastructure?
 
#2
#2
I'd say we'll continue to work on the committed guys and also probably extend a few more offers.
 
#3
#3
NATidefan said:
Do ya’ll think that Kiffin is possibly too concerned with getting the next “Reggie Bush” or “Matt Leinhart” and not focusing on the infrastructure?
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clearly since I'm sure M Leinart and RB would have been just as productive without a good OL.
 
#6
#6
All I can say is wow.. thank you for enlightening us. We were really in the dark!

And I "lol'd" at the James Stone isn't giving us much love part. He's given us as much love as any other team at this point.
 
#8
#8
And I "lol'd" at the James Stone isn't giving us much love part. He's given us as much love as any other team at this point.
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Considering he's in state, and ya'll have little competition in state, and ya'll could offer early PT, seems like he'd be considered a lean by now.
 
#9
#9
I hear that a lot all the time. Except people change "lineman" with "QB", "LB", "DB", etc just to try to prove a point.
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Well I'd have to disagree, QBs usually do, unless they are really torn. But DB's LB's WR's RB's usually commit when they either are ready, need to to be sure of a spot, or wait for the NSD for exposure.
 
#10
#10
no....he's a football coach. There is no way he's planning on having an offensive line. :blink: :unsure: :ermm: :whistling:
 
#12
#12
no....he's a football coach. There is no way he's planning on having an offensive line
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I'm sure he's planning on it, but is he making it a top priority like it appears to be? I mean, why so few offers?
 
#15
#15
Yes. OL is a major concern. CPF recruited the position poorly for his last several classes and CLK was unable to get more of the guys he wanted this year in part because he started so late. I was upset about losing Phillips but someone else said something that made sense in light of the offseason conditioning... Phillips probably wouldn't have made it so Kiffin didn't exactly discourage him from looking around... sort of like Boyd and Thigpen. Good players... bad fit.
 
#17
#17
NATidefan said:
It seems to me that Kiffin is more concerned with recruiting skill positions such as RB, WR, and QB than he is OLineman. This kinda makes sense considering Kiffin was the former OC at USC and that was his main focus while there. ?
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What are you talking about? In 2006 (the Bush/White/Leinhart year) USC had three OL drafted into the NFL.
 
#19
#19
NATidefan said:
Player Ht. Wt. Yr. Rivals/Scout ranking

1. Vladimir Richard 6-4 300 Sr. ¾
2. Jacques McClendon 6-3 320 Sr.
3. Josh McNeil 6-4 280 Sr.
4. Chris Scott 6-5 310 Sr.
5. Cody Sullins 6-1 285 Sr.
6. Jarrod Shaw 6-4 330 Jr.
7. Carson Anderson 6-2 275 So.
8. Preston Bailey 6-4 325 So.
9. William Brimfield 6-5 320 So.
10. Cody Pope 6-6 285 So.
11. Dallas Thomas 6-6 260 So.
12. Aaron Douglas 6-6 280 So.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately he quit too. Kiffin hasn't offered as many because he's only looking for certain OL that are suited for a zone blocking scheme so he's trying to be more picky.
 
#20
#20
NATideFan....I guess you finally got to start a thread :)

At least you put some thought into your first one. I was expecting something really bad, but you did a good job.
 
#21
#21
Don't be surprised if he signs alot of 3* OL's over his tenure. Guys like Dallas Thomas who lack the size to get 4-5* from Rivals or Scout.

fwiw, I believe the SEC all conference line was made up of a roughly equal blend of 2, 3, 4, and 5 star players. OL's are difficult to evaluate out of HS since they seldom play anyone who can challenge them physically.
 
#23
#23
Out of the ones that have been rated on scout.
37% of Olineman have committed
34% of QBs
26% of WR
17% of RB
29% of DBs
and 37% of LBs

Seems to me the Oline committ early compared to others except QB and LB.
 
#24
#24
NATideFan....I guess you finally got to start a thread

At least you put some thought into your first one. I was expecting something really bad, but you did a good job.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I told you it was legit :)
 
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