Revisiting the 2014 Recruiting Class

#1
DiderotsGhost

DiderotsGhost

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#1
I was on 247Sports, looking back over many of our recent recruiting classes. As I started looking back over 2014, it struck me that we have an amazingly high percentage of recruits that have panned out. Overall the 2014 Class has been a MAJOR SUCCESS!

Even among 3 star recruits, we have a lot of starters and solid contributors. As a reminder, 2014 was Butch's first full recruiting class, as a chunk of the 2013 class was recruited by Dooley.

Here are all of our players from the 2014 class. I'm defining "major contributors" primarily as players in the 2-deep.


4-Star Major Contributors
Josh Malone
Jalen Hurd
Todd Kelly Jr.
Dillon Bates
Von Pearson (graduated)
Cortez McDowell
Derek Barnett
Chris Weatherd (graduated)
Evan Berry

3-Star Major Contributors
Ethan Wolf
Rashaan Gaulden
Jashon Robertson
Dimarya Mixon
Coleman Thomas
Emmanuel Moseley
Aaron Medley
Owen Williams (graduated)


We've had a surprisingly low # of busts, as well. There are only a couple of complete busts (Dontavius Blair, Treyvon Paulk). We've had more transfers than outright "busts" and some of the guys who have seen "limited action" could still end up playing a significant role in the future.


Transfers
Dewayne Hendrix (Pitt)
Derrell Scott (East Carolina)
Daniel Helm (Duke)
D'Andre Payne (Iowa State)
Ray Raulerson (West Virginia)
Joe Henderson (CC)
Vic Wharton (Cal)
Neiko Creamer (Eastern Kentucky)

Limited Action
Jakob Johnson (3-star) [contributor / position move / ??? / could still pan out]
Elliott Berry (3-star) [contributor / could still pan out]
Gavin Bryant (3-star) [contributor / could still pan out]

Didn't Pan Out / Busts / Unsure / Issues
Dontavius Blair (4-star) [bust]
Charles Mosley * (4-star) [unsure]
Treyvon Paulk (3-star) [bust / personal issues]
Michael Sawyers (3-star) [???]

* I'm giving Mosley an asterisk since it's unclear how much the car crash impacted him long-term.


% that have become significant contributors
4-stars: 9/15 (60%)
3-stars: 8/16 (50%)
4-stars (excluding transfers): 9/12 (75%)
3-stars (excluding transfers): 8/12 (67%)

Depending on how well the transfers end up doing at their new schools and how a few other players on the squad develop in the next two years, it's conceivable that a 75%+ of Butch's 2014 class will "pan out." Many of the transfers have shown a lot of promise, but left simply because they were buried too far on the depth chart (e.g. Ray Raulerson).

I think this is a testament to how well Butch Jones and his staff evaluate recruits. This is not typical in college football. Great job recruiting by this staff!
 
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#2
#2
PAULK and Sawyers are also gone, transfers.

I would say Jakob has done enough to be listed. Forced Fumble vs Georgia if nothing else.
 
#4
#4
I know Jakob Johnson and Elliot Berry haven't played a ton on defense or offense, but those guys have been solid on special teams. I don't know if I'd consider them busts because they've found a way to make a impact. Some guys just stay on special teams for their whole careers.
 
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#6
#6
kid50 said:
I know Jakob Johnson and Elliot Berry haven't played a ton on defense or offense, but those guys have been solid on special teams. I don't know if I'd consider them busts because they've found a way to make a impact. Some guys just stay on special teams for their whole careers.
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Yeah I would make a list that says "contributors" because guys like Elliot, Jakob, and Bryant still make an impact, just not on the two deep.
 
#7
#7
LouderVol said:
PAULK and Sawyers are also gone, transfers.

I would say Jakob has done enough to be listed. Forced Fumble vs Georgia if nothing else.
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Jakob Johnson was the toughest to "classify" out of our 2014 class. He saw action in 2014, but not so much since then, right? Butch moved him from LB to TE, which in hindsight, almost seems like a mistake given our issues with LB depth this season.

I like Jakob Johnson a lot and want to see him succeed. I'm just not sure what's going on. It seems like he was showing more promise at LB than TE, but perhaps the coaches see something we don't.
 
#13
#13
I thought Sawyers was gonna be a beast out of that class but he drug up after his first year...he was a talented kid so I hope he is in school somewhere
 
#14
#14
Sarms58 said:
I thought Sawyers was gonna be a beast out of that class but he drug up after his first year...he was a talented kid so I hope he is in school somewhere
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Sawyers was the only player from that class that I couldn't find much info on. He was arrested for theft last year. Found an article that says he was enrolling in community college, but that's about it. Pretty much no chance he's going back to Knoxville, though.
 
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