We've gotten more production from 3 stars in 2013 than 5 stars in 2015

[volnbama_]

Everyone is *****ing about this class not being ranked high. I personally don't get it cause it's not like those back to back top 5 recruiting classes in 2014 and 2015 amounted to any championships yet.

The number on national signing day is nice but it guarantees nothing. Just look at Clemson. They won the national title with a 4 year recruiting rank of 9.3. Our 4 year recruiting rank right now? 9.5. So basically on paper we're as talented going into 2017 as Clemson was in 2016. However, that is just a number on a piece of paper. It means nothing if the players don't pan out.

We struggled on the field last year because our much hyped 2015 class has failed to deliver. It was ranked as high as 3rd overall on 247sports. It included 5 stars like Kahlil McKenzie, Alvin Kamara, Drew Richmond, Kyle Phillips, Preston Williams, and Shy Tuttle. To date only Kamara has lived up to his star ranking. Drew Richmond has been a major disappointment. Preston has already transferred. Kahlil, Kyle Phillips, and Shy have also been major disappointments although they do have the excuse of battling some serious injuries. In fact the our best player from that class might ultimately be a lightly regarded 3 star RB from Michigan named John Kelly.

Compare all those 5 star busts from the 2015 class to all the 3 star hits we had in the 2013 class. Everyone knows about Cam Sutton but we also had 5 other starters on last years team that were 3 stars from the 2013 class. These 3 stars were Corey Vereen, Kendal Vickers, Malik Foreman, Dylan Weisman, and Brett Kendricks. Not all we're stars but all were very solid players. Then you have 4 stars like Josh Dobbs and Jalen Reeves-Maybin that vastly outperformed their star ranking. Both had 5 star careers at Tennessee. One could argue that our mid-20s ranked class from 2013 was vastly superior to our top 5 class from 2015.

So this is just a long way of saying regardless of what happens on NSD, whether your class is ranked in the top 5 or in the mid-20s, it comes down to what happens on the field. Our team last year is proof that a class of 3 stars from 2013 can outperform a class of 5 stars from 2015. Lets hope our 3 stars in 2017 exceed expectations like our 3 stars from 2013.

Those are 8-4 players.

 

[Roustabout]

Attrition. Butch won't step to the next rung unless he better manages this issue.

There are internal issues. Perhaps some has been addressed with new staff, but I'm not convinced. This has impacted recruiting. Jones is now attempting to fix his staff 4 years too late.

 

[sjt18]

Like a captain of a ship, like the head coach of a football team gets the blame or glory. However, they both have to depend on their staff. Butch can not train or coach up every player. The staff has to do this.

Jones chose his staff. He supervised directly how they did their jobs on a day to day basis. His job isn't to coach up every player. His job is to assure that someone else is doing it effectively and doing whatever has to be done if they aren't. So I think we agree so far.

So, when blaming Butch for players not improving over their stay at UT, it has to fall on staff.

Who chose the staff? Who was responsible for giving direction and correction to the staff? If we were talking about 1 year... then cut him some slack. But when he has the problems UT has had for 4 years and he just now gets around to firing the S&C staff? It took him that long to figure out that his DC who could only score a safeties coach job with USF after being fired... wasn't the right guy?

After 4 years, Jones is not only to blame... he is COMPLETELY to blame. Subordinates in that amount of time conform to the expectations of the leader.

Now, who hires staff at a school? This seems to me to be Butch's short coming, evaluating hires for his staff. Like the captain of a ship, he sinks or swims with his staff.

You just disproved your own point about him being to blame.

In Butch's case, if he feels the need to micro manage his staff, then he doesn't have confidence in their ability to do their jobs. To me this says he made the wrong hire. And on this thought process goes.....

Once again, you are arguing against your own effort to relieve him of responsibility.

 

[TGVol]

HWe aren't, in any fashion, on track with Clemson. I'd go as far to say they'd embarrass Tennessee.

However Peterman who was not good enough for us beat Clemson...

 

[Vol Catdaddy]

What Bama does is anomalous. Nobody else gets those results. Even Urban Meyer who recruits almost as well as Saban isn't that consistent.

If your definition of being happy with this program is if its like Bama you'll never be happy.

Like it or not bama is not just our rivalry, but the measuring stick. He has to beat em!

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Outliers always exist. Anothef D4H fail post.

 

[BeardedVol]

However Peterman who was not good enough for us beat Clemson...

Peterman's performance at Pitt, is why retaining Don Mahoney all but ensures Butch will be fired. I just hope JG or QD don't get injured before it happens.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

However Peterman who was not good enough for us beat Clemson...

Yeah because clearly the ONLY reason Pitt beat Clemson was because of Peterman. Lol.

 

[KBVol]

When you have only a few five-star recruits and a bunch of three star recruits, of course you're going to have more 3-star recruits pan out.

Exactly. It's like the guys who will drone on about there being more 3 star players in the SuperBowl than 5 stars. Well duh. Heard the other day that in 2017 there were only 32 5 star players in the country according to 247.....versus 1,700 plus 3 stars.

 

[NEVolFan]

Some good points...

LSU Tigers, Georgia Bulldogs, Texas Longhorns show the peril of celebrating national signing day success

Beyond entitlement and a lack of drive, the word "overrated" comes into play when you talk to various recruiting coordinators about prospects from Texas and, to a lesser extent, players from the Southeast. Understand: That term doesn't predominantly apply to what a coach or recruiting analyst sees on film. It's more about a player peaking in high school -- and receiving four or five stars -- but then lacking potential to develop and improve.

In other words, in regions where football is practically a religion and is the sport of choice for boys by the time they are 7 years old, the 18-year-old prospect might not be much better as a 22-year-old player.