Ooof, what a mess you are, Tennessee recruiting ($$).
On top of that, the numbers (No. 13 class in 2019 and No. 10 in 2020) lie here, considering the attrition through the transfer portal. Three of the Vols’ top four signees in 2019 are gone, and that doesn’t include Gray, who led the Vols in rushing and was second in receptions. The Vols’ top signee in the 2020 class, defensive back Key Lawrence, is with Morris at Oklahoma, too.
Last spring, amid the recruiting shutdown, Tennessee had the nation’s No. 2 class for 2021 and was aiming to finish in or near the top five. Then the losing started. That, combined with the coaching change, contributed to the Vols losing seven once-committed four- or five-star players from the class. Then the top two signees who enrolled early (Willis and Salter) were suspended for all of spring practice for an off-field incident. Four players who signed with the Vols during the early signing period were released from their letter of intent, including four-stars Dylan Brooks, KaTron Evans and Cody Brown. The Vols ultimately tumbled to No. 22 in the 247Sports Composite, which places the 2021 class eighth in the SEC.
That Phil Fulmer sure could pick ’em.
The best thing the Vols have going for them is the schedule. This year’s non-conference slate is led by a home game against Pitt and goes downhill from there. Outside of Florida and Georgia, the East isn’t overwhelming. You could almost see a bowl game in UT’s immediate future, but you’re not the NCAA.
Get The Picture 
This week has been like Christmas, thanks to your reporting, Senator! The vowels have been a continuous source of amusement being the shit show they are!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Too lazy to post the video, but that’s a shame.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Just a sec, I have to go hate-read this article like now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Cade Mays will certainly start somewhere, but the biggest question is where.” I guess the settling in on a position promise didn’t work out. And they’re going to start a former walk-on at LT. Vols projecting some strong Tyler Catalina vibes, yo.
“EC defensive line coach legend Rodney Garner is back for a second stint at Tennessee, and so is secondary coach Willie Martinez…” Oh, man. That’s like music to my ears.
LOL. Vols.
LikeLiked by 5 people
Weren’t we just treated to an article a few days ago promoting Cade Mays as a 1st round draft pick? This projection for a guy who can not even win the starting LT job on bottom feeder like UT?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought the same thing. What GM is dumb enough to draft Mays in the first round? Maybe he’s an NFL guard, but he sure ain’t an NFL tackle.
LikeLike
The funniest part is it’s going to get much worse for the vols before it get better. I hope the NCAA still has the nuts to castrate their program just short of the death penalty.
LikeLiked by 5 people
Since we’re being funny here…wouldn’t it have been funny if donut hole phil had dismissed pruitt after the 2019 season and anointed hisself the new commander of big urnge cuntry football…that dumpster fire might have been just a little brighter and hotter with phil fanning that flame…
LikeLike
Article is a little misleading. That #2 class was where recruiting was in the cycle. In other words – it was very early. What UT did was secure a lot of commitments. Some were very good (4 stars), many were good (3 stars). But the average recruiting rank was putting them somewhere between 10-14, if the class held by the end of the year. Unless, of couse, they would drop some kids in the names of others (and this is done with most programs, including Georgia). But that class was never going to be a top 5 class. It landed at 15 before the fall out began.
Keep in mind that UT and UF have both floated around that 10-13 ranking for the last 3 years, with Florida being slightly ahead. The difference has been Mullen’s ability to get the right quality pieces out of the portal and then adjust his offense to the players he had to work with. And most importantly, Kyle Trask fell into hiis lap. Remember the offensive genius had him as a back up until Franks went down. UT does have some talent at QB and they do have a pretty good O-Line (better than UF’s in my opinion). But they do not have the receivers to do what they want to do. And if they come out throwing a lot, this could lead to some pretty quick 3 and outs, with a defense that has more holes in it then Mullen has in excuses after a loss.
UT picked a guy that wasn’t ready (with a recommendation from Alabama – which iis interesting in itself). And honestly, I’m not sure if he would ever be ready to handle the pressure, press conferences, etc. that come with being a SEC head coach. You can start wiith someine that can ‘grow’ into it; you could tell pretty early that he wasn’t going to be able to do that. As for the UT faithful; no sympathy here. As the line from Animal House goes, Fat, Drunk and Stupid is no way to go through life son. Add arrogant to that and you just found the typical UT male. Karma.
LikeLiked by 9 people
Exactly. The Vols piled up commits early in the crootin cycle. All smoke, no fire.
LikeLike
I HATE FLORIDUH!!!!!
Sometimes that just comes out of me. It’s embarrassing to my wife when we’re at nice restaurant.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The only thing that would make this dumpster fire in Hillbillyville even more hilarious is if they somehow finished 6-6 but the NCAA ruling comes down the first week in December saying Tennessee gets a one year bowl ban, and then next year the attrition catches up with them and they finish 4-8, and each year after that gets a little worse.
LikeLiked by 4 people
In “unrelated” news….Greg Schiano at Rutgers is #9 in the recruiting rankings for 2022. The Vols are 43rd. Greg has 5 four star kids and 11 total commits. The Vols have 1 four star kid and 3 total commits.
I am guessing that you may not find those stats on Clay Travis’ blog or podcast.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Phil Fulmer refers to that as “collateral damage”.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Funny, you know who else said Schiano wouldn’t have worked in Knoxville? Andy Staples.
Why? Because people who understand the differences in the fish bowl job that is Tennessee Football coach vs. one of the least important jobs in sports for NY-NJ that is Rutgers Football coach combined with Schiano’s personality understand which job is better for him and for all.
Schiano at Tennessee would’ve been a different flavor of dumpster fire, but a dumpster fire is a dumpster fire.
When trying to dunk on people, it’s important you actually understand the context. You don’t seem to.
LikeLike
When did Andy Staples become the Voice of Gawd?
You have no idea how Schiano would have worked out in Knoxville. None of us do.
But I’m pretty sure letting Clay Travis lead a mob toting pitchforks as a way to handle the hiring process is a bad idea. YMMV on that. Fulmer’s certainly does. 😉
LikeLiked by 3 people
Staples wasn’t the only other one out there saying it would be a terrible fit, but I know for some here he’s a more legitimate source of understanding the ins and outs of SEC football, especially in Knoxville where he worked the Tennessee beat before moving on to Tampa and SI.
It’s possible to acknowledge the likelihood that a guy with a personality like Schiano has, who couldn’t handle the relatively mild spotlight as Tampa’s NFL coach, would’ve absolutely melted-down inside Knoxville’s fish bowl. Acknowledging that doesn’t make you agree with Clay Travis, it just means you know how to logically piece together all available information and extrapolate Point B from Point A.
LikeLike
And there were those defending the choice. Again, nobody knows how it would have turned out.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fair enough. I’ll throw in with Staples who lived that beat and also knew enough of Schiano to know it would be a disaster.
LikeLike
Schiano would’ve been a bad fit.
But it is almost impossible that it would have ended worse than it ended with Pruitt.
LikeLike
I think Schiano would have done OK, not sure if he would be great, if TN would have given him a chance but TN was off in their John Gruden delusions of grandeur and they used the Penn State background as stalking horse to get him tossed because he wasn’t pretty enough for them.
Given the torches and pitchforks treatment he got at the drop of his name as a candidate, he was never going to have much of a chance. If he had gotten them to stable point where they were beating Vandy and UK and going to minor bowls they would have been plotting for his head, especially if Fulmer had failed in the coup d’etat to be AD and was still active in the background stirring the pot.
LikeLike
I’ll go with Staples’s read on the situation:
The guy who couldn’t handle the mild beat reporters and columnists that wrote about his Tampa Bay Bucs team would’ve had major meltdowns on a weekly basis trying to coach inside Knoxville’s fish bowl.
People generally don’t change who they are after a certain age, and Schiano is past that particular expiration date.
LikeLike
If Greg Schiano won enough games, he could have taken a dump in the middle of Peyton Manning’s street, and nobody would have cared. If he didn’t, he could have been the best ol’ boy Tennessee ever saw, and he’d have been fired. If being an asshole to the press mattered, Nick Saban wouldn’t be enjoying one of the most dominant runs in the history of college football..
LikeLike
If you think that’s what I’m saying, “Being an asshole to the press,” you really don’t understand the point Andy Staples was making.
LikeLike
What evidence besides being an asshole to the press was there that Schiano “couldn’t handle the pressure” or whatever? It’s BS. He lost games because Tampa Bay wasn’t good.
LikeLike
Dude, again, that’s not what I’m saying nor is what Andy Staples said, multiple times in the last three and a half years, about Schiano. You not understanding is not a me problem.
Not everything is about wins and losses. That you think it is, or this particular point has anything to do with wins and losses, shows a simple understanding of a more complex situation. Schiano had problems with Tampa’s benign media before a single snap was taken, before wins and losses were part of the equation. Expand your thinking just a little bit, and I know you can get there.
LikeLike
Dude, again, his relationship with the media would have been irrelevant if he won games. It’s always about wins and losses. Other alleged concerns vanish if you win. And if you think he lost because of something his relationship with the media indicates about his personality, then state what that is.
LikeLike
Okay. It’s obvious you don’t get it. It’s obvious you think somehow by winning games, that changes the intensity of the fishbowl media environment of Knoxville vis a vie Tennessee Football instead of intensifying it in another direction, which is the problem Staples is talking about with Schiano.
You don’t get it. You’re Daniel Stern. I was trying to be Billy Crystal, but now I’m Bruno Kirby.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Corch, remember what I told you about not running something into the ground? Deep breath, my man.
LikeLiked by 3 people
For sure. That was meant to be my last post on it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
To put it another way, again, it’s not that Schiano was an asshole to the press in Tampa. He couldn’t HANDLE it. Every aspect of the relationship with a fairly benign press in Tampa, he couldn’t handle and in fact, he handles extremely poorly.
Transfer that to the fish bowl media of Knoxville which is Vol Football 24/7/365 in TV, radio, print, and internet, and tell me how he would do.
LikeLike
2 all beef patties
Special sauce
Lettuce/cheese
Pickles/onions
On a sesame seed bun….
FUCK tooth nation and the orange overalls they all wear!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ba da ba ba ba
LikeLike
Oh Volz….SOD had it right, Opportunity is Nowhere and you are missing Kiffen. LOL.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Whatever happened to that decently sized portion of the Georgia fanbase who thought Pruitt was going to be a success?
LikeLiked by 3 people
Yeah, haven’t heard much from them lately.
LikeLike
I was concerned Tennessee had accidentally backed into a decent hire after everyone and their mom had turned down the job, Pruitt can recruit which gave him a puncher’s chance. That being said, like I tell my junior guys, not the first time I’ve been wrong, definitely won’t be the last! I’m just enjoying this big orange dumpster fire to celebrate Tennessee finishing the transition from college football program with a nice history to permanent irrelevance. Thank you Jeremy Pruitt and Phil Fulmer!!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Recruiting is only one part of the recipe. There’s three parts to making a great CFB coach: Recruiting ability, in-game management, and TEMPERAMENT.
Guess which one of those three Pruitt never had, even when he was a DC? When he became a head coach we also say that his in-game management was also terrible.
If any of those three aren’t present, a coach can never be great, however, a coach will always be a failure without the right temperament, which is what Aaron Murray and David Pollack talked about most regarding Pruitt and why they thought he was going to crash and burn.
LikeLike
I’m glad you were wrong, too. I just never saw it. He strikes me as a guy perfectly suited to a DC role – at least when he’s at a place where he can’t wreak havoc – and completely ill-suited to the responsibilities of overseeing an entire program.
LikeLike
Me too, Charolettedawg.
I don’t mind admitting that I worried the same way.
And I kind of enjoyed the melt down.
And I’d imagine that if PF had been banned from campus, JP would have done much better. He was toxic and I believe the catalyst for the meltdown.
I’d still like to hear how Phil from Krispy Kreme got all the dirt pinned on JP and skulked quietly away without the helmet of culpability resting on his fat noggin’.
Does anyone know if all of the legal crossfire for this one is over? Did JP get his buyout?
LikeLike
Aaron Murray wasn’t among them. He foretold the future about Pruitt.
LikeLiked by 1 person