Official National Signing Day Bunker

Just saw where Beniquez Brown also went with Miss St, and AJ Leggett stuck with Marshall, so it sounds like we are done for today.

We'll continue to go after LB Kenneth Bynum to get him to Santos Cinncinati and maybe find some new post-NSD targets. But as for today, we be done. Only semi-surprise of the day was Cordarelle Patterson.

I'll probably post a summary of our class sometime this evening. Then Jewbacca will probably one-up me five minutes later, so read both.

 

Next event should be Dooley's presser at 4:30EST.

 

So is Tino Thomas officially a VFL?

 

We filled some big needs with this class. Loosing peters and santos stings but that's all. The bynam kid is ranked just a tad below peters so it may all work out fine! Now let's get to spring practice!

 

Interesting, not exactly related to recruiting tidbit but not worth starting a new thread over

Pat Forde is in town and has a sit-down interview with Dooley. KNS already griping.

 

Won't matter if we are still an embarrassment running the ball, on the defensive line, or in the secondary.

 

Which can be viewed here:

University of Tennessee Official Athletic Site

 

Pleasantly surprised at the class. I expected more defections with all of the coaching turnover.

 

At first glance, the class doesn't appear to have completely fallen apart.

So, that's a positive.

That having a class "not fall apart" is now a source of even welcomed, albeit cautious, optimism makes me both sad and angry.

It should be a stunning indictment of not only where we are, but how far we've fallen, and the distance which remains between that point and some semblance of relevance.....not in the nation....or the conference....our even our division....but in the bottom-half of our conference division.

Forgive me for not throwing confetti.

 

1. We will run the ball less, but when we do, it will be easier to gain yards when the defense is focused on not letting any of three NFL quality WRs get behind them or generally alone in space. The thought of Da'Rick being our third option -- and lining up in the slot -- brings to mind visions of touchdowns.
2. I think we're less of an embarrassment in the DL and secondary than at LB. Or did I miss something?

 

Think that's a little too pessimistic, tenny. Filled some holes with an excellent haul in the secondary, at DT, and at WR. Didn't adequately fill LB or DE. Overall, this class should be a B or B-.

 

If we can find a competent RB, our offense is going to be stout.
The D on the other hand, we might be a Big 12 team.

 

SEC rankings, per Rivals:
#1
Alabama
28
3
14
11
3.71

#2
Florida
23
3
11
8
3.70

#3
Georgia
19
2
6
10
3.47

#4
Texas A&M
20
1
6
13
3.40

#5
LSU
22
0
9
12
3.36

#6
Tennessee
20
0
10
8
3.40

#7
South Carolina
25
0
8
15
3.24

#8
Auburn
17
0
9
8
3.53


#9
Vanderbilt
22
0
3
19
3.14


#10
Mississippi State
28
0
4
21
3.04


#11
Missouri
18
1
1
15
3.11


#12
Arkansas
22
0
2
19
3.05


#13
Mississippi
16
0
2
11
2.94
#14
Kentucky
26
0
1
22
2.92


Alabama is going to very good for a very very long time.

 

I remember a time when a finish in the twenties in recruiting was seen as a bad year and unacceptable.



The only way we are beating Bama is if someone starts putting worm eggs in their turf and food. Parasitic infections would bring them down a peg. We are playing them at our place this year, correct?

 

Good find, kb. Very little difference between us, LSU, and A&M.

 

That's not exactly the way I took his post.

I'm no recruiting guru, but the class seems to have some very promising talent in it. It also has some disappointing deficiencies.

As a whole, does it help close the gap between UT and the top of the conference? Without delving into any detail beyond the headline, and without studying any of WM's numbers beyond the ranking, the answer appears to be "not appreciably." That is disappointing.

 

It's a solid class, IP. Not anything out of this world, but it's solid.

 

I said this in another thread some time ago, but people I trust in SC said Patterson could be scary good; as good as we've ever seen. I hope they're right.

 

I pay attention to average stars more than anything. I think that is a better metric than the final rivals score, which has a significant quantity component factored in.

On average stars, only Bama and Florida kicked our asses. Which would be more encouraging if we didn't play them every year.

 

Also not a lot of difference between us, SC, Auburn, Vandy, MSU, Mizzou, and Arkansas.