I've seen some wondering about whether or not we would be any worse off had we just hung onto Phil Fulmer a while longer. Thought I'd look back at the fortunes of the guys that would be in Knoxville had Phil not been forced out. The 2009 class has caught a lot of crap for being full of busts, but I'm not sure how much different things would have been without Kiffin. Take a look at so,e of the players we had committed or close to committing prior to Phil's departure. Je'Ron Stokes: A WR that ended up doing nothing at Michigan. Transferred to Bowling Green to join forces with Dave Clawson. Damien Thigpen: Ended up at UCLA as a running back. Gained yardage in two games last season. David Oku: Was a decent kick returner before trying to gain weight. Never looked great as a running back. Will get a second chance with Gus Malzahn at Arky State. Jarvis Giles: RB that went to South Carolina, but transferred after not getting enough PT. Same situation repeated at Louisville. Now headed to USF. Kevin Revis: Transferred out after getting zero PT on a UT team with less OL talent than it's had in decades. Aubrey Phillips: Offensive lineman that washed out at FSU and Auburn. No longer playing football. Jerquari Schofield: OG still on the team but has been passed on the depth chart by several younger guys. Contributed some in 2010 before being injured. Bryce Petty: QB that redshirted and sat behind RG3 at Baylor. Has a chance for PT this season. Toney Williams: RB that transferred after minimal contributions and a knee injury. Morgan Moses: Has started a lot of games for UVA at right tackle. Tajh Boyd: Had a good year, albeit surrounded by a bunch of playmakers not present in this class, and will be the starter again in 2012. Edwin Herbert: A DT that ended up at Florida. Played in one game against a cupcake in 2009 and was never heard from again. Supposedly Ed Orgeron laughed when he saw his film. Rufus Williams: Huge DL we eventually moved to OL to try to get him on the field. It didn't work and he transferred. Jerod Askew: A linebacker that could never get in the field and transferred out. Cory Hall: A big DT that I don't think ever made the grades. Couldn't really find any information about him. Rae Sykes: Got a little PT as an undersized DT, but never made much impact. Flunked out. Nyshier Oliver: Hurt his knee and then was never able to climb the depth chart. Switched to WR where he is similarly buried. D.T. Shackleford: Has been a very solid linebacker for Ole Miss for a couple seasons. Missed 2011 with an injury. Marlon Walls: Has been a very solid DE/DT for the Vols and is supposedly one of the leaders on defense. And I guess it's also worth mentioning that Dave Clawson has really struggled at Bowling Green and apart from his first season his offenses haven't even been very good. Sooooo... How do you guys think we would have fared with that crew? (also, let me know if I've forgotten anyone).
I'm always amused when the sheep who attack Kiffin for telling Boyd to look elsewhere immediately turn around and say Bray is the best QB in the country.
I don't think enough people realize what a class full of busts Kiffin inherited. Yeah, the class didn't end up wonderful, but it was better than what I listed above. Also, you have to wonder what would become of some of those Kiffin recruits that transferred had he never left.
D.T. Shackelford is the only one that has turned out decent. Forgot Damien Thigpen, he hasn't done much at UCLA.
I thought Oliver was Kiffin's solely. You are missing that RB who I thought decommitted for UCLA. Good work though. That is a gnarly list to say the least.
I'd also like to point out that it was known Tajh Boyd couldn't contribute year 1, and we badly needed depth at the position.
But Kiffin didn't recruit a QB at all that first cycle, did he? Nick Laimason is all I believe. Unless Year 1 means Year 2, in which case you are referring to Bray.
Yes, I'm saying he could get a guy that would fit his system without knee injury uncertainty as quickly as Boyd could contribute under the best case scenario.
He literally didn't have a QB to run the scout team. Boyd on crutches didn't solve that problem, so he went and got Laimason.
