2014 Recruiting Class Grades

The 2014 recruiting class had an unheard of 14 early enrollees. That's immediate depth that should be expected to contribute in the fall. Jalen Hurd, a 5 star running back and Josh Malone, a 5 star wide receiver, get a lot of the headlines but guys like Owen Williams and Dimarya Dixon will provide a lot of help to the defensive tackle spot, Dontavius Blair is an immediate starter at left tackle and Coleman Thomas is gaining steam as the starting right tackle.

The biggest difference we'll see as fans, in my opinion, is the talent upgrade at the tight end spot. Helm needs a little work as a blocker, but he's got wide receiver skills in a 6' 4" 230 lb body. Ethan Wolf is a bigger body and a better blocker, but is also a reliable receiving option. With AJ Bransiel recovering from a torn ACL, Brendan Downs is the only scholarship tight end on the roster. Both of these guys being early enrollees will ensure we'll see them playing a lot on Saturdays.

Von Pearson, the JUCO wide receiver, is expected to contribute immediately. The guy is an impressive athlete that put up gaudy stats at Feather River.

Emmanuel Moseley, a defensive back, has gained 18 pounds since enrolling in January. That's a plus because size was a huge question mark for him.

De'Andre Payne, a defensive back from the DC area, is also enrolled early.

Ray Raulerson, an interior offensive lineman, and Niko Creamer, a jumbo athlete that's getting a shot at WR, round out the early enrollees.

Now, on to the grades:

Quarterback - F or incomplete
Butch and crew didn't land a quarterback. They didn't reach and sign a marginally talented QB once the big fish committed elsewhere. They weren't able to flip a Dobbs type, but I don't think a lot of effort was put forth. Worley graduates this season, so at least one QB is a priority in 2015.

Running Back - A+
You would be hard pressed to find a better group of running back commits in the country. Jalen Hurd gets a lot of attention, as he should, but Derrell Scott and Treyvon Paulk are no slouches. Hurd is your bellcow, Paulk is your hard charging back and Scott offers a nice change of pace. Paulk is recovering from a torn ACL, so a redshirt for him is probably coming. Scott is a good combo of speed and elusiveness.

Wide Receiver - A
Malone is your instate stud and Pearson is the best JUCO wide receiver available. Vic Wharton is a slot WR that was extremely productive. He's also a good returner. Creamer could end up here as well. Evan Berry could also end up here, as he wants a shot at receiver, but I expect him to be a cornerback.

TE - A
Both Wolf and Helm will play a lot. One, it's simply needs based and two, both are pretty damn good.

OL - B
Blair, a JUCO, will start immediately. Raulerson will probably redshirt and Thomas is in contention to start at the other tackle spot. It's not a huge number of guys, but signing two immediate starters is never a bad thing. Charles Mosley could end up at guard as well. It would have been nice to sign another high school OL for depth, but oh well.

DE - A
Dewayne Hendrix, consensus 4 star. Joe Henderson, 4 star according to Rivals. Derek Barnett, 4 star according to Rivals. This is a huge infusion of talent in an area Tennessee hasn't recruited very well in the past 8 years. Hendrix is the highest rated of the bunch and looks to be a star in the making. Henderson tried to enroll early, but couldn't do it. He'll enroll in May. Barnett was a late addition after flipping from Vandy. This is the best overall group of DE's Tennessee has brought in in a long time. These are difference makers. Dimarya Dixon was an early enrollee at the DE spot. He took a year off before heading to Knoxville. We'll see if he ends up at defensive tackle.

DT - B
Owen Williams is a JUCO signee. He's already one of the strongest players on the team. He'll be expected to provide depth. Micheal Sawyers has the measurables to be a stud here. His development will be interesting to watch. Jashon Robertson is an instate prospect that had offers from Vandy and PSU. Charles Mosely could also be a defensive tackle here, but most likely ends up on the OL. Losing Davonte Lambert took the DT class from excellent to good.

LB - A
4 linebackers signed with the Vols. Gavin Bryant has some work to do in the classroom to qualify, but he's an extremely talented middle linebacker prospect. Dillion Bates was one of the best outside linebackers in the country. Chris Weatherd is a JUCO LB that's expected to contribute immediately. Jakob Johnson could be the steal of the class, as Butch has called him the "alpha male" of the class. Todd Kelly Jr, Cortez McDowell and Elliot Berry could all grow into linebackers as well. This is an extremely talented group, especially if Bryant gets in. It's an immediate upgrade in depth.

DB - A+
De'Andre Payne has been impressive in his time on campus so far. Emmanuel Moseley has gained 18 lbs according to Butch and kept his speed. Todd Kelly Jr was one of the most sought after recruits in the country at safety. He's big and could possibly become an outside linebacker, but he's immediately number two on the depth chart at worse. Cortez McDowell was a safety prospect Auburn wanted badly that Tennessee signed. Rashaan Gaulden is a sleeper in this class. He didn't play his junior year due to transfer rules, but the man hits anything that moves. Both Berry twins could end up here as well. Elliot is expected to start out as a nickel CB. This is an immediate upgrade in speed and talent across the board. All of these guys are high quality football players.

Kicker - B
Aaron Medley was the best kicker in the state of Tennessee this year. Be 90% consistent on 45 and in and you're worth a scholly.

This is a great class that filled a lot of needs. The defense immediately becomes better. Twelve 4 star prospects were signed on the defensive side. That's never happened to a 5-7 team. A 5-7 team has never finished this highly in the recruiting rankings, either. This is how Tennessee can recruit year in and year out if the coaches want to work at it. The only miss was not signing a quarterback. Tennessee returns 4 scholarship QBs, however. The QB situation has to be dealt with in 2015.

 

Also had a kicker in there and maybe a long snapper.

 

Whoops

 

Great info...thanks!

 

Good break down. It's hard to single out a particular player to be excited about because the class is stacked. It's been too damn long since Tennessee signed a class like this and hopefully it's just the beginning.

 

Medley is considered the best in the country. A

I think trading Lambert for Sawyers and Roberson is a wash. B+ if we don't count Barnett

 

I thought there were a few better than him. It doesn't really matter though, because the kid's got a boomer leg.

It probably is, but Lambert makes an immediate impact and Sawyers and Roberson take a year. I don't know where Barnett will end up, but he's a damn good prospect.

 

It's a rivals record for # of defensive 4*. Pretty impressive.

 

Top by Kohls which specializes in ST and does all the camps.

 

Ole Cortex McDowell gonna be a stud. ..

 

Nice write up dude

 

Just making sure you were paying attention

 

Thanks Groves, this is what I was hoping for.

 

All I wanna do is talk about depth charts, but I suppose that is all up in the air until Spring ball.

 

I sure hope Gavin Bryant gets in without any problems. He's a monster and I don't think a lot of people realize it.

 

Just assume the #2 at every spot other than the ol will be a freshman.

 

Thanks, Groves. I agree with every ranking. I also remember raising hell when Dooley let a class go without an OL.

For me, the most impressive part of this class was landing every DE/DL that they pitched with the notable exception of Lambert. After watching Lambert play a few times, I thought he was a bit of a project for a JC guy anyway. I think they let C Thomas go without much a fuss for numbers. Just my opinion….

 

Once Sawyers committed, they let Thomas leave.

 

He's cerebral.

 

Thanks, jg. Great write-up.

It actually makes me a little less angry about everything.