Where are They Now?: Class of 2014 Edition

Where are They Now?: Class of 2014 Edition

 

Akeem Judd, RB, Ole Miss: The number 1 JUCO Running back in the nation chose Ole Miss, despite interest from the Vols. In 2014 with the Rebels, he did not play and redshirted.

Brandon Powell, RB/WR, Florida: Powell was a Tennessee commit early in the process before he flipped to Miami, and then he flipped again to the Gators. At Florida, Powell played in 11 games, including 2 starts. He ran for 70 yards on 16 carries for 1 touchdown and caught 15 passes for 147 yards and 1 touchdown.

Dominique Booth, WR, Indiana: Booth, a longtime Vol commit, decided to head to instate Indiana after the Vols snagged Josh Malone late in the process. As a freshman, Booth caught 8 passes for 70 yards.

Eric Lauderdale, WR, Arizona State: Like Booth, Lauderdale was a Tennessee commit before the Vols landed a bigger fish. In this case, the big fish was Von Pearson. Last season at ASU, Lauderdale didn’t play and redshirted.

Braxton Berrios, WR, Miami: You may remember Coach Azzani’s Twitter tactics of pictures of Honey Nut Cheerios in attempt to land this kid.  At Miami, Berrios played in all 13 games, starting 4, and catching 21 passes for 232 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Lawrence Lee, WR, NA: Lee, too, was a former UT commit, but a mutual parting of ways occurred in the summer and Lee landed in Missouri. Last season, Lee caught just 2 passes for 7 yards. In November of last year, Lee was dismissed from the team for disciplinary reasons.

Kameel Jackson, WR, NA: A JUCO receiver out of Texas, Jackson committed to UT, but lated decommited and didn’t sign with any school. Last summer, there were talks of him joining the team as a walk-on, but nothing ever materialized.

Orlando Brown, OT, Oklahoma: Orlando was a Tennessee commit all they way until National Signing Day. Many believed his flip to Oklahoma was because he did not have the grades to get into UT. Brown was able to enroll at OU and redshirted las season.

 Davonte Lambert, DE, Auburn: This decommit from Tennessee hit Vol fans the hardest, when Lambert flipped to Auburn the week before JUCO signing day. In his first year at Auburn, he started 9 games, recorded 24 tackles, and led the team in sacks with 3.5.

Conner Humphreys, DE, Arizona State: Many Vol fans began to enter panic mode when Butch passed on Humphreys in the summer. Humphreys wound up at Arizona State and did not play in 2014. I think we ended up alright with Barnett at the end position.

Cory Thomas, DE, Mississippi State: Thomaas was committed to the Vols until NSD, when Mississippi State swooped in and landed him. He didn’t see any playing time as a true freshman.

Matt Elam, DT, Kentucky: Elam may well have been the largest high-schooler I have ever seen. He chose instate Kentucky over the Vols and Alabama. At 6’7” and 380 pounds, Elam played in all 12 games, but registered only 10 tackles on the year.

Poona Ford, DT, Texas: Remembered by Vol fans more for his name than his talent, Poona committed to Louisville and then followed Head Coach Charlie Strong to Texas. As a freshman, Ford played in 9 games, making 9 tackles.

Clifton Garrett, LB, Arizona Western: The 5 star linebacker chose LSU over the Vols late in the process. He played in 3 games for LSU, but decided to transfer and is now at Arizona Western College.

Kevin Mouhon, LB, Cincinnati: Mouhon was a longtime Vol, until late in the process a mutual parting of ways occurred. Mouhon teamed up with his brother Silverberry, yes you read that right, at Cincy. He redshited in 2014.

Jerome Dews, LB, Marshall: Perhaps the wildest recruitment of 2014 as Dews came out of nowhere and committed, then his commitment faded away. He enrolled at Marshall, where he played in 6 games, making 2 tackles.

Adoree’ Jackson, CB/WR, USC: Last but not least, one of the best players in the entire class. The Vols never truly had a shot, but it was fun while it lasted. As a cornerback, he started every game for the Trojans. As a receiver, he caught 10 passes for 138 yards and 3 touchdowns. As a kick returner, he averaged 29 yards per return, including 2 touchdowns. As a track star, he was the PAC-12 long jump champion. He was a Freshman All-American last year as well.

Owning the State

Owning the State

From 2000 to 2007, the University of Alabama was nowhere near the perennial football power they are today. During that span of eight years, they managed a mediocre total of 53-46. In the seven years since, they have rolled over their competition en route to an overall record of 84-11. This drastic turnaround was led large in part by Alabama’s 2008 recruiting class, which ranked number 1 according to Rivals.com. This class of 32 members was led by a whopping 20 players from the state of Alabama, including 15 of the top 20 prospects. In order to get back to the top, Alabama had to reclaim their state.

These circumstances seem eerily familiar to what has occurred in Knoxville in recent years. During the six year period ranging from 2008 to 2013, UT managed an abysmal record of 33-41. Despite their on-field performance, Butch Jones was able to reel in a class similar to the program changing class Alabama brought in during 2008. This 2014 class ranked 5^th by Rivals entailed of 9 of the top 11 players from the Volunteer state, including 10 total. The Volunteers now hope they see the turnaround Alabama experienced following a program-changing class.

Now that we understand the importance of owning the state, let’s look at some specific regions in Tennessee, dating back to 2010 (Derek Dooley’s first year as head coach.)

         Memphis

It’s common knowledge that Memphis hasn’t always been kind to Tennessee on the recruiting trail. During Dooley’s tenure at UT, he only managed to sign one Rivals 5.7 or higher rated prospect. That prospect was Cameron Clear, and we all know how that turned out. Butch Jones, however managed to snag 3 of these recruits in his first 2 years and around a month. One of these 3 was arguably the most essential get for Tennessee in their 2015 class, as 5 star offensive tackle Drew Richmond filled the gaping hole on the offensive line and kept the state all the more Orange. These charts shows all of the Rivals 5.7 or higher prospects from 2010-2015, and the schools that obtained the most signatures.

                                                                                                               

Mid State

The Mid State area of Tennessee has been much kinder to the Vols than has Memphis. Butch Jones has essentially dominated this region over the past two years, when he signed a total of 14 players from the area. This group of players also featured 10 of the top 19 players out of the region over the past two years. From the years 2010 to 2013, when Derek Dooley was largely responsible for recruiting efforts, the Vols only managed to get 2 of the 8 Rivals 5.7 or higher rated prospects. Jones was also able to establish pipelines in multiple schools as he took multiple prospects from schools such as Hillsboro, Oakland, Independence, and Beech. This not only is a testament to Butch Jones and his staff for their recruiting efforts, but it also shows the recent growth of talent in the Mid State.

 

Local

                The Knoxville area doesn’t produce the top-tier talent that the Memphis and Nashville regions do, but UT doesn’t let them leave the area when talented prospects do come around. Since 2010, there have only been 2 local prospects that have rated a 5.7 or higher (Todd Kelly Jr. and Kyler Kerbyson), and they have both ended up in the Big Orange.  Here is a look at the amount of recruits from the Knoxville area that have signed to UT in recent years:

 

Talent in Tennessee

                There is no question that in recent years the talent level in Tennessee has increased dramatically, and Butch Jones has certainly taken advantage of that. Now, instead of having to invade rival states for recruits (which Butch is still doing) he is able to reap the products of the growing investment in Tennessee high school football. The Vols are hoping that the increase in talent at the high school level will lead to an increase in talent at the college level in Tennessee. During the 2014 football season, the freshmen from the state of Tennessee alone combined for 115 appearances and 56 starts. Those numbers are off the charts and this all relates back to the level of high school talent in Tennessee.