Three days that will keep coaches and fans on the edge of their seat.
Three days that could continue the resuscitation or confirm the worst.
Three days that will decide a signing class.
Entering the final stretch before National Signing Day on Wednesday, the Vols are expected to sign approximately 20 players. With 16 public commitments, that leaves UT with four spots to fill.
And while the Vols would gladly welcome commitments before Wednesday, don't expect it. Most prospects that have waited this long will ride it out and announce their intentions when they sign their national letters of intent.
Here are the final candidates to be the remaining few pieces of UT's 2008 puzzle:
n E.J. Abrams-Ward: The Vols have certainly made every effort to land this 6-foot-5, 210-pound athlete from Thomasville (N.C.) High School. Abrams-Ward has said he'd also like to play basketball, which certainly makes UT more attractive in the Bruce Pearl era.
Problem is, Abrams-Ward is also considering North Carolina and its rich basketball tradition. Moreover, North Carolina football coach Butch Davis has certainly won more than his fair share of battles against the Vols since taking over the Tar Heels in 2006.
n Undra Billingsley: Just how committed to Alabama is the 6-4, 260-pound defensive end from Woodlawn High in Birmingham, Ala.? Probably too much for the Vols. But UT got a January official visit from Billingsley, who also took a trip to Georgia Tech. Chances are Billingsley stays with the Tide but the Vols have put themselves in the mix.
n Quinton Coples: The 6-7, 235-pound defensive end from Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., once called UT his leader. Originally from Kinston High in North Carolina, Coples could elect to return home by signing with North Carolina or North Carolina State. Florida State is also in the mix.
n Enrique Davis: The 5-11, 220-pound running back from Hargrave Military Academy signed with Auburn out of Mosley High in Lynn Haven, Fla., in 2007. Now, Davis is re-considering Auburn, along with UT, Oregon, Maryland, and Ole Miss.
n Jerrell Harris: It's not easy to pull one of the top prospects in Alabama away from the Crimson Tide. It's also not easy to win a recruiting battle with Southern Cal. But that's what UT is trying to do with Harris, a 6-3, 215-pound linebacker from Gadsden City (Ala.) High, who is also considering Clemson.
n Cameron Henderson: It would be a huge surprise if the Vols landed this 6-5, 240-pound defensive end from Shades Valley High in Birmingham, Ala. But UT got a January official visit so there's at least reason for UT to be optimistic.
n Jeremy Lewis: Talk about a signing day coup. If the Vols could land the 6-4, 280-pound defensive tackle from Palm Beach Lakes High in West Palm Beach, Fla., there would be plenty of reason to celebrate. Not only is the Miami commitment one of the top defensive line prospects in the nation, but he also plays a position that UT is trying to upgrade: defensive tackle. Lewis has also taken official visits to Clemson, LSU and North Carolina.
n Antoine McClain: The 6-6, 315-pound offensive lineman from Anniston (Ala.) High is the type of prospect that would highlight a class, especially since UT is in such dire need of offensive linemen. McClain is also considering Clemson, Auburn and LSU.
n Dallas Thomas: This would also be a big (pun intended) surprise. The 6-6, 260-pound offensive lineman from Istrouma High in Baton Rouge, La., is considering several schools. He is a former high school teammate of UT commitment Herman Lathers. However, UT's relationship with Thomas never seemed the same after losing Trooper Taylor to Oklahoma State.
n Keith Wells: The Vols seem to be a finalist with the 6-5, 215-pound defensive end from Gainesville (Ga.) High. Ohio State is thought to be the main competition and Notre Dame has made a final push. UT coach Phillip Fulmer met with Wells on Wednesday to make a final impression.
Only Two: Marcus Davis did not make his official visit to UT as planned this weekend. That would seem to eliminate the Vols from landing the 6-4, 220-pound athlete from Ocean Lakes High in Virginia Beach, Va.
Davis, who has said he wants to play quarterback, is also considering N.C. State and Virginia Tech. Davis couldn't have been pleased when UT received a commitment from 6-2, 190-pound quarterback Casey Kelly from Sarasota (Fla.) High on Wednesday.
UT hosted two other official visitors this weekend: Enrique Davis and Harris.
Dave Hooker covers recruiting. He can be reached at hookerd@knews.com.
© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Comments » 95
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Gulp!
vol1994 writes:
No new information but good to see all the potential recruits listed so we can discuss in a forum.
I am trying to be optimistic but just don't have a good feeling at filling our needs (def linemen.
I don't see RB Davis coming here and TN does not have a real shot at a lot of names on the board, Coples for one.
We have 4 remaining scholarships to give- any predictions on the 4 we land?
volunteer_cowboy writes:
1 of the other chat boards is saying harris commited to the BIG ORANGE today
volunteer_cowboy writes:
dont know if its true, fact or fiction thats just what they are saying
dburgVol writes:
Finally something to talk about instead of beating the old dead horse that is discipline problems. Let's gettem Phil!
Any comments SPHS?
jasvol writes:
which chat board said harris committed?
dburgVol writes:
Yeah, which one said Harris committed?
TurboFan writes:
Does "expect" to sign mean limited to?
txvolsfan writes:
This has been the hardest recruiting year to sit through. I hope Coach Fulmer can pull his last minute magic out!!! Cause we need a lot of magic.
Any new info sphs?
GO VOLS
LET'S CLOSE STRONG
TXVOLSFAN
jasvol writes:
sphs is not the real deal. if he was he would have posted more credible info.
dburgVol writes:
Might as well take him for his word. If hes lying, hes only got 4 days left.
volunteer_cowboy writes:
on a scout forum
ajbake writes:
Hopefully the new recruits will be good students and excel in the classroom.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
You can't say big Phil isn't trying. Ck out AJC.com -Recruiting -Top coaches visit Gainesville star. Stayed all day with Tenn coaching staff at school. Pulled out all the stops. Hope it works.
heathut15 writes:
well it is crunch time. we will see how this new oc will help in the recruiting field
vol1994 writes:
nothing against the guy but why do some want to hear from sphs.. i cannot recall any worhty information except big announcements coming, a top 15 class, and so on...
There is no way we can land a top 25 class (if i am wrong please tell me) with 4 scholarships to give and the only surprises are recruits decommitting and going somewhere else or a player getting arrested.....
I hope the h... we land some big names or at leas fill our needs with good players but ....
vol1994 writes:
pdhuff--- where is the article listed at ajc.com..
Long day with little sleep lately so I guess I am not looking closely.
Thanks for your help.
dburgVol writes:
vol1994--it's under recruiting at the top of the page.
vol1994 writes:
ok, just found it. thanks dburvol.
read it and read the posts.
Good article but man.. I knew vol, gator, and bama fans made cracks about fulmer and his weight but didn't realize fans from other schools did.. Brutal !!
Is this kid the real deal.
tapeworm writes:
Frankly, I'm sick of all these Top 5 classes. They've never translated into championships or even wins. It'll be interesting to see what we can do with a class (or classes) that presumably have less talent. It not only tells us what kind of coaching we have, but also, what kind of recruiting moxy we have. How many Top 5 recruiting classes have West Virginia, Kansas, VaTech, Missouri, Wake Forest, Louisville, Arizona State, etc. etc. etc. had in the last five years? Or even Vanderbilt and Kentucky, which have given us all we can handle - including a loss.
utmdm writes:
Seems that the tags promote the "fact" that Fulmer will be gone within 2 years. That cannot help recruiting if all the fan sites retort the same.
mlbrown5454 writes:
Why take sphs for his word?
Not hard to say, there will be huge announcements (trust me), when we haven't signed much. Of course we will have new commits.
Harris wouldn't be much of a stretch in signing.
It would be great.
His mom and d coach visited with him.
That's a good sign.
vol1994 writes:
tapeworm- good comments but here is the point that most make.
UT had more talent in the late 90s and early 2000s.
our talent won the game, not coaching. At least most would agree.
Now that the talent level is about the same we struggle against the vandys, ky, bama, etc.
yes the SEC is difficult but many feel that we need superb talent to win championships as our coaches cannot coach good talent to the level needed to win championships.
Hopefully our new coaches can coach up our talent and get more out of them CONSISTENTLY.
Just my opinion.
volunteer_cowboy writes:
Gainesville turned into a hot spot for college coaches earlier this week when Phillip Fulmer of Tennessee and Notre Dame’s Charlie Weis flew into town to court the Red Elephants’ **Keith Wells.”
“I’ve been coaching 11 years, and Wednesday was about the craziest day I’ve ever seen,” Gainesville assistant coach Todd Wofford said. “I’d never seen a [college] team do what Tennessee did. They sent just about their whole staff to our school and they were there from 8 a.m. until 5:15 p.m. It was all day.
“It was like they were Keith’s shadow. Two coaches would walk him from class to class. Fulmer showed up about 2 p.m. They stayed for track practice then went to his house.
“Then about 7:30 p.m., Charlie Weis showed up at his house.”
Wells, who is on a recruiting visit to Notre Dame this weekend, is scheduled to announce his college choice on 11:30 a.m. on Monday.
“It’s really between Ohio State and Tennessee,” Wofford said. “Keith is just checking out Notre Dame. He really didn’t think Tennessee was going to be in the mix until he went up there two weeks ago.”
Wells, a defensive end, had originally committed to Florida State in August. He backed off that commitment last month.
dburgVol writes:
Phil is pulling out all the stops. I'm glad he hasnt given up like most of these posters have.
utmdm writes:
I thought the previous article said all 3 we "at" UT with no surprises?
pdhuff#552644 writes:
utmdm 10:18 - The surprise will be if we finish in the top 6 in the SEC. Saban and Meyer has steamrolled recruiting. Dang!
volunteer_cowboy writes:
Can anyone tell me why scout just added deandre brown, committed to Southern Miss, back to our prospects board? Is he still incontention?
utmdm writes:
Henderson is listed as a soft Auburn verbal, so there is possibility.
volunteer_cowboy writes:
on the scout forums, clemson fans thinks they are getting harris, coples, mcclain and jaron brown
utmdm writes:
I thought Brown was a scholastic issue and that is why he was going outside the SEC for the lower entrance requirements. Don't see him as being on our list anyway.
volunteer_cowboy writes:
they are saying that mcclain wont qualify
utmdm writes:
PD, at this point #5 would be a surprise upset. Come Wed I may be drowning my sorrow in a six pak of fritters and crying in a glass of milk at Ralphs.
volunteer_cowboy writes:
this is on clemson forum:
Re: we may sign jaron brown and jerrell harris
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
well, Roy seemed to think that McClain was in our pocket this morning on the show. and he was trying to get Micky to come out and say the same thing about Harris. Micky was hesitant though. I think Harper is pretty much a lock.
Harper-90% Tiger
McClain-95% Tiger
Harris-65% Tiger
Brown-30% Tiger (he'll be a gamecock)
volunteer_cowboy writes:
this is also on clemsons forum:
the thing it is my understanding that both both alabama and auburn declined to offere him a scholarship because of academic reasons. if you can get him in school you could probably sign him.
volunteer_cowboy writes:
this is a scout forum on mcclain:
Posted: Today 6:08 PM
Why all the excitement with McClain?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I thought he was a sign and place with huge grade issues? Has his situation changed?
Reply | Quote
Posted: Today 10:10 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
no the situation has not changed.
volunteer_cowboy writes:
There are "surprises" rumored every year. Last year it was Austin at DT.
This year I hear jeremy Lewis the tackle comitted to Miami....is it another reach or could it be what sphs_vol is talking about
utmdm writes:
Lewis is another soft verbal, but I don't see it. We just do not seem to have had enough contact. I would say Thomas, although an outside chance, might be more likely than that. It would be a great surprise though.
posivol writes:
we will survive and prosper at spots w/ this yrs class,not the best but still some nice talent and a couple of playmakers.
between the early year fire phil fiasco and the loss of 4 recruiters including our r.c.,we have already done better than would should have.
you know its sad the fans where ready to pack the coaching staff up and help them out of town.
the players on the other hand stepped up w/ no quit in their hearts and delivered a better season than the fans deserved.
just my opinion but it seems the players were coached up and grew as a team.isnt this what we ask of our coaches?
maybe next time we can have a little patience when we hit that pothole(s) in the road.i think our boys earned a pass this year.
we have a top notch team,players and coaches.lets give them our top notch support.
theres no such thing as a part time fan,you guys love this team as much as i do, i am sure!
we will be back,stronger,faster and more focused.
we have a new course to the promise land,next year is only the begining of the greatness to come.
GO VOLS!
volunteer_cowboy writes:
did you guys know that we have only offered to 1 DE for next years class out of 5 and no DT out of the 3 on our board............ what gives
TommyJack writes:
posivol: You made me all weepy.
anthony writes:
Good School, good coaches, great tradition, great winning tradition, great fans, many many many great graduates, other winning programs, good weather, down south, see our great basketball teams, all these are great reasons to come to Tennessee to play ball. Other posters please add your reasons to wear th ebig orange.
londonvol writes:
THE SEC is the only conference to play in, if you are any good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
volunteer_cowboy writes:
this is in the sunday tennesseean:
Tennessee defensive back Vince Faison has been suspended for the first two games of the season after being arrested for DUI during the weekend, the university has announced. Faison is a walk-on and is not on scholarship. "Vince has embarrassed himself and his team," UT Coach Phillip Fulmer said in a statement. "We expect all our players – scholarship or walk-on – to be good citizens. Any breaking of a law is serious. A DUI is a very serious offense. Vince will be suspended for two games and required to undergo alcohol evaluation and counseling in addition to other internal punishments. "Faison, 26, spent the last eight years playing minor league baseball before enrolling at UT in January.
The arrest was the fourth police incident since Jan. 11 involving a UT football player. Freshman receivers Gerald Jones and Ahmad Paige were cited for possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor. Freshman offensive lineman William Brimfield was also in the car, as was a high school student who was in town for a recruiting visit. Brimfield and the high school student were not cited. A week later, freshman running back Daryl Vereen was arrested and charged with public intoxication. Last weekend, junior offensive lineman Anthony Parker was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. The only player Fulmer has suspended is Faison. The disciplinary action Fulmer handed out to the others included community service at a drug rehab facility, participation in police ride-alongs, curfews and more frequent drug tests.
volunteer_cowboy writes:
but this was olso in the tennessean: Tennessee Coach Fulmer has said: recruiting is the lifeblood of a football team. Right now, UT's blood is a little thin. The Vols entered the weekend with 16 commitments and the coaching staff working long hours to secure some high-profile prospects before National Signing Day. There isn't a five-star prospect on the list and this class won't be among the best. But recruiting analysts said UT fans need to take a wait-and-see approach during the next few days. "Coach Fulmer has developed a reputation for bringing in some tremendous classes," said Barton Simmons, the Southeastern recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. "I don't think you're going to see that top-five or top-10 class thats been standard for Coach Fulmer. But I think if they make some late pickups, you could see a solid class that gives a lot of reason for excitement." Entering the weekend, Rivals.com had UT's recruiting class ranked No.36 in the nation and 7th out of the 12 teams in the SEC. The No.36 ranking is a significant jump from previous weeks thanks to some impressive commitments during the past 10 days. Quarterback Casey Kelly from Sarasota, Fla., committed to UT on Tuesday and is rated a 3* prospect. But Kelly is a standout baseball player who could be drafted in the first or second round. If the money is right, Kelly could opt for professional baseball instead. Linebacker Marlon Walls from Olive Branch, Miss., also committed. He is a four-star prospect and considered one of the nation's top linebackers. "Marlon Walls is a big steal from Ole Miss," Simmons said. "He's got a ton of speed and very athletic outside linebacker who could put his hand down and play defensive end." Speaking of defensive end, UT recently picked up a commitment from Willie Bohannon, a three-star recruit from Mobile, Ala. It proved to be a coup, considering multiple SEC teams showed strong interest in Bohannon. "He is a guy who emerged late in the recruiting process as a big name to watch," Simmons said. "(UT) kind of stole him from Kentucky." Another commitment came from Prentiss Waggner, a highly sought after defensive back from Louisiana. "He is a big cornerback who picked off about 25 passes the past two years," Simmons said. "He's a ball-hawking guy and someone who can help that secondary out." UT doesn't release the exact number of scholarships it has to offer, but Fulmer typically works with approximately 20 each year. Three players Fulmer and his staff are still working to get are Antoine McClain, EJ Abrams-Ward and Enrique Davis. McClain is a 4* offensive tackle from Alabama, Abrams-Ward is a 4* athlete from North Carolina, and Davis is a 5* running back from Hargrave Military Academy. "I think this past weekend was very promising for Tennessee, picking up some big names there," Simmons said. "And they're still in the mix for some very big names that they could steal down the stretch. That could be huge for the class."
vol1994 writes:
quick question- doubt it will happen but...
lets say 5 or6 guys we are recruting want
to come to UT. However, we have only 3 scholarships to give. what happens? we turn someone down at signing day?
volunteer_cowboy writes:
if we could sign the likes of davis, ward, couples, wells and mcclain i would say the hughes kid is out and back to TSU
pdhuff#552644 writes:
The most chilling thing is DT prospects. One, Hughes, who many think will be shuffled off to Juco or Prep. No others I see. Walls at LB appears to be the star of this (ahem) class.
Maybe Phil can pull one out. He's gone full-court press after the Gainesville, Ga kid as I said yesterday. Correct me if I'm wrong, but as of this date we have ZERO stars at DT. Remember this if we don't change. Good win, Pearl.
marc_ash#231781 writes:
sphs_vol, I've stayed quite all along about your predictions but you are cutting it very close. With only 4 spots to fill, I don't think your predictions can mathmatically come to be.
Prove me wrong...
ATLVOL1 writes:
marc= nostradamus
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