A woeful weekend will make for a very uncertain National Signing Day.
With just two days until commitments become signees on Wednesday, Tennessee fielded bad news from its football prospects across the eastern United States. At least six prospects seemed to have soured on the Vols.
Here’s a list of the last-second setbacks:
n UT commitment Aubrey Phillips seems destined to play his college football elsewhere based on comments the 6-foot-6, 310-pound offensive lineman made following his official visit to Auburn this weekend.
“I’m still committed to Tennessee, but on Signing Day there will be a change,” Phillips told Auburnsports.com. “My Auburn visit went good. I got a chance to hang out with the players and meet the coaches and really liked it.
“I like it down there. I like the stadium. I like the coaches. All of them are cool. You can go to them with your problems and none of the players had one bad thing to say about them.”
Phillips committed to UT in June but became a prime target for Auburn when it hired away former UT coach Trooper Taylor from Oklahoma State in January.
Taylor recruited Phillips, who is from Olive Branch (Miss.) High School, to play for Oklahoma State before accepting a position on Auburn’s staff.
When Phillips’ teammate, safety Daren Bates, committed to Auburn last week, UT had reason to be concerned. Phillips told the News Sentinel that Bates’ decision would have a major affect on his decision.
n Tight end Zaccheus Mason will sign with Ole Miss, the standout from Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville told the News Sentinel via text message Sunday.
The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder had been considering UT, having taken an official visit to Knoxville on Jan. 16. Mason visited Ole Miss on Jan. 23.
“I enjoyed Ole Miss a lot more,” Mason said in a text.
n It looks as if David Oku’s recruiting journey will go longer than expected.
The Tennessee tailback commitment from Carl Albert High School in Midwest City, Okla., has said he might postpone his final announcement until after National Signing Day.
The extra decision-making time is “because of the opportunity of coming down here,” Oku told The Birmingham News following his official visit to Auburn this weekend.
Oku was very complimentary of Auburn’s offense under first-year Tigers offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, who led Tulsa to a high-scoring offense as its coordinator for the past two seasons.
“Basically his offense is not fair from what I’ve seen,” Oku told the newspaper. “It’s not fair with some of the trick plays he has done. I was laughing at the plays because the defense didn’t know what was going on.”
Oku committed to UT in September but has since taken official visits to Auburn and Syracuse, where former UT running backs coach Stan Drayton is coaching.
Oku is considered the top all-purpose back by Rivals.com and one of the top 100 prospects in the nation.
n Linebacker Robert Nelson did not commit to UT this weekend as he had hoped to do, the linebacker confirmed via text message.
It is unclear if the 6-5, 205-pounder from Stone Mountain (Ga.) High School was offered a scholarship on his official visit to UT as Nelson wasn’t available to comment further.
Nelson told the News Sentinel last week that he would commit to UT if he was offered a scholarship and the visit was satisfactory.
Nelson has fielded scholarship offers from South Carolina, Auburn, West Virginia and Illinois, among others.
n Nu’Keese Richardson said he will stick to his Florida commitment following his official visit to UT this weekend.
The 5-foot-9, 151-pound wide receiver from Pahokee (Fla.) High School said he enjoyed his visit to UT. It just wasn’t enough to sway Richardson from Florida.
“I’m still 100 percent committed to Florida,” he told the News Sentinel.
Richardson said the Vols might have had a better chance of landing him if he had more time to get to know UT’s staff.
“I could say that,” Richardson said. “They made a push, though.”
n Defensive end Jarrett Brown from Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas, has committed to Oklahoma.
The news isn’t surprising. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound Brown told the News Sentinel last week that he would likely commit to Oklahoma during his official visit this weekend.
Brown chose the Sooners over UT, Kansas State and Iowa State.
Kid in the Hall: There was some good news for the Vols this weekend.
UT made a strong impression with offensive lineman Marcus Hall, the 6-foot-5, 290-pound offensive lineman from Glenville High School in Cleveland, Ohio, who took an official visit this weekend.
“That coaching staff is incredible,” Hall told the News Sentinel. “The amount of players going to the NFL from there will probably go way up. I know that for a fact.
“That’s because of the atmosphere Coach (Lane) Kiffin and Coach (Ed Orgeron) is creating around there. They’re really going to change that place.”
Hall was hosted by redshirt freshman offensive lineman Preston Bailey, who told Hall the Vols are in desperate need of offensive linemen. Immediate playing time is a real factor for Hall.
“That’s exactly what I’m looking for in a school,” Hall said. “When (Bailey) said that it was just words, but when you actually look at the depth chart it’s a fact.
“It’s not just him or the coaches talking. It’s actually there to see.”
Hall might not have seen UT if not for his high school teammate, cornerback Mike Edwards, who committed to UT last week.
“He told me he liked it a lot,” Hall said. “That really showed me something. That’s what really got me interested.”
Hall said he has eliminated Michigan from consideration and will choose among UT, Ohio State and Miami. He said he plans to make his decision on Monday or Tuesday.
Josh Ward contributed to this report.
Tennessee 69, South Carolina 57 men's…
Vanderbilt 65, Tennessee 47, Jan. 24…
Signing day celebration at Neyland…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 200
BY_HIS_WOUNDS_WE_ARE_HEALED writes:
WHAT ABOUT MARLON BROWN? WE NEED A BIG TIME RECEIVER TO MAKE OUR QUARTERBACKS JOB A LITTLE EASIER NEXT YEAR. GETTING STOKES WOULDN'T HURT EITHER.
murrayvol writes:
Well, crapola. It's been a pretty good day until now. Thanks for the positive spin Hooker.
knucklehead_vol writes:
i think that is who they are focusing on...receivers.
VolsAllTheWay writes:
Trust the staff! Don't judge the book until you have read the final chapter! Please do not feed the interlopers!
vollowme writes:
nice of hooker to repost everything in a nice summation so we don't have to jump from page to page for the bad news.
joshvols writes:
if we can get a couple of receivers, this means you Marlon Brown, plus Tana Patrick and a couple big uglies this will be a great weekend. how are you going to say it was a bad weekend when signing day is still days away? Are you trying to sour the pot against UT going down the stretch? jeez.
volcycle writes:
Any news on Marlon Brown? Wasn't he on campus this weekend? Actually no news is good news right now! Maybe it's better to not hear anything about him.
easleychuck writes:
Why would the KNS put the Nelson situation in a bad light? He said that if he were offered this weekend that he would commit (for all that means). So it would appear that he did not receive an offer. The way the KNS puts things, every visitor is given an offer....doesn't work that way, even with a staff that is attempting to assemble a class in a short amount of time.
knucklehead_vol writes:
from another site:
I will be disappointed if we don't have a great recruiting class, as im sure everyone will. But i'm not going to let something like losing recruits bother me any. I realize we will lose a few. But i will forfeit a good recruiting class this year for opportunities that i know we will have in the future. Once Kiffin shows his promise as a Head Coach, I believe that it will be easier for him to sell his "product" to future recruits.
Basically if we lose Oku and Stokes and don't get Marlon Brown....so what! It's not like Kiffin has had ample time to build a quality relationship w/ these guys. Won't be surprised if any of this happens.
From what i've heard Kiffin has done a wonderful job, almost Bruce Pearl like, in selling "The Program." I give Kiffin at least two or three years to get things turned around. We have too. Hell we gave Fulmer almost ten.
GO VOLS!!!! IN KIFFIN WE TRUST!!!!
tennesseebee writes:
I don't know how the hell Auburn is so successful, their staff hasn't been in place as long as Tn. How can the players have anything bad to say about the staff? They probably haven't met them all yet.
rockitwithrespect writes:
no former vols on either team. yeah, im disappointed too
VAvolfanRON writes:
hey fellow volfans.....i was curious...and this is a big if...
but, if Tampa Bay was in the Super Bowl.....do you think we would still be without a def coord?..or would kiffin had found someone else...
BTW, we are consumed with recruiting...remember we have some great coaches
huntined#565710 writes:
Good to have all these recruits in but better if we landed some. I know our staff has only been here a month or so but they have been recruiters for years.. If these guys are 4* recruits I don't care if Fulmer did recruite them they have to be good players to rate 4*
britt writes:
No Super Vols this year. Omar Gaither was the last one left this year with the Eagles.
BSweet writes:
Deceptive story. The only two of real concern in this story were Phillips and Oku. Richardson was considered a solid verbal to FL, Brown was never really considering UT, and Mason and Nelson are relatively new on the scene. Besides which, Nelson hasn't ruled out the Vols yet, he just didn't commit this weekend. Of Oku and Phillips, both would be nice to have, but if Marcus Hall were to commit and Schofield stays committed, then the loss of Phillips is mitigated. Oku is a talent, but not a necessity. We still have Creer and Poole, not to mention a commit from the big back from GA(whose name has slipped my mind). I would like to have him, but we can live without him. This is more "the sky is falling" reporting by KNS.
atvolfan#654430 writes:
Good News: Fulmer's still not the coach.
knucklehead_vol writes:
toney williams
GREATVOLSAFIRE writes:
Man what a game. I believe its the best one I've seen in a while!!!!
etsuvol99#227561 writes:
Turn what around? The team was basically the same guys in '07 and '08, yet different results. With pretty much the same guys coming back on Offense, I don't have a doubt they will be better, because how can you not be after the debacle that was the 2008 offense?
Maybe he should reconsider some of the guys Kiffen told "no thanks" to? I can almost understand telling a 5-star QB that he didn't "fit the system," but the other day he told a highly-rated "athlete" to look elsewhere. We don't need athletes?!
highVOLtage writes:
There was nothing new in this article. Just a compilation of the other KNS articles from today.
heelman98#604306 writes:
hooker, you guys need to get it together because you guys have no idea what your talking about. Go steal some more info from Hubbs and Co.
NoogaVol55 writes:
Phillips...Sucks he is prob. leaving
Oku.....Sucks if he leaves
Nelson...no hard feelings bro but I have never heard of you. 6'5 205 lbs. linebacker??? Seems very skinny.
Richardson....long shot from the beginning
Brown.....long shot from the beginning
I hate that nothing is positive but maybe KNS is saving those articles for tomorrow!!!!!!
knucklehead_vol writes:
didn't you already use this comment in another post? be a little creative.
UT4ME writes:
KNS acts as if the sky is falling...this seems like sour grapes from them toward Kiffin and Co. Aubrey Phillips said he was wavering well before this weekend and that his friend committing to Auburn "changed everything". Add in Trooper Tayler and the negative recruiting, and we could see it coming. Same deal is going on with Oku. Trooper Taylor knows what he's doing...and he's very effective recruiting against us.
Like it or not, Kiffin has a vision of the type of football player he wants on this team. Yeah, the timing of the deal with Thigpen was not the best, but neither is the waffling and/or decommitting from other recruits. It works both ways. And before jumping to any more conclusions regarding Thigpen, keep in mind that Kiffin cannot talk about it...can't give his side of it, and may never be able to, either.
Honesty from a coach in college recruiting is a rare trait. Yeah, we could have told Boyd he was all that, as well as the others who were told their scholarship would be honored but that they might have a better chance of success at a different type of program. This year, though, no matter how you look at it, the telling commitments who "don't fit" was used against us. Next year, Kiffin will have a track record of honesty with recruits that not many other SEC coaches can touch, IMO.
I don't care what this class is ranked. No more Crompton's at UT...if this coaching staff sees a scholarship would be wasted for the 2009 class when they can use it for 2010, then so be it.
Hall is a stud OL, and if we pull him, it more than makes up for Phillips. Running back is a position where we don't have to have someone in 2009...Creer, Hardesty, and Poole, who reminds me some of Oku. Don't forget Toney Williams, either. His film impressed me more than any other current commitment. He's a beast.
So really, I don't see the need for this garbage article slamming UT's recruiting efforts. We hoped for miracles, really, and we still might het a few surprises along with the recruits who have been evaluated and deemed the "right fit". It just doesn't seem like this article should be headlining a site named "GoVolsxtra". They might as well call "KNShatesUT.com", where the local rag slams UT every chance they get. Pathetic staff is at KNS, not UT.
BIGEJ writes:
Show whether this group of coaches can coach; if these coaches are truly great, then they can coach, inspire and work the group they have into a 10-2 team.....just a thought....GO VOLS
knucklehead_vol writes:
i hope oku does not come here...i don't like the kid. creer and williams.
NoogaVol55 writes:
I left off Mason....Kesling would never pronounce your first name correctly...so no big loss...j/k...he seems like a raw talent...damn ole miss.
tngivem6 writes:
No news is good news about M. Brown
I was at the B-Ball game Sat night and watched CLK sit and chat next to a recruit wearing a red cap with a C on it..my sit was way up top so I couldn't make out the face..During Rocky TOp, they both were standing and clapping with the band..body language saids alot and it looked like the recruit was all into Kiffin..
BTW..Kiffin is very laid back too..seemed very relaxed and cool..even let a few fans take pics with him..
Doobz15 writes:
I'm don't think we really had a shot at any of those guys mentioned anyway. Give Kiffin and company a full year to recruit and we'll start to see the big names come in. Kiffin had 2 months to recruit guys that had been recruited an entire year by other teams. Chill out.
moderate writes:
If you need a research clerk, please send out a post message to me. You are doing shoddy investigation and compilation of facts. If Kiffin signs a nice class on Wednesday, please retract this story and claim that you are ignorant.
Doobz15 writes:
Get a life
ULTIMATEVOLUNTEER writes:
didn't see a post from you after the beat down last night.
Pullingguard writes:
The dead period on visiting starts soon.. If Vols miss Brown, you can count this weekend as disaster.. For the negatives are outweighing the positives from those who visited.
bfowler1161#262198 writes:
5.3 million dollars of top notch recruiters and we can't close the deal? Maybe we should have hired a coach who can take average talent and coach it up.
Southpaw_Vol writes:
About as effective as Donovan's game plan Saturday night huh?
Ironcity writes:
The article is what it is. Not slamming UT just speaking the truth. So far this weekend has been lousy. I hope tomorrow and Wed. are better. It is pie in the sky to expect this staff to pull a huge recruiting year when we had basically 3 coaches until three weeks ago.
txvolsfan writes:
I think this class will be OK and really look forward to next year and seeing this staff with a full year to recruit!!!
GO VOLS
TXVOLSFAN NOW LIVIN IN FLORIDA
TennesseeTuxedo writes:
Paying for the sins of Phil Fulmer in 2009 folks.
Anyone who knows anything about the collegiate game knows that when you fire a coach, like we did Fulmer, you take a step back in recruiting for one year.
I'll begin worrying if we struggle with our recruiting in 2010. Until then, I'm giving Kiffin and his staff time to teach the current members of the team how to improve their play and for this staff to get things going for 20101.
highVOLtage writes:
If the coaches did have commitments from any of the visitors, would they let the KNS know about it now or just wait until signing day?
vorangel writes:
Lots of reason to worry.
1. There's not much success to build on (no BCS appearances since the 1999 season, 0-for-9 years)
2. No bowl game at all in two of the last four years. Even the Peach or Cotton looks good now. We'll be lucky to make it to the Papa Johns in Birmingham next year.
3. No tradition left on the Hill. Not one of these coaches gave a phooey about Tennessee until he signed an inflated contract in the last two months.
4. More quality recruits abandoning their pledge than commiting. After signing pitiful recruiting classes in two of the last three years, another one will be only perpetuate the problem.
The only recruits who are looking at UT now are looking for playing time. They don't have any idea about Big Orange tradition.
We must remain hopeful. But I'm not confident or pleased.
abnermc writes:
Or you could say Fla got it handed to them again last night.And they showed no fight...even QUIT in 2nd half.
halloffamebowler writes:
Ward is not trying to sour the pot.He is telling it like it is.You are right about signing day.We still have 2 days to change the minds of some of these guys.It dosen't look good right now.Maybe Coach Kif didn't blow enough smoke.Anything can happen on NSD.Hope we get some nice surprises Wednesday but it just dosen't look too positive tonight.This staff will have more time for the 2010 class and those being recruited will have the results of Kif's first season. It will be easier for recruits to commit when they know how this staff coaches.Please,let's be patient and we will be rewarded in a couple of years.You will never have butter until you churn the butter milk.
10uhsea writes:
It seems like most of the negative is because some recruits had good visits else where (aka phillips and oku at Auburn). From what i have seen on rivals the recruits that visited this weekend had a good time. Everyone knew that Richardson was already going to florida and Brown to OU. So how about giving us some news about the guys that actually visited
golfballs03 writes:
Expectations for a newly-hired coach are a little too high here. The truth is, stars dont mean s***. Bobby Knight hit on it last night. It's what you do with what you've got. And I'm confident that our staff will do some wonders, particularly on defense. If we can get some decent QB play I think we can be at least a top 20 team next year and that's pretty good considering that transition we are going through.
cobbwebb writes:
i bet kiffin learned a valuable lesson in SEC football recruiting, however confident you may be, never tell a recruit to "go ahead and take your other visits, have fun"! this is the SEC kiff, not the pac 10! this is the dirty south, not the left coast! people bashed saban for urging players not to take other visits, seems pretty smart to me! but you live and learn! our class will be ok on wednesday, but the real test will be what this staff does with the players already on roster! imo kiffin should have pursued trooper, would have made a nice addition to our staff, he has already made us pay in recruiting! jmo!
Volpride1967 writes:
Guys,dont panic.wait till signing day,besides the class we need to worry about is 2010.Give this coaching staff a full recruiting season they got started late this year we will be ok.
tngivem6 writes:
Was anybody else at the game Sat night and saw the recruit with CLK?
he was wearing a red cap with a C on it..
knucklehead_vol writes:
sorry to hear your living in fl now.
utchris writes:
Fret not fellow Vol fans. I head that a certain someone left with quite the smile on his face!
wagee12 writes:
knucklehead_vol writes:
in response to BSweet:
Deceptive story. The only two of real concern in this story were Phillips and Oku. Richardson was considered a solid verbal to FL, Brown was never really considering UT, and Mason and Nelson are relatively new on the scene. Besides which, Nelson hasn't ruled out the Vols yet, he just didn't commit this weekend. Of Oku and Phillips, both would be nice to have, but if Marcus Hall were to commit and Schofield stays committed, then the loss of Phillips is mitigated. Oku is a talent, but not a necessity. We still have Creer and Poole, not to mention a commit from the big back from GA(whose name has slipped my mind). I would like to have him, but we can live without him. This is more "the sky is falling" reporting by KNS
Good summation, there are at least two players in this woe is us piece that were probably not even offered by Tennessee and Mason is one of them. Phillips is of questionable character as confirmed by Roy Adams down in Memphis. Tennessee may still get Oku if they really want him. I'm not going to the funeral home until the body arrives, thankyee!
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