Eddrick Loften’s coach at Nimitz High School in Irving, Texas, expects the star safety to play football at Tennessee this fall.
The 6-foot, 200-pound Loften, who signed a national letter of intent with UT on Feb. 3, also signed with Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas.
Nimitz coach Steven Hohenberger said the junior college is a backup plan for Loften in case he doesn’t qualify academically at UT.
Hohenberger said he doesn’t expect that to be a problem.
“He’ll qualify,” Hohenberger said Wednesday. “He’ll be at Tennessee this fall.”
Hohenberger said Loften is waiting to receive his SAT score. Hohenberger said Loften recently took the standardized test for the second time after enrolling in an SAT prep class during the fall.
Loften is an important piece to UT’s 2010 class.
The Vols have to replace departing junior defensive backs Eric Berry and Dennis Rogan.
Hohenberger said last week he expects Loften to help UT immediately.
“I cannot believe that there’s a better safety that signed (on Feb. 3) at any school,” Hohenberger said. “I can see him playing early.”
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Comments » 48
ccantrell#227456 writes:
Another Thorpe Award candidate... We need him bad.. This kid can play... He will be better than Jackson on day 1.
wayoutwill writes:
Good ole double speak,which is usually shady,but this is stupid!The good Coach comes out and confidently says"He will be at Tennessee this fall".I don't understand why he can't be truthful and say that he hopes the kid will be here,but his SAT score has been lacking ans we have told him to sign up at a J.C. in case he screws up again.There's no shame in being honest.There is no shame in not being the sharpest tool in the shed.There is shame in making stupid statements,this guy must be kin to our former weasel coach,er,uh, what's that dude's name again?Kiffler,piffin,oh,I remember Chief Dum Arse!
RoyaltyVol#280778 writes:
rut roe!
ghost_of_which_doctor (Inactive) writes:
Come on Eddrick! We need ya back there next to Janzen.
nocleats writes:
Isnt it the HS coaches responsibility in some way to help insure that players are on track to graduate and qualify. I mean every 6 or 9 weeks they get a progress report on their players, and its not like the social science teacher cant mention in the faculty lounge that "bobby or Jimmy" has 2 big test coming up and they made a d on the last one.. At my HS (which was private) make less than a B and you were suspended. Make a D or F and your off the team. I realize that the responsibility rests w/ the player, but the coaches have to take some ownership of this also.
badkarma01 writes:
Not the first to need a little help to qualify...they will get those scores up and he will be in orange this fall. Put the work in and it will pay off!
GO VOLS!
ghost_of_which_doctor (Inactive) writes:
Very true! Very true!
Don't forget about Rod Wilks as a candidate at strong safety. He was tuff stuff at Smyrna!
ric1958 writes:
Eddrick will be here this fall, book it!
ghost_of_which_doctor (Inactive) writes:
Rod Wilks is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right fists.
NukeLDOVol writes:
Anyone know what happened to Kenbrell Thomkins. He signed letter with UT on JUCO signing day. He left when "he who can't be named" left. I saw today he is being recruited by OU and Neb and is waiting on a release from TN. ???!
ghost_of_which_doctor (Inactive) writes:
We signed four wide receivers who are better than Kenbrell. We don't want him and he doesn't want us. Please let it go...
golfballs03 writes:
Is it called Ed Orgeron Junior College? Did Lane Kiffin convince him to do it?
ghost_of_which_doctor (Inactive) writes:
The chief export of Rod Wilks is pain.
VolPatrick writes:
His grades are not the issue. His grades, through the first half of his senior year, are good enough for him to qualify. This is all about SAT results. His first test results were not good enough, so he took time to take a prep course and is trying again.
As for player or coach responsibility, the young man didn't achieve the goal on his first try, likely his junior year, so he spent his fall sitting in some very boring prep classes in order to make a better effort a few weeks ago. I'd say that is a very encouraging sign that everyone involved was doing the right thing.
I wish him well, and hope to see him in orange in a few months.
we3vols#281863 writes:
Thank God, someone understood the article and what it was saying. Go Vols!
Ironcity writes:
Most of these kids have the grades but teachers pass these kids a long and then when they take the standardized test they bomb out. It's really the kids responsibility. I hope Mr Lofton upholds the name and makes it to campus.
Crutch writes:
If you will read it closer you will see it is not his grades in class that are in question, it is his SAT score. I don't think the coach can help there.
Ironcity writes:
They should also have an IQ stat for posters to this site. That would be fun.
luvorange writes:
Good for him for taking the prep course. Hope it was effective cuz I want to see this kid in orange.....especially after he said "Nah" to a west coast visit.
allntl1#565211 writes:
He will not make it. My son scored a 28 and made straight A's all through high school and is academically inelligible at Michigan as a freshman. College is harder than high school and grades are not given just because you are an athlete. 20 to 25 hrs. of training a week, when you count the unsupervised workouts, and full time student. No way will this kid make it, for that matter I do not see how any kid on athletic scholarship makes it.
footballfan34 writes:
Smyrna is not the SEC. Wilks will never play except on special teams.
FWBVol writes:
I'm a UTK grad and I have an IQ in the 130-135 range, but I struggled academically for years because of a learning disability that wasn't discovered until I had been out of high school for several years.
Kids today are tested much earlier than we were in the 60s and 70s. I don't mean to imply that Loften is a LD kid, but there are some kids that have problems with standardized tests such as the ACT and the SAT just as there are people that test very well.
TommyJack writes:
Makes sense. But several on here would rather beech about every stinkin article and every last kid that doesn't make 25 on the ACT. Good grief.
bigorange61 writes:
Why is he academically ineligible? It can't be the test score if you are talking about an ACT of 28.
tnaseevol writes:
It may not be his grades, they mean nothing if a kid cannot pass a SAT. Of course if he had really made those grades in HS, he would not have a problem with SAT. We need good players, and we also need them to be smart players. These kids who just can't make the grades usually can't make the grade in football.
tloutn writes:
With straight A's and a 28 he WAS eligible for the fall semester. With a 4.0 GPA he would only have needed a sum of 37 (all four sections added together) on the ACT or a 400 (combined Math and Reading) on the SAT.
Now if he didn't go to class or take advantage of the tutors available for him then I could see him not making grades and being ineligible for spring.
bigorange61 writes:
I see what you are saying. I misunderstood the original post.
Mule_Days_King writes:
Is this the case with Rogers as well?
tnaseevol writes:
Boring prep class or not, I hope this young man took advantage of this opportunity that was given him and made every effort possible to grasp as much as he could to pass SAT. He is going to need more than just a prep class to get him through 4-5 years of college classes. Determination to be the best in all aspects of life is a must, not just barely getting by to make it.
easleychuck writes:
Good post, right on the money. I am gonna cross my fingers that he makes his test score and grades.
And for good measure, I am gonna cross my toes, too, that he might be the exception that can, at least as a steady back-up can get the job done.
TennesseeGorilla writes:
Thats a stretch and this kid will probably be a back-up to start with. Starting Safeties will be Jackson and Myles Jr.
PoochPuntOn3rdDown writes:
NBC and Rod Wilks settled out of court. They gave him an estimated $20-$25 million range for use of his trademarked fists' names for the show's title and they are giving him a show in the 10:00 PM time slot that was vacated by Jay Leno. The show has yet to air but the ratings for his time slot are already #1 just in anticipation of his looming presence...
PoochPuntOn3rdDown writes:
Rod Wilks didn't have to take the SAT, the SAT had to take the Rod Wilks. It failed...
PrimeTime writes:
Hilarious!
tn_rockytop writes:
come on kid YOU CAN DO IT we need you bad Dooley needs to tuder this kid he could be another berry
423tiger18 writes:
That's pretty strong....hard for me to believe he'd be better than Janzen Jackson....hope your right.
Go VOLS!!!
JV67 writes:
The grades in HS mean nothing when it comes to a test score. I went to a private university and graduated with a 3.4 but my SAT score was only 1040. Fortunately the school I went to only looked at the ACT - 24. I'm no genius, but I am smarter than a 1040 on the SAT. The GPA proves that. Those standardized tests are a joke.
Maybe he's not that smart, maybe he is....but at least he's taking a proactive approach in having a plan B and taking the prep course.
wayoutwill writes:
I don't know if you realize,sir,but a 28 on the ACt is considered to be extremely high and there's no way on God's green earth that you're talking about an SAT score--You'd make a 28 just for signing your name;your story is fishy--Strait A's and a 28 score is good enuff to get in at Vnderbilt,so rethink what you're selling there podner!
hueypilot writes:
With all due respect, sir your son is not putting forth the effort needed to make passing grades in college. Unless he is enrolled in some type of very high level curriculum, like pre-med, going to class everyday and reading the material, given your son's HS grades and his level of intelligence as demonstrated on the ACT, he should be able to make passing grades without breaking a sweat. And as for the 20 hours a week spent on football, the notion that going to college and taking a normal load of 15 hours is a full time job, is a total joke. In addition, college has been "watered down" in past years. I have had college graduates apply to me for a job and their written applications with a three sentence narrative of why they want or feel they are qualified for a job, would make my old sixth grade teacher reach for the red pen. Your son needs a healthy dose of get-off-your-@#$-and-go-to-work. Good luck with him.
ShreveportVol writes:
wayoutwill, you are completely way out in left field with this one aren't you? the coach is understandibly hoping he passes his SAT, he's just showing confidence that he will pass it. Thats what he's there for his kids for, build confidence! this would be a sad world if all adults, mentors, teachers were "chicken little" with the sky is falling everyday dont you think? oh wait, i guess you live there now. get a clue! To comment on the story itself, if his coach believes he'll pass, i'll believe too. theres no doubt we'll need him this fall!! GBO!!!!!!
SmegVol78 writes:
I was tracking the blogs on signing day and noticed quite a few stating this player or that player is going to USC instead of UT because the PAC10 has lower entrance standards than the SEC. Is this true? And if so, why? I would have thought the entry standards would be nationalized.
Docrok writes:
The SEC has a certain requirements for junior college transfers and certain required classes to be fulfilled to play in the SEC. The requirements differ from NCAA requirements. And the SEC is more stringent, especially due to past discrepancies with students transcripts and grades. The PAC-10 however does not have anything above the NCAA requirements. Therefor entry standards to vary some across the different conferences.
Mommasboy writes:
What are the ACT requirements to get into a pac 10 school vs UT? I thought UT required you to have atleast a ACT of 17. Does anyone know what is required at a pac 10 school?
Mommasboy writes:
I think it's ironic that UCLA, Stanford, and USC would be easier to get into for an athlete when compared to UT. For non-athlete students, those schools are light years harder to get into vs UT.
Most people don't know that USC is a a very elite private school that costs $50k/year to attend.
allntl1#565211 writes:
His sport is not football. His sport runs into the second semester and the first semester his GPA was to low so he can not compete in the second semester. Maybe some of it is effort but I still do not see how a marginal kid makes it.
ghost_of_which_doctor (Inactive) writes:
Rah! Another Vol Nation Rod Wilks 'fan' on here! I was getting worried there...
Footvol2010 writes:
A 17 on the ACT is a joke. It takes quite a bit more than an ACT of 17 to get into UTK now. I'm a sophomore now, and I know my buddy in high school had a 24 on his ACT and did not get in. My freshman class had around an average of a 27-28 ACT score and 26% or so had a 4.0 in high school.
The hope scholarship has made UTK look much better to the academically advanced instate kids, and as a result they've gotten a huge boost in the quality of incoming students.
wayoutwill writes:
Whatever,but it's obvious that the guy is dumber than a box of rocks like most of his type,it's so unintelligent to be scoring low on an SAT but for some reason these types of people have problems scoring a passing score and I wonder if it's too many licks too the head or what?Would you care to guess on his obvious lack of intellect?
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