News Sentinel staff
Tennessee recruits at a glance. (Click to enlarge)
Tennessee isn't letting a talented pair of defensive linemen go elsewhere without a fight.
UT head coach Derek Dooley is scheduled to be at Hialeah (Fla.) High School to visit with Calvin Smith and Corey Lemonier later this afternoon.
Smith was committed to UT before the Vols' coaching change last week. Lemonier has long been considering the Vols.
Smith is considering Alabama, where he is scheduled to visit this weekend, North Carolina, Florida State and Illinois.
Lemonier is considering UT, Auburn, Florida State and Miami.
Smith is thought to be the more likely of the two to end up at UT, as he has consistently shown more interest in the Vols.
Josh Ward contributed to this report.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Tennessee 60, Connecticut 57 men's…
Tennessee 69, South Carolina 57 men's…
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Comments » 144
Fryinpansvols writes:
Reel em in CDD! GBO!
nocleats writes:
Again, as much as I love knowing, this is inside info and should be quelled, unless the players gave it up.
rocky_topper writes:
3rd
VolFanNC writes:
Ok, quick question. If Dooley can reel in a top 10 class after Kiffins/Ed Orangatan tried to ruin our class...does it mean that Dooley is actually a better recruiter?
gnm53108 writes:
Ask the ncaa.
volzcrushm writes:
It would be great to see CDD reel in a top 10 class with only two weeks of recruiting... that would show the BO nation a lot, plus, add to the previous class and we would seem stable at starting a solid run at things. I WONDER IF CPF HAS HIS HANDS IN IT NOW IN ANY WAY? CPF SHOULD BE HIRED AS ASSIS. AD WHICH I THINK WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.
Dooley slippin' up the holler
Dooley try to make a dollar
Dooley gimme a swaller
And I'll pay you back someday
GBO!!!! GBO!!!! GBO!!!!
go_vols_go writes:
Bring em in, Coach!
huntined#565710 writes:
Going after big D players would help if he could tell them who the DC will be. We can use these guys. Hope the poster was right on Ambles that he is now a VOL..
ghost_of_which_doctor (Inactive) writes:
Layla likes the hilly billies so let me help you out with the math. As needed, take off your shoes to double check the count.
Thanks to my hubbie, you already have eight recruits enrolled. Go to scout.com and look for the check mark under ‘Signed LOI’. That is FAR more than any other university. Look at Auburn, Florida, LSU, USC, Texas, Alabama, etc. My hubbie got more kids to graduate high school early and enrolled than anyone in the country.
So you already have Tyler Bray, Jacques Smith, Ted Meline, Corey Miller, Channing Fugate, Matt Milton, JaWuan James and Matt Simms (JC) as eight Vols. Zach Fulton, Marques Dixon, Michael Palardy and JC Copeland have all restated their allegiance with-in this past week. So you already have half your class locked up with talent averaging right at four stars.
So now you need twelve more…it appears that Marques Pair and Ralph Williams will take two spots. Hence that leaves ten. You need to give a spot to stud John Brown and hope for a spring semester academic miracle. Coach Dooley has signed Justin Hunter who is a wonderful addition to the class.
Guess what? You only have eight scholarships left. So who do you need? First up…James Stone from Nashville Maplewood. Stud! Putting Stone with Fulton and James gives you three O-line dominators for the next four years. Add 30 pounds on Marques Pair and you have a full set of guards & tackles. Just need a center.
From the de-committed list, Calvin Smith & Delvin Jones just need a little Coach Dooley love to be back on board. So that leaves you with five scholarships.
Markeith Ambles is a mixed case. If he goes somewhere else, it might be a blessing. Needs to grow up fast. Contrary to some rumors, Kenbrell Thompkins (JC) will be ok academically and is still looking. So let’s hold a scholarship for one of those two.
You really need a safety to replace Eric Berry. Ahmad Dixon is the man. Don’t know that you can get him back at this point. Perhaps another safety out there will take notice of the chance for immediate playing time with Rogan and Berry leaving early. Keenan Allen is the best in the south. Hold a spot for one.
Three left to give…really need linebackers to help on the special teams. Michael Taylor might wise up in the next 13 days. One JC prospect coming to visit. One hoss from Dallas was in last weekend.
In summary, it will be a top ten class on February 3. Gotta run…meeting Paris for brunch.
Layla
golfballs03 writes:
So when they ask who is going to be the D coordinator and who is going to be their D-Line coach, what is he going to say???
jobrando#216494 writes:
Book it
jobrando#216494 writes:
After signing day
TLepage writes:
I'd love to see a top 10 class, but the reality is that it probably isn't going to happen.... We don't even have a DC yet.... Dooley is going to have his work cut out for him.... I think when it is all said and done we will rank around 20th... With that said, i don't think we will be able to accurately gage how good of a recruiter Dooley is based solely off of this years class... I think he is off to a great start, but it would be nearly impossible for ANY coach to assemble a top 10 class in two weeks.... I think we won't know how good of a recruiter he is until signing day 2011.... I might be wrong, but in the words of Keyshawn Johnson "Come on Man!!!", not matter how you look at it two weeks is two weeks....
RoyaltyVol#280778 writes:
Hmmm. Wonder if the Florida recruiting trip is also a trip to interview a new DC? Is there anyone in the state of Florida worth interviewing for DC?
Govolsps writes:
Good song. I been singin it since he got hired.
o2scoop1 writes:
Where did you see this post? I'd like to do a bit of research on this.
VolFanNC writes:
Jim Bates maybe??
badkarma01 writes:
In Dooley we trust! Finish the deal coach!
VolsMan4Life writes:
Since we had a #4 team in 2005 and #3 in 2007 (rivals.com)does that mean Fulmer and Cutcliffe were better than "Coach 3rd & 24"?
I don't think recruiting is the issue. Of course it helps to have those guys but it is what the coaches do with them that makes them a great team. I point to the difference in our record from Coach Cut to Clawson.
I think a lack in coach skills make certain coaches put more emphasis on recruiting (Coach 3rd & 24).
I do not see with our group of guys that we can not at least be as good as we were this past season. My only concern right now is the O-line. But we had a pretty good one last year with walk ons.
GBO!!
NeylandWest writes:
Hey princess, you left your shirt on my floor this morning. I'll keep it next to all the others, but please stop by and get them before my wife returns home.
ps
Not sure how all those scratches got on your Lexus, but I know a good body man...
jcp201 writes:
Do we have a center at all?
volfan2002 writes:
I would say the answer would have to be yes.
VOLsince68 writes:
I'll tell you if and when that happens......
I don't hink he'll candy coat it and promise them a bunch of BS though.
GO VOLS!!!!!
RoyaltyVol#280778 writes:
I had to look online to see who that was. He was the DC of the Tampa Bay Bucs recently fired. Sounds like an interesting possibility. Only thing is he doesnt seem to have any college experience. But he is an NFL guy, thats a plus. Who knows?
FEARinSEC writes:
Have FAITH, BolivarBob, have FAITH!! UT football will be better now that X and O are gone! DD will win some and lose some... He has already done a tremendous job with what was handed him....
VOLsince68 writes:
If Thompkins is academically eligible, then he'll have to sit 1 year if he transfers. He's already signed an LOI.
GO VOLS!!!!!
VolinCalif writes:
Somehow this title of CDD doesn't sound just right. How about DDD? Maybe Daring Derek Dooley
Vol86 writes:
Yeh, We will be fine. But i think every one will feel better when get our dc and land some lineman.
TommyJack writes:
Jim Bates.
Pluses: TN grad.
Experience
father of Jeremy Bates
Minuses: Got to be well into his 60's
Has had a hundred jobs.
TLepage writes:
I was just listening to some Markieth Ambles interviews and the kid sounds like a real hot-dog... He more-or-less thinks he is the best thing on earth..... He also sounds like he is high maintenance.... I'm not sure if we want or need somebody like that here.... As far as i'm concerned, I would be okay if he went else where.... People like that are usually more trouble then they are worth.....
gainesville_vol writes:
I am more concerned about Taylor. Do we have any hope of prying him away from UF? We need the linebackers more than we need one more DT.
stude54 writes:
I saw a link on MSN a couple days ago listing all top recruits by position and ranked teams by committed recruits. UT was ranked 26th nationally and 4th or 5th in SEC conference.
Just how are we going to improve towards a national champioship if the other teams get better recuits?
RoyaltyVol#280778 writes:
Interesting, I had overlooked the part about him being a Tennessee grad. But I agree with you, I think Thompson would be a better pick because of age and then maybe we could hire Dale Jones as LB coach.
gainesville_vol writes:
As I understand it, don't think you got it quite right. JC transfers count on the current year, not the year of their original class. Players that enroll early count against the previous year IF there were any spaces available. I don't think we signed a full class last year, so at least some of the eight will not count against this year's 25 (isn't that the number mandated by the SEC now?). Redshirts don't count against this year, they are part of the class they sign with.
ctownvol writes:
It's going to be hard recruiting in the state of Florida since God himself is on the Gator's side. No. I'm not being silly at all. Read this.....
http://blog.gamecockcentral.com/2010/...
TLepage writes:
I'm pretty sure we signed 24 last year, and finished the season with 18 on the roster.... Some academic casualities (weren't able to qualify) and of course the idiots that committed the robbery are no longer here....
onthehill5671 writes:
Look for Palardy to de-committ. At best we finish between 15-20 in recruiting. Thompkins has signed his LOI but does not show on recruiting boards. Gonna ba awhile before Dooley gets things going.
RCVOLIN10 writes:
James Stone has crossed UT off his list. Don't think he ever seriously considered the vols. Need to concentrate on OL. Very thin.
RCVOLIN10 writes:
Ambles has already had some character issues. Neither FL or GA offered him so that should tell us a lot about his off field activities.
BAMAHATER1 writes:
Are any current players considering transfering because of the coaching change?
CarthageVol writes:
The right coaches make a team. Don't get me wrong, you need a few studs sprinkled in, but look what Pearl has done with "less" talent than he started the season with. Look what Kiffin/Chaney did with Crompton, Cregg with the O Line. My point is we probably are going to finish no worse off than 15th. I'm excited about Dooley. I think he needs three years before we can truly evaluate him. Had we given K three years, we might have ended up as SMU East! Look, Dooley is going to do a good job for us. He's a Southerner. He knows what it means to Us. His daddy never went back to Auburn, and he's not going to go back to Georgia (b/c of his Dad) and he's not going back to Virginia (well, b/c they're Virginia). If we give a chance to win, he'll be here for a long time. Everyone take a deep breath and ...... RELAX.
Willis writes:
226 DAYS TILL FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE!!!!!!!!!
AllVols writes:
It would be great to get both of these guys, especially Corey Lemonier. He is a beast of a human being.
rockydog writes:
Why do you think Palardy is going to de-commit? He has stuck by us so far. Do you have a link or just a premonition? I hope we keep him. He has to see how badly we need him at UT. Go Vols!
bobbytodd writes:
He has a visit scheduled later this month now that the goof ball is gone.
GreatToBeAVol writes:
Go get 'em CDD!!!
steamboatticket#484773 writes:
Indeed it would be great to have them both.
senracjr writes:
According to Volquest Stone is set to visit this weekend.
WhitePineVol77 writes:
We miss you Ellie Mae. BTW, you left ear rings on my night stand. Where can I send them?
givehim6 writes:
You know I had some doughts about how this recruiting class after the kiffen/ coach O clan left. But now I think we are in just as good of shape if not better. Coach DD my be better tell you why, think you can trust his where the last group you had to wonder. Think we at Vol land owe Marion Browns grandmother an apology, she had coach O pegged.
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