The Tennessee football program got a good report from the NCAA. But the Vols didn't get it soon enough.
They didn't even have time to celebrate. Safety Janzen Jackson got in the way.
Never mind that the program will incur no further sanctions from the NCAA. It just had to dismiss its most talented player from the team.
Neither news is shocking.
The NCAA violations occurred on the watch of former coach Lane Kiffin, who beat the NCAA posse out of Knoxville for what he mistook as a safe haven in Southern California. You can decide for yourself whether you think USC's harsh NCAA sentence was a coincidence or related, in part, to its hiring a man with NCAA baggage as its head football coach.
Jackson's case will spark no debate. He was a big hitter on the field and a big pain off it for a program that might be better off without him.
UT coaches saw him as a formidable last line of defense because of his vast range and intimidating hits. They will miss that. They won't miss the uncertainty that seemingly accompanied his every move.
He has a drug problem, according to multiple News Sentinel sources.
And his problem became UT's problem.
In a best-case scenario, Jackson would have stayed clean, performed at an All-SEC level and advanced to the NFL after this, his junior season. But this might be the next-best scenario for UT.
Better to lose Jackson now than the week before the Florida game or the first weekend of October, after which the Vols likely will face four top-25 opponents in succession without an open date.
After Jackson missed the spring semester to deal with "personal issues," UT coach Derek Dooley said he made personnel decisions in the secondary with the idea Jackson wouldn't be back. You can now file that under "good planning."
The secondary might be UT's deepest position. Second-team All-SEC safety Prentiss Waggner is a big reason for that. He can play cornerback, safety or nickel back and seems perfectly content at any spot.
Brent Brewer's development will ease Waggner's transition. The former professional baseball player makes a lasting impression on almost everyone he tackles, and Waggner provides ball-hawking skills. They should complement one another.
Jackson's loss will register in the bigger picture, though. It's another reminder of what a disaster Kiffin's first recruiting class was.
Bryce Brown was ranked as the No. 1 running back in that class.
David Oku was the No. 1 all-purpose back.
Jackson was the No. 2 cornerback.
Darren Myles was the No. 5 safety.
Nu'Keese Rich
ardson was the No. 6 wide receiver.
Jerod Askew was the No. 6 inside linebacker.
All signed with UT. All are gone.
And not one of them made it to the first game of what would have been their third season. In fact, Jackson is the only one ever to start a game at UT.
He started 22 games and made second-team All-SEC. But you never knew if his next start would be overshadowed by his next incident.
Now, when the next incident occurs — and you know it will — it won't affect UT's depth chart.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com. Follow him at http://twitter.com/johnadamskns.
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Comments » 17
A_Voice_ofReason writes:
yippie.
sirshanksalot writes:
staggering stats on a highly rated recruiting class to say the least.
sirshanksalot writes:
and now for a post that all of the "underclassmen" will better understand......1st!
Ga_Dave writes:
So, So, Sad. What a waste, he had everything to gain and nothing to lose if not for drugs (or so it seems). I hope he gets help and is able to go forward. Is anybody really surprised about Lame's recruits???? GBO, get ready for Montana.
Prostar writes:
In the long haul I don't think we'll miss Jackson as much as Jackson will miss us. No one player is bigger than the entire program. I like CDD.
walt23tn writes:
I think you shanked that one too!
cloudodust writes:
May this set a precedent around the SEC...NOT. (see lsu et al)...
okievol1 writes:
YOu know the best thing for all Vol fans to do is say a prayer for a young man who has a problem. I hope he gets the help he needs. I figured this was what was going on when nothing was revealed on why he left. Now we just need to say to Janzen please get some help and get your life in order. YOu have family and friends that desperately want you to fix your problem. Tennessee football will survive your absense but your family and friends need you. Best Wishes in confronting the problem and getting your life in order. Go Vols!
cloudodust writes:
er, John. Want to list the positives that are still here..? There are a few pretty good ones. Forgot to mention the departure of Aaron Douglas post LK. What if he had stayed..? Just what...IMHO, one of your worst articles and I usually support your stuff in this arena.
tdvol1989 writes:
I must have missed something. What happened to Pat Martin? He was supposed to a really good safety that we signed in Feb.
FWBVol writes:
I hate this for the team, but more so I hate it for Jackson. The kid doped away an opportunity that most high school players and middle age men dream about.
For all the stars, four and five stars that is, that Kiffin recruited almost all are no longer with the team. So who helps us more now, a walk on with one or two stars are the so-called studs Kiffin brought in?
I'm not saying that CDD shouldn't go after four and five star kids, but those kids should be, as he stresses, high character guys. A three-star character guy that makes it through his senior year is a much better recruit than the four or five star kid that is gone after his freshman or sophomore season.
FWBVol writes:
Aaron was a Fulmer recruit.
DannyVol writes:
There's been no positives for this miserable man for years. The season is ten days away and everyone is excited -- just count the wet blanket stories between now and kickoff.
tovolny writes:
John Adams was okay with this item. He was pretty much "on-point" here. I am beginning to notice that KNS seems to be re-defining itself. Gibble appears to be just fine. Strange seems not so strange now. My favorite of all is Erin Chapin. I love the way she does does her thing. Her video interviews with the players are so much fun. She does a perfect job and provides us fans with that personality cross section of the players that we seek. However, the GVX247, causes KNS to loose a lot of sponsorship money. All the good stuff (that we can find elsewhere) is placed in the GVX247 box. Who would want their ads placed in GVX 247 hidden away from a vast audience. This just does not "ad up" to me.
Bufforange00 writes:
see ya. Should have been tossed after the robbery with Nukeese.
knoxchatter writes:
I have to totally agree with BUFFORANGE00 here...it stands to reason that these UT athletes...whether on scholarship or a walk-on...have a decent amount of $$$ at their disposal to function in college. I'm not saying they are all rich, but none of them are starving or having to work two jobs while going to school. So, it stands to reason that if they are out attempting robbery, it's likely NOT to get $$$ to fill their car up with. I can see Dooley's commitment as a coach and mentor to try and help someone like Jackson. But, the writing was probably on the wall from the beginning of all of this...it usually is.
Tau_of_Tennessee writes:
Good article and it lends support to the Dooley method - focusing on the net and not the gross when recruiting. Kiffin's class was large on gross and meager on net.
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