Recruiting Info
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — For all you undertaker apprentices intent on burying Derek Dooley, Tennessee’s staggering finish in this year’s recruiting push is enough to make you put shovel to dirt.
You say Dooley couldn’t close the deal. He lost his two best linebacker commitments, Dalton Santos and Otha Peters, at the 11th hour — one to Texas, the other to Arkansas. And defensive tackle Korren Kirven, long thought to be choosing between UT and Virginia Tech, instead signed with Alabama.
All told, UT’s recruiting class checked in anywhere from No. 18 nationally by Rivals.com to No. 26 by Scout.com. Worse still, Scout.com ranked UT 10th among SEC programs.
If you can’t win on national signing day, how can you possibly hope to win on Saturdays in the SEC?
Continue reading at The Tennessean.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Softball: Tennessee 2, Georgia 1
Tennessee defeats Georgia 3-2 in…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 160
wigmeister writes:
You can't win without the players, no matter how good a coach you may be. The players are beginning to come in again. Hopefully with a couple of good Juco additions, we will begin to move forward again.
volsfaithful writes:
The game will be Florida. Win that, win another season. Don't win, don't have to worry about finishing the year. Simple. I've been in Dooley's camp, I will continue to be there, but you have to know that Hart is not twiddling his thumbs in the back room hoping we win. At least I hope he isn't. Dooley has the players this year that can make a difference. If he cant then we go back to finding who can. Yes, disruptions, but this time probably for the best. Look at Ohio. For all the Meyer haters, he turned disaster into a top 5 recruiting class. Florida had a lousy season last year and managed a top 10 with a new OC very late in the game. And they don't have much hope with their current coach, one who turned us down. Dooley has provided decent recruiting, hurt of late due to mass defections. Writing on the wall? Maybe. Doesn't matter. Florida for another year....
jandjhome#228397 writes:
Good post Volsfaithful
thevoice writes:
I don't necessarily disagree. My thoughts are simply this... if UT is not out-recruiting SEC foes and not out-coaching SEC foes, how in the world are we going to win against SEC foes? I believe most would say we have done neither. I therefore submit that there's no reason to have high expectations for the 2012 season. Lest we forget that as UT gets better, so do the other schools. For the last 3 years, UT's recruiting class has been dropping in the rankings. Sure, we all HOPE things will be better, but until I have evidence that Dooley can win games that matter, hard to project many wins.
Bubba_Knows writes:
Florida? Hell, what about Kentucky? Vandy?
Bubba_Knows writes:
Incoming recruits have very little to do with a program's success or failure in the current year. Sure there are a few exceptional players that can make a difference right away, but generally that is not the case. It is the quality you have that are upper classmen that is meaningful.
Bubba_Knows writes:
Your point is more about the future than now. If the Vols are getting out recruited by other SEC programs now, it doesn't bode well for future years primarily 2014-2015.
Bubba_Knows writes:
Youth is no longer an excuse. Depth still is an excuse, but no one wants to hear excuses anymore. This OL is in there 3rd year of playing. It is time to #$%& or get off the pot!
JayTee writes:
What the heck does Climer know. He writes for the rag Tennessean and he is best known for plagiarizing other peoples work for his sports column.
GerryOP writes:
Looks like all of the Donny Downers are out today.
When Dooley was hired, most felt that he could turn the program around ... if the fans would be patient. I guess we know the answer to that question.
BrassMonkey writes:
Keep clinging and scratching for hope. Dooley is gone. He won't beat Florida, he won't beat Georgia. Dooley is gone.
volroadwarrior writes:
Climer is butt hurt because Dooley won't kiss his rear end. Jump on the bandwagon and kiss up to Franklin.
jobrando#216494 writes:
Climmer is the Candy Man for Vandy. Number 18 is great considering the changes. What now has to happen is to match 18th in recruiting with 18th in ranking by season's end. A must 8-9 wins for Dooley's team to keep him coaching this year. Climber is right this is the win year. Fans will not be asked this year for more patience.
jobrando#216494 writes:
Want have to beat those two just eight others. That leaves two more defeats. They are? Eight wins keeps him going. I do think the 4 defeats have to have been played out for 60 minutes and not the bend over approch used in the 2011 season. I know you will see the D playing for 60 minutes this year. Wilcox could not motivate a rattlesnake.
Sir_Spanky writes:
When you're focused on what color the walls need to be painted in the training area and the precise alignment of the weights, you don't have time to be very endearing to anyone, including but not limited to, David Climer.
CrankE writes:
Precisely.
Most of 2011, UT could credibly say that they lost because the other team had better talent and a deeper bench. All excuses were obliterated though in Lexington where UT lost to Kentucky because
Tennessee
didn't
want
to
win.
Patience expired there. Only Dooley's colossal buyout kept him employed. While UTAD retained Dooley, recruits and assistant coaches fled. And yet, Dooley does a "creditable" job of holding the staff and recruiting class together!?
Having to continually "hold it together" is the mark of mediocrity and an ineffective leader. One who is disposed to being influenced rather than influencing.
My greatest fear is that UT will win 9 games in 2012, yet play no different than they have been. The wins will be fools gold that is lauded as evidence of "progess", Dooley will be given more time, and in a couple more years, we'll still be having this same argument about whether Dooley is "the guy".
Joevolsforlife writes:
This is kind of reporting is irresponsible journalism, and part of the reason we lost Otha Peters to Arkansas. We committed to give Dooley a certain length of time to get a job a done, and we put it in writing. Don't evaluate him 1/2 way through that time table. You evaluate a man when his job is completed. It's time UT honored some of it's agreements with people. If Dooley does fail, we want to be able to put a high caliber man in his position. No coach worth his salt would come here after watching us break our commitments over and over. There is no excuse for bad behavior. Grow up Climer, and grow some integrity.
mrvol2u writes:
As Eddie in Christmas Vacation said, "Bingo!" I think Climer hit it square on the head.
I am not predicting which game or a number that is the magic "return to the sports complex and collect your next season" card but I believe he will have to win the ones UT should and pull off an upset victory to retain his job.
CDD has the added weight of an athletic program without a real buzz generator. Basketball on both sides is in flux and it falls to football to lead the charge from the doldrums.
The bottom line is CDD must win this season. If he fails, he will most likely be gone.
WaltGoVols writes:
The people who kept on/keep saying, "Dooley will recruit our way out of this mess", -- I hope you are getting a dose of reality.
Walt
UT '81
TommyJack writes:
He's gone, Griff. Ain't coming back.
WaltGoVols writes:
I completely concur.
It can't be said enough: The UT players didn't care if they beat Kentucky or not.
If Dooley wins 8 or 9 games next year (perhaps with some of the luck that went against him at LSU and UNC in 2010), then we'll be stuck with him for 3-5 years, waiting for him to put together an SEC championship.
It will be like the return of Johnny Majors.
We WON'T see the advent of a Fulmer like tenure, where the curve went up and up with 10 or 11 or 13 victories.
The best case scenario for the program is that Dooley gets fired sometime during this calendar year.
Circumstances already seem to be lining up that way, when six coaches bolt the program. No matter how much "coaching up" the staff does, the staff will be in a 'get acquainted mode', whereas our main opponents - won't be.
Walt
UT '81
rockytopinga writes:
If we win 6 games, Dooley stays.
4-5 wins are more realistic.
8-9 wins is a dream.
TeeBall writes:
And to think ... there are folks that believe that silly message board postings actually influence recruits to sign or not sign. Wake up ... it's the barrage of articles by like this one by recognized news outlets that do the bulk of the damage NOT emotional armchairm QB's ranting on message boards.
I can see it now, Bobby Petrino in a recruit's home saying did you see those message board postings by GBODude, TN4Ever and ILuvUT that said that Dooley was a loser and will be fired next year OR do you think he referenced articles this like one and countless others about Dooley and Tennessee's poor performances over the past two years? Geez ...
beartn#223846 writes:
I don't think one particular game is a must win, but I do think Dooley has to win at least 8. The opener againts NC State on a neutral field is huge. The team will need confidence early on with a win. I think Florida is more important because it would be an early confidence booster, and it is one of our winnable games (mainly because they will be inexperienced at QB and RB, and still have no WR that scares anyone yet). If we can start out 3-0, I think that builds momentum for a pretty good year. A 2-1 start gives less margin for error later in the season, and I don't think the team can rebound from a 1-2 start.
TennesseeV3 writes:
Good post. Although I stray from trying to be too negative about my Vols and Dooley, but after UK I was so disgusted and angry that I could finally see the spade. It was the total lack of give a phooey that was obvious during the game and verified with the players comments after. I like Dooley as a person, I think he is a great guy, but if you cant keep your players motivated enough to beat a team with half the talent, than you have no business coaching them period.
I pray he finds his niche' and turns it around unlike other haters on here. The success of our Vols depends on him. But if he cant win 8-9 this season, lets hire a proven winner.
RememberWhen writes:
Why wait for the inevitable? Even if TN wins all 4 non-conf games (and NCST is highly questionable), they still need to split the conference slate to get to 8 wins. Assuming they beat Vandy, KY and MissSt (again 2 of 3 there are highly questionable) they still must get an upset of significant proportion against FL, GA, SC, MO, or AL. How likely is that? Not very. This team is looking at ANOTHER 5-6 win season in YEAR 3! Even the most fervant Dooley supporters must admit that is totally unacceptable. No more excuses folks. DOOLEY has to take ownership of this and do it NOW. It's HIS program and the window for all the excuses is over. This is the SEC and you either keep up or get gone. Hart should go back to his previous employer TODAY and hire Kirby Smart. Period. End of story. The guy won't be there if he waits til next December. And this program will have become Kentucky by then!
volsn3 writes:
The biggest game of the year is the first one against N.C. STATE...Lose this one and the whole season is gone...You have to win the first one to set the tone for the season and just look at the past against the ACC, not so good ....Go Vols...Support our team and our coaches.
Joevolsforlife writes:
By the way, Bama also brought in some JUCO's this year too. If you love UT, you will find positive things to write about the university and the program, and wait to report on next year's season, when there is something to report.
chuckfromwoodberry writes:
Can we get Coach Majors to work with the kickers like Coach Cafego did in his later years?
Joevolsforlife writes:
This was the best class we've had since Fulmer's departure. There are several immediate impact players in this class. There is also solid talent, and speed in this class. It isn't how many we sign, it is how much quality we sign. My favorite back outside of Brown in this entire class was Davante Bouroque. This kid is a baller. Sentimore is a machine. McCullers would play on any D in the country. We have 2 D linemen who would get substantial playing time at Bama, or LSU, if not start. This is most definitely a step in the right direction. Patterson was just the icing on the cake. Big, fast, and athletic. Just what the doctor ordered. If Texas would have offered Santos early on, he would have never been looking around. And articles like this is why Peters is at Arky and not UT.
Bubba_Knows writes:
How about as head coach? Most inspiring pre-game speach I've ever heard. Made me want to run through a brick wall for Tennessee!
Bubba_Knows writes:
NC State is terrble; yet, they looked better than us down the stretch.
BigBadVol writes:
Off topic. Just saw were Nick Marshall was released by GA. He was a 5-star running back.
BigBadVol writes:
My bad said he was a defensive back.
NashvillePreds writes:
Didn't John Adams write this garbage yesterday?
thevoice writes:
Negative or not, tough times call for a reality check. Didn't we finish in 8th-10th place in SEC recruiting this year? If that doesn't matter, then why do higher ranked schools keep beating us? Or maybe we have the coaching staff to coach up 3-star players into 4/5-star players? Haven't seen it yet. Added to that, how is UT going to overcome 75% of the team having a new position coach? Is our coaching staff better than LSU's, Bama's, Arky's, UF's, UGA's, even USC's, Mizzu's, A&M's? If not, then how can anyone think we'll ever beat those programs consistently? All rhetorical questions. Just think it's funny how so many think 8+ wins is attainable. Shucks, even Tony Basilio projects 10 wins. LOL. We're not getting to 8+ wins just because we're UT. We'll only get there with good to great recruiting and good to great coaching. 10+ wins means great coaching and great recruiting.
Sure would be nice if GVX could put these polls out: "How many wins must Dooley win in 2012 to keep his job?" and "How many wins will UT have in 2012?" Gotta document what folks think before the season starts.
rtrchatt writes:
NCST under Coach O'Brien usually starts very slowly andis much better by seasons end. Lose to those guys and well you know the rest....
NorthwestVol writes:
There is a significant portion of Vol fans that remind me of whining kids. I don't like the recent past either, but darn it, take it like a man and move on. Bama had it's crappy period. So did Notre Dame and many other traditional powers. It's our turn. Weather the storm.
BR_549 writes:
Climer is Nashville's John Adams. He only knows three things to write about; Pacman Jones, Vince Young, and Chris Johnson. And Bud Adams telling Jeff Fisher what to do, that's a weekly topic for him. So this article is new garbage for him. He's been run off every radio talk show in Nashville. The Tennessean should have let him go instead of canning Joe Biddle back in the summer. At least Biddle's garbage was entertaining to read.
VOLliven2it writes:
WOW, I just didn't know Clim(b)er, I thought just getting a good recruiting class was enough. Now you give a bold predictive/revelation that the UT football Vols have to win. WE KNEW THAT! Let me make a bold one back at all nega-Dooleyingers and haters who want rid of him. We will not become instant winners if he is fired or forced to resign. In all probability if he doesn't make it this year 7 or 8 wins bowl etc. and is gone it may take two or more coaches to come to get us back on top. Now how's that?
I hope he wins and shuts down the negative climate too prevalent all over VOLLAND! I am pulling for him and this, for some, mediocresque class. Most of all I'm pulling for the college team I love and have for over 50 years.
VOLliven2it writes:
HEY, GET A LIFE! WE LOST TO KY LAST YEAR, ONCE MORE, LAST YEAR! DOOLEY IS IN THE BUILDING FOR ONE MORE YEAR. PLEASE STOP LIVING BACK THERE AND GET WITH TODAY'S PROGRAM! I guess that groundhog seeing his shadow yesterday really got to me; but not near as bad as you who go on and on and on and on with the KY wr/qb beat us, we didn't want to win whining! LIFE MOVES ON, SO SHOULD WE! SO SHOULD YOU!
VolunteerLifer writes:
Climer, I wish I could make a living writing the obvious.
OwensboroVol writes:
First, I am totally surprised to see a half decent article from Climer. Second, "I" believe that We must win not only the games that everyone expects us to, but this is the year that Dooley must get that "SIGNATURE" win. To keep his job he must beat either Florida or Alabama or both. In looking at our schedule I would expect us to win the NC State, Georgia State, Akron, Troy, Missouri, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky games. Toss-up games would be Mississippi State, South Carolina. The games most would expect us to lose are Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. For Dooley to keep his job, I believe he as to win all of the "expected win" games, win either the Mississippi State or the South Carolina games, and win one of the Florida, Alabama, or Georgia Games. Yes this does mean he could have a record of 8-4 or 7-5 and not be retained. There are a whole lot of different situations which could develop, but not only does he have a number of wins required but those wins will also have to be over certain teams.
volforeverandever writes:
Very good point.Walt is not a true fan.He wants Coach Dooley to fail so he can live in Fulmers early years and tell us how great that was and it was,but he still does not want to talk about the last few years he was with us.Anyone that is afraid of us winning games and Coach Dooley staying is not a true fan.In fact it`s stupid.If we are going to live in the past I would rather have General Neyland coaching.
A1A writes:
Maybe not...but I bet the writers read these comments. They then write stories saying that the fan base is "riled up and asking for CDD's head (already done)...and then Bobby Petrino reads it and tells Otha Peters that CDD is on the hot seat. It's a chain of events that makes up the rumor mill. It's there...believe it.
VolinCalif writes:
Bub you are right.
I know we had a hard season last year (couple) but there was a pretty good reason. First there was the schedule.Second the early injuries, then there was the lack of depth.Not a good combo no matter who is coaching a team. We now have good players with experience, we have great QBs and Recs and yes I think we have a very good OC and QB coach. I believe the off is primed but the Def may still need a coupe of players but they ain't that shabby. We will make a splash this year and things will be started in the right direction.
9-3 + a bowl win
Vol86 writes:
Nsd was good. we got a dt and wr that will help win games this year. If we can translate this into 9 wins we are sitting in tall cotton. Look at our star average when ranking the class, a better gauge.
sol_way writes:
how do you know thats really him ?
Ayres_Hall writes:
Good post.
The majority of sports writers who cover the football program are simply following the herd. Feeding the frenzy of teenagers and jock sniffers who hang out on the dues paying forums (barber shops). Monkey see monkey do. It is irresponsibe and it is lazy.
The KNS, Tennessean, and Chattanooga Times are all guilty.
chrisvol4ut writes:
or if they open up with a loss to NC State he may not even get this entire one to finish.
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