Not even a year has passed since Tennessee welcomed the Class of 2012, but already seven players have moved on.
Receiver Cordarrelle Patterson's decision to pursue the NFL came as no surprise. But six others — including three consensus four-star prospects — have left the program for various reasons, taking some of the luster off a signing class that wasn't all that highly rated to begin with.
The losses put more pressure on the 15 players remaining in the class while adding a sense of urgency to this year's group, which new coach Butch Jones is trying to salvage in a frantic final month.
No matter how this year's class turns out — it's currently 10th-best in the SEC in the 247 Composite Rankings — Jones will almost certainly have to put an increased focus on junior college players to make up some of the gaps left by higher-than-expected attrition in the 2012 group.
Attrition, of course, is routine in college football, especially during a coaching change. But the 2012 class has dwindled far more quickly than other groups.
The Vols still have 23 members left from the group that signed in 2011 and 15 who remain from the Class of 2010.
While attrition could take an even larger toll on the 2012 group, all is not lost. Several of the players — now redshirt freshman and sophomores — are in position to make an impact.
Safety LaDarrell McNeil played extensively as a freshman in 2012 and former coach Derrick Ansley said he had NFL talent.
Four receivers — including Jason Croom and Alton "Pig" Howard — will have a wide-open path to playing time after the departure of virtually all of the Vols' receiving corps.
Quarterback Nathan Peterman, who was recruited by Jones at Cincinnati, will get a chance to compete against Justin Worley for a starting job this spring.
Some of the losses have hurt more than others. While Patterson's exit was expected, defensive tackle Darrington Sentimore's decision to attempt a pro career was more surprising. Running back Quenshaun Watson played only sparingly in 2012, but he was ahead of two other young backs in the pecking order and seemingly had a bright future when he left the team earlier this month.
THE CLASS OF 2012
Seven players from Tennessee’s 2012 signing class are no longer on the team. Players are listed in order of 247 Composite Ranking.
*1. Cordarrelle Patterson, WR: Could be a first-round NFL draft pick after phenomenal one-year stint at UT.
2. LaDarrell McNeil, S: Rare steal out of Texas who played regularly in struggling secondary. Former DBs coach Derrick Ansley said he has NFL talent and a bright future.
*3. Omari Phillips, DL: Was late arrival to Tennessee after failing to gain admission to Florida. Left after becoming disgruntled with his role and struggling in classes. A calculated risk by Dooley’s staff that didn’t work out.
4. Danny O’Brien, DL: We heard surprisingly little about O’Brien during his redshirt year, but with a 4-3 set and the departure of Darrington Sentimore and others, he’ll have an opportunity to break into the rotation in 2013.
5. Drae Bowles, WR: He was a bit raw in camp and was given a redshirt year. He’ll have a chance to play a big role in 2013.
6. Jason Croom, WR: He would have found the field had an injury not ended his freshman year. After considering a move to tight end, he will probably be back at receiver in 2013.
7. Alton “Pig” Howard, WR: He played Wildcat QB and receiver and has the talent to continue to grow into a versatile offensive threat.
* 8. Davante Bourque, RB: He was barely around long enough to check into his dorm. After a few days of practice in August, Bourque went back home to Louisiana and planned to enroll in a junior college.
9. Nathan Peterman, QB: He redshirted in 2012 but will get a chance to compete for the starting job against Justin Worley in 2013.
* 10. Deion Bonner, DB: This was another risk that didn’t turn out so well for Dooley’s staff. He played in nine games in 2012 and could have challenged for more playing time this year Bonner was given a late-season suspension and did not rejoin the team under the Jones’ administration.
* 11. Trent Taylor, DL: Apparent academic troubles derailed Taylor’s career before it got started. He stopped practicing to concentrate on classes and didn’t return to school this semester.
12. LaTroy Lewis, LB: After a redshirt season, it will be interesting to see where Lewis lands in John Jancek’s new defense.
13. Daniel McCullers, NG: McCullers grew into a larger role as the season wore on and his return is important for the Vols’ defense, even if it remains to be seen if he will be as good a fit for the 4-3 as he was the 3-4.
* 14. Darrington Sentimore, DT: Was serviceable but not spectacular starter in 2012 and will now try his hand at what some believe are dubious chances in the NFL draft.
* 15. Quenshaun Watson, RB: He had a very strong camp, but seemed to fall out of favor as the season went on. His abrupt departure came as a surprise.
16. Alden Hill, RB: He redshirted in 2012 and will have to break into the rotation behind three veterans.
17. Justin Meredith, TE: Butch Jones likes tight ends, but he has recruited immediate competition in fight to replace Mychal Rivera.
18. Justin King, FB: King was a backup fullback and occasional Wildcat in 2012.
19. Kenny Bynum, LB: He redshirted after suffering a knee injury.
20. Cody Blanc, WR: He was a valuable special-teamer, playing in 11 games in his debut season.
21. Daniel Gray, DB: Earned a start against Troy (although it didn’t go well). But he impressed coaches enough to play a lot on a struggling defense.
22. George Bullock, K/P: Preseason injury ended any hopes of competing for the kicking or punting jobs.
*Departed players
Evan Woodbery covers Tennessee football. Follow him at www.Twitter.com/TennesseeBeat.
Oregon sends Lady Vols home from…
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Comments » 82
born2ride writes:
Another YEAR ZERO?
scvols writes:
Funny!!!
Rumblefish writes:
It's clear that Butch Jones and Company have a lot of ground to make up.
10th in the SEC is not gonna cut it. HOWEVER....
Butch and Company have won wherever they have been....even if it has been with someone else's recruits...they were still (majority) 2*/3* players.
Can his coaching ability overcome the athletic ability already recruited by the SEC elite? That's the big question.
Jones will have to win with lesser talent, in order to get the big time recruits in the future.
Yeah yeah yeah...Johnny Football and a select few others were only 3* recruits. Guess what???---those examples are the outliers, and not the RULE.
Good luck Butch. This divided Vol nation is behind you no matter what. There is one faction who despise every decision that has been made by the UT brass for the past 6 years, and there is another faction that will blindly support what the UT brass does/says no matter what it is.
Either way...WE ALL want Tennessee to get back to it's winning ways.
eb502us#225637 writes:
Losing Patterson, Hunter, and Sentimore will hurt, Watson not so much (Dooley's talent evaluation of RB's has been dismal).
Say what you want but if last yrs. team had any coaching whatsoever, we easily win 8 games. So even with a subpar recruiting class by UT standards, I believe with the coaching upgrade CBJ brings, he can make us competitive in a hurry.
Depth might be an issue but one thing is certain.....we won't look lost on defense and our effort will be 100 times better than it was.
CBJ is saying all the right things but the difference between him and Dooley is that he actually believes it because he's done it. No more of the blind following the blind.
10seVol85_Part_Deux writes:
Yes. It's another year, zero.
TNVOLNTX writes:
Ha! Well played. Although something tells me it likely went right over his head.
tennrich1 writes:
Yeah those are excellent candy bars...I assume that's what you meant!!!
Rumblefish writes:
are you thinking of "take 5" bars?
Dalton writes:
The rest of us enjoyed it
BIVOLAR_BEARE writes:
Good post.
VolGrad writes:
Nothing new here.
Go Vols!
8inarow writes:
Didn't you post this same note after Dooley was hired?
Rumblefish writes:
Nice try, douche. I was NEVER a fan of Dooley. EVER.
But I do acknowledge and recognize a winner, until he has proven me wrong...i.e. Jones.
Dooley was a band-aid on a severed arm. Nothing more.
BIVOLAR_BEARE writes:
I didn't realize you were a big DD fan..
8inarow writes:
Naaa, I am sure you were a big Dooley supporter from day one. One of his biggest cheerleaders. In fact, you visited one of his road-show events and talked him up, bigtime.
Yea, it is coming to me now.
volthrunthru#658770 writes:
Somebody had better be looking at Junior College people. It is a mistake for Jones to sign a bunch of 2 and 3 star freshmen who will not be able to play for a couple of years at the level of the competition in the SEC.
If he does...and plays them...the resulting record will be atrocious. And UT will be in for another ______________years of trouble, but worse than Dooley, because failure by Jones in year # 1 to beat Dooley's record significantly will be viewed by the 2014 and 2015 class as a red flag NOT to come to UT.
How many JC players this year? Wonder?
Of course...Jones could surprise us all and play those 2 and 3star players. And Oregon, Bama, SC, Georgia, Vandy (I cannot believe I think Vandy wins vs.Tennessee. Seemed unthinkable before Hamilton and Hart.), and Missouri (away) look troublesome.
I think he has 5 lay-downs and one that is a toss-up. Auburn may be, nowadays, as bad as Jones' UT team will be.
Departures of talent form 2012? Those players who left knew what remained, compared to what they had been playing against on Saturdays in the SEC.
Sentimore may have been, simply, tired of lousy linebackers, mediocre other DL's and horrid DB's who could not handle SEC competition. If he had been given the level of DL and LB help he had at Bama...he would have been better here. Just that simple.
UT had better not choke against some of those horrible schools on the schedules, or Jones' 1st team may wind up equalig Dooley's last one---and most of that would not be Jones' fault, but the administrators who hire bozos and put in place goofy policies.
I wonder if UT can become competitive in three years. Maybe five, unless Jones has two underperforming seasons in a row. But the schedule of wusses in 2013 helps him a lot more than Phillip Fulmer had going for him when Hamilton and the stupidity-patrol fired him.
SummittsCourt writes:
Another ZERO comment from you! You must be proud.
ReeseHallRelic writes:
I guess anything less than a 2013 NC is unacceptable to trainingwheels.
marVOLous writes:
Call me glass half full or half empty or just partly drunk but with the 10th best class in the conference and with what Alabama and Florida are adding again this year, the mountain just looks taller and taller. Who in their right mind thought it was a good idea to get rid of Coach Fulmer?
iowavol writes:
Time to be real. Any expectation that we will be any better than last year's record is not being realistic. I have high hope for BJones. I have even higher hope for the athletes on this team. What we have gone through in the past five years is impossible to overcome. It will take years and somebody in the administration food chain better have the balls to stand up to Haslim and the fan base. The last thing we need is to fire BJones after a few bad years.
Rumblefish writes:
The only "real" expectation we will be better this year is due to coaching, and only coaching. The recruits aren't any better, so if Butch can get MORE out of his players than Dooley could...go ahead and add 2 wins to last year's season total.
That's a start, and you gotta start somewhere.
dillpic writes:
How do you know the recruits aren't any better. Are you a professional scout??
Rumblefish writes:
uhhh....just look at the recruiting list.
oh wait...you're gonna say that there is some sort of "diamond in the rough" in there. well, those sorts of kids are the EXCEPTION, and not the rule.
and fyi...it doesn't take a "professional scout" to evaluate the current recruiting class versus the previous ones. it just takes common sense....which apparently, you lack.
rb4346 writes:
Very good post. CBJ is a winner and with the coaches he has I think he is going to get this program turned around. When he starts winning, the 4 and 5 star players that he needs will start comitting. GBO!!!
pcshowtime writes:
I like Coach jones a lot I think he is a proven winner. He has had success with his staff by his side and I do not blame him for his staff being made up of people he has worked with.
Does it make me nervous that Auburn hire Rodney Gardner and Arkansas hires Randy Shannon? You dang right it does. Any of you who do not think that gives those two schools a leg up on UT in recruiting on the short term are lying to your selves. I still do not understand why we can't hire guys like that to recruit but so be it. There are obviously problems with UT higher up than the football coach.
Those stars by these recruits mean something if not then alabama would not be in the top 3 in recruiting every year. I feel that coach Jones is a tireless worker and will do well I hope.
billyvolsfan writes:
Need to set a strong foundation and recruiting holes.
emailnodata (Inactive) writes:
1-Peterman will beat out Worley
2-There will be no offense next year. We've seen this before, no speed at receiver.
3-Expect the crime reports to rise as UT has to take 'at-risk' players to get the talent needed to compete.
The Vols have not been relevant for maybe 7 years now...a lifetime in the minds of parents and athlestes.
orange_glory writes:
rumble
when butch was first hired you called me stupid because i said he was a good hire and that other sources were saying the same thing.
BIVOLAR_BEARE writes:
In the words of George Bailey: You're a warped, frustrated old man!
THEKIDWISCONSIN writes:
1) "Gosh" I hate Dooley...I wish him nothing but ill luck & if we never hear of him again it'll be too soon.
2) I'm going to go out on a limb & say Coach Jones & his staff will do what most coaches do (and certainly something Dooley never did) and actually coach up whatever level of talent he has.
We're not going to ATL. I'd be shocked if we competed in the East. We're going to get waxed by Oregon. But if you give me 8 or even 7 wins and a bowl game I'd be down right giddy this season.
billyvolsfan writes:
outside the hard bitter feeling between Coach Fulmer and Coach Majors the transition of changing Coaches was as smooth as it could go as far as the football program. No step backwards before 2 steps forward were needed. Some could even say that the talent even got better with Fulmer and some may say it drop just a little but give or take it remained in top shape. As our hunger to be the best grew and the pressure of needing to make a change to try to take it to winning BCS championships yr after yr came the firing of Fulmer. I am not here to argue if it was right or wrong but all I wish was he would of got one more yr. Only because that team was the team he had lined up to win the championship. That team had great talent.
billyvolsfan writes:
With the firing of Fulmer came the sad truth that we were also losing Chavis. The hiring of Kiffin at first was a strange marriage. He came from the West Coast and I think it was the thrill of the package deal of him having his Dad who was a legend in the NFL coming with him. Any uncomfortable feelings about the hiring of Kiffin were quickly turned into hey I like this guy. He came in and made sure everybody stayed. He talked out loud about how great Tennessee is and how they would always beat FL and Bama and as funny as that would sound it did not sound funny to us because we believed him when he said it. We always know we can play with anybody but he said we would be them all the time. He then when to very unfamiliar territory and dove right in to recruiting only the best athletes and battling toe to toe with Bama, Uga, Fl or any other Sec school to get only the best players for the school. He was very successful. he was able to get what he wanted. Even when he did lose one it was not because he did not try. He would try until the very last second. (gas station) lattimore was one that he lost but I don't think anybody could say he did not give 100 percent effort to get him. So what should of been a 2 steps backwards before 1 foot forward turned into Tennessee not missing a beat at this time. Tennessee with a solid starting team did not really have the growing pains from a new Coaching staff. They were better then a 7-6 team as far as talent but when they played the best they matched them score for score and defense of stand for defense of stand. Beat UGA and had Bama beat with a game winning field goal that got blocked. The big black eye was the Mississippi lost and the Chic-fila bowl game lost. The feeling about the bowl game was who cares we are close to being on to something great.
billyvolsfan writes:
Then the only job that kiffin would leave for came available. nobody could of seen this as a scenario that could ever happen. USC had it's Coach for life was the thinking. Turns out over in Cali it was hitting the fan fast and hard and the coward Pete Carroll got the heck out of town. Facing huge NCAA problems and not being able to find a Coach to take the job....they thought they have nothing to lose to give Kiffin a chance at the job. Kiffin leaves and for the first time us fans now understand that we need a Coach and we are in huge trouble with the timing and losing our Coach. Over the next few days we find out he is not who we thought he was......He starts stealing the players from Tennessee. Getting commitments to change their mind and go to USC.
billyvolsfan writes:
He started telling the players he got on the recruiting trail the yr before to transfer so after playing one yr at that school they can transfer again to USC. As time goes on we also find out in the short time he was here he had already got us in trouble with the NCAA. Now we hire D. Dooley and we like him. After we found out the truth about Kiffin this was a refreshing feeling. We came as close as you can come to feeling what a death penalty feels like because we had no recruits that yr when dooley came in but he changed that fast and got a lot of players to stay on the team. He even managed to get some of his own recruits that yr but still did not fill out on the scholarships. He was very competitive his first yr but was not able to win the game but ohhhh he was so close and it was all in all a good first yr. 2-6 and ended up 6-6 but a huge consideration was giving to the circumstances surrounding the situation. Then the following yr. comes and the same story of ohhhhhhh so close but just can't win the game. The 3rd season comes and still the same story. Looks like this is a pattern after 3 times in a roll so Tennessee makes the coaching change. Dooley will be remembered more in a positive light as a few yrs go by. I think he will be remembered like the 9ers think of Coach Singletary. Dooley will be thought of more as a Coach that began the healing process of the mess Kiffin left and for leaving the team in good shape. can't really blame him that some of the players left for the NFL. I think Dooley was going to continue the pattern of building back up the character of tennessee like Singleton did for the 9ers but I think it was clear that the pattern of ohhhhhhh so close and losing records was prob. be the theme as long as he stayed here. Now comes a important chapter in Tennessee Football, Butch Jones has to be the right guy for the job. I know we all believe he is and like what we see but it is important to get competitive again because failing this time will be dropping off the Mountain all together. Through all this we still are holding on to the Mountain but the grip is lose. University of Tennessee is all in right now. No that does not mean it is this yr or bust but the tale of the truth will be told in 3 yrs and I want to be back as the King of the Mountain.
hateNCloveTN writes:
The comments and feelings we are seeing here are similar to the ones Alabama fans had prior to the Saban hire. Let's just hope our results are similar.
SummittsCourt writes:
Dude, move on! Your anger is going to kill you one day.
SummittsCourt writes:
I read most of what you wrote and now i can't get those 2 minutes back.
LCPanthers (Inactive) writes:
Just start all over and do what is necessary to improve and have a better season.Going back to 4-3 is the first rite move.Recruiting is a must.And that schedule is a killer,but that is the breaks.A question,what kind of improvement do u see,if any??
licknpromise777#651578 writes:
Losing two RB's in that class isn't good news..Neither were great prospects but at least one might have produced. Graham has worked hard to recruit a back but so far has produced SQUAT!!!!!At this point Green is a long shot at best and flipping 3 star Barber from Ole Miss isn't looking good..We are now down to desperately hoping to sign any 3 star back..This is just totally unacceptable considering Graham has had a full year to get the job done..You would think that somewhere there is a decent JUCO RB prospect but none are being considered..Settling for the # 55 rated RB every year is just mind boggling!! I will say Jones has been relentless in trying to flip some very talented players and has done a great job just putting us in consideration
Orange_Beach writes:
You must have majored in his story during your days at UT. I mean "defense of stand for defense of stand" REALLY?
PUL4VOLS writes:
By the time some of you folk living in the past, bringing up this coach to that coach etc. comparing; get your heads out of the ditch, the 2013 season will be over and you will find something else to look back on and criticize the now. Now is what it is. Butch Jones is the Volunteer head coach. Everything remains to be seen how he will work out. So all who RAH RAH, GO BUTCH and all who think he is little more than the old BUTCH hair jelly(google that youngsters), have no idea how it will go. Keep on harping on 10th in the SEC in recruiting, see how that helps. Keep speculating and all that. Still the games will be played. We will all find out together how good the players are on the field in real time. Talent, well it is lacking in comparison to the top SEC programs. Who is surprised at that with all that has happened the past few years? That will not change overnight unless......OH I get it all the Grudenitis is setting in whereby many think if we just got the Chuckster, we'd..... REALITY: Chucky didn't want to come here. It seems he didn't want to coach anywhere. So keep up the blabber, keep bringing up the "NO LONGER OUR COACHES." It only shows your immaturity. Some of us cannot stand the "brass" and higher ups or their decisions. But guess what? It is not in our power to change that. So we support the team. You call it blindly. I call it with passion. Let's get behind this team, this coach and staff and stop all the mindless chatter and negativism.
gillblog writes:
Granted, the grammar and syntax are terrible and might get a D from a generous grader. But, for content it merits a B+ as a fairly good narrative of the past several years.
To me, the biggest advantage the Vols have now vs. the past five years is that there is a real football coach in charge now who appears to be dedicated to his current job.
brokendownoldvol writes:
Too bad Butch Jones couldn't have coached last yrs. team.
formervol1950s writes:
The General was good but we could have certainly used you for some of our halftime speeches .
rtrchatt writes:
Vonn Bell, make sure and ask those Barn and Cinci coaches how many first round Dbs they have in the NFL. Look at Sabans list. KJackson,
DKirpatrick, MBarron, DMilliner and that does not count the LSWho guys or other early picks like JArenas. Best DB coach in the country is in Tuscaloosa, FACT. We do not even need to discuss the W/L between the 2 schools over the next 3 yrs. Business Vonn, take care of business. Roll Tide
Show-me-your-TDs writes:
Looks like the big recruiting weekend was a flop
Southland writes:
with this years schedule we will win only 6 games and that will not be easy but hopefully we can start climbing out of this pit we are in
Olddogsrule writes:
February 6th is 16 days away. We don't know what will happen between now and then, who will commit, who will flip ... who will indeed sign on NSD, or even a holdout or two who may sign later. But, given a short time, CBJ and staff have obviously been doing all they can to recruit in-state and nationally and rescue this years recruiting season. What I have recently read about CBJ's staff continuity, Seven Values, toughness, and from prospects glowing statements posted on Rivals, etc. makes me very hopeful that this year's class will be more than just acceptable (folks saying only a Top 10 class will do is like wishin' they were the Mayor of Oz they own self), and making good showings in games and a bowl the coming season will continue the 'process' of pulling Tennessee's program out of it's current condition. The one left us by the "Mouth of the South" who recruited thugs that resulted in an image passing aroung the internet of the Volunteers helmet with the Power T being replaced with an orange machine pistol. Kiffen's way's were absolutely not the ways of good Tennessee folks. Dooley has left us with what may be the best offensive line in college football, a good running backs coach, the VFL program (which I hope continues far into the future), and most important, hopefully an absence of thugs. Now CBJ who has won four division championships can and will build on what he inherited by bringing continuity in his coaching staff to restore not only the W-L record, but the good name of the Great State of Tennessee in college sports.
hikerdude writes:
The only thing we know for sure about next year is that the defense will be better.
Coach_K writes:
I would much rather have a three star kid from Tennessee than a four or five star from Cali. A kid who grows up loving the Vols dreams of a day that the Big Orange is on top again. When things aren't perfect he is more likely to work harder, and "carry the fight" to see his dreams come to fruition. A five star kid from Cali who has a dream to play in the "league" doesn't care if U.T. succeeds. His dreams are still alive even if the Vols dreams are not. I'll give you one quick ex: Zack Rodgers vs. Da'rick Rodgers. Never mind that commonly five star kids have been coaxed and pampered by their families, coaches, schools, and friends. Therefore, often they never learn to struggle. Where as a three star kid has always had to work to keep his spot. It's our time in mud that lets us appreciate our time in the sun! Now, don't get me wrong. I am not saying I don't want talented guys to line up and be a part of our long history, I do. I just want them to be good, hard working guys ie:John Henderson, Al Wilson, Peyton Manning, Joey Kent, etc!
Ps: I found this very interesting when I read it a couple years ago.
http://www.aolnews.com/2009/05/11/sta...
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