The Tennessee Volunteers are building a pipeline to one of the most talent-laden junior college programs in the country.
On Friday, the Vols received a commitment from 6-foot-5, 215-pound outside linebacker De'Vondre Campbell of Hutchinson Community College in Kansas -- the same school where five-star wide receiver signee Cordarrelle Patterson played and UT graduate assistant Brandon Staley coached. The Vols are also recruiting four-star defensive tackle Toby Johnson from Hutchinson and evaluating several others.
This is the time of year when evaluation gems are aplenty in college football recruiting. Though it's always nice to get the players everybody wants at any time of the season, it's the early offers who sometimes become key players.
There are a lot of things you can say about Derek Dooley's tenure at Tennessee, but one thing that isn't questionable is his coaches' eye for talent. Very often UT is among the first major colleges to offer and by the time the process ends, those players have committable offers from many top programs.
That could be the case with Campbell, who hasn't received any formal offers from anybody else but is the type of athlete who will merit consideration.
Hours into his first visit to Knoxville, Florida linebacker Dominic Zanca already had made his mind up where he wanted to play college football. He took care of the formality of making that commitment to Tennessee public after speaking with Derek Dooley on Friday morning.
Zanca -- who goes to Lake Brantley High in Altamonte Springs, Fla. -- had received just the UT offer to date, but he was being recruited by Missouri, Duke and Florida International, among others. He is rated a three-star prospect by 247 Sports and Rivals. Some recruiting analysts have lauded the Vols' early evaluation of Zanca and believe he is a prospect who will draw much more interest from major schools if he goes the camp circuit.
One of the reasons for Zanca's relative unknown status is he played much of his sophomore season for Lake Brantley as a 6-foot-2, 205 pound defensive lineman. He has a lot of speed, and his film looks pretty sick considering he was playing undersized and out of position in a high classification in Florida against quality competition. [247 has some good film of him here.] After the season, Zanca began a strict workout regimen designed to add weight, and he is currently at 6-2, 232.
Zanca -- originally believed to be recruited by the Vols as a Jack linebacker -- told several reporters that new defensive coordinator Sal Sunseri actually wants him as an inside linebacker and he will most likely fit in as a "Will" [weakside LB] for UT.
No recruiting coordinator? No problem.
The Tennessee Volunteers were dealt some difficult news when safeties coach and recruiting coordinator Terry Joseph left Knoxville for Nebraska, leaving UT short a solid recruiter. The departure didn't affect Winter Garden, Fla. linebacker Corey Vereen, who committed to the Vols and defensive coordinator Sal Sunseri on Friday just hours into his visit.
Vereen was courted by emerging ace recruiter Darin Hinshaw, who has had a role in three of Tennessee's five commitments thus far. The Orlando-area linebacker -- who probably fits in best as a "Jack" or pass-rushing, stand-up defensive end in UT's 3-4 scheme -- is a legit 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds. Some services list him as being even bigger -- like, around 240 -- and he sports speed in the high 4.5s.
With Dalton Santos and Otha Peters bailing on their long-time Tennessee commitments and heading to Texas and Arkansas respectively within a week of National Signing Day, the Volunteers were left in a quandary.
Derek Dooley had just hired Alabama linebackers coach Sal Sunseri, who was going to switch UT from a 4-3 base defense to a 3-4. And, now, all of a sudden the Vols were short on linebacker depth.
Needing at least another player at that position with little time to recruit, the Vols went looking for one they could possibly poach. That search began -- and ended -- with Jacksonville, Fla. linebacker Kenneth Bynum, a long-time Cincinnati Bearcats commitment. Sunseri convinced Bynum to hold off signing with Cincy until he visited Knoxville after National Signing Day. After a little more than a week of deliberation, Bynum notified the Vols he'd be the team's newest member Wednesday afternoon.
To get you caught up in case you missed it, here's a link to Friday's offensive breakdown.
The Cliff's: UT has 70 scholarship players on its roster now with 14 signed high school players yet to make it into town. There's the possibility that the Vols could add one more player, but that's still up in the air. With only 13 scholarship players set to graduate after this upcoming season, that means UT can only bring in 14 kids in next year's class.
There will be attrition [check the rules listed in Part I of this two-part series on listing potential defections]. And we're going to operate under the thought that Derek Dooley will not be able to sign a full class of 25 but that the Vols will make it to 23-24 signees for the 2013 class.
NOTE: UT has a lot of defensive backs who can play cornerback or safety. So, we'll do a little projecting below. Again, there could certainly be differences in where I see a player fitting or moving to and where the coaching staff does. Again, as we mentioned Friday on the offensive side, some players may be listed twice.
So, without delaying any longer, let's break down the defensive side of the football.
INTERIOR DEFENSIVE LINEMEN [TACKLES/NOSE GUARDS]
Returning players: Sr. Maurice Couch, Sr. Daniel Hood, Sr. Daniel McCullers, Jr. Alan Carson, Jr. Greg Clark, So. Danny O'Brien, So. Trevarris Saulsberry, So. Trent Taylor.
Possible defections/roster questions: I don't see any way that Clark gets any playing time, so he's a possibility to go elsewhere or not be on the team by this time next year. Taylor is already 270, so there's a legitimate possibility that he packs on another 30 or more pounds and stays in the middle. He is going to be another one of those hybrid types, and it'll be interesting to see with Saulsberry's size where he winds up -- inside or out.
Recruiting targets: 2-3. I see the Vols wanting AT LEAST five defensive linemen overall in next year's class. How they sort that out remains to be seen, but with UT graduating three interior linemen -- and likely the three who will get the most playing time, finding help on the inside will be essential. My early guess is the Vols seek two big-body, 300-plus pound types to anchor the 3-4. This is a specialized position that would be best-suited to be filled with a huge player who can still move around some inside. I'll go with two, but that number could swell to three if the opportunity arises.
The Tennessee Volunteers have finally caught up numbers-wise -- almost too caught up, actually.
By my count, UT has 70 scholarship players currently on its roster including the mid-term enrollees. Throw in the 14 committed high school players yet to arrive on campus, and that gets the Vols to 84. If Jacksonville (Fla.) inside linebacker Kenneth Bynum decides this week that he wants to join UT over Cincinnati, that would put the team right at the 85 scholarship player limit allowed by NCAA rule.
As of now, the Vols are in line to lose only 13 senior scholarship players after the 2012 season -- Marsalis Teague, Rod Wilks, Prentiss Waggner, Herman Lathers [likely, unless he gets another year from the NCAA], Ben Bartholomew, Nigel Mitchell-Thornton, Carson Anderson, Dallas Thomas, Darin Gooch, Mychal Rivera, Zach Rogers, Willie Bohannon and Steven Fowles. That would mean that -- unless some major attrition happens -- UT will only be able to sign 13 [or 14, if Bynum elects to head north] next year.
We all know that's not going to happen and the Vols will find a way to make more room, but still, we'd have to cull 12 players between now and next year's National Signing Day to get to the 25 max. That seems tough to imagine. There is the looming possibility that several Vols will test the NFL waters early, and while we hope that doesn't happen, it would clear recruiting spots for the next class.I do think the Vols will get close to that number, but 10 is probably the most room they will clear. So, we'll operate off Derek Dooley getting to 23 scholarships in time for the 2013 class.
For our exercise below, the information below can get a bit tricky unless you keep some things in mind. To note, a junior for the upcoming 2012 season will be referred to as a senior leading into the '13 class, and so on. We're going to list the players at each position the Vols will be returning, their class and also give a projection on who may look elsewhere for playing time.
NOTE:
As I said, this is far too early [but never too early if you love recruiting ...] so here is my subject-to-change breakdown of how I see numbers shaking out for next year's class. This is a completely unscientific look at the numbers, and I could be WAAAY off from what UT coaches envision currently. Still, think of it as an early-bird guide to get us thinking about what UT's needs will be entering this year's recruiting cycle. And, yes, I enjoy recruiting far too much.
After a month long respite, the Rocky Top Talk Podcast returns tonight to break down National Signing Day 2012. How'd the Vols do? Who are the stars of the class? Did we fill the right needs? How'd we do in relation to the rest of the SEC? Should the other conferences even bother next season? Brad has the answers, and Will's going to get them out of him, so join us tonight at 9:30 ET.
If you're listening live tonight, follow along in the comments below with your questions and thoughts. Here's the pertinent info:
You can listen live by clicking the sometimes magic orange widget below. Or you can wait, download it later, and listen to it in your car on the way to work tomorrow.
Below is a list of this year's Tennessee Volunteers football signing class as it stands right now. May still be an iron or two in the fire, but the Vols address some needs ... and some are left unanswered. Still, not a bad class overall. The only addition today was Cordarrelle Patterson, but what a huge addition he was.
Korren Kirven chose Alabama, Quinshad Davis chose North Carolina and Amos Leggett decided to stick with Marshall. Below are the capsules for this year's signees ... so far.
1. LaDARRELL MCNEIL, 6-1, 190 S DALLAS, TEXAS [WILMER-HUTCHINS HS] Rivals 4* No. 7 safety No. 86 overall player in the nation No. 11 player in Texas, Scout 4* No. 6 safety, ESPN 4* No. 12 cornerback No. 28 player in Texas, 247 4* No. 7 safety No. 115 overall player in the nation No. 14 player in Texas. Chose UT over Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Nebraska, Arizona State, Arizona, Baylor, California, Clemson, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, Miami, Michigan, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Syracuse, TCU, Texas A&M, Southern Cal, Utah, others .
2. DANNY O'BRIEN, 6-2, 290 DT FLINT, MICH. [POWERS CATHOLIC HS] Rivals 4* No. 12 defensive tackle No. 161 overall player in the nation No. 2 player in Michigan, Scout 4* No. 18 defensive tackle, ESPN 3* No. 56 defensive tackle, 247 4* No. 23 defensive tackle No. 6 player in Michigan. Chose UT over Michigan, Michigan State, Florida, Alabama, Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt.
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