Through the T: Reasons for Optimism in 2012
By Sam Scott
“Through the T” is a weekly series about everything Tennessee Football from traditions, to tailgating, to recruiting, to gameday and much more.
2011 was a rough year, a really rough year. Ok, it downright sucked. In my short lifetime, I never dreamed of seeing our football program in the shambles that it finds itself. To put it into perspective, Tennessee has not had two straight losing seasons since 1910 and 1911. Literally, a hundred years ago. In the last two years, I’ve seen Neyland near empty in the third quarter 4 times. I’ve seen Tennessee get blown out 7 times. I’ve seen the Vols lose to Kentucky. And I’ve seen SEC fans that are no longer gleeful at Tennessee’s state, just pitying us. It’s pathetic right now. Derek Dooley knows it, the players know it, and the fans know it. But they also know it’s about time to turn this funeral around. 2012 is the year the Vols will come back from the dead, and here’s a couple reasons why.
1.) Inexperience is a thing of the past – The Vols have been playing with anywhere from 12-15 freshman every game for the last two seasons. Now those underclassman return with SEC experience. The shell shock is gone and these guys are ready to take the field. The Offensive Line returns five starters. The Offense returns experience at every skill position, the only loss being Tauren Poole at tailback. Tyler Bray has the potential to come into his own as the gunslinger that he is, and should finally have enough talented targets to do it. Hunter will return from injury, top targets Da’rick Rogers and TE Mychel Rivera return as well as Zach Rogers. Replacing Poole will be Marlin Lane who had plenty of carries in 2011, and Rajon Neal, who proved to be lethal catching passes out of the backfield.
On defense, the Vols have to replace DT Malik Jackson, DE Ben Martin, and LB Austin Johnson. But there is a wealth of young talent that will all be poised to breakout this season. Freshman All-American linebackers A.J. Johnson, and Curt Maggitt will anchor the squad, and the Vols will welcome the return of OLD Herman Lathers who sat out the 2011 season with a fractured ankle. The entire secondary returns as well, Wagner, Lanier, Brewer (recovering from a knee injury), and Lanier with sophomores Justin Coleman and Brian Randolph both in the mix for starting spots. Up front, ends Jacques Smith, and Marlon Walls along with tackles Mo Couch and Daniel Hood all saw significant playing time in 2011.
2.) Recruiting, Recruiting, Recruiting – DE Darrington Sentimore, a JUCO transfer will look to make an impact from the start. Sentimore originally played at Alabama, so he’s definitely SEC talent. The Vols will also add two four-star defensive backs in LaDarell McNeil and Deion Bonner. The Linebackers will be reinforced by LB Otha Peters (who is now considering Arkansas as well). And up front, a monster of a player, Daniel McCullers (6’6” 380 lbs. joins the Vols defensive front).
Offensively, the Vols continue to add to the corps of Wide Receiver talent with Jason Croom, a towering 6’5” wideout, speedy Alton “Pig” Howard who runs a 4.3 40 and Tennessee native Drae Bowles. South Carolina TE Justin Meredith also joins an already talented squad of ends. The Vols also added two running backs in Aiden Hill, and a big back/athlete Davante Bourque.
Things can always change for worse or better by signing day, but right now the Vols are sitting at the No. 11 class and may punch into the Top 10 before it’s over. Either way, this year’s class for Dooley has been stellar.
3.) A navigable schedule – Non conference games vs. NC State in Atlanta, Georgia State (FCS), Troy, and Akron all at home. Then an SEC schedule with Florida, Alabama and Missouri all coming to Knoxville. The tough road games will come against Georgia, South Carolina and Mississippi State. For Dooley to have a sucessful year, it’s not going to be how many games he wins (but 7-5 or 6-6 won’t cut it) it is going to be who he beats. As it stands, Dooley’s biggest win is over Vanderbilt in Knoxville, that simply will not cut it. The Vols have to make an impact in the SEC East this season, and with this schedule, that is not far-fetched. As it stands right now, there is no clear favorite in the East, it’s looking like another down year for our side of the conference, which means it’s ripe for the taking.
4.) Solid coaching hires – The Vols had to replace six assistant coaches this offseason, and so far, every hire has been a good one. The Jay Graham hire was a great move by Dooley. Graham has proven himself to be a good running back’s coach at South Carolina, and he’s a Tennessee guy, he knows what football is supposed to be like in Knoxville. Sal Sunseri coached one of the most dominant defensive forces in 2011 at Alabama, Sam Pitman and John Palmero both come with a wealth of experience and today Tennessee added Charlie Coiner to coach Tight Ends and special teams. Derek Dooley has guys with him who can flat out coach. They may not all be upgrades, but they are all his guys, and I think this will work out better in the end for the Vols.
The pieces are in place, Derek Dooley can no longer make the excuses of youth or injury. He’s got talent, he’s got experience, and he’s got depth. This is the year we find out if the guy can coach. Personally, I think he will make it happen. There’s a lot of people out there who need convincing or have already jumped off the bandwagon, to them I say goodbye and good riddance, I’m pretty sure they sell Alabama shirts at just about every Wal-Mart in the South. To those loyal few that have weathered the storm, let’s hope it has finally passed and we can get back to the way things out to be at Tennessee.
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