Oct 25, 2014; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Jalen Hurd (1) runs with the ball against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the first quarter at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
1. Recruiting
The one thing Vol fans could point to even when things were at their worst in 2013 and 2014 was the Vols’ success in recruiting so far. And that absolutely remains true now.
During the Derek Dooley era, the Vols recruiting class rankings only got worse with each progressive year. In 2010, the Vols’ class ranked 10th in the country. Then in 2011, the class fell to 14th, which is still respectable, but it ranked 6th in the SEC. But the 2012 class fell all the way to 20th, good for 8th in the conference.
The 2013 class was mostly put together by Dooley, but when Butch Jones was hired in December of 2012, he was responsible for holding on the the commitments the Vols already had and for adding others to the list. Jones most notably added 4-star wide receiver Marquez North and 4-star quarterback Josh Dobbs to a class that would ultimately rank 24th in the nation and 10th in the newly-expanded conference.
Since then, however, the Vols have seen a drastic increase in recruiting, bringing in an all new level of talent. Butch Jones’s first full recruiting class, the 2014 class, ranked 7th in the country and pulled in 32 commits. So far the Vols have played 23 of those newcomers in 2014, which is easily the highest such number in the country.
First and second year players have accounted for roughly 80.9 % of the team’s rushing offense and 64.7% of the team’s passing offense (and that’s not even counting QB Josh Dobbs’ passing stats). The same stands true for the defense, where those young players have accounted for 34.5 of the team’s 69 tackles for loss, 12.5 of the team’s 24 sacks, and 6 of the team’s 10 interceptions.
Their immediate impact shows just how talented and needed these players are, and the future only looks brighter. The 2015 class is already ranked 4th in the country with two 5-star defensive tackles and a 5-star wide receiver sitting atop the class.
Recruiting wins championships, and the Vols are recruiting with the best of them.