Butch Jones Has High Praise For Shy Tuttle

If you’re a fan of the Tennessee Volunteers, it’s hard to not be excited about the young talent that Butch Jones and his staff brought to Knoxville with their incredible 2015 recruiting class.

There’s plenty of talent on both sides of the ball, but the defensive side might be the most impressive. More specifically, the defensive tackle position.

Vol fans are undoubtedly excited about one of the top 2015 players in the nation — Vol legacy Kahlil McKenzie.

But it’s another freshman defensive tackle that has Jones raving — early enrollee Shy Tuttle.

Tuttle, unlike McKenzie, went through spring practice with the Vols and he impressed every step of the way.

The North Carolina native’s impressive spring had coaches talking throughout the 15 spring practices.

On Thursday, it had Jones labeling Tuttle as having the potential to be as good as anyone in the SEC.

Now that’s good news if you’re a Vol fan.

Tennessee had a freshman defensive end last season (Derek Barnett, you might have heard of him) that proved he was as good as anyone in the conference and it made a world of difference for the Vols’ pass rush.

Imagine if Tuttle can be half as good as Barnett was last season. There’s no telling how dominant the Volunteers’ defensive line could be in 2015.

Tennessee wants to win the SEC East this season. With players like Tuttle already living up to the hype (and guys like McKenzie who will soon be on campus), it’s easy to see why winning the East is a very attainable goal for Butch Jones and the Vols.