Recap: An Interesting Week In Tennessee Football

It was an interesting week for your Tennessee football team on Rocky Top.

In a time where the sports world is simply boring, fans look for any kind of substance to talk about football. Whether it is recruiting, or talking about who will get the second string punting position on the depth chart, fans always have an itch to discuss the south’s second religion on the radio, Twitter, and those pesky message boards.

Here are some topics that had fans talking this week.

Newcomer and Freshman Woes

Trouble with the law

First, we will start with an early Wednesday morning stop with law enforcement. Redshirt freshman lineman Charles Mosley was pulled over for driving 79 mph with a 55 mph limit. However, it ended up not being a routine traffic stop; an odor was found from the car. That odor was marijuana, which if you’re keeping track, is not legal in Tennessee yet. Mosley was ultimately charged with a DUI after failing field sobriety tests.

With it being a first-offense, do not expect the lineman to be cut, but there will clearly be some type of suspension, or punishment.

Rumored Release 

Fans like the message boards. Said message boards, put out some information that JUCO transfer Justin Martin was on his way out of the program. Martin was a highly touted recruit in the 2015 class, and someone who is believed to be the other starting defensive back with Cam Sutton. After an apparent meeting was called regarding the Mosley incident, Martin and Butch Jones had a disagreement that led people to believe Martin was going to be released. This was never actually reported, but Jon Reed (WVLZ 1180 AM) and Jimmy Hyams (WNML Sports Animal) were quick to let the Vol faithful know that the roster was not taking a hit.

Justin Martin also offered some assurance that he is committed to 119.

Real Release 

After a rumored release was put down, an actual release came. That was the release of Knoxville native Jocquez Bruce. Bruce is a former South Doyle standout, and was a three-star recruit in the 2015 class. Bruce was originally suspended on Tuesday for not putting in the effort off the field. A suspension like that will lead to questioning whether the “student-athlete” is showing up to class and making the grades. It was believed that Bruce had put some of those questions to rest himself for a brief period of time.

However, Friday came bad news for the former Cherokee star.

Clearly, it was more than just being late for class. Whether it was cultural differences with coaching staff, or more non-football issues than we knew, Bruce is no longer a Tennessee Vol.

Big Orange Recruiting Weekend

Decommit 

Knoxville was filled with high level talent this weekend.

However, while in the process of wooing kids to put on the orange, a 2017 class commit decided to reopen his recruitment. Jordon Riley, a three-star defensive lineman from Durham, N.C. chose to pursue other schools.

However, according to GoVols247, the Vols are still his top choice. Riley is a reminder that the recruiting process is a long one. Something like this should not concern Vol fans, or any fans for that matter, because these are teenagers making life changing decisions. Expect the staff to keep tabs on Riley, and the orange to stay in his mind.

Big Orange Carpet 

Butch Jones and company rolled out the big orange carpet for some big time talent over the weekend.

The Orange Carpet Day is a day where potential Vols can get a taste of the big orange treatment.

In addition to recruits who have not made any commitments to the University of Tennessee, there are some players like lineman Ryan Johnson and quarterback Jarret Guarantano who have already gave their word to Tennessee.

This weekend is an opportunity for those types of players to help the coaching staff recruit. They offer something that the coaches do not, and that is the ability to relate.

Sure, Coach Jones can put up some tweets about hip-hop artist Drake and bring in Lil Jon, but the guy is going to Luke Bryan concerts. He gets it, he understands that kids want to go “running through the six with my woes,” but little aspects like that are elements of what build relationships among teammates. It’s almost like a dating game.  A woman is most likely going to go with the man who she can talk to about anything and everything. That is what these recruits do, they do not just talk about winning a national championship in orange, they talk about normal human things. As a recruit, I would not want go play with a bunch of guys that prefer KFC over Chick-fil-A, that is just criminal.

Let me finally get to the point, Orange Carpet Day this weekend was big for the Vols to get in guys like four/five-star receivers Kyle Davis (Lawrenceville, GA) and Mykel Jones (Patterson, LA) while the current quarterback of the future was on campus. The wide out position is one of the severe need in the next two classes.

The Vols are yet to have a season where a key receiver or two does not go down. The Vols will be losing Pig Howard, Jonathon Johnson, and Von Pearson (assuming he comes back). If a Jason Croom or Marquez North have a big year, it would not be a surprise for them to take their big frames to the NFL.

As a Vol fan, you hope that this weekend, the coaching staff and Guarantano were able to further persuade the elite wide outs on campus.

Momentum Gained

As I mentioned several times before, there was a ton of talent on campus.

• Tavien Feaster – five-star running back (Spartanburg, SC) and Clemson commit
• E.J. Price – four-star offensive tackle (Lawrenceville, GA)
• Kyle Davis – five-star wide receiver (Lawrenceville, GA)

There were a number of other guys like Hunter Johnson, who is the top quarterback for the 2017 class, but the three above are some that momentum seemed to be gained on the most.

It will be interesting to see how the recruitment goes with these three guys. Feaster is possible flip, Price is a former Georiga commit, and Davis is believed to have Georgia at number one on his list.  After seeing the staff able to flip a guy like Drew Richmond last year, nothing is out of the question.