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Tennessee football: 5 reasons Vols were shut out of 2019 NFL Draft

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: A view of the outside of Neyland Stadium before a game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers on September 15, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: A view of the outside of Neyland Stadium before a game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers on September 15, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Michael Shroyer/Getty Images
Photo by Michael Shroyer/Getty Images /

5. Key players transferred out. 

Not all members of previous Tennessee football recruiting class were shut out of the NFL Draft this past weekend. In fact, one of them, Jalen Hurd, a five-star member of the 2014 class heard his name called pretty early on.

Through two and a half years, Hurd was beloved by Vols fans. But something happened following the Georgia Bulldogs win, and then he began to have multiple unreported issues with the team and Butch Jones in particular.

After a loss to the South Carolina to reach a three-game losing streak in 2016, Hurd was gone. He transferred out, and it was revealed later that he was looking to transition to tight end or wide receiver to improve his NFL Draft stock.

Well, he sat out a year, and after a solid season with the Baylor Bears, he was taken in the third round by the San Francisco 49ers. So that’s one player Jones allowed to get away despite a ton of hype behind his recruitment as a Nashville kid.

On a smaller scale, wide receiver Preston Williams, who transferred in 2016 as well to the Colorado State Rams, signed as an undrafted free agent with the Miami Dolphins. He was a four-star recruit in the 2015 class.

So that’s two Vols who got away but made their way onto NFL rosters. When you consider the transfers of Quinten Dormady and Venzell Boulware, Jones letting players get away is clearly a big reason for no names being called in this year’s draft.

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