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Tennessee football: Ranking Vols 5 previous seasons after no NFL Draft picks

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 5: The Tennessee Volunteers mascot Smokey runs through the end zone after a score against the Georgia Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on October 5, 2013 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 5: The Tennessee Volunteers mascot Smokey runs through the end zone after a score against the Georgia Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on October 5, 2013 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images
Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images /

4. 2016: 9-4 (4-4)

2nd in SEC East; W Music City Bowl (38-24 vs. Nebraska)

Final ranking: No. 22 (AP); No. 24 (Coaches)

On the surface, maybe this season should be ranked higher on the list. Tennessee football did end a longstanding losing streak to the Florida Gators, beat the Georgia Bulldogs off a Hail Mary and finish in the Top 25 for the second straight year after going seven straight years without a Top 25 finish.

However, the exposure of the flaws in Butch Jones’s program all began to reveal themselves this year. Heading into 2016, though, the story was entirely different. And it’s ironic because of when the NFL Draft was strong and when it wasn’t.

The 2016 NFL Draft was the second year in a row UT had been shut out of the draft. That was after 51 straight years of at least one player taken. But nobody was concerned because, at this time, it was more about just how young this team was. They were returning everybody.

As a result, a Top 10 preseason ranking came with this team since they were on the heels of a Top 25 finish the year before and returned everybody. With a 5-0 start, they were in the Top 10 in October as well. But then a three-game losing streak hit. Then the Florida Gators clinched the SEC East. And, finally, the Vols lost to the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Jones handled things poorly, with his “Champions of Life” comments and refusing to admit this team underachieved as SEC East favorites. A Music City Bowl win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers salvaged things, and six players were taken in the following NFL Draft, 2017. But this specific season was a major letdown for Rocky Top.

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