Tennessee football: Ranking all head coaches’ final NFL Draft classes

UT coach Lane Kiffin congratulates Tennessee cornerback Eric Berry (14) on his interception Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009 at Neyland Stadium.Utmemphis Jh15

Number of NFL Draft picks: 6

Round 1: Eric Berry – Kansas City Chiefs (Pick 5)
Round 1: Dan Williams – Arizona Cardinals (Pick 26)
Round 2: Montario Hardesty – Cleveland Browns (Pick 59)
Round 4: Jacques McClendon – Indianapolis Colts (Pick 129)
Round 5: Chris Scott – Pittsburgh Steelers (Pick 151)
Round 5: Jonathan Crompton – San Diego Chargers (Pick 168)

This is obviously where Phillip Fulmer gets more credit, as all of these guys were his players. However, it serves as more evidence of how wild and exciting Lane Kiffin’s one year with Tennessee football that produced mediocre results actually was.

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Kiffin obviously bolted for the USC Trojans after his first year, so his only draft class at UT was his last one. He improved the draft stock of lots of Fulmer recruits, though. Most notable among them was Eric Berry, who had a nine-year Hall-of-Fame career, coming back from lymphoma in 2015, with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Monte Kiffin drastically improved Berry’s already insane draft stock by playing him more up on the line of scrimmage in his Cover-2 schemes, adding more versatility to the Thorpe Award winner. His schemes also improved defensive tackle Dan Williams’ stock, who was a second first-rounder and spent seven years in the league, five with the Arizona Cardinals and two with the Oakland Raiders.

Then there was Kiffin’s offenses. Running back Montario Hardesty waited his turn to start behind Arian Foster and others and had an explosive senior season to become a second-round pick. He spent four years with the Cleveland Browns but never panned out due to injuries.

Offensive linemen Jacques McClendon and Chris Scott both saw pro success. McClendon spent six years in the league with four different teams. Scott also spent six years in the league. He was with three different teams, his final four and most notable years being with the Carolina Panthers.

Then there’s quarterback Jonathan Crompton, who had a horrendous 2008 campaign and was blamed partly for Phillip Fulmer’s firing. Midway through 2009, Kiffin’s offense resurrected Crompton and he thrived, which made him an NFL Draft pick in the fifth round. He never played, but just being drafted was a testament to Kiffin.

There were more Tennessee football draft picks Neyland’s final year than Kiffin’s, but Kiffin had higher picks and guys who drew tons of interest. They were expected to work out, and his one year on Rocky Top put him on top in one way as a result.