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Tennessee football’s NFL Draft success: Who gets the most credit? Jeremy Pruitt or Josh Heupel?

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel congratulates wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. (1) during senior day ceremonies before the start of the NCAA college football game between the Tennesse Volunteers and Vanderbilt Commodores in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, November 27, 2021.Kns Tennessee Vanderbilt Football
Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel congratulates wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. (1) during senior day ceremonies before the start of the NCAA college football game between the Tennesse Volunteers and Vanderbilt Commodores in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, November 27, 2021.Kns Tennessee Vanderbilt Football /
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Oct 14, 2017; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones leaves the field after the game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Neyland Stadium. South Carolina won 15 to 9. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 14, 2017; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones leaves the field after the game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Neyland Stadium. South Carolina won 15 to 9. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Butch Jones

Here’s a name you didn’t expect to see. However, Butch Jones at one point had commitments from four of the Tennessee football players in this NFL Draft class. Theo Jackson and Matthew Butler were both commitments in Jones’ 2017 recruiting class, the final class he signed, so he deserves credit for bringing them on board.

In fact, Jones deserves particular credit for Jackson, as he was playing Jackson significantly his first year back in 2017. Despite Jackson constantly having to fight for playing time, he always saw action in every system he played, and Jones started, that, which allowed him to develop.

Jackson and Butler aren’t the only players connected to Jones here. Cade Mays and Alontae Taylor were actually two of his first commitments for 2018. Of course, once 2017 went down the drain and his firing was inevitable, both decommitted. Still, they ended up at UT anyway.

Mays transferred from the Georgia Bulldogs back to the Vols, where he was a legacy kid anyway, after two years with the program, and Taylor comomitted back to Tennessee football when the new coaching staff arrived. That new coaching staff is where we go to next when it comes to giving out credit.

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