VTTW Board Index

...that no Vol is taken in the NFL Draft?  When AJ Johnson's combine invitation was rescinded, it left Justin Coleman as our lone representative in Indy.  Coleman is 50/50 to be drafted at best, he'll go very late if it happens at all.  So unless somebody takes a chance on AJ, or maybe someone like Matt Darr in the late rounds, we're likely to be shut out.  

Of course this is a double edged sword, as it also means that we're not losing anyone.  But it is just another indicator of how low our talent level had gotten before Butch started recruiting again.  And starting next year and (especially) the year after, we figure to make our mark on future drafts in a big way.

Yep.  This is the very low point of the low times.  Basically the current class eligible for the draft was recruited in 2011, right after Doofus lost to UK.  That class and the next one were not the greatest, then when Dooley was let go in 2012 there was the usual amount of attrition from a coaching change.  Finally, Butch just benched a whole bunch of guys.  While I believe most of them should have been benched, he probably erred on the side of the younger players.  Why not?  He had a grace period of low expectations, why not bring in his own players and get them experience?

The result is that we had almost no upperclassmen starters this year. Tough to get drafted when you are not a starter.

I do think it was the best approach and one that has already paid dividends and those will only get even better.

True, but there was a time not so long ago that it didn't matter if you were a starter or not.  If you were a scholarship player at UT, and you had completed your eligibility without getting in any off-field trouble (or were good enough to enter the draft early), you were pretty much guaranteed a shot in the NFL- usually as a draftee, but no worse than a FA signee.  That hasn't been the case for a few years now- but I think it will be again soon.

Coleman just ran a 4.53 40 at the combine. That's quite a bit faster than he looks on the field and maybe it helps him.

Okay, I disagree a bit here.  It's very true that you didn't have to be a starter to be a candidate for the draft or even to make it in the NFL.  There was a guy who was an underachieving WR at UT that became a successful TE for the Packers (I think) who comes to mind, and there were others.

But I don't agree that "If you were a scholarship player who completed your eligibility....you were pretty much guaranteed a shot in the NFL".  There were plenty of busts all through the Fulmer years.  I can recall many years not recognizing half the names on Senior Day as they ran through the T for the last time. 

I do think what you are saying was true of our two deep from 1998-99, but it has not been so since.  I would agree that any scholarship player completing their eligibility had a good shot at the NFL, but it was far from a guarantee.

Interestingly, IMO he played much better after the SCe game.  Something clicked