tee higgins commits to the tiglets....

[droner]

That's a double bummer for me.

[Tnphil]

30 miles down the road and he heads to Clemson. Butch better win big this season and show kids we can play and beat the big dogs. Not good when our instate 4 and 5 star recruits head out of state and we are getting commits from out of state 3 stars. We haven't shown we can develop highly rated WRs and I'm sure it's being used against us in recruiting.

Also...I've posted before if I was a top rated WR recruit and how bad our passing game has been I'd tell Butch Don't call me I'll call you.

[Creek Walker]

There's no way to sugar coat this one (although I've seen plenty of attempts at trying today)...this one hurts. I can't help but feel that Coach Z is a big reason why we lost Tee. I really was hoping Butch would can him. As Phil said, we've struggled to develop WRs with this staff despite having some blue chip talent to work with. That hasn't gone unnoticed.

I got butchered for saying it last year but this is the second consecutive class where I've been a bit concerned with the recruiting effort. You just can't lose 5-star recruits who practically live in the shadow of Neyland Stadium.

[Clockwork Orange]

I'm pretty patient with recruiting, and we're a long way from things being over with Higgins. I will say that if Butch doesn't bring him back in then it's a major failure and this loaded in-state class isn't looking nearly as good for us at this stage as I would have expected.

I do think Azzanni and the WR performance are problems in recruiting and I can't for the life of me understand what's happening there.

[BanditVol]

I thought last year's recruiting was fine, if perhaps a tad off of Butch's previous efforts.  This year is looking rough at this point, but plenty of time to turn it around if we have a big year.

And how weird is it to be talking about a mostly-complete recruiting class two months before the actual season?  The times, they are a changin'/have changed.

We need to lock down those middle school kids for 2020 I guess. 

[BanditVol]

I did just check Rivals.  We are 9th in 2017 per that site.   Much better than I thought.  I know ratings aren't perfect but I don't see any reason to panic.  I do hope we improve from top 10 to top 5 though.

As for the WR situation, I have been very confused about the rotation for pretty much the duration of Butch's tenure.  There doesn't seem to be an ability to establish any consistency whatsover, and there really isn't a "go to" guy.

I think part of the problem is Dobbs. It's possible that our OC will settle into a better passing routine in his second season, Dobbs or no Dobbs, and some WR leaders who can be consistent will emerge, but I'm not holding my breath.

I am pretty sure the situation will improve when Dobbs is replaced by a more consistent passer next season, but the situation should be better than it is.

[Tnphil]

I did just check Rivals.  We are 9th in 2017 per that site.   Much better than I thought.  I know ratings aren't perfect but I don't see any reason to panic.  I do hope we improve from top 10 to top 5 though.

As for the WR situation, I have been very confused about the rotation for pretty much the duration of Butch's tenure.  There doesn't seem to be an ability to establish any consistency whatsover, and there really isn't a "go to" guy.

I think part of the problem is Dobbs. It's possible that our OC will settle into a better passing routine in his second season, Dobbs or no Dobbs, and some WR leaders who can be consistent will emerge, but I'm not holding my breath.

I am pretty sure the situation will improve when Dobbs is replaced by a more consistent passer next season, but the situation should be better than it is.

Not to be a downer....but a lot of the reason we are ranked so high right now for the 2017 class has a lot to do with having so many committed at this point. When other big dogs catch up with us numbers wise we will drop several spots unless we pickup with top 150 players and stop taking so many 3 star out of state commits.

[murfvol]

Coach Z isn't the QB who can't hit the broad side of a barn.

The next few years we should have significant accuracy upgrades, but I'd go to Clemson too if I was a WR.

[HerbTarlekVol]

Higgins is done, shutting down his recruitment.  He is a rat bastard tiglet.  And much of the reason is because of the offense Butch runs and the lack of a legit throw game, along with a WR coach who can't find his own ass with both hands. 

I've seen a lot of excuses about UT not really that high on Tee and that Tee is over rated.  Maybe, maybe not, but the fact is that he is a kid who literally everybody in the country that is a who's who of college football not just wanted, but coveted.  His upside is incredible.  Is every coach in America who has a clue wrong?

Not going to look good on Butch when three of the best prospects in Tennessee - Richardson, Rogers, and Higgins have to drive to within a couple of miles of Neyland Stadium on their way to the Kleimpsein campus. 

Bottom line - the perception is that Azzanni is hurting some WR's NFL prospects, and whether he is or not, in college football recruiting perception is reality.

Add to that the fact that Dan Brooks has done a hell of a job in this state.  He has a great relationship with many of the high school coaches in Tennessee. 

[Clockwork Orange]

I've seen a lot of excuses about UT not really that high on Tee and that Tee is over rated.  Maybe, maybe not, but the fact is that he is a kid who literally everybody in the country that is a who's who of college football not just wanted, but coveted.  His upside is incredible.  Is every coach in America who has a clue wrong?. 

Who is saying this? I haven't seen such sour grapes but I'm sure some people will spin things that way.

I don't know if Higgins is done or not but Butch clearly has a lot of work to do with a lot of important prospects.

[HerbTarlekVol]

Who is saying this? I haven't seen such sour grapes but I'm sure some people will spin things that way.

I don't know if Higgins is done or not but Butch clearly has a lot of work to do with a lot of important prospects.

Seeing references to it all over VQ and a couple of other so called major UT fan sites, along with quite a few Twitiets making similar posts.  

I'm told by a couple of guys I know well on the Oak Ridge coaching staff that it has been strongly suggested to Tee that he wrap it up now so it doesn't become a distraction to the team once pre-season practice begins.  The same guys tell me that Tee pretty much verbaled to Klempsien back in April - the weekend that he, Rogers, and Richardson were all there together and that Richardson verbaled publicly and has pretty much been headed their since he decomed from UT.

And selfishly, I hate to see UT miss on him.  But for Tee, it might be best for him to get away from home.  And as much as I detest the rat bastard tiglets, I would rather see him there than at Bama, or UGA, or UF and have to play against him every year.  As much as I detest Kleimpsein I really do like Dan Brooks a ton, and Dabo seems on the surface like a genuinely good person and good football coach.  Tee could do a lot worse.     

[BanditVol]

Seeing references to it all over VQ and a couple of other so called major UT fan sites, along with quite a few Twitiets making similar posts.  

I'm told by a couple of guys I know well on the Oak Ridge coaching staff that it has been strongly suggested to Tee that he wrap it up now so it doesn't become a distraction to the team once pre-season practice begins.  The same guys tell me that Tee pretty much verbaled to Klempsien back in April - the weekend that he, Rogers, and Richardson were all there together and that Richardson verbaled publicly and has pretty much been headed their since he decomed from UT.

And selfishly, I hate to see UT miss on him.  But for Tee, it might be best for him to get away from home.  And as much as I detest the rat bastard tiglets, I would rather see him there than at Bama, or UGA, or UF and have to play against him every year.  As much as I detest Kleimpsein I really do like Dan Brooks a ton, and Dabo seems on the surface like a genuinely good person and good football coach.  Tee could do a lot worse.     

I've always liked Dan Brooks.  There were multiple years in the later Fulmer era when we did an almost total or total rebuild on the DL and greatly exceeded expectations.  The funny thing is, a lot of "fans" were saying they "weren't going to miss his backwards ball cap" on the sidelines, but all the guy ever did was excel.  But my views on the over-negativity of some of our so-called "fans" are well known.   

[Clockwork Orange]

And as much as I detest the rat bastard tiglets, I would rather see him there than at Bama, or UGA, or UF and have to play against him every year. 

Oh there is zero doubt about this. If we're going to miss on top targets, let them go to Clemson or USC or FSU or wherever and keep them the hell off of our schedule.

I still hope Tee gets the chance to OV and change his mind though.

[droner]

And today I had to read an article in the local paper about how dabo is "mining Tennessee talent".

Dear Lord, make it stop.

They play a crap schedule and will probably make it to the playoffs again.   

[Creek Walker]

Herb is right. Dan Brooks is paying huge dividends for Dabo. Many UT fans convinced themselves that Brooks was evil after he allegedly blew the whistle on Kiffin's HostessGate, knowing darn well that one of our coaches would've done the same if it had been Nick Saban pulling a stunt like that in our state, but most high school coaches who have been around long in Tennessee have an immense amount of respect for Brooks. He has done his homework with TN high school coaches even after he departed the UT staff, and he has played the game well.

It pisses me off to no end that Clemson is raiding one of the best crops of prep talent that Tennessee has ever produced, but this is a monster of our own making. Simply put, Butch is getting his butt handed to him by Clemson right now. Brooks is coming back home to out-recruit Butch in Butch's own back yard. That isn't an indictment against Butch so much as it is an indication that he'd darned sure better work harder and take whatever steps are necessary to turn this around.

And by "whatever steps are necessary," I'm mostly referring to canning Coach Z after this season. It may be too late to reel Higgins back in but maybe it will stop the next 5-star WR prospect we're interested in from helping Clemson cement its boastful claim as "the new WRU."

[HerbTarlekVol]

And by "whatever steps are necessary," I'm mostly referring to canning Coach Z after this season. It may be too late to reel Higgins back in but maybe it will stop the next 5-star WR prospect we're interested in from helping Clemson cement its boastful claim as "the new WRU."

Yep.  Really believe the Higgins ship has sailed, but Azzanni is a major reason he is heading elsewhere.  Teams that UT is recruiting against are using Azzanni's futility as a weapon.  In my opinion Butch needs to go ahead and pull the trigger now, and not wait until after the season is over.  Can him and appoint a GA as a temporary WR coach and then go get the best you can.  It would send a signal to recruits that status quo isn't acceptable, and even a GA couldn't do any worse than Azzanni has with that unit.