VTTW Board Index

How many times now have we landed a guy who was ranked #1 by one or more of the major services?  I know of three times recently: Bryce Brown, Khalil McKenzie, and Trey Smith.  Brown was a total bust in his one year here.  KMac hasn't live up to the hype as of yet (although the DL sure looked a hell of a lot worse after he got hurt this year, so maybe he was better than we thought).  Let's hope Trey is all he's cracked up to be.

Before that, did we have anyone?  Peyton came before the major recruiting sites, but didn't several of the preseason magazines have him #1?  And going back even further, wasn't Chuck Webb rated really high when we got him?

Peyton wasn't even ranked #1 in his own state.  Josh Booty was the top rated QB and player out of Louisiana that year.  

And of course, we have to remember that while Peyton was a "nice" quarterback, he was no Freddie Kitchens.   :naughty:

Webb came out in the days when about the only ranking service was Tom Lemming.  I remember for several years paying $50 for his subscription of a quarterly newsletter and a signing day edition of his magazine and anxiously awaiting their arrival.  

Certainly a different day.  

One local player who was ranked #1 in his class was Leroy Thompson of Austin-East, who ended up going to Penn State.  He played at A-E with Von Reeves and Joey Clinkscales.  

Yeah, I remember all the hand-wringing when we lost Thompson.  As I recall, we had to "settle" for some other local chump named Reggie Cobb. :naughty:

K-Mac was starting to come in to his own and was stepping up his game...then he got hurt :banghead:

Yep.  Wish he and Webb could have stayed healthy/out of trouble and stayed together for a couple of years.  Would have been special. 

As good a football player as he was, Thompson was incredible on the basketball court, as well.  He had SEC offers in hoops, too. 

And actually now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure Gerald Riggs was a #1 guy as well.  Although I saw him play in person in HS and I could have told you he wasn't THAT good.  He had a decent career in Knoxville, but never really lived up to the hype.

Yep, I saw Maryville absolutely shut him down in his last hight school football game in the playoffs. 

Good athlete, but certainly not the #1 player in America. 

Peyton was a top 5 QB though, as was Brandon Stewart.  I recall that being a big deal.

I played against AE in '83.  I think that was a little before the time of those three, but I do remember they had 2 guys that went on to play college ball.  I forget were they all ended up

Don't think Riggs was #1

Chuck Webb would have been a top 10 guy, five star for sure.

From what I remember, Riggs was the #1 running back, and theat might have been the #1 running back in Tennessee

Where Rivals is concerned, no need to speculate.  Riggs was no. 2 at his position, no. 12 in the country.

https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/24270

While we are on the topic, does having a father who was a very successful football player inflate your recruiting ranking?   Riggs and maybe KMac would suggest this...although in fairness to KMac he sat out his senior year.  Riggs did very well in the SECCG against Auburn, so he had that going for him.

Of course...Peyton would definitely be an exception here.   :naughty:

And if we are talking no. 1 at position, then Marcus Nash was the no. 1 WR coming out of HS (and BTW that 94 class was, hands down, our greatest ever).  I'd have to say he lived up to it, although he could have been even better (occasionally ran out of bounds early and had "alligator arms').

Deon Gant was the no. 1 DB, as I believe Goodrich was as well in a different class, though I am less sure about Goodrich.

How highly rated was Jabari Davis? I figured he would have a better career than he had in Knoxville.

Jabari Davis:

Ranked as the nations No. 1 running back according to PrepStar. Named to the Parade All-America team, and was a second-team pick by USA Today. Tom Lemming ranked him as the nations No. 10 overall prospect and third-ranked running back. Rushed for 1,342 yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior. A three-year starter at running back, he led his team to the quarterfinals of the 2000 Georgia 4A playoffs with a 10-3 record. Ran for five touchdowns against McNair High School and rushed for 228 yards. Also played end and linebacker. In track, he competed in the 100 meters, the 4x100 meter relay and the shot put.


http://cfn.scout.com/a.z?s=451&p=8&c=1&nid=1338208

IIRC, we signed a boatload of bluechip WRs in that 94 class.  Anthony Hampton, Mo Staley, and another guy whose name I can't remember that I think ended up moving to LB.  And was Andy McCullough in that class, too?  Nash is the only one who really panned out.

How about the opposite? I like the players who had average careers in Knoxville and did better in the pros. I think Charlie Garner would fit the bill. And the TE Rivera who played for the Raiders. Mayo had a good run with the Patriots. Arian Foster had a better pro career than college career, like him or not. Jabari Greer has had a good pro career. Who do you see as having better pro careers than college for the Vols. Heck, even Peyton could be included in the better pro career side.

I actually agree about Peyton, though it's not much of a plus up.

I don't know about Garner.  He was really, really good at UT.  If he didn't have to split time with two other great backs, he would've been a first team AA.  It was a bit surprising he did so well for so long in the pros, since he's such a small guy.  But I don't know if I would say he was better than he was at UT. 

Foster, for sure.  I don't think anyone saw his NFL success coming.