The CheckerBoard

Agree strongly on the Martinez comment, I HATED (of the respect variety) at prev SEC stops, he was a slam dunk hire.

The fact of the situation is we are not Florida or Alabama. Its not realistic to think Coach Jones can come in here and in two months get recruits to come to Tennessee following two losing seasons. At this point his best bet is to get players with a certain skill set and try to coach them up. Then improve the program over time. I understand the stars by his name however if KSTATE wanted him he can't be horrible. I look at this and the other three stars and he believes that he can coach them, teach them better technique and then compete in a year or two. Some of our three star guys have had ND, and Georgia after them. There are really only a hand full of coaches that can come to a program and steal five star players. Sabean and Meyer. I wish that he was able to steal 4-5 star kids. However its not realistic at this point. Now he goes out and wins 8-9 games next year or the year after then he can. Maybe he can if he has a whole year to recruit only time will tell. I can tell you that if go to the recruiting sites you are starting to see UT name with bigger recruits and they have UT as dark horses. Maybe he can steal one away. I just like the fact that he is going after people who want to be here.

I am not impressed by the kid on the field. BUT, if he keeps the attitude he has had today on Twitter and in the article then he is a welcome addition. Hopefully he can perform on the field with all of the chances he'll get. There is plenty of room for improvement in the secondary.

See, but that's what I have such a difficult time with. If what you say is true, then why didnt we hire an Urban Meyer..? Because it sounds like you are suggesting that we wont be able to get back to an elite level without someone like that.. Is OSU a better program? Should we just concede that we are a second tier program now..?

as to the last sentence of your post - you have a good memory.

Both Dooley and Kiffin did in their first classes, with even less time that Jones has now. But, again, if what you say is true, then why did we hire Jones? And what is realistic? Should we even expect to have a top 25 class this year? Is that unrealistic? And where do you think that will put us comparatively in the SEC? And how will that translate into wins next year? Have you looked at our roster? Do you recognize who we will lose next year? And if we have a mediocre class this year, what then can we expect on the field in 2014?

BTW, not to you RockyTop in particular, but I'd like to thank everyone for the 11 downvotes cumulatively for all my posts on this thread. I truly think that's a shame. We are all tennessee fans. We all bleed orange. We are all passionate about our team. I think it's sad that I cant express my objective, honest opinions, and not get downvoted into oblivion on here. It really is coming to the point where, unless you are blowing sunshine, people just shout you down on here. I dont really understand it. To me, downvotes are for people who come on and troll, or are insulting to others. I would never DV someone merely for expressing an honest opinion. People want to disagree with me, that's fine. I am happy to have a spirited debate about our respective view points. Isnt that what this board is for..?

Of course everyone wants a class of all 4 and 5 star players, but coming off of three straight losing seasons that is not realistic no matter who the coach is. It may not be realistic anywhere. UT is in the mix for many elite players. Jones just got here. And he is likely recruiting to need. We need DBs and I am not sure that there are many elite DBs left in the region that UT is not pursuing. But you still have to take good players when you get them in case the 5 stars go elsewhere. Jones is recruiting against programs that have been winning NCs while UT has been down - so you can't blame them for going elsewhere. This is going to take at least some time.

There's still almost a month and a half until NSD, so it's pointless to evaluate this class (or Jones' abilities) right now. Yes this guy is a 3-star JUCO player - but he's one that also was offered by K-State, Houston, UK, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Texas Tech, and West Virginia to name a few. My biggest issue with your entire argument in this thread is that you are placing too much emphasis on the # of stars by the player's name. If you look at some of the most productive Vols, they weren't the 4-5 stars but the high 2-star and 3-star players. Guys like Luke Stocker were not highly rated coming out of high school, but they busted their butts every damn day to improve and help this team win games. That's the type of player Tennessee needs, and that's the type of players Jones has already stated he's going after. Once you build a foundation with that type of player, it becomes a hell of a lot easier to target those 4-5 star players currently looking at Alabama, USCw, Florida, and other top-tier schools. But there's no way you simply flip a switch and magically make those recruits come to a school with no recent record of winning. Comparing this current class to Meyer's first class at OSU is a terrible comparison as well. You can't compare a team consistently competing for B1G titles to a program trying not to go winless in SEC play.

Once Jones gets his system in place at Tennessee and the wins start coming, then you'll see recruiting pick up. But it takes time, especially with a program that has now seen 4 HCs and somewhere between 20-30 assistant/position coaches in the last five years. There's just too much baggage there to expect an instantaneous turnaround...

You are correct that the recruiting class isn't over yet. It's a long way until NSD. Also agree that stars don't tell the whole story. Here's where I disagree:
Tennessee's greatest players were NOT 2-3 star kids. Peyton Manning, Jamal Lewis, Jason Witten, Robert Meachem, Eric Berry were not 2-3 star players. Let's not discount the fact that the best teams in the country are also the teams who sign the best players.

This is a crucial recruiting year for UT because of the players who will graduate and the few who will likely leave early next year. If this class finishes at 46th in the country (where I think it stands now) then UT is looking at 2-3 more years of .500 or below. I know I've said this before, but I see Jones going into year 3 with two straight .500 or below seasons and on the hotseat.... sounds just like 2010, huh?

We won't finish at 46th.

Sometimes i wonder why anybody would come to Tn if they read all you cry-babies on this board dogging them out all the time. Dogging commitments is very poor representaion of the TN fanbase. I am certainly in agreement the we need to get our share of 4 and 5 star kids. I am also of a mind that we need our share of 3s that will bleed orange and will give thier all for TN each day. A majority of 4 and 5 that pan out may or may not bleed orange and give thier all.......some do. A good example of what i am talking about is the 97, 98 and 99 teams. The 97 and 98 team gave thier all, every play, every game. The 99 team had quite a bit more talent......and went in the tank.
A couple of three's right now isn't the end of Tn football. There are plenty of higher ranked players coming in for OVs in January that CBJ has offered and is trying to land. Even the Doolander with a roster full of three stars very possibly would have beaten the top three teams in the east this year with the 4-3 D from the previous year. I think Johnny Football was a 3 also......I may be mistaken.
I like the heck out of CBJ so far.........Its way to early to start predicting whether he is the right or wrong guy for the job.

I'm not saying it'll be 46th at the end, but things better pick up quick.

Exactly! Well said.