The CheckerBoard

Sounds like you are already in position. Please step back from the edge. If things don't go well in February we'll jump together.

I like your optimism, but the Tennessee we've become is a program coming off 3 consecutive losing seasons. We arent a hot destination anymore and it's driving me mad.

honestly the past administration is why we are not as hot a destination. I wont jump off until next year around this time if we are still doing poorly recruiting.. im going full butch here and giving him a full year on the recruiting trail before i jump.. i would love it if you would wait with me..

Ok... I'm stepping off the ledge.

Ya know.. eventually a team is gonna line up against Bama and run the ball down their throats. It's been a while since that has happened but it will happen again and who better to do it that Tennessee? We will have the best OL in the country next year (one of the best in school history) and a pretty darn good running back with or without D Green. Neal is stronger and faster. When recruits see us roll the tide, the game will change.

I can't read the VIP posts ITT

If we miss out on all those guys, then we fill the spots with kids who want to be Vols

Recruiting at this level isn't something you can expect to do in a month or six weeks. You have to establish relationships and Jones hasn't had time to do that with the top quality kids Tennessee is chasing. Might he get a couple of them? Heck, yes. But you can't realistically expect him to sign a top-tier SEC class with the time he has left and the guys who were already committed.

Next year, provided he has coached the roster up and earned a bowl bid, the recruiting gains will come. You can't snap your fingers and recruit in the SEC.

I refuse to listen to this thing you call "logic"

we are going to have to agree to disagree on that point. I actually think you can recruit and land a top 15 class in the time that CBJ and his staff has. It's been done before and it will be done again this year probably by Malzahn and his staff and perhaps other new hires. Dooley did it in his first year coming from La.Tech. I really do believe CBJ has an advantage at this point because there is a chance his resume may never look better to recruits than it looks right now. And I think too much is made of "developing relationships" in recruiting. These are 18 year old kids who flip constantly depending on the way the wind blows. Look at last year. Otha Peters and Dalton Santos flip at the last minute after being committed to us for months. So much for the "relationships" we had built with them. UT builds it's own "relationship" with recruits because of our stature and facilities and name recognition. All we need is a good coach who recruits like, recognize and who can sell the program. And it's not like Butch Jones and his staff were just dropped on the planet. Thigpen and Martinez have been around the SEC for years. Jones has been coaching at a BCS school in the heart of the midwest where he has gotten a lot of exposure. So it's not as if no one knows who he is, and he has had no prior contact with any of these kids. Certainly he has a ton more name recogniation and career highlights than CDD did when he came in and got in some really elite talent in about 3 weeks time.

It can be done. But more importantly, in our current situation, it must be done.