Evan's Eleven
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee It took about 48 hours, but Maryland linebacker prospect Jerome Dews is officially on The List.
Dews talked of his commitment in great detail with the Washington Post, but the recruiting sites held off on adding him to the Vols' commitment list. Why? It's not unheard of for a team to take a lightly recruited two star player late in the process. It is somewhat unusual for a team to take that commitment in June.
But the Vols do need linebackers as much or more than any other position, so Dews' commitment is unlikely to spook any other player the Vols could be recruiting.
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee For most players who sign with a college team out of high school, their recruiting ranking is quickly forgotten. But for elite prospects, the burden or benefit of that high ranking doesn't go away.
We reviewed the rankings for each of the Vols' 82 scholarship players to see which high school prep stars were highly regarded and which ones were less acclaimed.
The numbers are from the 247Sports composite average, which aggregates the rankings of all the major recruiting services. In that sense, this is a good way to get a "consensus" ranking. Some individual services might have ranked players higher or lower.
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee There's more than one way to visualize the 2013 football team.
If you've had your fill of spreadsheets, this map offers another way of looking at the same stuff.
All 82 current scholarship football players are included in this map, and you can play around with the numbers based on class, geography, recruiting ranking and more.
This map was constructed on the relatively new Google Maps Engine light, so I'm still trying to figure out how to best share it. Let me know if you have any ideas. As best I can tell, the map shown above is static, but you can manipulate the map here using your own Google account. You can even change stuff, add markings, etc., and it won't affect the "master Tom Savage Jersey copy."
Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Google Plus or tumblr. E mail with questions or comments.
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee Bob Welton was working for the Cleveland Browns, living in Boise, Idaho, and enjoying life as an NFL scout.
But when Butch Jones called http://www.nflseahawksofficialonline.com/Justin_Britt_Jersey_Seahawks him up with an offer to come to Tennessee as the Vols' new director of personnel, Welton decided to make the switch.
"When he asked me to come here, I was like, 'This is the one guy I can't say no to,'" Welton said in an interview. "I've had chances before to leave, but I was happy in the NFL. The NFL is great. Everything is good about it the pay, the insurance, the benefits. I loved it. When he called, my wife was like, 'We're doing what?' I said, 'No, wait until you meet him. This is going to be awesome.'"
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee Mike Vollmar has spent his career working with some of college football's top coaches, overseeing recruiting and administration in several high profile programs.
He was hired last month from the University of Michigan to be the Vols' new senior associate athletics director for football. I spoke with Vollmar for my story on Sunday about the evolution of the administration structure in college football, but there was plenty of good stuff that didn't make the cut.
Here are excerpts from my Q with the Vols' new senior associate AD:
KNOXVILLE, www.nflseahawksofficialonline.com/Kevin_Pierrelouis_Jersey_Seahawks Tennessee Linebacker Gavin Bryant's commitment brings Tennessee's 2014 class back up to 16 commitments, and it also gives the Vols their first player from Alabama.
Bryant is from Jackson, in the southern part of the state and a seven hour drive from Knoxville, which means the Vols could face intense competition from Alabama and Auburn between now and National Signing Day, especially if Bryant has a big senior season.
For now Bryant is in the fold as the second linebacker commitment of 2014, a position at which the Vols could add as many as five or six new players.
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee Tennessee has added another receiver to the 2014 class.
Brandon Powell, a three star athlete from Deerfield Beach, Fla., committed to Butch Jones and the Vols on Sunday. Powell has played receiver, running back and cornerback in high school. At 5 foot 9 and 170 pounds, he's classified as an athlete for recruiting purposes, but he's likely to end up as a slot receiver in college.
Powell's addition means that as many as five of UT's 16 Women's J.J. Watt Jersey current verbal commitments could be receivers, which is hardly a vote of confidence for the current group.
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee I've covered the annual release of the NCAA's academic progress rate for about eight years now, www.nflseahawksofficialonline.com/Kevin_Norwood_Jersey_Seahawks so I feel as qualified as any beat hack to write about the numbers.
Even so, trying to conclusively answer questions about the ratings is difficult. The scores are not black and white, and with the help of appeals and waivers and other strategies to "earn back" lost points, there can be considerable shuffling from year to year.
With that in mind, let's take a deeper look at Tennessee's current numbers. Remember, the current minimum threshold of a 900 multi year APR score will rise to 930 next year, and the Vols' football program is currently the only UT sport at risk of falling below that mark.
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee Tennessee's new unofficial scholarship count is 80 after the enrollment of 14 new players earlier this summer.
When three more players formally join the team, the Vols should head into the 2013 season with 83 on the scholarship Jadeveon Clowney Texans Jersey roster.
For now, let's take a closer look at the 80 players officially enrolled. Here's a that might be easier to read. (Our list does not include senior defensive back Eric Gordon, whose return to the team seems highly doubtful at best.) What stands out?