Butch Jones may not need many more bricks.
Tennessee secured its best signing class since the Phillip Fulmer days Wednesday.
Four-star offensive tackle Drew Richmond, a long-standing Ole Miss commitment, made official what most suspected for a few days, signing a letter of intent with the Vols after decommiting days ago. Richmond ranked as the third-best offensive tackle in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
But Richmond was just the cherry on top of a class that should propel the Vols into the Top 25 immediately. Jones is getting a ton of help on both sides of the ball, outdoing last year’s class that also ranked in the Top 10.
The team’s defensive line class arguably is the best in the country, with five-star DT Kahlil McKenzie ranked as one of the best players of the 2015 class. The unit also includes four-star DE Kyle Phillips, four-star DT Shy Tuttle, four-star DE Andrew Butcher and three-star DT Quay Picou.
All the four-star players were early enrollees. Phillips in particular could be the team’s third-best pass rusher in 2015 behind incumbents Curt Maggitt and Derek Barnett, who combined for 21 sacks and 35.5 tackles for loss in ’14. Butcher is a capable player even as a true freshman, but it remains to be seen how he’ll fit in on the loaded depth chart.
Richmond and early enrollee and four-star OT Jack Jones should help solidify the pass protection for QB Josh Dobbs. The Vols also inherited two big-time playmakers in 6-foot-4 WR Preston Williams and RB Alvin Kamara, a four-start junior college transfer who should give Tennessee a two-headed monster in the backfield alongside Jalen Hurd.
UT did miss out on four-star OT Patrick Allen, who chose Georgia on Wednesday, and junior college WR Camion Patrick, who signed with Indiana. Allen was superfluous once Richmond joined the Vols. Patrick would’ve made a nice addition, but Tennessee’s receiving corps already is saturated.
SEARCHING FOR A BACKUP QB
With the news that backup Nathan Peterman indeed will transfer to Pitt, the Vols’ quarterback depth behind Dobbs was virtually non-existent entering Wednesday.
But the team signed three quarterbacks to letters of intent, including a pair of early enrollees in Jauan Jennings and Quinten Dormady. Sheriron Jones is the other player, and all three are consensus four-star members of the 2015 class.
Vols fans can expect Jennings and Dormady to compete during spring practice to back up sophomore-to-be Dobbs, potentially a critical job depending on whether the quarterback stays healthy. Tennessee’s offensive line should improve next year, but it left its signal-callers pretty vulnerable in ’14, including a season-ending injury to Justin Worley that opened the position for Dobbs in the first place.
VOLS GO NATIONAL
Tennessee signed 20 of its 29 players from out of state, including Kansas, North Carolina, Indiana, California, Virginia, Oklahoma, Michigan and Florida.
That seems like a staple of the Jones era, as last year, 22 of 32 players signed from out of state.
TENNESSEE’S 2015 RECRUITING CLASS
- National Rank: 4
- SEC Rank: 2
- No. of Commitments: 29
- Rating: 1 five-star, 15 four-star, 12 three-star, 1 two-star
Top incoming offensive players: WR Preston Williams, RB Alvin Kamara, OT Drew Richmond
Top incoming defensive players: DT Kahlil McKenzie, DE Kyle Phillips
SIGNED LETTER OF INTENT
- Kahlil McKenzie, DT, Five-star
- Preston Williams, WR, Four-star
- Drew Richmond, OT, Four-star
- Micah Abernathy, CB, Four-star
- Kyle Phillips, DE, Four-star
- Alvin Kamara, RB, Four-star
- Shy Tuttle, DT, Four-star
- Jack Jones, OT, Four-star
- Darrin Kirkland Jr., ILB, Four-star
- Jauan Jennings, QB, Four-star
- Quart’e Sapp, OLB, Four-star
- Justin Martin, CB, Four-star
- Sheriron Jones, QB, Four-star
- Quinten Dormandy, QB, Four-star
- Andrew Butcher, DE, Four-star
- Darrell Taylor, DE, Four-star
- Venzell Boulware, OT, Three-star
- Quay Picou, DT, Three-star
- John Kelly, ATH, Three-star
- Zach Stewart, OT, Three-star
- Chance Hall, OT, Three-star
- Austin Smith, OLB, Three-star
- Kyle Oliver, TE, Three-star
- Darrell Miller, CB, Three-star
- Vincent Perry, RB, Three-star
- Stephen Griffin, S, Three-star
- Jocquez Bruce, ATH, Three-star
- Tommy Townsend, P, Two-star
- Riley Lovingood, LS, Two-star
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
