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There’s a rather fascinating trend continuing within the Tennessee football program.
Butch Jones came to Tennessee in December of 2012. While he had some impact on the eventual 2013 signing class, his first full recruiting cycle took place the following year.
His 2014 class was stellar. Tennessee signed 32 prospects — many of whom were 4 and 5-star recruits. According to 247Sports, the class ranked No. 7 nationally.
This class in essence was supposed to be the backbone of ‘the new’ Tennessee program under Jones. However, this hasn’t exactly gone to plan:
The exit of Jalen Hurd marks the 12th player from the #Vols heralded 2014 signing class to exit the @Vol_Football program.
— John Brice (@JohnDBrice1) October 31, 2016
Running back Jalen Hurd became the 12th player from that vaunted recruiting class to leave the program. Others include:
Michael Sawyers
Derrell Scott
Dewayne Hendrix
Dontavius Blair
Ray Raulerson
Joe Henderson
Daniel Helm
D’Andre Payne
Neiko Creamer
Vic Wharton
There’s a myriad of reasons for why any player opts to transfer. Homesickness may be an issue, injuries could bubble up as a problem, and a lack of playing time may also be a culprit. Transfers are inevitable each and every year.
With that said, this does appear to be an inordinate amount of players careening away from the program. It’s something to certainly think about going forward.
