Any time a college program makes changes to its coaching staff, there is always the worry about what it might do to recruiting. Those coaches, after all, are the ones who establish relationships with high school players and are the ground troops for finding and bringing in recruits.
Tennessee though does not look like it will miss a beat when it comes to signing day after hiring Bob Shoop to replace John Jancek. Butch Jones appears to have both built up trust with new recruits and found someone they can get excited to play for.
Several Tennessee recruits spoke to SEC Country and re-affirmed their commitment and confidence in Tennessee and the new defensive coordinator hire:
“That’s really exciting,” three-star cornerback Baylen Buchanan from Peachtree Ridge High School (Suwanee, Ga.) said. “I’ve heard real good things about him. I’m interested in talking to him and getting to know him.”
“That was nice,” early enrollee defensive back Desmon Henderson said. “That was good for me. … I feel like Butch Jones knows what he’s doing and he’d make the right hire.”
“I think that it will be a good contribution to Vol nation,” three-star linebacker Ja’Quain Blakely said. “I heard he’s a pretty good coach and he’s trying to come in and do big things.”
Several also took to Twitter and it seemed like the approval was universal:
Coach Shoop is legit.
— Jonathan Kongbo (@King_Kongbo) January 10, 2016
Excited to see what coach shoop got in store for Tennessee! ???
— Marquill Osborne (@gotfootball3) January 10, 2016
https://twitter.com/VertHill21/status/686006862655795200
Indeed it seems Tennessee kept the positive momentum moving forward from the end of the season into their coaching hires. And everyone is seeing a big 2016 for the Volunteers.
