SEC Look Ahead: Tennessee Vols


 

Marquez North was one of Tennessee's prize recruits. (Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports)

With the 2012 football season and recruiting period over, it is time to run down just where the teams in the Southeastern Conference are in preparing for the 2013 season.

Here is a thumbnail look at the Tennessee Vols.

2012 REVIEW: The 2012 season was the final season for Coach Derek Dooley. He was doomed by a four-game losing streak in the middle of the season to four consecutive ranked teams that led to a 5-7 record. Following a season-ending win overKentucky, Dooley was relieved of his job and Butch Jones was hired from Cincinnati.

The season did not have a signature win other than the victory over Kentucky, which rescued Tennessee from a winless conference slate after losing seven consecutive SEC games.

One of the highlights of the season was the play of junior college transfer Cordarrelle Patterson, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound wide receiver. Patterson was the first player since 2008 to score touchdowns by receiving, rushing, kickoff and punt returns. The biggest game for Patterson came in Tennessee’s 55-48 win over Troy when he had 275 total yards, with 219 of them coming via receiving.

SENIOR STARTERS LOST: Tight end Mychal Rivera, left guard Dallas Thomas, Fullback Ben Bartholomew, linebacker Herman Lathers and cornerback Prentiss Waggner

KEY JUNIORS WHO DECLARED FOR NFL DRAFT: Quarterback Tyler Bray, defensive end Darrington Sentimore, wide receivers Justin Hunter and Cordarrelle Patterson

RECRUITING NEEDS: Tennessee needed to add playmakers after losing Bray, Hunter and Patterson and defensive players are always a need for SEC recruiting classes.

COMMITMENTS: Butch Jones’ first recruiting class was ranked No. 20 in the nation and No. 10 in the Southeastern Conference by Rivals.com. The Vols signed 21 players but none were five-star rated. However, the Vols signed five four-star prospects to justify the high ranking.

According to Rivals, the top Tennessee recruits are wide receivers Paul Harris and Marquez North, offensive lineman Austin Sanders, defensive end Jason Carr and athlete Jalen Reeves-Maybin.

Harris is a 6-foot-4, 186-pounder from Maryland, while North is a 6-3, 205-pounder from North Carolina. Sanders is 6-5, 300 pounds from Cleveland, TN. Carr is 6-6, 280 fromMemphis. Reeves-Maybin, a 6-1, 198 pound athlete from Clarksville, TN., could be used on offense or at safety or linebacker.

Scout.com did not rank the Vols’ class as highly as some other recruiting sites. Scout.com ranks the Vols’ class at No. 35 nationally and 12th in the conference.

MaxPreps listed the Vols’ class at 24th in the nation and No. 11 in the SEC.

COACH SPEAK: Butch Jones: “It’s our goal to give everyone the kind of football program that you can be extremely, extremely proud of. And to continue to build upon the legacy and the proud tradition that theUniversity ofTennessee has been so proud of throughout the years. To our great and passionate fan base, and everyone here that loves this program, we’ll be working to be champions each and every day. We will be a champion in everything that we do. That’s not only on the field, but off the field. It starts in the class room. It starts graduating with a meaningful degree. It’s being a productive citizen; it’s being active in our community. That’s what winning is about. I really believe that if you win off the field, you will win on the field. We will be a champion in all we do. We will start from day one to create our culture in our players for them to understand how to succeed on a day to day basis and the standards by which they will abide by.”