Wednesday, February 01, 2006
UT National Signing Day - Post 7
One note of good news - Florida's top-rated class looks to have taken a hit this morning with 3 decommitments this morning, losing 2 to Florida State. Gator suffering is a good thing.
More LOIs have been received on The Hill! Welcome the latest Vols!
UT Commitment #5 - LaMarcus Thompson
LaMarcus Thompson, a 6'0", 185 pound LB from Stone Mountain, Georgia, is an excellent athlete but a rather interesting find by the Tennessee staff. Thompson is undersized and looks to have several problems with technique on film. Specifically, he does not wrap up on his tackles, and he has problems shedding blocks. His speed is average (4.79 40 time). Tennessee beat out Arkansas, Georgia Tech, and Kentucky for Thompson's services in a recruitment spearheaded by Coach Trooper Taylor.
UT Commitment #6 - Dorian Davis
This is my pick for the "diamond in the rough" of UT's 2006 Class. Dorian Davis (6'1", 195 lbs.) was not highly recruited, only receiving interest from Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas State, and Kansas. Hailing from Iowa City, Iowa, few of the big-time programs saw the need to recruit a linebacker on the smallish side. Coach Greg Adkins and Coach Steve Caldwell saw a gem of a player, though, and Davis didn't take long to tell them that he was looking forward to playing in Knoxville.
"I really liked the fact that it is a real family environment down there within the team. They are all looking out for each other and the coaches are there for you too. It is just a comfortable family feeling down there. At the game, the crowd was crazy and that is something that you would love to be a part of."
After watching several video collections of Davis, I am certainly willing to overlook Rivals' 2-star rating and declare Davis as a super prospect. When he hits people, they go down. He flows to running backs easily, not getting hung up by offensive linemen. His blitzes were, with all due respect, reminiscent of Al Wilson. Heck, he even returned punts on special teams.
Davis is not yet ready to make an impact at UT. He needs to become immersed in the weight room. If he can gain 20-30 pounds without losing any of his impressive speed, he could be a force at UT a few years down the road.
UT Commitment #7 - Quintin Hancock
Quintin Hancock, a lanky 6'2", 182 pound WR out of St. Augustine, Florida, is one of the few receivers targeted by the Vols this year. He is rated as one of the top 50 wide receivers in the country, and he brings speed as a deep threat to a WR corps that needs one. On film, he also looked especially adept at catching the wide receiver screen. (Tongue firmly planted in cheek...) He also has excellent catching technique.
"The coaches said they don't have many real deep threats. I think the biggest thing the coaches like about my game is the fact that I catch the ball with my hands. At least that is what they tell me."
Tennessee beat out Maryland, Auburn, Nebraska, and Georgia Tech for Hancock's services.
UT Commitment #8 - Darius Myers
Much like Walter Fisher, this is Darius Myers' second time signing with the Vols. The 6'4", 320 pound offensive lineman has spent the last year at Hargrave Military School in Virginia getting his academics in order but will be on campus in Knoxville come the Fall. Myers was the #45 guard in 2005 nationally, and he improved at Hargrave to gain recognition by Rivals as the #14 prep school player in the country for this year, as well as receiving a 4-star rating. What does Darius like about the Vols?
"I really like the fan base, coaches and the fact that a lot of my friends went there. It's the in-state team and as a little boy that's where I always wanted to play. That was my dream team."
More to come...
More LOIs have been received on The Hill! Welcome the latest Vols!
UT Commitment #5 - LaMarcus Thompson
LaMarcus Thompson, a 6'0", 185 pound LB from Stone Mountain, Georgia, is an excellent athlete but a rather interesting find by the Tennessee staff. Thompson is undersized and looks to have several problems with technique on film. Specifically, he does not wrap up on his tackles, and he has problems shedding blocks. His speed is average (4.79 40 time). Tennessee beat out Arkansas, Georgia Tech, and Kentucky for Thompson's services in a recruitment spearheaded by Coach Trooper Taylor.
UT Commitment #6 - Dorian Davis
This is my pick for the "diamond in the rough" of UT's 2006 Class. Dorian Davis (6'1", 195 lbs.) was not highly recruited, only receiving interest from Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas State, and Kansas. Hailing from Iowa City, Iowa, few of the big-time programs saw the need to recruit a linebacker on the smallish side. Coach Greg Adkins and Coach Steve Caldwell saw a gem of a player, though, and Davis didn't take long to tell them that he was looking forward to playing in Knoxville.
"I really liked the fact that it is a real family environment down there within the team. They are all looking out for each other and the coaches are there for you too. It is just a comfortable family feeling down there. At the game, the crowd was crazy and that is something that you would love to be a part of."
After watching several video collections of Davis, I am certainly willing to overlook Rivals' 2-star rating and declare Davis as a super prospect. When he hits people, they go down. He flows to running backs easily, not getting hung up by offensive linemen. His blitzes were, with all due respect, reminiscent of Al Wilson. Heck, he even returned punts on special teams.
Davis is not yet ready to make an impact at UT. He needs to become immersed in the weight room. If he can gain 20-30 pounds without losing any of his impressive speed, he could be a force at UT a few years down the road.
UT Commitment #7 - Quintin Hancock
Quintin Hancock, a lanky 6'2", 182 pound WR out of St. Augustine, Florida, is one of the few receivers targeted by the Vols this year. He is rated as one of the top 50 wide receivers in the country, and he brings speed as a deep threat to a WR corps that needs one. On film, he also looked especially adept at catching the wide receiver screen. (Tongue firmly planted in cheek...) He also has excellent catching technique.
"The coaches said they don't have many real deep threats. I think the biggest thing the coaches like about my game is the fact that I catch the ball with my hands. At least that is what they tell me."
Tennessee beat out Maryland, Auburn, Nebraska, and Georgia Tech for Hancock's services.
UT Commitment #8 - Darius Myers
Much like Walter Fisher, this is Darius Myers' second time signing with the Vols. The 6'4", 320 pound offensive lineman has spent the last year at Hargrave Military School in Virginia getting his academics in order but will be on campus in Knoxville come the Fall. Myers was the #45 guard in 2005 nationally, and he improved at Hargrave to gain recognition by Rivals as the #14 prep school player in the country for this year, as well as receiving a 4-star rating. What does Darius like about the Vols?
"I really like the fan base, coaches and the fact that a lot of my friends went there. It's the in-state team and as a little boy that's where I always wanted to play. That was my dream team."
More to come...
Permalink posted by Rob Huddleston @ 8:41 AM 
