2008 coaching staff stronger than ever
A month ago, very few Vols fans knew the names Dave Clawson and Latrell Scott or thought favorably of Florida’s Stan Drayton.
Now that time has passed and the coaching vacancies have been filled, the Volunteer nation should be very satisfied with Phil Fulmer and Mike Hamilton.
The Vols appear to be on the right path with a solid core of young coaches.
At only 36 years old, Drayton has already proven his ability to develop young players having helped Jerious Norwood at Mississippi State and Brian Westbrook at Villanova move on to solid NFL careers.
The main reason that he left Gainesville for the Smokey Mountains is the lack of an emphasis on running backs in the ground game at Florida.
With the top threee rushers (Arian Foster, Montario Hardesty and Lennon Creer) returning in 2008 and no Tebow-like dual threat at quarterback, Tennessee will give him the opportunities he previously lacked.
His recruiting ability also cannot be understated; he helped build the number one recruiting class in 2006 that included Percy Harvin, Tim Tebow and Brandon Spikes.
Drayton’s addition was not the only solid decision made by Fulmer and Hamilton.
Former Richmond head coach, Dave Clawson, will bring a much needed change of pace to the Volunteers’ playcalling and brings with him another great recruiter in Latrell Scott.
With Clawson’s playcalling and Scott’s solid recruiting, the Richmond Spiders enjoyed the strongest season in their program’s history in 2007, finishing with an 11-3 record and an appearance in the national semi-finals.
While the Vols were unable to sign their initial top choices in Kippy Brown and Trooper Taylor, the coaching staff appears as strong as ever and completely ready to prepare for a solid 2008 campaign.
Don’t be surprised if UT convinces a few of the recruits once considered lost after Cutcliffe’s resignation to reconsider Rocky Top.
Terrelle Pryor in Orange? Time will tell.
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