Tag Archives: Dillon Bates

Charles Mosley, Dewayne Hendrix among Tennessee football roster updates

Charles Mosley (photo by 247 Sports)

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Tennessee freshman defensive lineman Charles Mosley will start his career at a whopping 374 pounds, a dozen pounds more than his listed weight during recruiting.

That was among the tidbits gleaned from Tennessee’s release of the updated weights and heights for first-year players on the Vols’ 2014 roster.

Collectively, Tennessee’s first-year players gained 84 pounds and lost 72 for a net difference of 12 pounds from their listed weight when signed.

In some cases, that could indicate a player losing or gaining weight on his own. In other instances, it could simply mean that their weight was artificially inflated or deflated during the recruiting process and this is the first “official” measurement.

Defensive end Dewayne Hendrix gained the most weight in the new release, growing from 252 to 273 pounds. That suggests he could eventually move inside to a defensive tackle spot. (Or perhaps could move inside sooner than expected).

On the other side, defensive end Derek Barnett dropped from 284 to 267 pounds, the biggest loss among first-year players. Barnett is another strong-side end who was expected to play as a big end or eventually move inside.

Hendrix also gained an inch in height and is now listed at 6-foot-4. Three first-year players gained an inch, two lost an inch. Some players, of course, are still growing. The shrinking players likely benefited from an inflated inch during the recruiting process.

Remember: our Tennessee summer roster always stays updated with arrivals, departures and depth chart changes.

Tennessee football position preview: Linebackers will be helped by return of Curt Maggitt, A.J. Johnson

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The seventh in a series of position-by-position reviews of the Tennessee football team with an eye toward the start of spring practice in March.

A.J. Johnson talks to reporters after the Kentucky game (photo by Evan Woodbery)

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — A.J. Johnson‘s decision to return for his senior season in 2014 will give Tennessee two experienced leaders in the middle of the defense.

Curt Maggitt is back after missing all of 2013 as he recovered from ACL surgery.

Barring a huge surprise, Johnson and Maggitt will start. About two-thirds of the time, when UT is in nickel, there won’t be any need for a third linebacker. When the Vols are in a 4-3 set, there will be plenty of options to fill out the rotation.

Dontavis Sapp and converted safety Brent Brewer are the biggest losses from 2013. Four other longtime reserves are also moving on.

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A look at Tennessee recruiting at midpoint of 2013 season

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KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — The recruiting class committed in August is rarely the same one that signs in February, and the defection of a prospect this week is the first sign of it.

The Vols seem to have lost junior college receiver Eric Lauderdale, a Georgia native now playing juco ball in California.

Lauderdale had just picked up an offer from Florida and is intrigued by the prospect of being a Gator. Tennessee has four committed receivers in its 2014 signing class and is likely to add at least one more, so Lauderdale’s departure won’t hurt from a numbers standpoint. Whether the Vols miss his future production won’t known for years, as is often the case in recruiting.

The Vols are coming off a big recruiting weekend, are at the midpoint of the 2013 season and finally get a break on Saturday. So it’s a good time to review the Vols’ 2014 recruiting outlook.

Who’s in the fold: The Vols have 24 verbal commitments. They can sign 29 — I think — by “back-counting” some early enrollees.

Running back Jalen Hurd is the prize of the class and the only consensus five-star, although safety Todd Kelly and linebacker Dillon Bates are very close to that designation.

See the sheet above for the full list of commitments.

Where are they from? Interestingly, the geographic midpoint of the 2014 class sits in Ten Mile, Tenn., only about 45 miles southwest of Neyland Stadium. So the geographic diversity of the class is spread fairly evenly.

Five of the commitments are from Tennessee; five are from Georgia; Texas, Florida, Ohio and Maryland have two each.

What do they play? In keeping with Butch Jones’ goal of increasing the team’s overall speed, many of the prospects fall into the “athlete” category, so there’s some flexibility in their college position.

Using our best guess, there are five linebackers, five defensive backs and four receivers, two running backs, two tight ends, three offensive linemen and two defensive linemen. And a kicker.

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What do the Vols still need? To answer this question, I broke the usual “roster needs” chart into deeper categories. The “goal” in the first column is flexible and not meant to be set in stone. But it provides a good ballpark estimate.

This chart also includes a “new column” for non-contributors. This is for players who, because of injuries or other reasons, seem unlikely to break into the playing rotation in the future.

The chart shows only one pressing need left for the Vols’ 2014 class — defensive tackle. UT might also like to snag another offensive lineman.

So who’s still on the board? Lots of players. Even though there are officially only five spots left in the class, plenty can change in four months. Here are a few names to watch:

Four-star defensive tackle Charles Mosely of Brighton visited Knoxville this weekend and would be an important addition to the class.

Another in-state prospect, Josh Malone of Gallatin, is an elite receiver prospect. He visited Knoxville this weekend, too.

Twins Evan and Elliott Berry — would provide a boost in the secondary.

Tennessee 2014 commitment list shuffles a bit with updated ratings

Dillon Bates (photo courtesy KNS partner 247Sports)

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — The top half of Tennessee’s 2014 commitment list shuffled a bit when the recruiting sites updated their rankings after a couple of high-profile prospect events.

Linebacker Dillon Bates, who committed to the Vols last week, made a huge jump in the 247Sports rankings. In the 247 Composite rankings, which we use for the charts and graphics, he is the third-ranked prospect on the Vols’ current commitment list.

Ohio defensive end Joe Henderson, also made a big jump, moving up two spots on our list after breaking into the Top247.

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Dillon Bates gives Vols a 4th linebacker in 2014 Class

Dillon Bates (photo from News Sentinel partner 247Sports)

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Tennessee can still add as many another 10 to 12 players to its 2014 class, and already the numbers are starting to look more reassuring.

The late addition of Kendal Vickers to the 2013 class will give the Vols plenty of defensive linemen this year, helping to cushion the blow when at least six players move on after the season.