The best and worst of Tennessee recruiting under Butch Jones

Butch Jones has been let go and the Volunteer faithful are focused on who will be their next head coach. What were some of the highlights of the Butch Jones-era on the recruiting trail? What kind of situation will that coach walk into? Take a closer look at Tennessee recruiting under Jones.

HOW AND WHY: Where the Butch Jones era went wrong | Why Jones failed

RECRUITING: Recruits react | Five bad busts that doomed Jones | Five bad misses

HOT BOARD: Realistic guide to Vols coaching candidates

Headliners: Alvin Kamara, Khalil McKenzie, and Kyle Phillips

"The 2015 class was better than the 2014 class. More players actually panned out that year, even though they had the same recruiting ranking in the end." - Rivals National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell

Headliners: Trey Smith, Maleik Gray, and Ty Chandler

"The worst is the 2017 class. They lost all those in-state kids and Hunter Johnson. There were way too many mid-level three-star players. The 2015 class was so good because they were building off the momentum of 2014 and they were building a roster that could win the SEC. The reason 2017 was so bad was because they were supposed to win the SEC East at least by 2017. They failed to do so, and lost a lot of momentum." - Farrell

Which Butch Jones recruit exceeded expectations?

"Cameron Sutton exceeded expectations. He was a three star. He had an injury problem later in this career but he played a lot and well when he was on the field. John Kelly has also exceeded expectations because he was a three-star." - Farrell

Which Butch Jones recruit met expectations?

"Derek Barnett met expectations because he was in the Rivals250 and played like one of the best players in the country for a few years. Rashaan Gaulden has met expectations so far." - Farrell

Which Butch Jones recruit failed to meet expectations?

"There are a few, but Jalen Hurd and Drew Richmond didn't meet expectations for me." - Farrell

Butch Jones' biggest recruiting win?

"I think the battle for Jonathan Kongbo was the biggest, but in terms of what it meant because of Amari Rodgers and Tee Higgins leaving the state, the fact that Tennessee was able to keep Trey Smith at home and for him to become a linchpin on the offensive line was huge. Ohio State and Alabama were in there really hard but Tennessee sold him on making his brand as a Tennessee Volunteer." - VolQuest.com recruiting writer Jesse Simonton

Butch Jones' biggest recruiting loss?

"I would think that Orlando Brown, the tackle at Oklahoma, is the biggest recruiting loss that comes to mind. There were some behind the scenes things that happened there, but Brown wanted to come to Tennessee. Ultimately, he ended up going elsewhere and now he's a borderline All-American player while Tennessee's offensive line has had a rotating cast of players. Tee Higgins also comes to mind. He grew up in the shadows of UT and letting him get to Clemson is a huge loss." - Simonton

Butch Jones' biggest scouting win?

"I would say Cameron Sutton or Joshua Dobbs here. Those are three-star guys that didn't exactly have tons of offers. Both became extremely accomplished at their respective positions. Dobbs was, arguably, the best Tennessee quarterback since Peyton Manning. Sutton started every single game of his career from his freshman year up until his senior year, when he got hurt and then he worked his way back after breaking his ankle in 2016 to get drafted." - Simonton

Butch Jones' biggest scouting miss?

"There have been a few, but Preston Williams was the ballyhooed recruit that Tennessee won over a lot of other teams. He kind of flamed out pretty quickly. There are certainly still guys on the roster that have yet to develop into what they were rated as recruits, like Drew Richmond. Preston never really developed after a few years and ended up transferring. He was in the program for two years and didn't really do anything." - Simonton