Butch Jones is being relieved of his duties as Tennessee coach on Sunday, ending a tumultuous tenure that saw plenty of highs but ended with too many lows for Jones to save his job. One of the main reasons his detractors point to is the lack of team success despite a fair amount of success on the recruiting trail. But not all of the highly-ranked prospects the Vols landed have panned out and some had little or no impact during their time in Knoxville. Today we take a look at five players that might have helped save Jones if they lived up to their potential.
HOW AND WHY: Where the Butch Jones era went wrong | Why Jones failed
RECRUITING: Recruits react | Bad misses on Vol State standouts | Highs and lows
HOT BOARD: Realistic guide to Vols coaching candidates
As a recruit: Considered by some recruiting services to be the top wide receiver in the nation, Williams committed to Tennessee during his junior season and while there were some ups and downs with other schools, Williams never really wavered on his commitment to the Vols.
What he did in Knoxville: Williams suffered a major knee injury late in his senior season and after initially looking like he might redshirt, he worked his way back and saw playing time early during his freshman year. He showed flashes of some of the talent that earned him his Rivals250 ranking, but still didn’t look fully recovered from high school injury. He finished the year with seven catches for 158 yards and two touchdowns. In 2016, finally fully healthy and with senior quarterback Josh Dobbs leading the offense, most expected Williams to have a breakout year. However, he recorded just nine catches for 89 yards before leaving the team midseason. Williams is now at Colorado State, where he is sitting out the 2017 season. Considering the struggles of Tennessee’s wide receivers this year, it’s hard not to think how things would have been different had Williams panned out.
As a recruit: Bates was one of the top players in the country in the class of 2014 and had offers from programs all over the county, including Alabama, Miami, Ohio State and Oklahoma. But as a Tennessee legacy, Bates seemed bound for Knoxville from the early going and committed to the Vols during the summer prior to his senior season.
What he has done in Knoxville: As the son of Vols legend Bill Bates, the younger Bates came in with massive expectations. The nation’s No. 41 overall player did find his way onto the field as a true freshman, playing in four games before suffering a season-ending injury. He returned healthy in 2015 but never quite looked the same, appearing in 26 games during the 2015-16 seasons and recording just three total tackles. Despite numerous injuries limiting depth at the linebacker position in 2017, Bates still hasn’t been able to find a consistent role and only had five tackles through his first seven appearances. Bates has been a nice role player for the Vols and he still has a year of eligibility left, but a player of his caliber should have made a much bigger impact.
As a recruit: A high school All-American known for his pass-rushing skills, Butcher had his share of options from all over the country, with Alabama, Miami and Stanford all offering. But Butcher fell in love with the Vols and committed to the school following his junior year.
What he did in Knoxville: Butcher’s career in Knoxville was filled with disappointments, first off the field and then with injuries. During the first week of his freshman season, Butcher was arrested for public intoxication. That came on top of a knee surgery that was going to keep him out for the year anyway. In 2016, he continued to struggle with injuries and didn’t appear in any games. After undergoing four surgeries in two years, Butcher medically retired earlier this year. Tennessee has several highly ranked defensive linemen, but a pass-rush specialist such as Butcher living up to expectations surely would have helped the Vols' defense.
As a recruit: A four-star prospect out of quarterback-rich California, Jones initially made a commitment to Florida and then backed off his commitment when Will Muschamp was fired following the 2014 season. After exploring some other options, including Maryland, Jones committed to Tennessee.
What he did in Knoxville: Jones arrived on campus with plenty of time to learn from Josh Dobbs and have a chance to eventually replace the talented quarterback. But things really never got going for Jones as he didn’t play in any games as a freshman and then announced his intentions to transfer. After leaving the Vols for Colorado he changed his mind and returned to Tennessee, and even received an NCAA waiver to be eligible in 2016. But he couldn’t rise higher than No. 3 on the depth chart and only appeared in one game, completing one pass for three yards. After falling to No. 4 on the depth chart earlier this year, Jones once again transferred, this time to junior college. The Vols used three quarterbacks in 2017, including three-star freshman Will McBride, so it’s safe to say the lack of development by Jones is a disappointment.
As a recruit: Sawyers' recruitment saw plenty of schools in the mix from the onset and the four-star defensive tackle surprised many when he committed to Vanderbilt and then-coach James Franklin in the summer of 2013. But with less than a month before National Signing Day 2014 and Sawyer in high demand, he backed off his pledge from the Commodores. After official visits to Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Ole Miss and Tennessee, Sawyers pledged to the Vols on National Signing Day.
What he did in Knoxville: At the time, stealing Sawyers away from the Commodores was viewed as a major recruiting victory and most expected that he would have an immediate impact for Tennessee. He did appear in four games in the 2014 season, but his career with the Vols was marred by off-field issues, including an arrest for theft. In early 2015 Sawyers was dismissed from the program and after playing two seasons of JUCO ball, he appears to be out of football. Tennessee has had quite a few injuries at the defensive tackle position over the past two seasons and had Sawyers lived up to his potential things might have been different in a few key games over the past few seasons.
