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Around SBN: Spencer Hall's Sports Meme Power Rankings

Re-ranking the class of 2007

Now that we've thoroughly reviewed the first season of the Class of 2007, I thought we'd take a stab at re-ranking the guys according to their performance. Chime in with your opinions below, but here's my take:

2008 RTT Ranking
Initial profile
Review of 2007 season
2007 RTT Ranking
Difference
1
Eric Berry
1
0
2
Dennis Rogan
25
23
3
Gerald Jones
7
4
4
Lennon Creer
5
1
5
Nevin McKenzie
15
10
6
Brent Vinson
3
-3
7
Denarius Moore
14
7
8
DeAngelo Willingham
20
12
9
Savion Frazier
27
18
10
Ben Martin
2
-8
11
Chris Walker
9
-2
12
Kevin Cooper
31
19
13
Kenny O'Neal
17
4
14
Ahmad Paige
Did not play
4
-10
15
Chris Donald
Did not play
8
-7
16
Darris Sawtelle
Did not play
12
-4
17
Todd Campbell
Did not play
13
-4
18
William Brimfield
Did not play
16
-2
19
Daryl Vereen
Did not play
19
0
20
Cody Pope
Did not play
21
1
21
Art Evans
Did not play
22
1
22
C.J. Fleming
Did not play
23
1
23
Donald Langley
Did not play
24
1
24
BJ Coleman
Did not play
26
2
25
Anthony Anderson
Did not play
28
3
26
Tyler Maples
Did not play
29
3
27
Josh Hawkins
Did not play
30
3
28
Rae Sykes
Did not make the team
6
-22
29
Rolando Melancon
Did not make the team
10
-19
30
Deshaun Barnes
Did not make the team
11
-19
31
Rufus Williams
Did not make the team
18
-13
32
Cory Hall
Did not make the team
32
0

Methodology. The first thing I did was to group the guys who did not make the team together and, within that grouping, rank them according to their initial profiles. That group's on the bottom. I then did the same thing with those that made the team but didn't play. That group's in the middle. For the guys who did play, I basically just winged it, looking at their stats, their recruiting profile, and a general feeling for how I thought they did last season. Kenny O'Neal, oy, I just put him last in the group of guys who played due to his recent dismissal for sprained cerebrum.

And so, based on my rankings, we have the following:

Biggest Baddest Oops. Rae Sykes was ranked 6th but got re-routed to junior college. That's a huge disappointment considering that he was a 10-jar defensive end. Rae was No. 6, but -- Syke! -- he's now No. 22.

Paging Ahmad Paige. A stellarly lame word play on his name, I know, but Paige was ranked 4th in the class and didn't even get on the field. Yeah, the receiver rotation was pretty much locked up by Lucas Taylor, Austin Rogers, and Josh Briscoe, but several receivers ranked below Paige, including (ahem) Kenny O'Neal, Denarius Moore, and Gerald Jones, at least played a little. Paige falls from No. 4 to No. 14.

What's love got to do with it? Mr. Ben Martin, The Papa loves you, and we love you, too, but we're moving you from No. 2 to No. 11. Hope to see you back at No. 2 next year.

Biggest Best Oops. I have Dennis Rogan re-ranked all the way up at No. 2 after having him at No. 25 last year. Go back and take a look at Rogan's 2007 review and tell me there's somebody besides Eric Berry who's better. You're wasting your time unless you say Gerald Jones, in which case you will still lose, but at least you'll still have your dignity.

Other big movers. Kevin Cooper was basically last in the class, but he, unlike 14 other recruits, at least got to play. Savion Frazier (up 17 spots to 10 from 27) was also a pleasant surprise. Gerald Jones (up 4), Nevin McKenzie (up 10), Denarius Moore (up 7), and DeAngelo Willingham (up 12) all did quite a bit better than their rankings indicated.

Outlook. Yeehaw. Eric Berry. Gerald Jones. Dennis Rogan. Lennon Creer. Still looking for great things from Ben Martin, Ahmad Paige, and a handful of others. The future of this class is bright indeed.

What do you think? How would you re-rank these guys?

0 recs  |  Comment 4 comments

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My one change
Is that I would have Vinson at #4 next to Berry he had more time on the field than anyone else, and improved tremendously throughout the year. Not to take away from Creer and McKenzie but I think the fact that Vinson started a good portion of the year and really stepped up when our secondary was on life support warrants him top 5 in our re ranking of the 07 class.

by Getoffmyvols on May 16, 2008 12:24 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Seconded
I had this same thought earlier...just didn't have time to document it!

by Aerobab on May 16, 2008 1:06 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

All right
Consider it done. Thanks for the feedback.
Go Vols!

by Joel on May 16, 2008 6:38 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Savion Frazier
It's just a matter of time for this man. And Martin is a monster waiting to happen. I still think the potential of those two are higher than the production of the ones who've played.

But production speaks much, much louder than potential.

by ghostofneyland on May 16, 2008 2:35 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

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