Recruiting In Review: Marlin Lane and Maurice Couch
by Brad Shepard on Jan 3, 2012 12:14 AM EST
in Tennessee Volunteers Recruiting
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Well, at least I didn't pick a bad day-and-a-half to get out of town or anything.
Sheesh.
It all started this morning when I read that Khalid Henderson was asked to look elsewhere and his harsh words toward Derek Dooley and the Vols coaching staff. Later in the day, I saw the Keithon Redding saga, but of course the bombshell news of the day was Justin Wilcox and Peter Sirmon pulling a Lane Kiffin for a sub-lateral move.
Whatever. It sucks, but maybe we'll make a great hire. I'm kinda numb to this now. The main reason I'm ticked is because I really hate to lose the shining recruiting star that is Sirmon and also the the fact that this really could hurt our recruiting class keys, which are in the defensive front seven. Oh well, this IS Tennessee. This is par for the course lately.
Hate that I missed this entire day, but honestly, as much as I was checking the Interwebs on my Droid, I was halfway here ... and halfway with my wife and baby, too. Thanks, Justin Wilcox. Go fail in the Pacific Northwest for all I care. Onto the RiR series.
6. MARLIN LANE, 6-0, 205 RB DAYTONA BEACH FLA. [MAINLAND HS]
Ratings: Rivals 4* No. 23 running back, Scout 4* No. 23 running back, ESPN 4* No. 11 running back, 247 4*. Chose UT over Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Miami, Florida State, Michigan, Ole Miss, West Virginia, Southern Cal.
Looking back: He has 280 yards on 75 carries last year for a 3.7 average and two touchdowns. He also had another 17 catches for 161 yards and two touchdowns along with 179 return yards. Though Lane showed an early knack for getting in the end zone [first UT player since Reggie Cobb in 1987 to score in first three college games], he battled some nagging injuries later in the season and wasn't effective. Also getting run down on what looked like a sure-fire touchdown kind of embodied the entire season. Still, it wasn't an overly awful debut for Lane, who made a couple of open-field plays against Georgia that showed he may be on the way to being a good player for UT.
Looking forward: Lane has got to live up to his major potential that had most of the major programs in the Southeast wanting him. He just has to. UT needs him. Lane isn't fast, and he may not ever be the dynamic athlete he was prior to a nasty knee injury suffered in high school, but he will finally have the chance to be fully recovered next year and have a season under his belt. The Vols need a big sophomore year from Lane -- and Lane needs it or he'll be recruited over.
Final projection: I'm not off the Lane Train yet. I think he's going to be a good player, and he certainly has a lot of potential. But his vision has to improve, and his football speed does, too. I don't think Lane ever will be a game-breaker, but I do think he has the potential to be a 1,000-yard rusher before his UT days are over.
5. MAURICE "MO" COUCH, 6-2, 305 DT ORLANDO, FLA. [GARDEN CITY CC]
Ratings: Rivals 4* No. 30 JUCO prospect, Scout 4*, 247 4*. Chose UT over Georgia, Kansas, Kansas State, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Central Florida, Southern Cal.
Looking back: Big Mo started the season slow and out-of-shape in spring practice, but he continually improved throughout his sophomore season and emerged into a dominating force at times with a very bright future. He started four games and finished with 37 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks in his first season. In the season's final three games, he recorded 16 tackles and 1.5 sacks.
Looking forward: If he stays eligible [and there isn't any reason to believe he won't] Couch should have a big career for the Vols and be an NFL player. He will almost assuredly start for the next two seasons and has an opportunity to be The Man on the defensive line now that Malik Jackson is gone. He needs some help up front and definitely benefited from the attention on Malik this year, but Couch has the athleticism, strength and size to be an elite SEC defensive tackle by the time his career is done.
Final projection: I honestly believe Couch will be better than Jackson by the time his career is done. He is bigger and probably has a better size-speed combo, though Jackson was faster. The Vols needed a big-time instant-impact DT and got that with Couch, who only got better as the year progressed. Another year in the weight room, and the Vols could have a real star on their hands.
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Thanks for carrying on with your series in spite of the distractions...
'Without change something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.' -Frank Herbert
At least Kiffin...
…was arguably super-lateral.
Wilcox done went sub-lateral on us.
No homer.
by kidbourbon on Jan 3, 2012 12:52 AM EST via mobile reply actions
I love the Vols
I married into a family of Vols, but I’m a Dawg. And we’ve been down recently, sure. But it’s been a while since Neyland walked the sidelines. Washington has won more games than Tennessee since 1975. And the Dawgs, not the Vols, went bowling this year. I love your blog and will root for the Vols to go 12-0, win the SEC, and finish #2 in the country next year, but enough of this being a “sub-lateral move.”
by Missonary Warthog on Jan 3, 2012 1:49 AM EST up reply actions
Correction
UW has not won more games than Tennessee in that period. It was true up until the Ty Willingham era at Washington but is not any longer. Want to keep my fact straight.
by Missonary Warthog on Jan 3, 2012 1:53 AM EST up reply actions
Uhhh- the totals since '75 (if anybody is curious) are 269 and 299
So, yeah, you’re a little off. By 30.
Sub-lateral. Yall are a great program. But a bit big for your britches, sounds like.
And for the record, from '75 to '04 (Willingham's first year)
the numbers are Tennessee 252- Washington 237. Just sayin.
Let's look at both programs since 2009
We went 5-7, 7-6, 7-6 and you guys 7-6, 6-7, 5-7, sure we sucked most of the 2000s but we are a program on the rise. And I mean this in a factual not trollish way but our offense is better right now. So maybe that one reason they moved they wanted a program with a good offense that was improving. So sub-lateral? Doesn’t seem so.
Sure, pick the worst period in recent UT history for your comparison period and you are 1 game better.
If you want to adjust for degree of difficulty (conference schedules, playing against the national champion every year), then your argument still is inadequate.
SUB-LATERAL.
We're watching when you are not. Protecting against another 9-11.
Thank God
You posted that cause I was certainly about to blast him for picking our worst 3 year period in at least the last 3 decades
Not Too Mention
The SEC is dominating College Football. And in pointing out there 1991 Championship it should be noted that it is not consensus as Miami was undefeated and the AP National Champion.
This move is more to do with
Dooley, than schools. Dooley’s seat is hot, and with the addition of Missouri and A&M, everyone’s schedule just got tougher.
UT is a better football school, traditionally, but right now they are not very good. Washington is on an upswing from where they have been. They are not a national power but, UT is long ways away from where they were in the 90’s…the eastern division of the SEC is far weaker than the west, so that shows you how even farther away UT is right now.
For their families, Seattle, has far superior schools, healthcare, and quality of life that knoxville, (or any small college town), can’t compete with.
I fully expect UT to fire Dooley next year.
by hotstove97 on Jan 3, 2012 9:50 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
it has to do...
with Wilcox seeing the distinct possibility that no matter how well he does his job, he may not have a job at Tennessee after next season.
He’s just getting out while the getting is good.
FWIW, on the "why would Wilcox leave" front
There’s a uniform/schedule insider on a VolNation commenting. I have no idea what he knows about the motivation of coaches, but he’s definitely legit in uniforms/scheduling. Always has the info on exactly what changes we’ll see in both counts, had info on what the ADs were looking for in the 2012 SEC schedule long before it was leaked.
He’s commenting in this. Take it for what it’s worth, but he says that this year the fishbowl effect really started to hit Wilcox. He couldn’t go to a restaurant or club without being recognized and getting the general celebrity treatment. It made him uncomfortable (he comments that it also made Kiffin uncomfortable), and made him yearn for the West Coast.
I don’t know if that’s true, but it’s the first believable explanation I’ve heard that doesn’t spell huge trouble for Tennessee. Fact is, coaching college football in Knoxville or Tuscaloosa is like coaching hockey in Toronto or Montreal or coaching NFL or NBA in any number of major American cities. If you can’t take the scrutiny, you’re not going to last.
If I cared more about my UNC side, I'd call myself "Tar Volon," and that'd be awesome.
Bolts, Canes, Preds (now in different conferences!). Canes mini-STH. Southern hockey solidarity
Rocky Top Talk
by Incipient_Senescence on Jan 3, 2012 3:44 PM EST up reply actions
Thanks I_S.
Going back home added to the above makes a lot of sense. I feel pretty confident Hart and Dooley will make a respectable sign for the DC (possibly even an upgrade), the recruiting class will take shape and Dooley will pull last minute theatrics to complete a respectable class and the sky will be gorgeous for the opener over Neyland stadium in September. Glass half full.
'Without change something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.' -Frank Herbert
Funny, I was thinking about this very thing during the season
What it must be like for a young, good looking single high profile football coach making big coin in a town like Knoxville. I don’t blaim him for being more comfortable in a big city like Seattle where there’s plenty of other distractions like pro sports and a much bigger, diverse population to kind of disappear into. Furthermore other folks close to the program were not surprised that he’d jump on this job once it opened up to get closer to his preferred conference, family and friends. Couple all of that to a less than extremely stable situation and this is no shocker, disappointing, but understandable.
This might also explain why he would turn down the Texas job.
"Do the Titans have a miracle left in them in what has been a magical season to this point? If they do, they need it now. Christie kicks it high and short. Gonna be fielded by Lorenzo Neal at the 25; he dishes it back to Wycheck; he throws it across the field to Dyson. 30, 40, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 5, endzone...touchdown, Titans! There are no flags on the field! It's a miracle! Tennessee has pulled a miracle! A miracle for the Titans!"
by TennesseeTyrants on Jan 3, 2012 4:11 PM EST up reply actions
If anything it may express a little loyalty to Dooley for staying around this year.
These opportunities seem to be a little on the fluid side and he may have been approached earlier. If this was a specific opportunity for which he was waiting, it becomes difficult, imo, to fault the guy. I’m thinking more will be revealed on this front later.
'Without change something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.' -Frank Herbert
But you guys could be heading downwards
I am not wishing that on you guys it just what could happen.
Really?
Thanks for the trenchant analysis.
"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." A. Bartlett Giamatti
by sddbaker on Jan 3, 2012 3:56 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
don't you mean baylor?
If I cared more about my UNC side, I'd call myself "Tar Volon," and that'd be awesome.
Bolts, Canes, Preds (now in different conferences!). Canes mini-STH. Southern hockey solidarity
Rocky Top Talk
by Incipient_Senescence on Jan 3, 2012 4:09 PM EST up reply actions
67-56...
RGIII may be an exceptional talent (285 yds pass) but 482 on the ground??? they seriously need help at DC.
'Without change something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.' -Frank Herbert
Fa sho
As for the series, I wish it was “Daily” but I’ve had way too many things pop up. Still, we’re on target. In four days, we start the current recruits. Hope I have some to talk about after this.
Holdin' it down on enemy grounds.
Anti-Snail on offense; Give me a slobberknocker, or give me death!
Still loving it.
Can’t wait for the ones on what’s left of this year’s class. :/
"I condone fun things" ~~ Cortland Finnegan
Hello ladies. Look at your man, now back to me, now back at your man, now back to me. Sadly, he isn't me.
Effing magnets! How do they work?!?
SUB-LATERAL
No doubt about it. And I don’t wish him well, why pretend?
"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." A. Bartlett Giamatti
by sddbaker on Jan 3, 2012 10:08 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
rec'd
Kiffin was just going back to his roots too.
USC head coach = dream job
coordinator at mid tier Pac-12 school = uhhhhh less than that
Pearl for Life.
I hate football.
Perhaps taken on the shallow surface
None of us know all of the decision criteria that was important to Wilcox’s decision.
Per Kidbourbon’s Occam razor reference I’d say:
- prefers to build career in Pack 12
- as a single and very eligible guy prefers a bit more anonimity of a bigger city
- much closer proximity to friends and family network
- some West coast people just prefer to live on the West coast. Perhaps a two year experience in Knoxville only amplified that. Conversely, someone growing up in the South East might hate the move to the West coast.
- Washington has been a top tier program and no reason to believe it can’t be a top tier program again. It’s not like he left for WSU or OS or Arizona.
Ha, having lived in/around both Knoxville and Seattle...
Someone who is “single and very eligible” is not picking Seattle, regardless of any anonymity concerns.
Lou Brock loves Lamp.
From a pure quality perspective agreed.
I walked out of a Seattle Hooters disgusted
by phil g on Jan 4, 2012 10:00 AM EST up reply actions 2 recs
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