There is no doubt that we (and everyone else) had Dennnis Rogan underrated in the Class of 2007. So what about DeAngelo Willingham? Here's his initial recruiting profile:
One of two junior college players that Tennessee landed in 2007 to fill out a secondary decimated by graduation (Antwan Stewart), the draft (Jonathan Wade), and the doghouse (Roshaun Fellows), DeAngelo Willingham figured to play a lot of games his first year on Rocky Top. That he did -- all of them:
|
Games
Played |
Fum. Ret.
|
Tackles
|
Passes
Def. |
Forced
Fumbles |
||||||
|
No
|
Yds
|
TD
|
Ast
|
Solo
|
Asst
Loss |
Solo
Loss |
Loss
Yds |
|||
|
14
|
1
|
4
|
0
|
13
|
25
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
4
|
2
|
|
Opponent
|
Score
|
Played
In Game |
Fum. Ret.
|
Tackles
|
Passes
Def. |
Forced
Fumbles |
||||||
|
No
|
Yds
|
TD
|
Ast
|
Solo
|
Asst
Loss |
Solo
Loss |
Loss
Yds |
|||||
|
California
|
31-45
|
Yes
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Southern Miss.
|
39-19
|
Yes
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Florida
|
20-59
|
Yes
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Arkansas St.
|
48-27
|
Yes
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
|
Georgia
|
35-14
|
Yes
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Mississippi St.
|
33-21
|
Yes
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Alabama
|
17-41
|
Yes
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
South Carolina
|
27-24
|
Yes
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
9
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
|
La.-Lafayette
|
59-7
|
Yes
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
|
Arkansas
|
34-13
|
Yes
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Vanderbilt
|
25-24
|
Yes
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Kentucky
|
52-50
|
Yes
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
|
LSU
|
14-21
|
Yes
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Wisconsin
|
21-17
|
Yes
|
1
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
|
1
|
4
|
0
|
13
|
25
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
4
|
2
|
|||
Dude had a good game against Steve Spurrier, and it's a good thing, too. Not only did his first quarter strip set up Eric Berry's 52-yard return (I have a feeling we'll be seeing this clip again soon) and Arian Foster's subsequent touchdown, but his second strip and recovery occurred in the all-important fourth quarter as the Gamecocks were threatening to score. If not for that forced turnover and Ryan Karl's interception on the next defensive series, that game probably would never have seen overtime and the Vols would not have found victory.
So what do you think? At RTT#20 for the Class of 2007, was DeAngelo Willingham ranked too high, too low, or just right?