With the news that the Tennessee Volunteers lost excellent defensive coordinator and recruiter Justin Wilcox and linebacker coach Peter Sirmon to the Washington Huskies, Vols fans are justifiably worried about the current recruiting class. As SB Nation's excellent Tennessee blog Rocky Top Talk put it:
Tennessee Loses Coaches, Then Loses Recruits
Tennessee losing its defensive coordinator and best recruiter is bad news for the Vols on the recruiting trail.
“Tennessee has lost its defensive coordinator and its best recruiter. The class is comprised mostly of defensive players. You can put two and two together.” Ouch.
The fears were realized Tuesday morning, as star receiver Keithon Redding decommitted from the Volunteers. The Georgia receiver will consider taking visits to Ole Miss and perhaps Kentucky.
Tennessee is also in serious danger of losing its only defensive tackle recruit in Danny O'Brien.
Linebacker Dalton Santos (pictured left) will be one to watch. Recruited by both Wilcox and Sirmon, Santos has wowed scouts at this week’s Under Armour All-America practices. Many Tennessee insiders do not believe he will stick with his commitment.
What does this move say about Dooley and Tennessee?
Regardless of the truth of whether Wilcox wanted to go back to the West coast, this looks bad for the Volunteers. Most of the recruits in the Southeast do not respect a program like Washington, and many might think (rightfully of wrongfully) that Dooley’s isn’t long for Tennessee. Such is the world of negative recruiting.
For more on Tennessee recruiting, visit Rocky Top Talk. Follow @SBNRecruiting on Twitter.
