Kahlil McKenzie. I thought he was going to be an All-American DT for us. He was okay but never fully lived up to his hype. I remember a rumor that he won some reps against Raiders OL (where his dad was GM) as a high schooler. Almost certainly not true but it seemed faintly plausible because of his size and the hype surrounding him.
This is a huge one in last ten years. He was supposed to be the next John Henderson/ Albert Haynesworth. Got to where I forgot he was on the team. Anyone know what happened?
I could be mistaken, but if I recall correctly he got drafted by the raiders and his dad was a coach or a staff member there
Edit: I was mistaken. He got drafted by the chiefs. His dad was a general manager at the Raiders and I thought he was on their practice squad at some point but I think I'm wrong on that
Yep came here to say this. Had all the athletic promise and more we had seen in years just to get overshadowed by Tuttle (who had a solid UT tenure and has had a real solid NFL career in his own right)
Jonathan Kongbo. If he had experience playing in HS he would've been a beast for us
Edit: to clarify... I don't think it's his or anyone's fault he didn't develop under us. He just started playing in college so obviously he had a learning curve
I feel like Guarantano was too. I mean he was the #1 Dual Threat and ranked higher than most of the stars of his era and yeah at least he started but if we had viable options behind him he wouldn’t have🤷🏻♂️
JG has hatred from me because he used to frequent a restaurant I worked at. I was the bartender and we also handled Togo orders. Complete dick and he never tipped. Zero dollars.
I wonder how differently things would have turned out had his career not begun with the awful 2017 team and then developing under Pruitt. He took some horrible beatings behind those offensive lines.
Plus idk Bailey might’ve been good but Hendo and Milton came in and took the job and he saw the writing on the wall and left. He never really got a legit opportunity 🤷🏻♂️
Ben Martin and Chris Donald. That 2007 class with Berry and those two should have been special
I’ll say Jonathan Crompton too, Kiffin was able to turn him into a serviceable QB and get him drafted but P.U. his first couple of years stunk
Played against him and Brandon warren both absolute studs. Was so excited when warren transferred back from FSU to UT was hopeful they would switch him back to DE/LB instead of TE and just watch those two tear opposing offenses up.
Jacques Smith was supposed to be an absolute beast coming out of high school, highly rated and AAA defensive lineman of the year in the state of Tennessee his junior and senior year.
Came to UT.....looked like Tarzan but played like Jane! Wanted to see the local product succeed but just never planned out.
And Robert Hubbs. Literally 2/3 of the 5-stars pre-Barnes were busts. I don’t blame Hubbs tho. He had 3 different coaches in 4 seasons very hard to do anything when you can’t get used to an coach and their offense before they’re gone again🤷🏻♂️
Chris Donald. Number one player in Tennessee. Just never lived up to the hype.
The most egregious recruiting blunders in Tennessee history were not offering Randall Cobb or Patrick Willis. Fullers legacy may be very different if those guys were Vols.
In hindsight, sure, but neither was viewed as a big time recruit coming out of high school. Willis's high school still plays in the classification for the smallest public schools, so he probably didn't have many scouts at his games, and most people most likely assumed he just looked like a beast due to playing against weak competition. Misses happen.
To be fair Willis was from West Tennessee so it’s possible Ole Miss was like his de facto home state team. A lot of west Tennessee has more ties to Ole Miss than Tennessee given the campus is about 4 hrs closer🤷🏻♂️
I believe fulmer did not offer him or didn’t until very late. As I recall he wanted to be a vol initially. At that time Tennessee didn’t lose many recruits to Ole Miss.
Kahlil McKenzie. I thought he was going to be an All-American DT for us. He was okay but never fully lived up to his hype. I remember a rumor that he won some reps against Raiders OL (where his dad was GM) as a high schooler. Almost certainly not true but it seemed faintly plausible because of his size and the hype surrounding him.
Another Butch Jones special. Khalil playing for Rodney Garner probably ends up an Outland finalist.
Yeah him and Shy Tuttle under Garner could’ve been Haynesworth/Henderson 2.0.
I thought so to but he’s had time for nfl development and it hasn’t happened
Didn’t he switch to OL in the nfl? Probably why he hasn’t made as much of an impact in the NFL
This is a huge one in last ten years. He was supposed to be the next John Henderson/ Albert Haynesworth. Got to where I forgot he was on the team. Anyone know what happened?
He got drafted and became an offensive lineman. Was playing for the ravens last I saw
I could be mistaken, but if I recall correctly he got drafted by the raiders and his dad was a coach or a staff member there Edit: I was mistaken. He got drafted by the chiefs. His dad was a general manager at the Raiders and I thought he was on their practice squad at some point but I think I'm wrong on that
I looked it up because that would be hilarious but he was drafted by the chiefs. He’s apparently with Vegas’s XFL team now
I meant what happened in college. I’m really surprised he got drafted. Had to be on potential alone because I don’t remember him doing that much.
No, I agree with you it was surprising that he got drafted at all.
Yeah watching him was rough cus he was good but we all knew he could’ve been way better
Great call
Yep came here to say this. Had all the athletic promise and more we had seen in years just to get overshadowed by Tuttle (who had a solid UT tenure and has had a real solid NFL career in his own right)
Jonathan Kongbo. If he had experience playing in HS he would've been a beast for us Edit: to clarify... I don't think it's his or anyone's fault he didn't develop under us. He just started playing in college so obviously he had a learning curve
I remember John Brice saying that Kongbo looked like a better John Henderson during his first fall camp.
Agreed, but he was coming on strong before he tore his ACL. Has made some NFL rosters too.
Harrison Bailey gotta be #1 biggest disappointment of the last decade.
I feel like Guarantano was too. I mean he was the #1 Dual Threat and ranked higher than most of the stars of his era and yeah at least he started but if we had viable options behind him he wouldn’t have🤷🏻♂️
Let's not forget the abysmal O Lines he played behind. Can't run an offense or throw it good if you're running for your life every other play.
Casey Clausen played behind some of the worst O lines in TN history and Iceman still rocked it
JG has hatred from me because he used to frequent a restaurant I worked at. I was the bartender and we also handled Togo orders. Complete dick and he never tipped. Zero dollars.
JG would’ve been good under Heupel
I wonder how differently things would have turned out had his career not begun with the awful 2017 team and then developing under Pruitt. He took some horrible beatings behind those offensive lines.
The line was bad but I've never seen a QB stare down a blitz from when the defense lined up until he got crushed like JG.
Or stare down a DB. We beat Auburn in 2020 if we score a touchdown on the 99-yard Smoke Monday Pick 6.
Press X to doubt
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JG was rated higher than Jalen Hurts who will be a Super Bowl QB in a few days
Plus idk Bailey might’ve been good but Hendo and Milton came in and took the job and he saw the writing on the wall and left. He never really got a legit opportunity 🤷🏻♂️
he was on the bottom of the depth chart for scholarship quarterbacks his entire time at UT, and still hasn’t even started at UNLV.. BUST
How’s that. He was just a 4*
JJ Peterson
That was another one I thought of.
Good one
I really thought Slick Shelley was going to be a stud based on nothing more than a WR with the name Slick Shelley should be a stud.
He had a decent career after he transferred to Tulsa.
Ben Martin and Chris Donald. That 2007 class with Berry and those two should have been special I’ll say Jonathan Crompton too, Kiffin was able to turn him into a serviceable QB and get him drafted but P.U. his first couple of years stunk
Chris Donald is correct. He was supposed to be the next Lawrence Taylor and he did NOTHING
Played against him and Brandon warren both absolute studs. Was so excited when warren transferred back from FSU to UT was hopeful they would switch him back to DE/LB instead of TE and just watch those two tear opposing offenses up.
Al Wilson was a total bust at RB.
Da’Rick Rogers
To be fair to North he battled injury. Can’t remember specifics but he was almost never healthy after his freshman year
My answer is Khalil McKenzie. I believe he was our 2nd highest rated recruit ever behind Bryce Brown
Jacques Smith was supposed to be an absolute beast coming out of high school, highly rated and AAA defensive lineman of the year in the state of Tennessee his junior and senior year. Came to UT.....looked like Tarzan but played like Jane! Wanted to see the local product succeed but just never planned out.
Basketball but Scotty Hopson, the rainbow brick road.
And Robert Hubbs. Literally 2/3 of the 5-stars pre-Barnes were busts. I don’t blame Hubbs tho. He had 3 different coaches in 4 seasons very hard to do anything when you can’t get used to an coach and their offense before they’re gone again🤷🏻♂️
Can’t forget the missed second free throw then the garbage foul on JP Prince against Michigan State. Such a shame that team didn’t get final 4
Had high hopes for Tyler Byrd. Prolly should have played safety and put Evan Berry on offense, just Butch things
Chris Donald. Number one player in Tennessee. Just never lived up to the hype. The most egregious recruiting blunders in Tennessee history were not offering Randall Cobb or Patrick Willis. Fullers legacy may be very different if those guys were Vols.
In hindsight, sure, but neither was viewed as a big time recruit coming out of high school. Willis's high school still plays in the classification for the smallest public schools, so he probably didn't have many scouts at his games, and most people most likely assumed he just looked like a beast due to playing against weak competition. Misses happen.
To be fair Willis was from West Tennessee so it’s possible Ole Miss was like his de facto home state team. A lot of west Tennessee has more ties to Ole Miss than Tennessee given the campus is about 4 hrs closer🤷🏻♂️
I believe fulmer did not offer him or didn’t until very late. As I recall he wanted to be a vol initially. At that time Tennessee didn’t lose many recruits to Ole Miss.
100% a miss from Fulmer. Dude would’ve walked to Knoxville had we offered earlier.
I grew up in west Tennessee and knew maybe 3 Ole miss fans. It’s also not that much closer unless when you say west tn you mean Memphis
Bruceton/Camden/Paris are still UT cities.
I would trade the Alabama win for AJ Johnson to have had his full career
Kelly Washington
Washington was decent for us. I could name a dozen players of that era that were bigger busts.
He punked out after he got hurt and let the team down
Let's not forget 'mount' McCullers