Tennessee Vols Have Two More Players Transfer

The Tennessee Vols have two more players that want to transfer out of Knoxville. That is 6 in the last two weeks. Coach Butch Jones said Freshman Cornerback D’Andre Payne and Sophomore Defensive Lineman Jaylen Miller have decided to leave the program.

Is there a reason for concern for Vol fans? I think the answer is no…..and yes.

These defections are “growing pains” for a program that is headed upward. In most cases the players that are leaving may see the writing on the depth chart. They aren’t going to play on Saturday’s. Tennessee is upgrading its’ roster each year now that Butch Jones is recruiting at a top 5 in the country level. Butch is going after the best of the best, and he is getting them to come to Tennessee.

Take into consideration what Jaylen Miller was facing at Tennessee as a defensive lineman. He is playing behind guys like Derek Barnett who looks to possibly become the best defensive end in Tennessee Vols history. He is an All American in the making. On the other side is rising senior Curt Maggitt and rising Junior Corey Vereen. Charles Moseley will be in the mix next season as he sat out this year due to injury.

Now take a look at the defensive lineman coming in next year. Khalil McKcnzie is the best player in America. Shy Tuttle is a top 5 defensive lineman, and I think they will get Kyle Phillips out of Hillsboro as well. That is a talented defensive line, and Miller may have been on the outside looking in. He would not play much in all likelihood. I don’t blame him for moving on.

Payne is different. Tennessee is not deep at corner, and Payne is a player. He played in eight games this season. I’m not sure what happened there. He was a 4 star recruit last season. Payne along with Derrell Scott, Dewayne Hendrix and Daniel Helm are all leaving and were all 4 star recruits. These guys are all players. Helm was looking at a tremendous amount of competition at tight end and Scott was plain homesick.

With Tennessee’s roster so depleted when these guys were recruited I am sure they came in thinking they would start, or get significant game time right away, but it just didn’t happen for them. They had to be disappointed with their playing time. Remember, these guys were all the best players on their high school teams and not used to sitting on the sidelines. With no juniors or seniors playing in front of them at Tennessee they had to think they would play more. Who is to blame for this? Coaching staff? The player?

Butch had to win this year. He had to play the best player at each position, and he had to play them a lot. Most of the starters played way too many snaps this season, but it had to be. Coach Jones went with the guys that practiced the best, and that gave him confidence in them. Again, he had to squeeze 6 wins out of this season with a grueling schedule and a very young team. He simply did what he had to do.

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So why should a Tennessee fan worry then over these transfers? Here is a possibility. Butch is going to have to a few things better. Number one he has to create depth, and he has to trust and he has to play that depth. The starters need a little rest. Look at LSU and Alabama. They rotate all americans with all americans along the defensive front. Imagine how much better Barnett would be if he could play fresh on most of his snaps. In Butch’s defense, it is hard to take a guy out playing at Barnett’s level. But he will have to in time.

Number two he will have to create a hierarchy. Butch does not like depth charts. He says he doesn’t like them. I think it is important however to the players to know exactly where they stand. There is no shame in college football playing in the two deep depth chart. You simply bide your time to play, and when you do you excel. That is how you stay on the field. But they have to be given an opportunity. A meaningful opportunity. Injuries are seemingly more prevalent than ever in college football now. You are a twisted ankle away from playing a lot. Look at Tennessee’s wide receivers for instance. North, Smith, Croom are all out now. Guys like Vic Wharton never expected to play, but he will play a lot in the Taxslayer Bowl.

Number three he has to create a culture of a winning team. A winning team is not just the 22 players that start. It is the guys that those 22 practice against daily that make them winners. Competition is a good thing. The better the competition in practice, the more a real  game is simulated that they will play. If you want to play at a high level, you have to play against high level talent. That “back up” high level talent must know they will get heir turn at some point.

Number four is complete honesty, which I believe Butch is all about anyway. As this roster fills with 4 and 5 stars over the next few years it will be increasingly tougher for a freshman to come in and start. You want talented “experience” when you play Alabama and Georgia. Tennessee is building that. Jones has been lucky in one way to be able to recruit to many positions that Tennessee had weakness. The players knew they could start right away, or at least had a good shot. Jones will now have to make sure these guys want to be at Tennessee. That may seem naive, but I truly believe this. He will have to get guys that want to be Volunteers at all costs.

I would not worry too much about these guys that are leaving at this point. It is definitely growing pains as explained. However, if we see this at the end of next season it may be worth taking an interest in “why”.

The Vols take on the Iowa Hawkeyes Friday afternoon in the Taxslayer Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida.