I think most of us know that the Vols are very young - on both sides of the ball. All kinds of freshmen and sophomores got a lot of PT this year. One thing that means is that next year, freshmen getting PT will be a rarity.
With that in mind as we think about Chizik, with his strong SEC ties, coming in as DC, while hoping that Thgigpen is brought in as LB coach and RC for D, I wonder about the whole of the Vols list of commitments on D. Above, I've named 2 from NC who both might reconsider, especially if Thigpen joins Chizik. But there are others who might give us a look, especially if any ofthem really connected with Thig and/or might have signed with Auburn if Chizik were still there.
UT has 3 very good commits at DE. Kyle Phillips is from Nashville, so he is notheading anywhere but Knoxville.
Darrell Taylor is from Hopewell, VA. Perhaps VA native Thig is the main reason he committed to UT, and perhaps he might like to play closer to home as long as our D staff is upgraded.
Andrew Butcher is from Alpharetta., GA. We play at GT every other year, and Chizik did very well recruiting GA, both as HC and DC.
UT also has 3 DT commits. Tuttle we know. The top rated one is Kahlil McKenzie of CA, who is rated #1-3 at the position nationally by almost everybody. If Tuttle likes Thig and respects Chizik, he might look at what UT has returning at DT and at McKenzie, and decide likely starting at UNC from Game 1 is a better option for him.
The 3rd UT DT commit is Quay Picou from Buford, GA. Unless the Vols have a string of injuries on the DL, Picou will redshirt next year. And if the DTs UT have on campus and committed all enroll and stay healthy and academcally eligible, Picou might not crack the 2-deep before his 4th year on campus. If he connecetd with Thig, and Thig is baxck in Chapel Hill, and/or Chizik agains impresses a player from GA, we could draw late interest from Picou.
