The year was 2013.
Just 31 days after being hired in Knoxville, new coach Butch Jones was trying to close his first recruiting class – keeping commits that former Tennessee coach Derek Dooley had recruited and securing more to make up his first class.
Keep in mind that the Volunteers had gone 5-7 in three consecutive seasons prior to Jones arrival and what had once been a big orange powerhouse was a bit of a joke. Tennessee was playing catch-up to other SEC programs that were consistently pulling in top recruits and taking their teams to national championships.