Tennessee closed out another National Signing Day yesterday with Derek Dooley’s third recruiting class.  I thought it might be a good time to break this class down a bit.  We’ve talked about it pretty extensively on “The Show” the past two days so I thought it would be a great time to put some thoughts here.

Best Player in the Class: LaDarrell McNeil – Saftey – Dallas, TX

A big hitter in the secondary.  Some question marks about his ability in coverage against SEC level competition.  There are others in the class that might have a bigger impact in 2012 but long term, McNeil will be viewed as the best player. 

Impact Player in 2012: Cordarrelle Patterson – WR – Rock Hill, SC

He’s the top rated JUCO player in the country and he joins an already talented duo of receivers.  I would expect to see a lot of three wide receiver sets in the Tennessee offense this fall.

Player with the Biggest Upside: Davante Bourque – RB – Crowley, LA

Texas A&M and LSU both wanted Bourque, but neither school was willing to give him a shot at running back.  If Jay Graham can turn this guy into an SEC caliber back, Tennessee will have hit a home run with this pick up.  At 6-3 200 pounds, he’s big and he’s physical.  If he can bring that to the Vols offense and hold on to the ball, Bourque could provide a huge boost to the Tennessee ground attack.

Player that Best Fit a Need:  Daniel McCullers –DT- Garner, NC

McCullers along with O’Brien and Sentimore will be expected to step into the rotation on the defensive front immediately.  Given the lack of depth on the front line last season, getting McCullers in orange and white was key for Tennessee.  Look for McCullers to be the centerpiece of the new Big Orange “D”.

Signee that has the Biggest Question Marks: Deion Bonner –CB-Columbus, GA

The kid can play.  There is no doubt about it.  The off the field issues that happened at UGA last year just can’t be ignored.  He stole stuff out of the locker room.  I really want to think that this is about being young and dumb.  Dooley did a great job of signing guys that for the most part are high character guys.  Bonner will prove that he belongs on the field, but he also will need to prove that he belongs off the field as well.

Player that will Surprise: Nathan Peterman – QB – Fruit Cove, FL

Tennessee got on this kid early and credit Peterman because he never wavered on his commitment to Rocky Top.  Regarded by many as the best QB in the state of Florida in this signing class, he tweaked his mechanics this past summer and found better accuracy and a stronger arm.  Tennessee stole one.

Best Nickname: Alton “Pig” Howard – WR- Orlando, FL

Come on, he’s a receiver nicknamed “Pig”.  How can you not love this kid?  Blazing speed, they may call him “Greased Lighting” in Knoxville before his playing days are over.  He will be a fun one to watch over the next couple of years.

Who They Missed On:  A lot has been made by Vol fans this week over Otha Peters switching to Arkansas and Dalton Santos choosing Texas.  Losing two four star recruits at any position is tough let alone linebacker when Tennessee is moving to the 3-4.  However, I’m not sure these losses will prove to that costly in the long run.  I’m more concerned over the lack of a game breaker at running back.  If at least one (preferably two) of the three backs in this class don’t produce (and soon) it could be another dreadful offense in the SEC even with Bray and Hunter back. 

Overall Assessment:

Derek Dooley continues to do a good job in building the Tennessee roster.  This is a good class from a need standpoint and should help provide some immediate depth at some key positions.   There are a couple of difference makers in this group with guys like Patterson and McNeil.  Sadly for Coach Dooley, he doesn’t have enough of those right now to get Tennessee back in the upper half of the SEC.  Next year’s class will be important for the Vols to snag a couple of game breakers.  They are already off to a good start in the 2013 class with four already committed including three from what many expect to be a loaded in-state class.

Our Southeast Tennessee Prep Power Poll is brought to you by Chattanooga State.  Make sure that you visit them online at www.chattanoogastate.edu

Well, the prep football season has come and gone.  2011 was a great season locally, despite the fact that the area was shut out in its bid for a State Championship.  Both Baylor and South Pittsburg came up short in Cookeville back in December.  So with that being said here is our Fox Sports Radio 1370, Southeast Tennessee Prep Power Poll…

1. Baylor – The season ended rough for the Baylor Red Raiders.  Coach Phil Massey’s team rolled through the playoffs.  The Red Raiders earned a return trip to Cookeville and a chance to get revenge against Ensworth in a rematch of last year’s State Finals.  Instead the Red Raiders were demolished by Ensworth, falling by 48-10.  The Baylor seniors had a tremendous four year career.  Graduation will hit Baylor hard and a lot of key players will have to be replaced.  Don’t be surprised to see Baylor make another run at the state title in 2012 but again an experienced Ensworth team will stand in their path.
2. South Pittsburg – The Pirates were considered by most to be a lock for the gold ball.  An underrated Wayne County team had other ideas.  They physically whipped South Pittsburg the way few have in recent time.  The good news for Pirate fans is that the core of this team is back to make another run at a state championship. The team will feature a talented tailback tandem that will lead the way for the Pirates.  Coach Vic Grider will need to replace a couple of experienced starters on the line of the scrimmage.  If the guys in the trenches can come together, South Pittsburg will be another tough out in November.
3. Boyd Buchanan – The Bucs finished the season in disappointing fashion.  Friendship Christian topped Boyd Buchanan 21-20 in overtime in the quarterfinals.  The game ended in controversy with the Bucs making an apparent 4^thdown stop at the two yard line to end the game.  Instead the official signaled touchdown and the extra point sent Friendship to the semi-finals and eventually the state championship.  The Bucs will lose 1,000 yard rusher Chase Reed who has been the center of the offense the past two seasons.  They do return a veteran starter at QB in Jim Cardwell and mammoth offensive lineman Malik Brewer should be one of the most sought after recruits in the area.  Boyd Buchanan will again be favored to win their district and should be a factor in the 2-A playoffs.
4. Ooltewah – A second round playoff loss for the Owls ended the 2011 season.  It will be interesting to see what the Owls look like after another season under Head Coach Shannon Williams.
5. Polk County – A second round loss is very unlike the Wildcats under Coach Derrick Davis.  Polk should again be the favorite to win the district in 2012.
6. Bledsoe County – The dream season for the Warriors ended with a home playoff loss to Alcoa.  The 2011 season was the best in Pikeville in two decades.  This was a special group of seniors at Bledsoe that played with emotion and passion that may be hard to duplicate.
7. Lookout Valley – The Jackets finished second to South Pittsburg in their district but managed to advance into the second round before seeing their season came to a close.  Lookout Valley doesn’t get the same amount of attention as their district mates down I-24.  However, Tony Webb’s team is far from a pushover and a playoff threat every season.
8. McMinn County – Like many other larger classification schools in the area, McMinn rolled to an undefeated regular season.  The Cherokees just couldn’t get past teams from out of the area.
9. Red Bank – It was a disappointing season by Red Bank standards.  Three regular season losses and a first round playoff exit.  Look for Coach Tim Daniels and the Lions to roar back in 2012 and play a little longer in November.
10.  Bradley Central – Bryce Copeland is back one more year.  If not for a broken arm suffered in the playoffs the Bears might have gone deeper in the playoffs.  They are definitely on our list of teams to watch in 2012.

The Best of the Rest:

East Hamilton – Team on the rise.  They should be much better in 2012.

Sequatchie County – Nice season for the Indians.  Lots of questions going into 2012.

Well that’s it for the 2011 prep football season.  We thank you for checking us out every week during the season.  Look for our first Prep Football Power Poll for 2012 in August.  Once again in 2012, Fox Sports Radio 1370 will be your home of high school football.  For the 8^thconsecutive season we’ll bring you live high school football play by play, and top off your Friday nights with the most complete scoreboard anywhere.  We’ll see you in August. 

Eleven weeks of the prep football season has come and gone and now we find ourselves in the first week of November looking at the playoff picture.  18 teams in Southeast Tennessee have qualified for the playoffs, so this week we bring you our final Top Ten of the regular season.  We’ll bring you our final look at the top teams in southeast Tennessee the second week in December after all the state championship games have been played.

Interesting Note:  No team in southeast Tennessee made it through the entire season unbeaten.  Everybody has at least one loss this season.

As always our Top Ten Power Poll is brought to you by Chattanooga State.  Check them out online at www.chattanoogastate.edu

1.) Baylor (9-1)  The Red Raiders head into the playoffs as the top ranked team in Division-II.  They have also received a first round bye for this week.  Baylor will face the winner between Briarcrest Christian and Montgomery Bell Academy next Friday night at E.B. “Red” Etter Field.  The pieces are in place for Baylor to play for another state championship.  The Red Raiders have become major players in the state’s toughest classification.

2.) Boyd Buchanan (9-1)  The Bucs rolled over Copper Basin Friday night and continue their dominance within District 5-A.  It’s another District title, another first round bye for the boys in blue.  Boyd Buchanan will sit out the first round and will host the winner of Rockwood/Watertown in the second round.  A third round matchup with Trousdale County will most likely determine the state champs in 2-A in the state.  Unfortunately for the Bucs, that game will be a road trip to Hartsville, which will be a rough environment to try to get a win.

3.) South Pittsburg (8-2)  The Pirate came up a little flat last week against Grace Academy in Knoxville.  The game was scoreless and wasn’t decided until triple overtime on Friday night.  The Pirates had scored in 135 consecutive games before Friday.  The loss also knocked South Pittsburg out of the top seed in their bracket.  The will seek revenge this Friday night against Grace Baptist Academy.  After that the Pirates will need to be road warriors if they want to repeat as Class-A state champs.

4.) McMinn County (8-2) Nice win on Friday night over rival Bradley Central sowed up the District Title for the Cherokees.  The playoff brackets set up nicely for McMinn to make a run in November.  This team may have the best chance of any area team from a larger classification to play deep into November.

5.) Bledsoe County (9-1)  The Warriors are District 7-AA champs.  Their lone loss was to Signal Mountain which was later vacated.  This is a good Bledsoe County team.  They will cruise past Meigs county on Friday.  A visit from Alcoa will have Pikeville rockin’ the next week.  The Tornadoes are not the Tornadoes of old.  Bledsoe County will have a shot at the upset but they’ve got to avoid the big plays from Alcoa’s offense.

6.) Bradley (7-3) Bradley dropped a tough one to McMinn on Friday night.  They will ride the arm of Copeland, the legs of Houston and the hands of Stovall into the playoffs.  This is still a good football team with a chance to win a couple of games in November.  They can beat Cookeville on Friday night even it is on the road.

7.) East Hamilton (6-4)  One of the best stories in prep football this year.  The Hurricanes have announced their arrival with a win over Red Bank two weeks ago.  This team is not quite ready yet for Greenville but they are certainly good enough to advance all the way to the semi’s and a showdown with Greeneville.  No matter what happens in November, this has been a great season for Coach Ted Gatewood and his East Hamilton squad.

8.) Ooltewah (7-3)  The Owls have had their moments this year where they have looked and played really good.  They’ve also looked and played really bad at times.  They will host Shelbyville on Friday night.  Survive and advance, that’s got to be the motto for the Owls starting this week.

9.) Polk County (7-3)  This is not the same Polk County team that we’ve grown accustomed to over the past few years.  They are good but not great.  They have played a tough schedule and that should serve them well as they head through a 4-a bracket that could see them matching up with other area programs in the future.

10.) Red Bank (7-3) The Lions have dropped two straight to close out the regular season.  They need a win in the worst way.  They open the playoffs against Sequoyah, a winnable game.  Too many playmakers at Red Bank to finish the way they did.  This team is better than 7-3 and hopefully will show that starting Friday night.