No, not that kind of draft.
I’m talking about the NFL Draft! Yes, it’s that time of year again, and I must admit that I always love watching it if I’m home on that Saturday — or at least having it on in the background. If you’re stuck inside, it’s good to have on the draft with a good book in hand, choosing to pay attention when your favorite team or teams come up with their picks or a player from your alma mater is announced.
Well, it’s not going to be a huge year for the Vols draft-wise, but I am looking for one player — junior all-world linebacker Jerod Mayo — to go in the first round. Whether it’s to San Francisco (who loves them some SEC linebackers after last year’s glittering selection of Tennessee native and Ole Miss star Patrick Willis) or the Tennessee Titans (who owe the Vols some good vibes after skipping on Robert Meachem last year) or another team, expect Mayo to get snapped up early in the day. He’s an electric talent, can fly, makes every tackle in his vicinity, showed the versatility to move inside and play either linebacker position last season, and he’s only getting better. When matched up against some of the better linebackers in the conference, Mayo proved he was the best. Expect him to go in a hurry, likely in the first 20-23 picks of the first round.
From there, it gets sketchy. There may not be another Vol taken on Saturday (first and second rounds). As a matter of fact, it would be down-right mouth-dropping if another was taken. The next two who are expected to go are tight end Brad Cottam and quarterback Erik Ainge. Joel over at Rocky Top Talk does a better job of breaking down these two Vols than we have time to do over here, so I’ll just let him do the dirty work with the links. Also, Wes Rucker with the Chattanooga Times Free Press hits Ainge with a strong article.
It’s funny that looking back at these two guys, UT fans probably don’t have a ton of fond thoughts. Personally, Ainge and me never really got off on the right foot. I respected his grasp of the offense, and I know that he made some big plays. That, along with his 6-foot-6 frame, should lead to a selection by some team in the third- or fourth-round. Ainge certainly had the tools, but after a disastrous sophomore year when he may have deserved most of the blame for the 5-6 season, we just never could make up. I never really could accept him as our leader.
Really, Erik, it’s my fault, I’ll admit. But when you had a chance to get back in my good graces and end your career on a strong note, you threw the two critical interceptions to single-handedly lose us the SEC Championship game, and then you were only mediocre in a win against Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl.
I will pull for you in the NFL, and you will always be a Vol, but pardon me for not being able to completely forgive you for the kid gloves David Cutcliffe always had to equip you with or the mistakes you made with games on the line.
Then, there’s Cottam. The 6-foot-8, speedy freak of nature had all of the intangibles to be a Jason Witten-type tight end that went down in Big Orange Lore. Instead, he spent essentially his entire career mired on the depth chart or recovering from devastating injuries. When we finally got a glimpse of what might have been during his 59-yard jaunt against Kentucky that looked briefly like he was the fastest man on the field, it was enough to give us warm and fuzzies. But it was also enough to make us just a little angry that we didn’t get to know you better.
Good luck, guys. But when it comes to hero status that has been reserved for recent Vols such as Peyton Manning, Al Wilson, Gibril Wilson, Travis Henry, Albert Haynesworth, John Henderson, etc., you aren’t in that conversation. Still, there’s nothing wrong with being mentioned in the same breath as Kevin Burnett, Omar Gaither, Parys Haralson, Scott Wells, Donte Stallworth and guys like that who we’re still proud were Vols.
Finally, there’s one thing I don’t understand: Many experts have Chris Brown as a free agent possibility only. Huh? This guy did everything for the Vols as an H-back/tight end/fullback, and now the former five-star may not even get drafted? I realize he’s undersized at 6-1, 250, but gosh, the guy has great hands, tenacious blocking ability, is versatile and has a nose for the end zone. UT coaches are dumbfounded that Brown may not get drafted. He did so much for the Vols last year that they went out and tried to recruit to that position, a position that really doesn’t have a name because he’s such a Swiss Army Knife of a player. Now that Dave Clawson is the OC, there will probably be more of a true fullback in the Vols’ system, but I for one thought Brown’s versatility would have helped his draft status. Apparently, I was wrong.
Other Vols who could get drafted:
- Eric Young (a near-certain top-three rounder until an injury ended his UT career prematurely. This is a great kid who comes from nothing, so if you’re looking for an underdog to pull for to sign a big contract with somebody, pull for Eric. He’s a great guy and a great player who got a raw deal with the injury.)
- Jonathan Hefney (a safety that was expected to be a top few rounds pick until he returned for his senior year and stunk up the joint playing through injuries. Hefney is still a good player, but his measuring at 5-foot-7 surely aren’t going to help his chances.)
- Xavier Mitchell, Antonio Reynolds (these two defensive ends are essentially the same person as far as production goes.) They just never lived up to expectations — especially Reynolds. Mitchell and Reynolds had flashes of brilliance, but UT really needed them to have better careers than they had.
- Ryan Karl (OK, I spit out my Diet Dr. Pepper … seriously, the outside linebacker insists that he’s being contacted by some teams, and he may not be such a bad player to use a late-round pick on. Still, he probably lacks the size or speed to play on the next level.)
I’m sure I’m leaving somebody out, but that’s all I can think of. Good luck, Mayo! You were really the only one who made enough of an impact to be remembered as a Vols legend.
.png)
I don’t understand the lack of interest in Brown either. Probably projects to more of an NFL fullback than tight end, but he’d be good in a West Coast style of offense. Maybe I’m nuts, but I really think Ainge will have a better NFL career than what he had at UT. Wouldn’t surprise me if he winds up being the second best (behind Brohm) QB of this class (and no, I haven’t forgotten about Matt Ryan). And, no offense, but I hope the Niners don’t take Mayo. They have more pressing concerns than LB.
Game MVP Erik Ainge (24 of 42 passing, 340 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs) would love to know what you didn’t like about his Outback Bowl performance.
Well, my memory failed me. Should have said the Vols were only mediocre in that game. I wasn’t big on the fourth quarter water-treading, but maybe the thing I liked least about it was it wasn’t A BCS BOWL! Which we would have been in if not for Ainge.
I don’t hate the guy at all. He’s just not on my level of love that is reserved for some Vols. He failed in too many key situations.
Ainge, in my opinion, ranks just under Shuler as far as UT QBs go. He was just good enough to be remembered, but not revered. Although, he was interviewed yesterday morning on the Wake Up Zone, 104.5 in Nashville and came off smelling like a rose. His interview “speak” made me proud he represents UT. He handled some lite criticism about his lack of stepping forward in the pocket and basically getting rid of the ball way to soon, at times, like a man and really owned up to needing to improve on that part of his game. He came off sounding confident, but not cocky. And after that performance in the SEC championship (CO: I don’t care what his stats were for the non-BCS bowl game), he really gained some applause back from this VOLS FAN!!!
Good Luck to all Vols entering the draft this weekend!
Great post, Nix! One of the most well-thought-out responses we’ve had in a long time.
In my opinion, Ainge just needs some confidence and he can be a great NFL QB. He did awesome with little to no talent at WR and I wish Matt Stafford did that much with no talent.
I understand what you guys say about Ainge making some costly mistakes, but I always thought if it was not for him UT would have been a .500 team the last two years. I thought it took an incredible amount of mental toughness to come back from that sophomore year. I thought for sure he was done after that year. He looked completely shattered. I believe that he is going to have a good NFL career, and I think UT will miss him more than most people think. He definitely won more games than he lost.
Ainge was certainly a salvage job by Cut. It’s possible that Cut never felt comfortable letting up on the reins after seeing where Ainge started after TSOWWDNS, but there’s no way I could speak to that. I think Ainge’s real test will be to face some full-speed drills (and hopefully some game time) to see where his nerves are. If he can keep composure and work through the pressure to make a smart decision and execute properly, he’ll be fine.
In some ways, getting broken may end up being the best thing that happened to Ainge. If he can fully recover from it, he’ll always remember what it was like and he’ll always remember that he can conquer it. Here’s hoping.
In another thought; I can see two possible reasons why Brown’s draft stock appears so low. First, running backs are generally fungible and he’s probably more of a fullback than a tight end. Second, it may be that either no team is in the market for a player of his type or that those teams have much worse needs that don’t allow them to pick him. Sometimes it’s a problem with the player and sometimes it’s a problem with the teams. I don’t know that either reason actually applies; I just see them as possibilities that could explain things if true.
I can’t agree with some that Ainge was the QB that kept us at .500 or better. I look at it in the sense he kept us from winning games. Too many bad decisions in important games. We lost the SEC championship because of Ainge. His lack of mobility and arm strength were constant issues and kept us from being the type of offense we should have been.
If Ryan Karl gets drafted it will be a miracle. If Jonathan Hefney plays like he did last season, he won’t be on an NFL roster for long. Xavier Mitchell never lived up to his potential. Might get drafted but will be lucky to make a practice squad.
Very nice post.
Something else to remember: Ainge’s finger and shoulder were badly hurt last season, which is why he was ordered by Cutcliffe to get rid of the ball quickly. It was a wonderful story when he finally fessed up before the Outback Bowl about how bad the injuries were. Cutcliffe and Fulmer didn’t say anything until Ainge admitted it.
Of course, that would have been an even better story if it occurred before a BCS game. Y’all are right about that…
Tsk, tsk, tsk. It was Ainge saying “Roll Tide Roll” at the Senior Bowl wasn’t it.
Chris Brown was an unknown 2 star coming out of high school.
Typo on my part, Lowery. He was offered by LSU late, though. That was meant to say three-star, which would have still been wrong.