The first weekend in February might end up being one the most crucial weekends in Butch Jones’ tenure as head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers.
During the 2014 season, Tennessee’s offensive line drew the heaviest criticisms on the team, and for good reason. The offensive line gave up an SEC-worst 43 sacks on the year. Jones and his staff looked to address the offensive line in the 2015 recruiting class, and one lineman stood out among the rest in the class for the Vols.
Tennessee hosted several visitors the weekend before National Signing Day, but none were bigger than in-state offensive tackle Drew Richmond. At the time, Richmond was committed to Ole Miss, a commitment he made several months ago and had held firm to despite Tennessee’s best efforts to flip him.
“When Drew committed, we gave him his time,” Butch Jones said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon on National Signing Day. “But we went back because you recruit to the end. The real recruiting process begins once you commit.”
And Jones never did let up, pulling out all the stops for Richmond’s official visit the weekend before National Signing Day. He brought Richmond and the other visitors to the Tennessee-Auburn basketball game on Saturday in front of the biggest crowd at a basketball game this season. Before they left, fans gave Richmond a standing ovation and the student section chanted “We want Richmond” as he saluted them.
The all-out blitz worked.
Wednesday morning, Richmond announced via Twitter that he was signing with the Vols, locking up the top three in-state recruits for the Vols in the 2015 class.
Jones stated that adding Richmond “completed the class,” citing his athleticism and balance as a lineman as some of his top qualities. But Richmond’s addition goes beyond just the field of play.
Richmond and Jones forged a unique relationship during his recruitment, one Jones says is “one of the top five relationships” he’s had with a student athlete. The two stayed in touch up to 10 minutes before Richmond faxed in his letter of intent, but even then Jones didn’t know Richmond’s intentions.
“He wanted to make me work until the end,” Jones stated. “He called me, thanking me and asked, ‘Will you still love me if I don’t go to the University of Tennessee?’
“I told him love is conditional in certain things.”
But Richmond didn’t have to find out how conditional Jones’s love is. Before lunchtime on National Signing Day, the five-star offensive tackle out of Memphis signed on to become a Vol, joining 28 other recruits in the 2015 signing class.
“We’re really fortunate to have him,” Jones said of his newest offensive lineman. “We are very excited about his future here.”
