With the departure of the program’s starting quarterback and the top three producing wide receivers, adding depth under center and on the outside was paramount to the new Tennessee coaching staff this recruiting season.

With that in mind, head coach Butch Jones and his assistant coaches were able to bring in four wide receivers and two quarterbacks as part of the 2013 class.

“We were in an unusual situation when we got here we only had two quarterbacks on scholarship,” Jones said. “I’ve never heard of that. So just that alone was an attractive situation.”

Bringing in players who compete with a level of intensity that they bring to practice is important to the new head coach.

“When we recruit guys, we recruit them with the idea that they will be competing for playing time,” Jones said. “No one is guaranteed playing time, but they are guaranteed a chance to compete early and I feel that was attractive to these guys.”

Riley Ferguson, a 6-foot-3 dual-threat quarterback from Matthews, N.C., was the first play caller to commit to the Vols.

“He’s a great leader,” Jones said. “A greater leader on his team but also a great leader in his school, which is important to us as a staff.”

The other quarterback signed by Tennessee is Joshua Dobbs, a 6-foot-3 pro-style quarterback from Alpharetta, Ga. Dobbs was verbally committed to Arizona State as late as Tuesday evening, but informed the Tennessee coaching staff he changed his mind and would be coming to Knoxville to play his college football.

“Persistence was the key,” Jones said. “Our offense fits his skill set and it is the relationship business. We sat down with his mother, his father, and it was a make-or-break meeting, but once we got him to campus, Tennessee sold itself.”

Though the Volunteers did bring in two new quarterbacks, it’s hard to succeed without players to throw the ball to.

The Vols were able to ink signatures from Paul Harris, Ryan Jenkins, Josh Smith and MarQuez North to deepen the wide receiver pool.

Harris is an early enrollee and has already begun the strength and conditioning program the coaching staff has implemented.

“Paul has looked good so far,” wide receivers coach Paul Azzanni said. “He has a good build to him and I’m excited about his growth.”

The most highly touted of the receiver prospects is four-star recruit MarQuez North. The 6-foot-4 wide out brings size to a relatively small receiving core.

“He has unlimited potential,” Azzanni said. “MarQuez brings everything you are looking for physically.”

North was recruited by running backs coach Jay Graham who believes that Tennessee’s tradition of having quality receives was key in bringing the physical wide out to Rocky Top.

“He wanted to play in the SEC, he wanted to play on the big stage,” Graham said. “The history here at the wide receiver position was something we talked about and he liked.”

The Tennessee coaching staff is hoping to have these players — and all of the recruits — in Knoxville by June.

“We hope to have them in so we can really hit the ground running during the summer,” Jones said.