Richmond caps Vols front-line hauls

With four words Butch Jones gave his seal of approval on the Vols' 2015 signing class.

Was it perfect? No. Was every single need met? Not exactly. No one would have complained if there was another running back or safety in this class.

But, despite Tennessee's creative interpretation of the NCAA's 25 initial-counters-per-year rule, there just isn't enough room for every single.

Nevertheless, Jones knew what his third recruiting class was all about and with four words talking about the addition of Drew Richmond on signing day, Jones summed up what this class was about.

"It completed the class," Jones said of Richmond's addition.

That's because Richmond became the fifth offensive lineman to sign with Tennessee on Wednesday, in addition to the six defensive linemen that signed with the Vols; this class was about the trenches.

"I don't think it's any secret we needed to address some program issues on our offensive and defensive lines and we were able to do that with signing five offensive linemen and six defensive linemen so that will provide to the overall depth and competitive aspects at those positions," Jones said in his opening statement.

It was also no secret to potential recruits, who looked at the Vols' rotation of just six defensive linemen for most of the season, couple of with a nearly constant shuffle on the offensive line.

[rl]

Playing time was a big draw and a big reason Tennessee was able to sign multiple big-time players that play the same position, like five-star defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie to go couple with four-star defensive tackle Shy Tuttle.

"We'll still expect them to come in and contribute and that's one of the great selling points within our football program; we're still developing and depth is still an overall concern, especially on the offensive and defensive lines," Jones said.

The need for big, athletic bodies up front and off the edges allowed Tennesse to sign a versatile class of six total defensive linemen.

"The thing that we've been missing from our defense is an overall edge presence in terms of depth and then depth and size in the front. If you look at the big bodies, so to speak, in this recruiting class we wanted length," Jones explained. "Length isn't always measured in just height, but in wingspan so we wanted to make sure we had that addressed. Kyle Phillips addresses that, Darrell Taylor addresses that and then you look at our size inside with Shy Tuttle and Kahlil McKenzie and those two big defensive tackles. Then you have the quickness from Quay that he brings inside. He'll be a great compliment to those other two individuals I just spoke about.

"Andrew Butcher is an individual that plays with a motor, plays with a high energy about himself. The six defensive linemen we brought in all compliment each other but they also have a different skill set as well."

On the offensive line, it too was about length, athleticism and depth. While a foursome of Jack Jones, Venzell Boulware, Zach Stewart and Chance Hall, the addition of the five-star Richmond truly made the class special.

"It completed the class and we get back to our overall athleticism in the offensive front and Drew obviously does that," Jones explained. "He's a left tackle and he's very, very athletic and when we watch film, one of the big things, along with toughness, is balance.

"And when you watch Drew Richmond on video he was never on the ground. He could always recover and I'm excited because he's going to add to the offensive line in a great way to finish the recruiting class off and to stay in state and go in Memphis and keep one of the top three instate players at home was big for us. He brings everything we look for in an offensive lineman."