Tennessee Football: Vols Recruiting Checklist for Class of 2015

There's no disputing the work the Tennessee football team and coach Butch Jones have done on the recruiting trail in this 2015 cycle, but how has it done meeting needs?

A third-ranked recruiting class (via the 247Sports composite rankings) carries with it plenty of sound and fury in the perception department, but it signifies nothing if gaping holes remain.

UT has gone a long way in addressing those needs in the past two classes. This year is no different. Yes, there are always going to be positions for which coaches wish they could have plucked just one more player, but scholarship numbers and number caps on classes have done away with that.

While the Vols took an important step forward with a 7-6 record and a TaxSlayer Bowl victory in 2014, they were dangerously thin in places. From depth along the defensive line to scant bodies in the offensive backfield, Jones and his staff had to walk some personnel tightropes.

Thanks to another large, impressive recruiting haul in the '15 cycle, UT will be a little bit closer to resolving those roster deficiencies and perhaps competing for championships next season.

Let's take a look at the positions of need in this class and whether or not the Vols have done a strong job addressing them.

Quarterbacks

Credit: 247Sports

Quinten Dormady is already enrolled and has his eyes on backing up Joshua Dobbs.

With the graduation of Justin Worley following Riley Ferguson's transfer, the Vols had no choice but to go out and try to load up on quarterbacks to back up Joshua Dobbs.

Boy, did they ever.

Tennessee has commitments from three quarterbacks in this cycle who look like quality players on the surface. That's an extremely high number in any year, but with just Dobbs and Nathan Peterman returning, Butch Jones needed players.

He got a trio with a nice mixture of varying skill sets.

Starting with the two mid-term enrollees, 4-star dual-threat Jauan Jennings and pro-style Quinten Dormady are already on campus and will get to get a leg up in spring drills.

That's big news for a Tennessee team with its backup spot wide open and a history of being forced to start multiple quarterbacks.

Dormady is 6'4", 200 pounds and possesses a big arm and sneaky athleticism. He chose UT over Alabama and a host of Big 12 schools, and he already ran a variation of Jones' power-spread option offense while at Boerne (Texas) High School.

Jennings is a star athlete who was reclassified this year as a dual-threat quarterback due to the strides he made at the position for Blackman High School in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He needs some more seasoning, but if he doesn't stick behind center, he has a bright future at several other positions.

Then there's Rancho Verde, California signal-caller Sheriron Jones, who committed to UT recently despite Dormady and Jennings already being in the fold. The former Florida commitment began looking around when Will Muschamp was fired, and he wound up the seventh-ranked dual-threat QB in the nation.

With all those options, UT appears to be in good hands for the future. It's a bit of an embarrassment of riches for a program that needed to beef up its depth chart at the offense's most important position.

Offensive Tackles

Credit: 247Sports

Murfreesboro (Oakland HS) offensive tackle Jack Jones has an opportunity to play right away on the exterior.

Anybody who watched Tennessee's offensive line in 2014 knows there were issues everywhere.

The unit was 122nd nationally (out of 128 teams) in sacks allowed with 43, and there were more problems than that, such as not being able to run the ball consistently or out-muscle opponents in the red zone.

Tennessee's interior line isn't in as bad a shape as the outside, however. With senior former walk-on Jacob Gilliam out of eligibility and right tackle starter Kyler Kerbyson being better-suited at guard, UT needed several bodies at the position in this cycle.

Unfortunately for the Vols, if they don't land another tackle before February 4, they will have fallen short of their needs there.

In-state 4-star commitment and mid-term enrollee Jack Jones has a nice upside as a right tackle, and 6'5", 315-pound Chance Hall is an athletic lineman UT loved, too. He has added another 10 pounds, according to UT, since his recruiting profile.

Both of those players project as tackles, but they are the only sure things there. Venzell Boulware may be better suited for guard, and Zach Stewart is almost certainly a guard, too.

Adding Jones and Hall into the mix along with Kerbyson, Dontavius Blair, Coleman Thomas and perhaps Charles Mosley will give the Vols some options, but they really need another tackle.

The guy on the wish list who looks like an immediate-impact player is 4-star Patrick Allen, a former Georgia commitment who will choose between UT and the Dawgs on national signing day. Oklahoma and Michigan are in the mix, too.

With his long arms and athleticism, Allen could be a franchise left tackle for the Vols if they can pick him up. If UT doesn't get him or another player, it will wind up a tackle shy of a strong class.

Defensive Line

Credit: 247Sports

Shy Tuttle is also a midterm enrollee, and he should team with Kahlil McKenzie to give the Vols a future force at defensive tackle.

Much like on the offensive side of the ball, Tennessee's defense needed much more help at tackle than any other position.

But the Vols were thin everywhere along the defensive front.

Sure, Derek Barnett and Curt Maggitt combined to become one of the nation's most fearsome pass-rushing tandems, registering 21 sacks and 35.5 tackles for a loss, but the depth was lacking at end. Corey Vereen and LaTroy Lewis improved as the year matured.

At tackle, it was three undersized players (Danny O'Brien, Jordan Williams, Owen Williams) and a cloud of dust. That was pretty much the rotation.

That won't be a problem any longer.

Tennessee is expected to sign a defensive line class of seven players, including 5-star Kahlil McKenzie, 4-stars Kyle Phillips, Shy Tuttle, Andrew Butcher, Darrell Taylor and 3-stars Quay Picou and Marques Ford. Phillips and Tuttle are 5-stars on at least one site.

A short time ago, UT struggled to sign 3-star defensive tackles, and this class boasts McKenzie, Tuttle and Picou, who are all potential standouts.

It's the best defensive line class in the country and the best the Vols have ever compiled. It has tons of star potential, met major needs and will provide immediate-impact depth.

Defensive line coach Steve Stripling had an incredible year on the recruiting trail after developing UT's line into a formidable force in the SEC. With all these weapons at his disposal, the future is bright.

Running Backs

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Kendall Bussey was a late add to the class, but the former Nebraska commit fills a major need.

Jalen Hurd etched his name among the best freshmen running backs in the country with his first season on Rocky Top. Beyond him, though, there wasn't a whole lot of viable playmakers.

With Marlin Lane and Devrin Young out of eligibility and the transfer of Derrell Scott, the Vols' depth is razor-thin entering spring practice.

That's why Butch Jones has tried to address that major need through recruiting—as well as through unconventional means.

Ralph David Abernathy IV, whom Jones coached at Cincinnati and whose brother, Micah, is a defensive back recruit for the Vols, is transferring to UT for his final season, according to GoVols247 (via WBIR.com).

The Vols also have two definite running backs in this class, as well as an athlete who could wind up there. And they're looking for more.

The star of the class is the nation's second-ranked JUCO running back, Alvin Kamara, a former Alabama player who has three years of eligibility remaining. He will step right in and share carries with Hurd, and he has the potential to be special.

Kendall Bussey committed to the Vols right before Christmas, and the former Nebraska commitment and all-purpose back will be a nice player for UT if the Vols can hold off Texas A&M's advancements and sign him. Bussey is a lifelong Vols fan who went to the same high school as Peyton Manning (New Orleans' Isidore Newman).

Local product Jocquez Bruce will "likely get looks" at running back along with Vincent Perry, according to GoVols247's Wes Rucker.

UT has a trio of undecided runners it covets as well as the Vols try to sign one more back in a rapidly filling-up class. Bryce Love, John Kelly and Jaason Lewis are all still at least possibilities for UT. Love and Kelly represent the best options between now and national signing day.

If the Vols can close with one of those guys, they'll have a full stable of runners in 2015. If not, they'll probably still find enough runners from the group of athletes they've got already committed.

Cornerbacks

Credit: 247Sports

One of the most undervalued adds to Tennessee's class is midstate cornerback Justin Martin, the nation's top-ranked JUCO cornerback.

Needing at least two or three cornerbacks in this year's class to sustain depth, the Vols more than met their needs at the position.

Only nickelback Justin Coleman graduated from the 2014 team, so development was more important than recruiting there, but the Vols still needed some viable options.

The jewel commitment at the position is 4-star Justin Martin, who is the nation's top-ranked JUCO cornerback. At 6'2", 190 pounds and with 4.4 speed, Martin is a physical specimen who was recruited by virtually everybody in the Southeast.

If the Vols can hold off late visits to Texas A&M and Auburn and keep him, he'll almost certainly be firmly in the rotation in 2015. The visit to the Aggies gave Martin "something to think about," according to Taylor Hamm of Texas A&M's 247Sports site, but he remains a Vol.

Micah Abernathy and Darrell Miller are two other players with huge offer sheets who look as if they will be nice players down the road. Abernathy chose UT over Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama and others. Miller had offers from Boise State, Ohio State, Michigan State and others.

Though Martin is really the only burner in the group, they fit the mold of big, physical cornerbacks that secondary coach Willie Martinez likes. If UT can hang on to the trio, it will be a solid class of defensive backs.

Safeties

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As the lone definite safety prospect in this class, Stephen Griffin has a big opportunity to earn playing time.

Tennessee received a commitment from 6'3", 190-pound 3-star Stephen Griffin last winter, and the Vols pretty much pumped the brakes on safety recruiting ever since.

On the surface, that's a puzzling decision considering two of UT's trio who received playing time at the position in 2014—Brian Randolph and LaDarrell McNeil—will be seniors next year.

The only definite safeties UT has on the roster besides those guys are Todd Kelly Jr., Evan Berry and Devaun Swafford. So, UT could have used another safety in the class.

Though Micah Abernathy is listed as a cornerback on 247Sports, he is 6'1", 187 pounds and could grow into a safety prospect in the future. Perhaps that's the reason the Vols didn't pursue another player at the position.

Regardless, they've already got their sights set on two studs in the 2016 class in Nigel Warrior (the son of former Vols great Dale Carter) and in-state playmaker Joejuan Williams, so they understand it has all of a sudden become a major need moving forward.

That didn't have to be the case. The way the Vols are recruiting, they could have targeted and landed another safety in this cycle to go along with Griffin, who is a mid-term enrollee.

Instead, the Vols felt like they had bigger needs elsewhere.

All recruiting information from 247Sports composite rankings, unless otherwise noted. All stats gathered from CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted.

Brad Shepard covers SEC football and is the Tennessee Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow Brad on Twitter @Brad_Shepard.