Tennessee National Signing Day 2015: 5 Takeaways from Volunteers' Class

National signing day has become a bit of a holiday in the otherwise gloomy late winter in East Tennessee, thanks to head coach Butch Jones.

Where there was once the dark days made darker by failed coaching tenures of Lane Kiffin and Derek Dooley, Knoxville is now lit by all the stars that make up the Vols' signing class—in this case one 5-star and 14 4-stars in a haul that ranks fourth nationally.

With the late-class flip of offensive tackle Drew Richmond from Ole Miss, not only did UT wind up with most of its top targets, secure another banner year instate and add a ton of talent, it also met major needs.

This recruiting cycle really couldn't have gone much better for the Vols.

As was the case in the 2014 cycle, there wasn't a whole lot of hand-wringing late, but Richmond's recruitment provided some last-minute fireworks. Earlier in the week, running back Kendall Bussey Jr. flipped from UT to Texas A&M to provide the only defection.

Things turned out positive for the Vols, who signed another class of 29 players in their pursuit to rebuild a roster capable of competing in the nation's toughest conference.

With national signing day in the books, let's take a look at the biggest takeaways from this star-studded class.

Butch Jones Solidified His Status as a Proven Elite Recruiter

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Two star-studded classes make Butch Jones one of the nation's top recruiters.

A year ago when UT head coach Butch Jones put together an amazing recruiting class, the excuses abounded nationwide from rival schools.

The doubters noted six "legacy" commitments from players who had relatives play for the Vols. Others cast a shadow on the success by pointing out that 10 of UT's commits came from the state in a year that produced an abnormal amount of talent in the Volunteer State.

Well, where are the excuses this year? The 2015 recruiting class is even higher-ranked and deeper than last year's haul. If you take a peek at the early '16 rankings, the Vols aren't going away on the recruiting trail, either.

Kids want to be a part of what Jones is building in Knoxville. The ones who stick with UT are primed to compete for championships sooner rather than later.

It's difficult to lose when you're compiling talent the way Jones has, so this has to bode well for the immediate future on Rocky Top.

Jones is recruiting at the nation's highest level. Really, there are only a handful of coaches who consistently do it better, and every one of those coaches have been winning at the highest level.

The Vols haven't yet, but they are on the cusp after finishing 7-6 and winning the TaxSlayer Bowl.

UT is ready to win, and if Jones can match his recruiting ability with his coaching, it won't be long until the Vols are mentioned as one of the nation's top teams again.

Drew Richmond Provides the Positive Drama

Credit: 247Sports

Offensive tackle Drew Richmond was a huge pickup for the Vols.

Following a last-minute, final-weekend visit to Knoxville where he was treated like a king at the Vols basketball game and spent most of his time with Butch Jones, 4-star offensive tackle Drew Richmond flipped from Ole Miss to Tennessee on Wednesday.

The nation's third-ranked offensive tackle supplied the Vols with the only real need missing from this class—an elite exterior lineman to anchor the class and the future.

Richmond officially announced his signing via his Twitter, saying simply: "It's great to be a Tennessee Vol."

The 6'5", 310-pound tackle has arguably been Tennessee's top target for the past three years. Jones visited him shortly after taking over as the Vols' head coach, and he was a priority until committing to the Rebels on Sept. 9. UT stuck with recruiting him, and it paid off.

Besides that massive pledge, it was a ho-hum day for the Vols, who had a little early morning heartburn with concerns about offensive lineman prospect Venzell Boulware, who wound up faxing his papers to UT.

Everything else went as planned, as the Vols entered the day nearly full and keeping their collective fingers crossed with Richmond.

His pledge gives UT a near-perfect class. The Vols filled major needs on the defensive and offensive fronts, at quarterback, running back and at middle linebacker.

But Richmond joins Kyle Phillips and Kahlil McKenzie as the biggest pieces in a star-studded class.

Options, Skill-Set Diversity at Quarterback Is Huge

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4-star quarterback Sheriron Jones signing with the Vols on Wednesday ensures Butch Jones has options to back up Joshua Dobbs.

With 4-star California signal-caller Sheriron Jones' scholarship papers signed, sealed and delivered, Tennessee has to be shaking its head at the fortune the Vols have experienced recruiting quarterbacks this cycle.

Jones decided to commit to the Vols despite them already having pledges from mid-term enrollees Quinten Dormady and Jauan Jennings.

That gives UT a pure dropback passer in Dormady who has underrated mobility, a star athlete who has really developed his throwing in the past year in Jennings and a bit of a mixture of both in Jones.

Whomever the Vols hire as their next offensive coordinator will have an embarrassment of riches with a variety of skill sets to mold. They'll need every one of them, too. Because as fortunate as UT is to land three quarterbacks, it has to get them ready as soon as possible.

Justin Worley, who started the first part of the season for the Vols before getting hurt, is out of eligibility. Then, news broke from 247Sports' Tom Loy last weekend that rising junior Nathan Peterman is transferring to Pittsburgh, leaving UT with Joshua Dobbs and the trio of freshmen.

That means one of the youngsters has to back up Dobbs. It also means at least two of them must be ready at any given moment, especially considering how UT hasn't made it through a season without a starting quarterback staying healthy since 2009.

This year's class gives UT options. The Vols need them.

Defensive Line Class Is the Nation's Best

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5-star defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie is the stud in UT's class.

Loaded.

That's pretty much the only way to describe a defensive line recruiting class that had so much talent that it made 4-star defensive end Marques Ford expendable late in the process.

Tennessee made the unpopular decision to pull the scholarship of longtime commitment Ford with just a couple weeks left before signing day. Ford landed on his feet committing to Rutgers, but in the win-or-go-home world of college football, the Vols had to use his spot for a position of greater need.

As the class shook out, the Vols wound up with six signed defensive linemen.

The two stars of the class are 5-star defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie who made his decision official on Wednesday, and strong-side defensive end Kyle Phillips, a composite-ranking 4-star who is a 5-star player on 247Sports.com.

Along with McKenzie, 4-star Shy Tuttle also is already on campus and gives UT a duo of potential star defensive tackles. Darrell Taylor and Andrew Butcher have huge upsides at defensive end, and Quay Picou is a player who could project to play either inside or out wherever he is needed.

There was a time not many years ago when UT couldn't sign a defensive lineman of any consequence. Now, this year, the Vols had to (unfortunately) turn away a player with a bright future.

McKenzie and Phillips look like can't-miss prospects. The rest of them are stout, too. Add them to a line that already includes Derek Barnett, Curt Maggitt and others, and the future is very bright on the defensive line.

Short on Skill Speedsters

Credit: 247Sports

Once-target Bryce Love chose Stanford late in the process.

To say that Tennessee failed to sign enough skill-position speed would be an overstatement, because UT had opportunities and chose other players before the class filled up.

But the Vols had the chance to sign wide receiver Ryan Newsome (who ultimately chose Texas, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Jimmy Burch) and Bryce Love (who signed with Stanford) and didn't get either.

There were no reports about whether UT informed the prospects it didn't have room or if the Vols would have ever been their choice, anyway.

Regardless, Tennessee got some speedy players at running back and receiver but few with elite speed.

Kendall Bussey Jr. flipped from UT to Texas A&M on Monday, and while he wasn't a burner, he was the kind of all-around runner who could have added some burst to the Vols' stable of running backs.

Running back commitments Alvin Kamara and John Kelly possess strong SEC speed and have the potential to break away on the second level. The same can be said about in-state athlete Vincent Perry, who could wind up playing running back or receiver.

Those guys are nice additions regardless because of their potential to be complete SEC running backs.

But Love and Newsome have game-breaking, Oregon-level elite burner speed, and neither of them are going to spend the next four years in orange and white. 

To call it a shortcoming of the class is tough, but given that the Vols met most of their needs from a positional standpoint, it's easy to nitpick, and elite speed would have been something UT needed more of.

All recruiting information from 247Sports composite rankings, unless otherwise noted. 

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