Tennessee Football: Biggest Storylines so Far This Offseason

This offseason has been anything but boring for the Tennessee football team, so with spring practice kicking off next week, head coach Butch Jones is probably ready to get back to real ball.

It's not that the months since the Vols' victory over Iowa in the TaxSlayer Bowl have been bad; they haven't.

Just with all the pent-up excitement surrounding the program, and with some old faces gone and new blood being transfused into the roster and coaching staff, it's time to see the first glimpses of the 2015 product.

Sure, the Vols are dealing with some injuries this spring, but they've also got a lot of talent that will be on display when the pads go on.

The college football nation knows it, and nobody in Knoxville is denying it. But before we get cranked up with spring drills and real football beginning March 24, let's rewind on some headlines that have taken place since January.

Top-Five Recruiting Class

Karen Pulfer Focht/Associated Press

After taking a losing team and signing a top-10 recruiting class in the 2014 cycle, Tennessee fans were anxious to see what Jones and his coaching staff would do for an encore.

The returns were promising.

When the finishing touches were put on the class with the national signing day commitment of 4-star offensive tackle Drew Richmond, Tennessee secured the nation's fourth-ranked class, according to the 247Sports composite.

It was UT's highest class ranking since 2007.

Not only was the class on the high end of talent, it was extremely deep in vital places where teams absolutely must be strong in order to win championships.

Player	Position	Star Rankings	Position Ranking
Kahlil McKenzie	DT	5-star	2
Kyle Phillips	SDE	4-star	4
Alvin Kamara	RB	4-star	2
Shy Tuttle	DT	4-star	9
Jack Jones	OT	4-star	9
Darrin Kirkland Jr.	ILB	4-star	5
Jauan Jennings	DUAL QB	4-star	6
Quinten Dormady	PRO QB	4-star	12
Andrew Butcher	SDE	4-star	17
Preston Williams	WR	4-star	7
Drew Richmond	OT	4-star	3
Micah Abernathy	CB	4-star	24
Quart'e Sapp	OLB	4-star	14
Justin Martin	CB	4-star	2
Sheriron Jones	DUAL QB	4-star	7
Darrell Taylor	WDE	4-star	14

The Vols loaded up in both trenches, signing six defensive linemen and five offensive linemen. They got two definite running backs in Alvin Kamara and John Kelly, as well as a couple of other athletes who could wind up there (Jocquez Bruce and Vincent Perry).

With a dearth of depth at quarterback, the Vols signed three—dual-threats Jauan Jennings and Sheriron Jones, as well as pro-style signal-caller Quinten Dormady. Jennings and Dormady are already in school and will go through spring drills.

UT signed three cornerbacks and three linebackers as well in a class that went 29 players deep. They got two definite immediate-impact JUCO players in Kamara and cornerback Justin Martin.

Despite having holes all over the field, there were seemingly not any reaches in a full and fruitful class. The Vols were able to meet myriad needs with elite players that, at least on paper, improved them all over the field.

"

#Vols HC Butch Jones in Nashville today. Said this years recruiting class was good balance of both want and need. pic.twitter.com/eiSGLbEJ0h

— Joe Leadingham (@JoeLeadingham) February 5, 2015"

Really, the only position where UT still desperately needs numbers is running back, and that's a hurdle the Vols will have to clear in 2015 but will be a primary focus in the '16 recruiting class.

No recruiting class is perfect, but Jones signed another marquee haul that should have UT competing with everybody it plays, perhaps as soon as this season.

The Arrival of Expectations

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

The last time there was any kind of palpable national attention on Tennessee, Derek Dooley's Vols fell on their face.

ESPN's College GameDay set up shop in Knoxville for UT's 2012 matchup against the Florida Gators, and fans flocked to Circle Park by the thousands to welcome the crew long before the evening game.

UT was ranked 23rd heading into that battle, and it was favored and actually led in the second half before Sal Sunseri's defense collapsed and the Vols lost 37-20. That started the downward spiral that led to Dooley's ouster.

This year, the buzz is back.

Several top-25 rankings across the Internet—ESPN.com, Fox Sports and NFL.com to name a few—have UT on their lists.

It's hype Jones doesn't shy away from, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press' Patrick Brown, even if he believes he presides over an unfinished product:

"

I think it's a compliment to our players. I think it's a compliment to the way we finished. I think people around the country can see the transformation of Tennessee football in all aspects, from our style of play to winning off the field.

But we still have a long way to go. When you look at what this football team was able to accomplish with the inordinate amount of true freshmen playing, having to replace both sides of the line of scrimmage, most of our special teams being comprised of first- and second-year players -- they did a great job.

"

But can they build on it? Another season having to fight and claw to get to .500 won't be looked upon quite as fondly as 2014.

While Knoxville wasn't exactly as giddy as South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier's barb, Tennessee coaches, players and fans were thrilled to become bowl-eligible and win a season ago. Now, those expectations skyrocket.

Quarterback Joshua Dobbs and running back Jalen Hurd are rising stars, the receiving corps and defense should be much improved and the roster holes are shrinking.

Those qualities have to equal wins. It may not be spring practice time yet, but it seems everybody in the college football world has the Vols on the tips of their tongues.

Rocky Top Runners

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Part of building a championship program and changing a culture that had been lax for so long is cutting ties with players who don't have the same vision.

But the amount of attrition from UT's roster this offseason is uncommon.

While nobody seems particularly alarmed, due to Jones' ability to recruit at a high level and replace those players the way Alabama coach Nick Saban did early in his tenure, the number of goners is high.

Since season's end, receivers Drae Bowles and Vic Wharton left the program. Tight end Daniel Helm, defensive linemen Dewayne Hendrix and Jaylen Miller, linebacker Justin King, defensive backs Riyahd Jones and D'Andre Payne, quarterback Nathan Peterman and running back Derrell Scott also left.

Defensive tackle Michael Sawyers was dismissed, and Ryan Jenkins' status is yet to be determined.

Wharton, Helm, Hendrix, Scott and Sawyers were definitely going to or had opportunities to be part of the depth chart moving forward.

"I think if you look around the country, unfortunately it's becoming the norm," Jones told The Associated Press' Steve Megargee, via The Tennessean. "Each individual has different circumstances for leaving. We thank them for being part of our family, and if we can help them moving forward, we'll help them."

There's no way to make everybody happy, but potentially 12 players leaving a roster isn't something you want to deal with every year. Now, a 2014 class that once had 32 players has now shrunk to 24.

While some of those players saw the writing on the wall when it came to potential playing time (or lack thereof), a few were going to be relied on.

That's sort of a byproduct of having to completely retool a roster that wasn't capable of winning in the SEC. When a coach recruits 61 players in two years, some won't stick.

That's why it's a positive thing that UT director of player personnel Bob Welton told VolQuest.com's Paul Fortenberry that UT can be a bit more selective moving forward in whom it recruits with the roster in much better shape.

Maybe this will be the last year that there's such a mass exodus.

New Offensive Sheriff

Credit: 247Sports

Finally, perhaps the biggest real news so far was the abrupt departure of offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian to be Tampa Bay's quarterbacks coach and Jones' subsequent hiring of Mike DeBord.

In Jones' eight years as a head coach, Bajakian was his only offensive coordinator, but with the assistant's aspirations to coach in the NFL, the move made sense.

When Jones pegged DeBord—a 59-year-old Michigan administrator who'd been out of coaching for a couple years—it was a decision that was initially viewed as puzzling. Considering DeBord hired Jones back during his tenure as Central Michigan's head coach, however, it shouldn't have been.

The two men have a comfort level, and DeBord shares an offensive philosophy that has led to what Jones told Bleacher Report last month was a seamless transition.

Already armed with a knowledge of the offense and with Dobbs, Hurd and other weapons returning, DeBord told the Knoxville News Sentinel's Dustin Dopirak he expects the Vols' offense to be "fast and furious."

This is the first real big hire Jones has been forced into making since becoming UT's head coach, so it will be widely scrutinized. But there are no hints of concern for Jones.

Entering a year where UT is expected to be strong offensively, the last thing Jones wanted was to hire a coordinator who had no knowledge of the offensive-minded coach's philosophy or to bring in a completely new playbook.

So, DeBord was the guy for the job. Time will tell whether it was indeed the correct decision.

All statistics gathered from UTSports.com, unless otherwise noted. Quotes and observations obtained firsthand, unless otherwise noted.

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