Recent NFL news is a reminder of Butch Jones' biggest misstep as the head coach at Tennessee
On Thursday, the Jacksonville Jaguars agreed to a five-year extension with quarterback Trevor Lawrence that's worth $275 million (including $200 million guaranteed). Lawrence, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, is a former Clemson Tigers standout who grew up rooting for the Tennessee Vols. In 2016, when Lawrence was a five-star recruit […]
On Thursday, the Jacksonville Jaguars agreed to a five-year extension with quarterback Trevor Lawrence that's worth $275 million (including $200 million guaranteed).
Lawrence, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, is a former Clemson Tigers standout who grew up rooting for the Tennessee Vols.
In 2016, when Lawrence was a five-star recruit that was still pondering where he should play college football, he mentioned that Tennessee was his "dream school" while growing up.
At the time, the Vols had some momentum under Butch Jones. They were coming off a 9-4 season in 2015 and all four of their losses that season came by seven points or less.
“They were one of the schools I was interested in, but through the process I decided that wasn’t the best place for me," said Lawrence in 2018.
“Growing up a Tennessee fan, obviously Peyton Manning was like the biggest thing in the last however long. Still is…My whole family were huge Tennessee fans, huge Peyton Manning fans,” added Lawrence in 2021.
Landing a commitment from Lawrence was essentially on a tee for Jones and his staff. But they couldn't get the job done. Rumblings at the time indicated that Jones preferred a more mobile quarterback for his system. So despite the fact that Lawrence was the No. 1 overall player in the nation, and happened to grow up cheering for Tennessee, Jones and his staff made other players a higher priority (like Emory Jones, who eventually signed with the Florida Gators).
Jones was fired before Lawrence officially signed with Clemson. But had Lawrence been committed to Tennessee at the time, then-Vols athletic director John Currie might've been inclined to keep the beleaguered coach around for another season. But by the time the 2017 season was underway, the ship had sailed on Lawrence considering the Vols. The vibes weren't there for Lawrence and that was likely because he was never a top priority for Tennessee.
Oh what could've been.
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2022 was an insane time at Tennessee
