One of the Tennessee Vols' biggest recruiting misses of the last decade is excelling as a rookie in the NFL
One of the Tennessee Vols' biggest recruiting misses during the Jeremy Pruitt era is off to a great start as a rookie in the NFL this season. Former Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Ladd McConkey was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Through 10 games this season, McConkey has […]
One of the Tennessee Vols' biggest recruiting misses during the Jeremy Pruitt era is off to a great start as a rookie in the NFL this season.
Former Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Ladd McConkey was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Through 10 games this season, McConkey has 43 receptions for 615 yards and four touchdowns. The former Georgia standout has quickly developed into one of Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert's favorite targets in the passing game.
McConkey actually grew up rooting for the Vols. And he badly wanted to play for Tennessee.
McConkey, however, never received an offer from the Vols.
Jim Chaney, the offensive coordinator at the time under Pruitt, visited McConkey once, but he barely spent any time with the future SEC star.
From Dawg Nation: The Vols were his team. McConkey said back then if they were to offer, it would be “something special” that he’d have to think long and hard about. “He probably would have gone to Tennessee if they would have offered him,” (Preston) Poag said. “He sure loved Tennessee growing up.” Jim Chaney, the UT offensive coordinator at the time, came down to Chatsworth to see him. Yet he was in and out and 30 minutes. Tops. He didn’t take any pictures or see the UT stuff in the McConkey home.
McConkey spoke about his recruitment late last year on the "Real Talk Podcast".
"When I got the offer from Georgia, Tennessee came like a couple of days later," explained McConkey. "And they were like 'hey, we want you to come up this weekend'. So I was like oh yeah, it's about to happen…they're about to offer me. I [was] going to commit right then. Really, I probably would've committed right then if they would've let me. But I got up there and they were like 'it's so late in the process, we've already offered all the receivers and we think we're going to get them, so we can't really give you anything'. They were like 'but if anything changes on signing day, we'll call you'. And I [didn't] really like that. So I woke up right before school, at like 7 AM, and signed my papers with Georgia. I didn't even want to be put in the position of one of them not signing and them (Tennessee) calling."
The Vols signed Jalin Hyatt, Malachi Wideman, Jimmy Holiday, and Jimmy Calloway during that recruiting cycle.
McConkey went on to earn All-SEC second team honors in 2022. He battled injuries in 2023, but he still finished with 30 receptions for 478 yards and three total touchdowns in nine games.
It always hurts to miss on a recruit that ends up being a strong NFL player, but it hurts a little more when it's a recruit that grew up dreaming of playing for the Volunteers.
