Parker: Fulmer signees may work out

Stay-at-home high school football scouts all across the country are gathering around the water cooler to either brag about the prospects their school snagged or preaching about how their tight ends coach/recruiting coordinator has one true job to do and he failed.

Far too much stock is placed on the rankings of recruiting services. How does some middle-aged guy that never once laced 'em up know that a 17-year-old is a "can't miss kid?"

Flashback to the alleged cream of the crop in 2004. Rated among the Top 30 players in the country (the five-star athletes) are bona fide gems like running back Adrian Peterson and wide receiver Calvin Johnson.

But, don't dismiss the names that never again grabbed the headlines once they faxed over their letters of intent.

USC center Jeff Byers. Miami (Fla.) linebacker Willie Williams. LSU receiver Xavier Carter. Florida State quarterback Xavier Lee.

Has the average college football fan ever heard of any of these guys? Are NFL scouts trying to figure out a way to trade up to nab one up in the upcoming draft? No, and no.

Sure, these kids had some talent coming out of the prep ranks. But until you sit down with a kid and measure up how his head works and how hard his heart beats, I don't know how you can label him one of the best recruits in the country.

The same kind of people that told us that Hurricane fans would forget all about Ray Lewis once Williams strapped up are the same ones that think that Pacman Jones is a franchise player for the Tennessee Titans.

No kid who's been in a courtroom twice as much as the practice field is going to make any fan proud.

The moral of the story is that a lot more needs to go into measuring a prospect than a 40 time and vertical leap.

All over the sports channels and in columns across the state writers and analysts are dogging out Tennessee's incoming class.

Yes, it is tough to recruit when you are down four coaches in an important month like January. Yes, the number of scholarships they could offer was far less than the norm. Yes, Phillip Fulmer's job was in jeopardy at times during the '07 season.

Areas that used to be a hotbed of talent for Rocky Top are now being dried up by the likes of Clemson and North Carolina and both schools snatched up several big-name kids.

Shortly after the excuses roll in, Fulmer is slammed about how he didn't get it done and it's the worst class in his 17 years at the top.

Keep in mind though that with a full staff a year ago they brought in arguably their best crop in school history. Did Eric Berry, Brent Vinson, Dennis Rogan, Denarius Moore, etc., let anybody down? No, and they are just the tip of the iceberg out of that group.

Guys like Ben Martin, Chris Walker and Art Evans haven't even hardly sniffed the field and gotten their chance to show what they've got. Talents like Chris Donald and B.J. Coleman headline a list of over a dozen redshirts.

Patience, Volunteer fans. The cupboard is hardly bare.

Fulmer knows that and merely needed to compliment the '07 class with certain targets this year.

The staff made it known they wanted a number of quality linemen first and foremost. The work they did on the O-line with guys like Preston Bailey and Dallas Thomas is too hard to measure at this point. It's tough to grade a hog.

They did miss out on bringing in more help at defensive tackle. That could hurt down the road if they don't sign a JUCO kid or two next February.

With so many young speedsters at receiver already on campus, they needed some size at the position to catch balls in traffic and on corner fades. They may have found just what they needed in E.J. Abrams-Ward.

Steven Fowlkes will get his shot but is probably more likely to find a home at another position.

A couple special talents they did miss out on are receiver DeAndre Brown (Southern Miss) and linebacker/defensive end Keith Wells (Ohio State). The Vols were in on both and Wells named them as a finalist.

Those two weren't the only playmakers Tennessee didn't get and they won't be the last. Give the reigning SEC East champs a chance to repeat before we throw their coach under the bus.