Every year in recruiting college football coaches hope to find "Gems" in their recruiting class. These gems are usually 2 or 3 star players that play much better than their ratings. Butch Jones has two 3 star players that could both potentially end up being two of the best players at UT period. Cam Sutton and Josh Dobbs are two of the key contributors to the team. Cam Sutton has been contributing since day 1 and Dobbs really took over last year during the Alabama Game. I honestly think Cam Sutton could already be on this list, but for arguments sake I didn’t want to include current Vols. I wanted to look back at the recruiting classes since 2002 and pick the 5 best players for the Vols.



5. Zach Fulton - 3 Star offensive guard. Fulton was drafted in the 6th round by the Kansas City Chiefs. He was 2013 Preseason 2nd team all SEC and SEC lineman of the week in 2012. He started 40 of 43 games at right guard. He also became the first Chiefs 6th or 7th round pick to start an opening game in 30 years.

4. Dallas Thomas - 3 star. Played guard and tackle for the Vols. Thomas started 37 of 50 Career games. He was drafted in the 3rd round by the Dolphins. Earned 3rd team All American and 2nd team All Sec in 2012

3. Dan Williams - 3 Star defensive tackle. First team all SEC in 2009. He was drafted in the 1st round by the Arizona Cardinals. During his senior season he finished with 62 tackles and 2 sacks. Overall he had 153 tackles and 6 sacks in his career. Number 2 and 3 is a toss-up between Williams and Rivera for me.

2. Mychal Rivera - 3 Star tight end. He originally signed with Oregon. First team All SEC in 2012. Rivera was drafted in the 6th round by the Oakland Raiders. His senior season he recorded 36 Catches for 562 yards and 5 TDs. He broke the single season record for receiving yards held by Jason Witten. He is also 1 of only 2 Vols tight ends with 1000 career yards.

1. Arian Foster – 3 Star running back. 2007 2nd team All SEC and 2005 2nd team freshman All American by Rivals. He did go undrafted, but has gone on to be a 4x Pro Bowler and was the 2010 rushing champion. He was also 2x 1st team All Pro. In his career at UT, Foster ran for 2,964 yards with 23 TD’s. He also had 742 Receiving yards. He did break the 1000 yard mark his junior year rushing for 1,193 yards. He also could potentially beat UGA every year by himself.



Honorable Mentions:



Denarius Moore – Finished with 2,004 Receiving yards and 18 TDs

Britton Colquitt – Averaged 42.6 yards per punt with 73 inside the 20.

Luke Stocker – Had 956 Career Rec yards and 8 TD’s

Who will be the next "Gem" in the Butch’s class? I really like Chance Hall and Jocquez Bruce . Hall is a 3 star 6'4' 290 lbs offensive lineman from Roanoke, VA. Jocquez Bruce is a 3 star Athlete from Knoxville, TN. He is most likely playing WR, and I can picture him being in a similar role of Pig Howard.