Top 10 Recruiting Classes That Have Been Busts In the Rivals Era
3. 2007 Tennessee Volunteers Recruiting Class
Rivals Class Rank: No. 3
Another class that brought Phil Fulmer and the Tennessee football program as a whole down is right here.
Eric Berry by himself has kept this class from being the biggest bust of a recruiting class ever. Seriously. This was the No. 3 class in the country in 2007, and by 2009, half of the class was gone from the roster. And the Vols only got worse during this time period.
There were five 5-stars on this team, including Berry. Looking at the other, Ben Martin was a decent starter who never lived up to his hype, Chris Donald never saw the field, Brent Vinson was great for two years before no longer being a part of the program, and Kenny O’Neal transferred after one year. The 5-stars were almost a complete waste outside of Berry, and the 4-stars were not much better.
Guys like Donald Langley, B.J. Coleman, Rolando Melancon, Ahmad Paige, and Darris Sawtelle never made an impact. To be fair, there weren’t character issues with this class. Most of these guys never panned out.
And there were still guys like Berry, Gerald Jones, and Chris Walker who did pan out. But by and large, this class was an overwhelming bust, and one of many failed Tennessee classes.
Next: No. 2 Ranked Recruiting Class Bust: 2010 USC Trojans Class