Did UTC Just Get Better?

[SU DOG]

Pretty impressive when a former 4**** player xfers to FCS. I know only time will tell, but still congrats Mocs. From NBC Sports:

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/04/former-four-star-wr-leaves-vols-for-fcs-chattanooga/

[PantherRob82]

We had one of those. He sucked.

[Milktruck74]

Given the current receiving corps, he will still have to battle for a job...if he wins a starting role, then he has to be good....but PT is not a given. The coaching staff doesn't care how many stars you had in high school or what logo was on your helmet last season....

[rokamortis]

Pretty impressive when a former 4**** player xfers to FCS. I know only time will tell, but still congrats Mocs. From NBC Sports:

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/04/former-four-star-wr-leaves-vols-for-fcs-chattanooga/

Heralded FBS transfers rarely become superstars at the FCS level. It happens, but more often than not they don't. There is a reason they transfer - they could be injured, overhyped, and/or have behavioral issues.

Example: Liberty had a stud RB from Marshall transfer in. He was dismissed from Marshall for behavioral issues and went to LIberty for a fresh start / second chance. He has now quietly left LU and is no longer enrolled. He may have been on the practice but was sitting out a year. So he never even was officially with the team and left before he could make an impact.

[clenz]

We had one of those. He sucked.
If you're talking about Whitney Lewis he was much more highly touted out of HS. More hypw5and records than Reggie Bush.

5 star
#2 national recruit
Signed to SoCal during their hay days of the mud 00s

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[PaladinFan]

Always a wait and see with transfers. Usually there is a reason they have fallen out of favor with their current teams.

[Milktruck74]

Always a wait and see with transfers. Usually there is a reason they have fallen out of favor with their current teams.


This is soooooooo true. One thing is certain, if Russ is taking him, there is ZERO chance of a behavior issue or dismissal. HE has stated (and backed it up many times with his actions...or lack of) that UTC will not accept any "project/Problem" transfers. On the rare occasion UTC takes a transfer, it is someone like BJ Coleman, or the guys from Annapolis.....Good Students, Good Kids, and they always have at least 2 years left, mostly 3.

[Iam4Mocs]

"We knew about him coming out of high school, the type kid he is as far as his commitment to academics and the type character he has," Mocs coach Russ Huesman said. "We offered him in high school knowing we had no shot, but the fact that this was the place he wanted to come once he decided to leave Tennessee says a lot about the relationship we had because of the way our staff recruited him before. - Times-FreePress



Looking at who UTK returns, I can see why he would want to transfer for more playing time. Drae Bowles only played two games at UTK. Ironically one of those games was against UTC. Huesman & Co won't sign a player just because they played at an FBS school. Potential transfers are fully vetted. Derrick Lott is a prime example. He did everything asked of him and was a major contributor to the rebuilding and current success of the UTC program. I'm looking forward to see how Bowles turns out.

[chattownmocs]

Chattanooga is batting a pretty high average with transfers making a major impact. I'm not sure our receiving is as strong as some are saying. Certainly a few solid guys returning and some highly recruited guys. Not saying "chattanooga just got better" adding a good receiver isnt a gamechanger. He isnt a Darick Rogers that went to Tennessee Tech a few years ago or anything.

[clenz]

If you're talking about Whitney Lewis he was much more highly touted out of HS. More hypw5and records than Reggie Bush.

5 star
#2 national recruit
Signed to SoCal during their hay days of the mud 00s

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
Okay...I was wrong.

He was the #3 recruit
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Whitney-Lewis-6097

Made CBS's top recruiting busts of the last decade...
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/21642268/overrated-and-underrated-recruits-from-the-past-10-years

2. Whitney Lewis, WR/RB, USC -- Lewis, who hailed from St. Bonaventure High in Ventura, Calif., was the No. 1 athlete and No. 3 overall player in the 2003 class (http://rivals.yahoo.com/USC/football/recruiting/rankings/rank-rivals100/2003) according to Rivals.com. Though he played at 6-foot-1, 215 pounds in high school, he tipped the scales at 240 pounds upon checking in at his first fall camp at USC. Lewis played himself into shape but soon was plagued by academic issues. He ended up transferring to Northern Iowa (http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/teams/page/IOWA/iowa-hawkeyes) after catching just three balls and rushing for 11 yards for the Trojans.

and by BleacherReport
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/612477-college-football-recruiting-worst-5-star-recruiting-busts-of-the-last-decade/page/6

Lewis was a monster in high school and stood 6'1", 220 pounds and I personally watched him run a 4.34 40 (I had just popped off a high 4.6 myself at The LA NIKE Camp, thank you very much). It was down right disturbing to see him play as he was a vicious route runner and could also play running back. He was the first California player to ever rush and receive for a 1000 yards in one season.He wanted to go to Florida State, and play with best friend Lorenzo Booker, but his parents literally forced him to go to USC. They wouldn't even sign his LOI to go to FSU, which made Whitney, only 17-years old, almost obliged to go to USC where his parents would sign his LOI too.
Lewis rarely to never saw the field at USC. Pete Carroll and Norm Chow wanted to use him as a jack of all trades player on offense to factor as a receiver and running back, but Lewis only wanted to play receiver. He ended up transferring to Northern Iowa after two years and didn't make much noise there either.
He is/was also named one of the top 20 WR recruits (based on potential)
http://www.lostlettermen.com/article/2-1-2012-top-10-wr-recruits-last-20-years

9. Whitney Lewis: St. Bonaventure H.S. (Ventura, CA), Class of 2003

We can hear you from here: “Whitney who?” Many people have forgotten the California prep legend (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdhjjHLfAfw) (warning: Language is NSFW) who became the first player in state history to go over 1,000 yards in rushing and receiving in a season. As a senior, he had a total of 45 touchdowns in one season alone, 16 of which came through the air; he scored every 4.5 times he touched the ball and was like a tank rolling through a high school field at 225 pounds. Ranked third overall in the Class of 2003 by Rivals behind a guy named Reggie Bush, Lewis flamed out at USC and did little after transferring to Northern Iowa.
.


So...what did Whitney accomplish at UNI?

Well...

He managed to eat the dining center, and every buffet in town, into massive debt. He may have entered USC at 240...he left CF as about 300
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ojiEmbLe-ZU/TXVXmV_rqnI/AAAAAAAADRU/qtiM_G2_SzM/s1600/Lewis.jpeghttp://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/wcfcourier.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/35/d357b4bc-91e4-5ddc-b1ea-a45b60cf67b3/d357b4bc-91e4-5ddc-b1ea-a45b60cf67b3.image.jpg
Let's put it this way...those are the only 2 pictures of him at UNI on Google when you search for him. That's how little he played.
He was, somehow, able to bang every single girl in every single sleazy college bar in town...I was in school, knew a bunch of football players, knew a lot of jersey chasers.... I'm not making this up. Won't go into detail, but the # of girls was probably close to his total combined yards in his 2 years in Cedar Falls.

His career numbers:



Rushes
Yards
Long
Avg
TD
Rec
Yards
Avg
Long
TD
Tot Yds
Tot TD


2006
80
360
36
4.5
3
7
50
7.1
11
0
410
3


2007
2
-2
0
-1
0
26
218
8.4
20
1
216
1


Total
82
358
36
4.3
3
33
268
8.1
31
1
626
4




As you can see by his numbers he put about 30 lbs on between his JR and SR season and wasn't used his SR year. When he was he was a split TE.

[Sammy94]

If he ends up like our 4 star transfer WR, things will be good for you.

http://binaryapi.ap.org/613402978837480981d475472f1f7396/512x.jpg

http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/pics33/640/BQ/BQDNKJHQPQMGOPQ.20141214132736.jpg

[Silenoz]

http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=8&c=1&nid=2402050

Did jack in year one

Was probably the 20th best player on the team in year two

[UNIFanSince1983]

Okay...I was wrong.

He was the #3 recruit
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Whitney-Lewis-6097

Made CBS's top recruiting busts of the last decade...
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/21642268/overrated-and-underrated-recruits-from-the-past-10-years


and by BleacherReport
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/612477-college-football-recruiting-worst-5-star-recruiting-busts-of-the-last-decade/page/6

He is/was also named one of the top 20 WR recruits (based on potential)
http://www.lostlettermen.com/article/2-1-2012-top-10-wr-recruits-last-20-years



So...what did Whitney accomplish at UNI?

Well...

He managed to eat the dining center, and every buffet in town, into massive debt. He may have entered USC at 240...he left CF as about 300
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ojiEmbLe-ZU/TXVXmV_rqnI/AAAAAAAADRU/qtiM_G2_SzM/s1600/Lewis.jpeghttp://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/wcfcourier.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/35/d357b4bc-91e4-5ddc-b1ea-a45b60cf67b3/d357b4bc-91e4-5ddc-b1ea-a45b60cf67b3.image.jpg
Let's put it this way...those are the only 2 pictures of him at UNI on Google when you search for him. That's how little he played.
He was, somehow, able to bang every single girl in every single sleazy college bar in town...I was in school, knew a bunch of football players, knew a lot of jersey chasers.... I'm not making this up. Won't go into detail, but the # of girls was probably close to his total combined yards in his 2 years in Cedar Falls.

His career numbers:



Rushes
Yards
Long
Avg
TD
Rec
Yards
Avg
Long
TD
Tot Yds
Tot TD


2006
80
360
36
4.5
3
7
50
7.1
11
0
410
3


2007
2
-2
0
-1
0
26
218
8.4
20
1
216
1


Total
82
358
36
4.3
3
33
268
8.1
31
1
626
4




As you can see by his numbers he put about 30 lbs on between his JR and SR season and wasn't used his SR year. When he was he was a split TE.

To be fair he did make a very crucial catch in the Drive against New Hampshire in 2007. That was probably the most he did other than gain a bunch of weight.

[clenz]

To be fair he did make a very crucial catch in the Drive against New Hampshire in 2007. That was probably the most he did other than gain a bunch of weight.
#3 national recruit
5*
HS All American

He's remembered for putting on 50lbs and making one catch in one game where he was the 4th read and was open because UNH made sure to take away Victor Williams (6 catches on the game), Johnny Gray (9 catches on the game) and Monteri Leonard (4 catches on the game)...

[ST_Lawson]

The article makes it sound like he didn't think he'd get much playing time, which, if that is the only reason, could be a very good pickup for UTC.

We had one of those...great kid, great player, just wasn't going to get much playing time at his first school...Aaron Stecker (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Stecker#College_career), ended up playing 9 years in the NFL.

[CasualFan]

Heralded FBS transfers rarely become superstars at the FCS level. It happens, but more often than not they don't. There is a reason they transfer - they could be injured, overhyped, and/or have behavioral issues.

Example: Liberty had a stud RB from Marshall transfer in. He was dismissed from Marshall for behavioral issues and went to LIberty for a fresh start / second chance. He has now quietly left LU and is no longer enrolled. He may have been on the practice but was sitting out a year. So he never even was officially with the team and left before he could make an impact.
Another example to be fair to Liberty - Rashad Jennings transferred to them from Pitt. He did pretty well.

You point is taken though - sometimes people need the opportunity to start over. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

[kdinva]

Ask CitDog..... xbowx

[rokamortis]

Another example to be fair to Liberty - Rashad Jennings transferred to them from Pitt. He did pretty well.

You point is taken though - sometimes people need the opportunity to start over. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Good point - it is fair to discuss both and I think that represents the extreme cases fairly well. Rashad's case was he needed to be closer to family. But for most FBS transfers, when it works they usually aren't a Rashad Jennings type story. We've had a number of FBS transfers that haven't made a lot of noise. They weren't bad kids and some have made significant contributions but they weren't the saviors some thought they'd be. I think that is how it is for most programs - you have the extremes: rock star like Ingle Martin, Joe Flacco, Rashad Jennings; the guys that are complete idiots that do more harm than good; then probably about 80% of everyone else that do ok but aren't superstars.

Switching to Basketball - we had a couple of guys from SC and one was solid and the other would have turned us into a wrecking ball that season but was just a problem and was dismissed from the team.

[hebmskebm]

Some work out, some don't. The people who practically dismiss all transfers out of hand are dumb, but the people who start making accommodations in Frisco when their teams lands one are also dumb.

[Grizalltheway]

Okay...I was wrong.

He was the #3 recruit
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Whitney-Lewis-6097

Made CBS's top recruiting busts of the last decade...
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/21642268/overrated-and-underrated-recruits-from-the-past-10-years


and by BleacherReport
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/612477-college-football-recruiting-worst-5-star-recruiting-busts-of-the-last-decade/page/6

He is/was also named one of the top 20 WR recruits (based on potential)
http://www.lostlettermen.com/article/2-1-2012-top-10-wr-recruits-last-20-years



So...what did Whitney accomplish at UNI?

Well...

He managed to eat the dining center, and every buffet in town, into massive debt. He may have entered USC at 240...he left CF as about 300
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ojiEmbLe-ZU/TXVXmV_rqnI/AAAAAAAADRU/qtiM_G2_SzM/s1600/Lewis.jpeghttp://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/wcfcourier.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/35/d357b4bc-91e4-5ddc-b1ea-a45b60cf67b3/d357b4bc-91e4-5ddc-b1ea-a45b60cf67b3.image.jpg
Let's put it this way...those are the only 2 pictures of him at UNI on Google when you search for him. That's how little he played.
He was, somehow, able to bang every single girl in every single sleazy college bar in town...I was in school, knew a bunch of football players, knew a lot of jersey chasers.... I'm not making this up. Won't go into detail, but the # of girls was probably close to his total combined yards in his 2 years in Cedar Falls.

His career numbers:



Rushes
Yards
Long
Avg
TD
Rec
Yards
Avg
Long
TD
Tot Yds
Tot TD


2006
80
360
36
4.5
3
7
50
7.1
11
0
410
3


2007
2
-2
0
-1
0
26
218
8.4
20
1
216
1


Total
82
358
36
4.3
3
33
268
8.1
31
1
626
4




As you can see by his numbers he put about 30 lbs on between his JR and SR season and wasn't used his SR year. When he was he was a split TE.

THIRST

[Bisonator]

Some work out, some don't. The people who practically dismiss all transfers out of hand are dumb, but the people who start making accommodations in Frisco when their teams lands one are also dumb.

Quoted for truth.

[Redbirdz]

Chatty is already the best in the world. What will one more player mean?

[Catsfan90]

I would love to see another UTC UNH matchup, this time in Tennessee. I have always wanted an excuse to travel there. The smokeys are on my bucket list!

[chattownmocs]

Former Tennessee LB Justin King headed to chattanooga.