Could This be the Final Strike Against Butch Jones?

It should come as no surprise that Butch Jones’s days as head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers are numbered. His team stands at a pedestrian 4-5, with a concerning 0-5 record in SEC play. Jones’s team barely survived matchups against Georgia Tech (42-41), and UMASS (17-13), so they could just as easily find themselves with just two or three wins instead of four. Neither Georgia Tech nor UMASS are on any list of national contenders. Last season, Jones started hot, with Tennessee winning their first five games, but then limped to a 9-4 finish. It seems as if that poor finish has carried over into 2017, as the Vols have lost four of their last five games.

While the product on the field has not been fantastic this season, Jones has remained a force on the recruiting trail, with Tennessee sitting on the thirteenth-best recruiting class according to 247sports. However, in the past month, three former pledges have decided to re-open their recruiting process. The latest may spell the end for Jones in Knoxville. Cade Mays, a consensus five-star offensive tackle in the 2018 class, has just announced his intentions to decommit from Jones and Tennessee.

While losing any five-star is a cause for concern, Mays’s case is cause for even more concern. Mays hails from Kingston, Tennessee, just a short half-hour from the school. Mays was the final five-star recruit in Tennessee’s class, which dropped two spots from their number 11 ranking on 247sports, just hours after Mays announced his decision. What is most concerning with the recent loss is the perception that Jones has lost the ability to recruit in his own backyard. The state of Tennessee is loaded with talent, as eight members of Tennessee’s recruiting class hail form the state. Now, Tennessee owns pledges from just two of the top five players in the state, and just four of the top ten.

A recent backing from four-star defensive tackle Brent Lawless assures that at least one high-profile recruit will remain with the program regardless of any changes made. While recruiting has long been a proud boast for the school, the recent decommitments should have boosters and athletic officials alike concerned.

Interestingly enough, Jones’s 0-5 record against SEC opponents has set him up for humiliation. With a loss against Missouri (who opens as a 10-point favorite) this Saturday, Tennessee will now have a losing streak against every other SEC team. It is time to end the misery.