UT Considering Package Deal For Brown And Brother?
May 27th, 2010 09:01 AM║ Posted By: John Pennington ║ Permalink
║ Schools: Tennessee
At this time last year, Tennessee fans were excited about the prospects of the nation’s #1 recruit — tailback Bryce Brown — suiting up for the Vols in the fall.
Today, they wonder if Brown will still be around when another fall rolls around.
On the first day of spring practice, Derek Dooley announced that Brown would not take part in spring drills and that he was considering a transfer.
Brown has told those around him that his father wants him to return home to Kansas to play alongside his older brother — linebacker Arthur Brown — at Kansas State.
According to Rivals.com, the Browns are the first set of brothers to ever both be ranked as five-star recruits.
In March it was widely reported that Arthur Brown had transferred from the Miami Hurricanes’ program to Kansas State. But he is not currently listed on K-State’s 2010 roster and it’s is believed he is actually enrolled at a junior college this summer.
Meanwhile, Bryce Brown has stayed in Knoxville and stayed in school throughout the spring semester. By most accounts, he wants to remain at UT.
Earlier this week, Brown’s family traveled to East Tennessee. A person close to Brown has said that the player’s belongings were packed and ready to move. Most assumed that this was the final stage of the Brown saga and that his family was simply coming to town to pick him up and return him to Kansas.
But now there are reports that Brown has told Dooley that he will stay in Knoxville — with his papa’s permission — if older brother Arthur can also play for the Volunteers.
If this is true, it will be interesting to see how Dooley handles the situation. On one hand, after two coaching changes in two years, the Vol program is short on players and could suit up as few as 75 scholarship players this fall. From that angle, it appears that Dooley would be wise to open the door for the Browns.
But on the other hand, what would the rest of Dooley’s team think if its new coach allowed Brown to set the terms for his return? And then allowed him to play this fall after skipping all of spring practice?
Under normal circumstances, Dooley would probably be wise to avoid such a package deal. But with just 75 players on scholarship and some historically low expectations among the Vol fanbase, the circumstances are anything but normal in Knoxville.
Dooley has said the he will not “re-recruit” players on his own team, meaning Brown. So it will be interesting to see which path Dooley decides to take here. And that is IF reports are correct that the Browns have offered a package deal.
[...] Derek Dooley agrees to this, he’s either desperately foolish or foolishly [...]
[...] • Bryce Brown is AWOL, Day 70. The official news out of Tennessee is still "no news" where wayward running back Bryce Brown is concerned, and the end of the spring semester presumably meant the end of the former blue chip’s tenure at the university. But Knoxville TV host/former News-Sentinel columnist John Pennington is hearing "reports" that Brown may be willing to return to the team in the fall – if the Vols also accept his brother, Arthur, a former five-star linebacker prospect in his own right who was reportedly en route to Kansas State after two unproductive years at Miami. The brothers seem intent on a reunion, and Tennessee has room on the roster. But that would mean convincing new coach Derek Dooley, who has not shown any tendency to suffer flakes (or anonymous "reports" like this) very lightly. [Mr. SEC] [...]