The Best Prospects From Trent Dilfer Tenure in Tennessee

Trent Dilfer was relieved of his duties as the head football coach at UAB this afternoon after a forgettable tenure in Birmingham, but before that he was an elite head coach among the Tennessee high school football ranks, going 44-10 in four seasons at Lipscomb Academy, turning the program in to a national high school football power.   His program pumped out a plethora of top prospects that went all over the country from all levels of college football, including sending several players to a handful of the top programs in the entire nation.   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   His 2021 season was one of growth and setting the foundation for the years to come in his program, bringing in a freshman class filled with future Division One talent that would develop into essential contributors for the team, especially up front.   The leader of the team in the 2021 season was tailback Alex Broome, and while he might be small at 5-foot-6, make no mistake about it, he was electric both on the outside or in between the tackles, shrugging off would-be tacklers easily.   He would go on to ACC program Boston College, where he spent time in the rotation for two years, averaging about 365 all-purpose yards per season, being effective on both the ground and as a receiver. It will be interesting to see if he can earn a larger workload again this season as the Eagles look to turn their season around.   While Broome was the heart and soul of that Mustangs squad, the best prospect was certainly tight end Sam Roush, who would return home to California to play for a program storied with their work at his position in Stanford.   He has had a productive career for the now-ACC program, averaging 311 receiving yards and a touchdown over the last two seasons. This year, he has been even better, hauling in 18 receptions for 219 yards and two touchdowns in just six games.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/StanfordFball/status/1967073519722000869 </div></figure>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   The next year's team was even better, with quarterback Hank Brown opening up the deep facet of the offense that opened up the rest of the offense and made this team dominant, going 13-0 with victories on the road at Georgia power Milton and Alabama power Thompson.   Brown would go to Auburn and earned some real playing time to show his potential last season as a redshirt freshman, putting up 403 passing yards and six touchdowns in the SEC. After that, he transferred for a fresh start at Iowa where he is developing behind a veteran transfer over the course of this season.   Receiver Junior Sherrill was a large beneficiary of the deep pass being opened up while maintaining his gadget status and this season helped him become a top option for the Vanderbilt football recruiting class.   He has since become a top target at Vanderbilt, leading his position in receiving yards every year with Diego Pavia at quarterback. Last season was his first step forward hauling in 29 receptions for 411 receiving yards and three touchdowns and he has improved on that this season.   As the entire Vanderbilt program has taken another big step forward, Sherrill has reeled in 23 catches for 274 yards and five touchdowns.   The Vanderbilt connection does not end there as someone FINALLY took the chance on the talent of linebacker Bryan Longwell and man oh man has that 'gamble' paid off, leading the team in tackling as a true sophomore last season with 89 combined tackles.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/joey_dwy/status/1835128931667624010 </div></figure>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   The following class was the first to graduate with Dilfer having left for UAB and taking some of his assistants with him, but the top senior prospects on this team put forth stellar final seasons with the Mustangs.   Kaleb Beasley was a true weapon for the team and filled in where needed. As a corner, he took yet another step forward and locked down his side of the field, including shutting [player_tooltip player_id='1687176' first='Ryan' last='Williams'] down outside of one big play during their matchup.   Beasley made the move to safety at Tennessee this season and that has gotten him on the field some as he has the potential to play a large role at the position eventually for the Volunteers. As a second-year player this season, he has 12 tackles and a fumble return for a touchdown against Dilfer and UAB.   Linebacker Edwin Spillman flipped a switch this season, showing a different look in his eyes and hunting down any and every ball carrier. That has carried over to his collegiate career for the Vols with him being the third linebacker in the rotation this year after redshirting last season due to injury. As a redshirt freshman, he has 28 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a sack in 6 games on Rocky Top.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/shaynep_media/status/1969486207043207305 </div></figure>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   Some of the young talent that Dilfer watched develop under his watch turned into prominent Division One recruits as well including DB/LB CJ Jimcoily (LSU), offensive lineman Chauncey Gooden (Colorado), Amir Leonard-Jean Charles (West Virginia before transferring to Southern MIss), Tony Carter Jr (Arkansas State), among others.

Trent Dilfer was relieved of his duties as the head football coach at UAB this afternoon after a forgettable tenure in Birmingham, but before that he was an elite head coach among the Tennessee high school football ranks, going 44-10 in four seasons at Lipscomb Academy, turning the program in to a national high school football power.