Satellite camps are all the rage in college football right now, and Butch Jones and the Tennessee Volunteers are using them to their advantage.
Jones announced last month that the Vols would be holding a satellite camp called “The Elite Linemen Camp” at University School of Jackson in Jackson, Tennessee on June 8th. The camp is primarily targeted towards five-star offensive lineman Trey Smith, who is the No. 1 player in the state of Tennessee and No. 3 overall player in the entire country according to 247Sports.
And Jones is bringing in some of the best linemen in recent Tennessee history to the camp, according to a graphic in this tweet from 1180 AM’s Jayson Swain of the Swain Event.
Instead of wearing tight booty khakis with jerseys tucked in at the camps like Harbaugh, Butch bringing out VFLs pic.twitter.com/hr0ztw41wP
— Jayson Swain (@SwainEvent) June 7, 2016
Chad Clifton, Trey Teague, Antone Davis, Scott Wells, Kevin Mays, Al Wilson, and Ja’Wuan James are all expected to be in attendance at the Elite Linemen Camp in Jackson.
It’s no coincidence Butch Jones picked those seven former Vols to attend the camp either. All either are from Tennessee or went on to have successful NFL careers. Sometimes both.
Clifton played offensive tackle for the Vols from 1995-99 and was part of the 1998 National Championship team. Clifton was drafted in the second round by the Green Bay Packers in 2000, and he played for Green Bay for 12 years, racking up 160 career starts there. Clifton was a two-time Pro Bowler and was part of the 2010 Super Bowl-winning Packers team.
Teague was on Tennessee’s offensive line from 1994-97 and was taken in the seventh round of the 1998 draft. Teague was on the Denver Bronco’s Super Bowl-winning team in 1998, and he played in the league for eight years.
Davis was an offensive lineman for Tennessee from 1987-90 and was taken with the 8th overall pick in the 1991 NFL Draft by Philadelphia, and he would make 87 career starts in the NFL over eight seasons with Philadelphia and Atlanta. Davis is now the Vol For Life Coordinator on UT’s staff.
Wells played center for the Vols from 2000-03 and was drafted in the seventh round by the Green Bay Packers in 2004. Wells went on to make a Pro Bowl, won Super Bowl XLV with Green Bay, and made 135 career starts for both Green Bay and St. Louis over 11 years.
Mays started out as a defensive lineman for the Vols but moved to offensive line in 1993. Mays played for Tennessee from 1991-94 and was a captain on the 1994 team. Kevin Mays is also the father of elite 2018 offensive lineman prospect Cade Mays, who is already committed to the Vols.
Al Wilson is the most famous former Vol on this list, and for good reason. Wilson was a linebacker for the Vols from 1995-98 and was a captain on the 1998 National Championship team. Wilson was taken in the first round of the 1999 NFL Draft by Denver, and he would make five Pro Bowls in eight years with the Broncos. Wilson racked up 714 career tackles, 21.5 sacks, forced 8 fumbles, and intercepted five passes in his eight years in the NFL.
And the most recent former Vol in attendance, Ja’Wuan James, played for the Vols from 2010-13 and made a UT-record 49 consecutive starts for the Vols at right tackle. He was taken in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft by Miami and has been productive for the Dolphins in his two years in the league thus far, starting all 23 of his games played.
Butch Jones and his staff are serious about their recruitment of Trey Smith, and they’re showing it with this star-studded list of former Vols attending the Elite Linemen Camp.
