ADVERTISEMENT

BREAKING: MT lands UTK transfer Joc Bruce

C-Bow

C-Bow

Hall of Famer
Staff
Dec 5, 2005
9,078
1,471
113
38
www.gomiddle.com
MT has landed WR/RB Joc Bruce - a 2015 signee at UTK.

See the tweet below from Joc.



Bruce was a 3-star WR last year and was rated as the 26th best prospect in the state of Tennessee by Rivals. I have confirmed that everything is a done deal and that Joc will be on campus when Fall camp starts up next week.

He was "blueshirting" at UTK to this point, meaning he was paying his own way but was to be put on full scholarship and count toward the 2016 class. Schools like UTK have started utilizing this practice as a way to beef up their incoming classes. If I'm not mistaken, he'll be immediately eligible this season.
 
Last edited:
If he's eligible, and has his head on straight, this would be huge for us.

Bruce was impressive for the Vols in summer work outs.

Some attitude concerns though. Or that's the rumor running around Knoxville.

I'm looking out for what happens to that freshman TE they just booted as well
 
RaiderDoug said:
Some attitude concerns though. Or that's the rumor running around Knoxville.

I'm looking out for what happens to that freshman TE they just booted as well
Click to expand...
RaiderDoug said:
If he's eligible, and has his head on straight, this would be huge for us.

Bruce was impressive for the Vols in summer work outs.

Some attitude concerns though. Or that's the rumor running around Knoxville.

I'm looking out for what happens to that freshman TE they just booted as well
Click to expand...


Yeah, I've read some things here and there, and his mom put something out on FB after he announced he was transferring that was a bit eye-opening, but this kid can flat out ball. He'll be one of those instant impact type of players IMO.
 
Hopefully he works out and is immediately eligible . IMO, WR is the one position where we lack big-play potential.
 
He will be walking on for the Fall and then be placed on scholarship in January.

I've heard he actually wants to play RB but with the state of the depth chart right now, he'll be transitioning to WR. Could be used in a multitude of ways though. It'll be interesting to see how fast he catches on during camp.
 
cbow0328 said:
MT has landed WR/RB Joc Bruce - a 2015 signee at UTK.

See the tweet below from Joc.

View embedded media


Bruce was a 3-star WR last year and was rated as the 26th best prospect in the state of Tennessee by Rivals. I have confirmed that everything is a done deal and that Joc will be on campus when Fall camp starts up next week.

He was "blueshirting" at UTK to this point, meaning he was paying his own way but was to be put on full scholarship and count toward the 2016 class. Schools like UTK have started utilizing this practice as a way to beef up their incoming classes. If I'm not mistaken, he'll be immediately eligible this season.
Click to expand...

Casey, so why did he leave the Vol$? Was it the "attitude" rumors Doug mentioned? Not enough expected playing time?
 
bigbadjohn45 said:
Casey, so why did he leave the Vol$? Was it the "attitude" rumors Doug mentioned? Not enough expected playing time?
Click to expand...

Its unclear at this point, but he was suspended by UTK a little over a week ago for what some called "not applying himself off the field." Supposedly he was late for a class and that didn't sit well with the coaching staff. If you google "Joc Bruce suspended" you can find a handful of articles that discuss the suspension.

There might have been some other things going on between Joc and the staff, but that's all hearsay at this point.
 
bigbadjohn45 said:
Casey, so why did he leave the Vol$? Was it the "attitude" rumors Doug mentioned? Not enough expected playing time?
Click to expand...

The biggest reason is that UT is recruiting like they're handing out hookers and cash, and needed room in the upcoming signing class (they signed like 32 2 years ago and 28 last year).

If this was another school in another situation, the stuff that these kids did would probably fall under the whole "hey, quit being a knucklehead and run a few extra laps" category.

Instead, at UT, slip up a bit and you get booted to make room for the next 5 star guy next February. Especially if you're "only" a local 3-star guy.
 
Got a friend that subscribes to all the UT boards says he got into it with one of the better players. Felt like he was punished and Johnny 5 star wasn't so he didn't do his punishment task and thus the suspension. Who knows could just be message board stories.

Other message board story is that the kid was balling and they were shocked he left.
 
RaiderDoug said:
The biggest reason is that UT is recruiting like they're handing out hookers and cash, and needed room in the upcoming signing class (they signed like 32 2 years ago and 28 last year).

If this was another school in another situation, the stuff that these kids did would probably fall under the whole "hey, quit being a knucklehead and run a few extra laps" category.

Instead, at UT, slip up a bit and you get booted to make room for the next 5 star guy next February. Especially if you're "only" a local 3-star guy.
Click to expand...


Yeah it seems like the kid was treated shabbily. No surprise there It's utk. Saw something on one of the utk fan sites that in another example of bait and switch, the local kid Jennings, is already being discussed in a position move to wr or safety, even before the start of his first fall camp. Wonder how he feels if that's the case of not even being given a fair shot.
 
  • Like
Reactions: NUTZ4UMTSU
he's clearly a step up in talent when compared to our usual recruits....he will play immediately. Hope Buster finds some unique ways to get him the ball.....Reverses, screens, draws, quick patterns, etc. This guy is a home run threat every time he touches the ball. He reminds me a lot of Whatley but a little more bulky and more of a down field runner. Remains to be seen if he has that Whatley cut move that could fool an entire defense but we will be finding out soon enough
 
Last edited:
So was this kid taking reps with the first team and actually going to get some playing time as a true freshman at UTK? Or too early to tell?? I mean he looks good enough to even make an immediate impact for the Vols. Pretty surprised to see his only other reported offer was Memphis.....I don't buy that for a second. Also, only a 5.5 rivals rating? Not buying that either. This kid is clearly a high impact player unless I'm missing something here. Maybe it's the whole 5'10 170lbs thing that's keeping him from getting love from rivals? I'd be interested to know how he was rated by other services.
 
So rivals rated him a 3 star player, 5.5 RR, and #26 in the state of TN

247 sports rated him a 3 star player and assigned him a composite score of 0.8297 - He was also ranked as the 111th best athlete in the country and 31st best in Tennessee

ESPN rated him as a 3 star athlete and the 83rd best Athlete in the country, #21 best player in the state, and assigned him a grade of 77 overall.

Scout rated him as as a 3 star athlete along with dubbing him the 3rd best RB in the state of TN, 148th best RB in the nation, and the 69th best RB in the South

So it looks like ESPN gave him the most love, which I could agree with. I don't think he's a 4 star player by any means but a 5.5 RR seems awfully low after watching his film. I'm sure it has to do with the fact that he didn't have many known Division 1 offers, but whatever. This guy is going to make the Vol's wish they didn't run him out of town before all is said and done here at MT. He reminds me a lot of Phillip Tanner coming out of HS.
 
Should MT in any way be seen as having mistreated a local athlete it would be all over the area media (even places which never cover MT or have anything good to say).

UT-K - No problem - just how elite programs operate.

Hope the kid is a real impact player and more importantly - shows during his time at MT that he is a good student and a good person.
 
I don't know if I would say he was "mistreated'.

If the rumors are true, the players did have a few things that did deserve some form of discipline. Getting booted - probably not.

The way CBJ runs his ship - you know from day 1 when you step on campus - you're in competition for your 'ship and your job in everything you do. The player should know this because the reason they have a ship in the first place is likely because someone else got run off.

Right or wrong, that's the cost of doing business with the Ohio States, Alabamas, Auburns, etc.

I don't know if we need to be taking other program's head cases, but from what I know about what happened, I'm sure happy that we ended up getting Bruce and if the other guy ends up here as well - so much the better.
 
sWiley said:
So was this kid taking reps with the first team and actually going to get some playing time as a true freshman at UTK? Or too early to tell?? I mean he looks good enough to even make an immediate impact for the Vols. Pretty surprised to see his only other reported offer was Memphis.....I don't buy that for a second. Also, only a 5.5 rivals rating? Not buying that either. This kid is clearly a high impact player unless I'm missing something here. Maybe it's the whole 5'10 170lbs thing that's keeping him from getting love from rivals? I'd be interested to know how he was rated by other services.
Click to expand...

I don't think it was first team reps (No one was going to beat out Hurd and Kamara), but this kid definitely put himself in line to avoid a Redshirt and contribute on ST. No small feat with what UTk has on the roster.

If he can make an impression in his first camp at UTk with all the talent they're accumulating - then I'm really excited about what he might do here.
 
Anytime we get a kid rated in the to 30 or 40 "In-State" at any position that is one less kid that we have lost to the Cartel-5.
Let's just hope he actually contributes to a great 2015 season and beyond!
 
Whatever the case, my earlier assertion that Coach Stock has upped the recruiting game only seems to be gaining further evidence. A couple of these late highly touted additions are a little more evidence of much needed improved recruiting IMO. Even if a couple of them are here after brief stops at SEC programs, Coach Stock and staff must have made a positive impression somewhere along the way for those players to choose to land at MT. I don't know if it's a benefit of C-USA or improvements in the staff and approach to recruiting that is making a difference, but I like the way some of this talent looks coming into the program. At least on paper. ;)

It seems MT is now starting to bring in more consistently the players with a little higher rated skills and the size, strength, and athleticism to do some more consistent winning over the next couple of years. MT needs it as it's pretty clear that the other teams in C-USA competing for conf titles have more than a few of those type of higher performing players.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

sWiley

MT Football COULD surprise this year

Replies
11
Views
2K
The Raider Roundup
MIDTENN05
M
A

Breaking down the MT roster and recent transfers

Replies
3
Views
409
Lightning's Lounge
SmithO1906
S
C-Bow

A pleasant surprise

Replies
8
Views
3K
Lightning's Lounge
Middle Mike
M
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT
Top Bottom
Back