So what's in Tennessee's cupboard, anyway?

As one of the last three schools in D-IA to fill a head-coaching vacancy as the 2009-10 coaching carousel ground to a halt, Tennessee and their new hire, ex-Louisiana Tech coach/AD Derek Dooley, found themselves in a less-than-enviable position: having to salvage both the psyches of a group of players who'd just been unceremoniously ditched by their previous coach and a recruiting class that, up to that point, had been touted as potentially one of the nation's best.

We may not know for a while how Dooley fared on the first task, but it looks like he did surprisingly well on the second: When the smoke cleared on National Signing Day, Dooley had closed on a class that still ranked among the top 10 in the country. And despite Kiffin's attempts to lure many of those recruits to his new digs at USC, receiver Markeith "Go Trogans" Ambles was the only one who actually followed Kiffin to Los Angeles. QB Tyler Bray, OL Ja'Wuan James, and five-star wideout Da'Rick Rogers all elected to maintain course for Knoxville.

Unfortunately for the Vols, however, holding the recruiting class together was an even more critical priority than usual because the roster Dooley inherited was perilously thin on sure-fire stars. Last season was the point at which the recruiting failings that helped spell the end of the Phil Fulmer era really came home to roost for the Vols, and the depth issues that nagged at last year's squad are close to reaching critical mass in 2010, particularly on offense. Here's a thumbnail sketch of what the Vols do appear to have on their 2010 roster . . .

• Experienced receivers. Four of the five most productive members of Tennessee's 2009 receiving corps return, including seniors Denarius Moore, Gerald Jones, and Luke Stocker.

• A talented corps of starting linebackers. Injuries decimated this group down the stretch last year, setting the stage for some uncharacteristic defensive collapses like the one at Ole Miss, but the Vols should improve tremendously in 2010 if they can stay healthy. Biggest asset: the leadership of MLB Nick Reveiz, lost for the season to a knee injury against Ohio last year.

• Fast, hard-hitting players in the secondary. Naturally, losing Eric Berry early to the NFL hurts, but more than a few observers have said his replacement, Janzen Jackson, might be even more talented. You may also remember returning corner Art Evans, who blew up returner Brandon James on the opening kickoff of the Florida game.

• Promising talent at tailback. He's no Montario Hardesty -- yet -- but uber-recruit Bryce Brown, who rolled up 460 yards on 101 carries last year, showed he's ready to be an every-down starter. Behind him, David Oku and Tauren Poole are relatively untested but full of potential.

. . . and what they don't:

• Depth, anywhere. If Dooley managed to hold his recruits' interest by promising them playing time, he probably wasn't lying: Just about any one of them could be within spitting distance of a starting position by the time the depth chart works itself out.

• A proven quarterback. When you find yourself muttering things like "Oh, if only Jonathan Crompton were still here," it's not a good sign. Nick Stephens is not a complete noob -- he started six games following Crompton's mid-season benching in '08 -- but only saw playing time in two games last season (both during mop-up time against scrub opponents), and while it would be fair to call him the "presumptive" starter in 2010, he's anything but "entrenched."

• An offensive line. The Vols return a single starter from last year's front, sophomore Aaron Douglas; everything beyond that is up in the air.

To describe this situation as "suboptimal" would be an understatement. For that heralded recruiting class, obviously, it's loaded with opportunities -- Ja'Wuan James and fellow OL recruits Marques Pair and James Stone should expect to be in the mix early, and Bray, one of the nation's top QB prospects, could push Stephens throughout the offseason -- but otherwise it's shaping up to be an even more difficult season than 2009 was predicted to be.

Of course, that was going to be the case even if Kiffin had stuck around, and most of the Tennessee fans I've talked to seem to understand and accept this. And given the turmoil that preceded Dooley -- the controversial firing of Vol legend Phil Fulmer, followed just one year later by the even-more-controversial departure of Fulmer's lightning-rod replacement just weeks before signing day -- it's reasonable to anticipate that Dooley will get a fair bit more leeway, from both his bosses and his fanbase, than new coaches are accustomed to receiving in the win-at-all-costs SEC. By all indications, though, Vol fans are going to have to strap in for a steep uphill climb in 2010 -- and Dooley had better prepare for the spotlight on his recruiting efforts to only grow brighter and hotter over the course of his long-term attempt to guide one of the nation's proudest football traditions back on course.

By Doug Gillett