Strange: Vols' Pro Day talent means draft drought about over

One year ago, Reggie McKenzie of the Oakland Raiders summed up Tennessee's 2016 Pro Day by saying NFL scouts were there looking for diamonds in the rough.

That's because the next Eric Berry wasn't in Knoxville. A diamond in the rough was all Tennessee had to offer.

And none of them shined sufficiently enough to get picked in the seven rounds of the 2016 draft.

The vibe was different Friday. Sure, there were diamonds in the rough, like at every Pro Day everywhere. There were also a couple of gems.

"We've come a long way,'' said Bob Welton, UT's director of player personnel and maestro of Pro Day. "You can always tell how talented your team is by the personnel that's at Pro Day.''

There was a crowd of NFL types with charts, stopwatches and clipboards. Coach Mike Tomlin headed up the Pittsburgh Steelers delegation.

McKenzie, the general manager of the Raiders, was back. He brought Joey Clinkscales, his director of player personnel. Both are homegrown former Vols who learned the game at Austin-East High School. As did Raleigh McKenzie, Reggie's twin brother and a Raiders scout. Heck, Austin-East is pretty much running the Raiders.

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Reggie was also shadowed by his son Khalil, UT's sophomore defensive tackle, who will be performing at a future Pro Day.

Jim Bob Cooter was there, once a walk-on quarterback at UT, now offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions. He stood next to Jason Michael, a former UT assistant now quarterbacks coach for the Titans.

Another former UT assistant, Zach Azzanni, was wearing Chicago Bears gear while chatting with Butch Jones.

Pro Day was Show Day, but there have been several recent private workouts. Bill Belichick of the Patriots has been around.

"We've had more (private workouts) than we've ever had,'' Welton said. "That's why a lot of the bigger names weren't here today. Because they've been here already.''

Private workouts weren't in vogue the past two years. There hasn't been a Vol drafted since Daniel McCullers went in the sixth round of the 2014 draft.

"From a pro perspective, the prospects are probably better than they were last year,'' Clinkscales said. "Usually that correlates with winning football games. The more games you win, the more prospects you have.''

The Vols have won 18 games over the past two seasons. Not quite enough to satisfy a hungry fan base but a reflection that Jones is upgrading the talent from the Derek Dooley years. The seniors working out Friday were from Jones' first signing class.

Watching two drafts go by with no UT products was tough on the Raider front office from an alumni perspective. But from a business standpoint, it wasn't prudent to spend a pick on a Vol.

"You'll have three or four guys drafted this year,'' Clinkscales said, "and another couple of free agents. I think the program is going in the right direction. I think they've done a good job of elevating the program some and hopefully that will continue.''

The Titans, with two first-round picks (5 and 18), had several reps present. The Cleveland Browns pick first and have three of the top 33 picks. Maybe that's why Jim Haslam Sr. was present.

The highlight came last. The crowd hushed when Joshua Dobbs started throwing passes. Dobbs isn't the highest-ranked of Tennessee's prospects but he is the most intriguing. By all accounts, he had a good day.

Tennessee's draft drought will end sometime after the Browns go on the clock April 27. Bet on sooner rather than later.

There are some of gems in this group.

Mike Strange may be reached at mike.strange@knoxnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at Strangemike44.