The Official Tennessee @ Kentucky Game Thread, 7:00pm ET (1/15/13), ESPN

bowlinggreenvol said:

Because a UT offer never came. He committed his junior year, which is not uncommonly early these days. This came directly out of Seth Massey's (Station Camp HC) mouth and he only hopped in the conversation cause he heard my dad and i discussing the UT-Bama game Saturday. Unless you're in the Jenkins household, I'd say Massey knows the situation much better than you.

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All I know is Jenkins did visit Tennessee and he certainly didn't wait long for a UT offer since he committed to Vandy before Christmas his junior year. Pearl even said once Hopson committed to UT Jenkins stopped listening.

cmelton7 said:

Tennessee has plenty of instate talent. Memphis gets a lot of them now, but Alex Proythress, John Jenkins, excetera were darn good players. Look at the recruiting sites to see how many top 100 players TN produced this year. I never mentioned Pearl by the way.

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I think we have all learned by now that UT cannot bank on getting Memphis players. Memphis in addition to the other 5 SEC teams that are closer in location get those players. Plus, Pearl put all of his eggs in the Elliott Williams' basket, and it hurt us once we lost him.

The other two you mentioned are two players in 3 years. You can't develop a roster just based on TN talent. While Nashville has some good talent, there just isn't enough year in and year out. CCM did get Hubbs this year.

I think the recipe is fairly simple. Lock down the state for the 4-5 star recruits that are attainable every couple of years. Then, focus on the Atlanta area and any other midwest ties that the staff has. I think the one mistake CCM made was not adding a staff member who is well-known in Atlanta. All of his staff have midwest ties, and those kids want to go to the Big Ten.

GLDunlap said:

All I know is Jenkins did visit Tennessee and he certainly didn't wait long for a UT offer since he committed to Vandy before Christmas his junior year. Pearl even said once Hopson committed to UT Jenkins stopped listening.

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You proved my point; Jenkins wasn't going to wait. Pearl favored McDonald over Jenkins and the spot was McDonald's to lose. Jenkins didnt like being a 2nd choice according to Massey. Had he been the first choice and received that offer early on he would've jumped on it is what I was told. Massey called Pearl and told him John's not waiting so if you plan on offering do it now.

bowlinggreenvol said:

You proved my point; Jenkins wasn't going to wait. Pearl favored McDonald over Jenkins and the spot was McDonald's to lose. Jenkins didnt like being a 2nd choice according to Massey. Had he been the first choice and received that offer early on he would've jumped on it is what I was told. Massey called Pearl and told him John's not waiting so if you plan on offering do it now.

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Hindsight is always 20/20 in recruiting. While Jenkins was highly ranked, McDonald was a Top 15 recruit if I recall. Recruits have to understand that they are not always the first option but must make the best decision for them.