Ca We Have a Better ecruiting Presence in the Deep South?

#1
LA vol7

LA vol7

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#1
Just looking at our recruits for this year... Do we need to focus on the deep south more? We had a great year to be sure, but we did not sign a single player from Alabama, Mississippi, or Louisiana. We signed only one from Florida, a punter, and no from South Carolina. We did great in Georgia and our home state and that is good but for the future do we need to be concerned about our presence in the south especially Florida. Other schools raid Florida, Auburn, Louisville, even Ohio State. Just asking and would like to hear what you have to say.
 
#2
#2
The keys to UT recruiting success are always going to be TN, GA, NC, and VA. SC has been a very good source of players but isn't very fertile right now with both Clemson and USCe in fairly good shape. The MS schools do not leave a lot to be had there but UT didn't really get a bunch of great players from there or AL.

Dooley thought he could recruit FL and attract enough players to make up for ignoring TN and most of GA. Kiffin was a circus sideshow that thought he could have national appeal by turning UT into SoCal East. Jones seems to rightly recognize that proximity to K'ville is important to many players AND that there are plenty of great players within a 5 hour driving distance of UT.

He'll go after interested players wherever they are... but focusing close to home is just SMART.
 
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#4
#4
I think we need to spend our recruiting dollars where they count the most. I think we did a great job recruiting where we have typically been successful. Signing a top player from Memphis to me is more crucial than trying to recruit in Bama, Miss, South Carolina, Louisiana, etc. since Memphis has not been kind to the Vols recently. Every now and then we can get kids from the deep south, but I don't think we need to try and "poach" kids from Alabama, Louisiana, etc. We already recruit on a national scale and compete with top programs for kids.

In short, no, we do not need to have a better recruiting presence in the deep south. We're doing just fine as is.
 
#5
#5
Other than TN.... UT has depended on GA when the Vols were competing for championships. Fulmer got A LOT of great players from GA.
 
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#6
#6
I think (because he has outright said so) that CBJ and his team put great value in the character of the players. They're looking for huge talent, at positions where we need it, but on top of that they're looking for character.

And a big part of character for HS juniors and seniors is a sense of loyalty. To the program. A burning desire to be there, to be part of it all, to belong and to make a mark. Players who have this drive will have a greater sense of duty and selflessness.

And all other things being equal, you'll get that sense of loyalty, that burning desire, from kids who grew up bleeding orange. And there are two main reasons a HS football player bleeds orange: (a) he grew up close enough that the Vols are "his team" (entire state of TN, southwestern corner of VA, Appalachian and "overhill" parts of NC, Tennessee River area of northern GA, etc). ... or (b) his dad/mom/older brother/sister/uncle/etc. bled orange before him.

So I think CBJ and his coaching crew will keep looking nationwide when they need to, but going most often where they've been going the past couple of years. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
 
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#7
#7
Does it really matter what the home state pedigree is? If players come from AL, MS, LA, WY, ID, ND, or any other state the real concern is their individual ability. Somebody is looking for something to get all shook up about.
 
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#8
#8
Breaking news, this week the Deep South has been renamed the Deep Freeze.....
 
#9
#9
LA vol7 said:
Just looking at our recruits for this year... Do we need to focus on the deep south more? We had a great year to be sure, but we did not sign a single player from Alabama, Mississippi, or Louisiana. We signed only one from Florida, a punter, and no from South Carolina. We did great in Georgia and our home state and that is good but for the future do we need to be concerned about our presence in the south especially Florida. Other schools raid Florida, Auburn, Louisville, even Ohio State. Just asking and would like to hear what you have to say.
Click to expand...

No.
 
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#10
#10
If we just focus on NC, VA, GA, and TN, we can field a championship squad. Of course, we will have a few from other states, but if 60% of our recruits are from those 4 states, we'll be fine.
 
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#14
#14
I think by keeping our recruiting grounds closer it should cut down on the attrition rate. If ur within a 6 hr drive from home and get home sick u can go home for a weekend and refuel whereas if ur from Cali it's more of a hassle. Also is it just me or do the players we've been getting from NC and VA just seem to workout better and be better players?
 
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#17
#17
Butch worked his butt off to land an awesome class. I think in the future it will be easier for us to land some of these recruits, and we will begin to have even more of a choice which recruits we want.
 
#18
#18
My twins play club volleyball and my wife and I are traveling all over the south on weekends supporting the economy. A few weeks ago we were in Muscle Shoals, AL for a tourney and ran across this piece of nostalgia at the HS gym, from Phil's glory years of recruiting.

The Turd and The Barn were a bit sketchy in those days and Fulmer had no problem going in there to poach stars. That year with Jason Allen was a huge class iirc. James Banks, Ben Martin etc etc.

Really Nice to see all of Jason's accolades and this and other Vol memorabilia on display for every Bammer that comes through the door to see. Nice to see him break up the final pass of the game vs Bammer on fourth-and-two in the fifth overtime too.

JasonAllen.jpg
 
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#20
#20
TNVolunteerGrad said:
I think we need to spend our recruiting dollars where they count the most. I think we did a great job recruiting where we have typically been successful. Signing a top player from Memphis to me is more crucial than trying to recruit in Bama, Miss, South Carolina, Louisiana, etc. since Memphis has not been kind to the Vols recently. Every now and then we can get kids from the deep south, but I don't think we need to try and "poach" kids from Alabama, Louisiana, etc. We already recruit on a national scale and compete with top programs for kids.

In short, no, we do not need to have a better recruiting presence in the deep south. We're doing just fine as is.
Click to expand...

Drew was a private school kid...I can't think of one player that has made any kind of significant contribution from any city school in Memphis to any program in the country...besides most of those kids will go to Memphis now.
 
#22
#22
sjt18 said:
The keys to UT recruiting success are always going to be TN, GA, NC, and VA. SC has been a very good source of players but isn't very fertile right now with both Clemson and USCe in fairly good shape. The MS schools do not leave a lot to be had there but UT didn't really get a bunch of great players from there or AL.

Dooley thought he could recruit FL and attract enough players to make up for ignoring TN and most of GA. Kiffin was a circus sideshow that thought he could have national appeal by turning UT into SoCal East. Jones seems to rightly recognize that proximity to K'ville is important to many players AND that there are plenty of great players within a 5 hour driving distance of UT.

He'll go after interested players wherever they are... but focusing close to home is just SMART.
Click to expand...

Hit it on the nose.
 
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#23
#23
Cletus P Fulmer said:
Drew was a private school kid...I can't think of one player that has made any kind of significant contribution from any city school in Memphis to any program in the country...besides most of those kids will go to Memphis now.
Click to expand...

Top football players are going to attend Memphis over UT?
 
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#24
#24
We recruit nationally, so need to rely on focusing on one particular area. We go where our top targets are. We do need to continue on opening a steady pipeline in Memphis. There has been way to many great Memphis area players that went elsewhere to play in college without really even considering UT.
 
#25
#25
ainge10heisman said:
We recruit nationally, so need to rely on focusing on one particular area. We go where our top targets are. We do need to continue on opening a steady pipeline in Memphis. There has been way to many great Memphis area players that went elsewhere to play in college without really even considering UT.
Click to expand...


They never made any kind of impact...most ended up quitting or being dismissed.
 
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