D4H's 2017 Tennessee Vols Predictions

#1

Dobbs 4 Heisman

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#1
According to 247sports, the state of Tennessee in 2019 currently has TWENTY composite 4-star recruits. http://247sports.com/Season/2019-Fo...Rankings?InstitutionGroup=highschool&State=tn

That's INSANE because the 2018 in-state class that we have been raving about has only 8 composite 4-star or higher recruits. While the 2017 in-class that was similarly heralded had only 9 composite 4-star or higher recruits. Based on these early ratings, it looks like the 2019 class has more talent than the 2017 and 2018 classes COMBINED. That's CRAZY! Who woulda thought just a few years ago that the state of Tennessee could produce enough 4-star recruits in one year to fill an entire class for football team? Also good to see that Butch and the staff are on these kids early. We've offered 20 in-state recruits ALREADY. http://247sports.com/Gallery/Tennessee-Vols-football-Early-in-state-Class-of-2019-targets-106408149

2019 is shaping up to be an epic year for talent in the state of Tennessee. If Butch can lock down the state, we could potentially land the #1 recruiting class in the country and it would be made up primarily of in-state kids.
 
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#2
#2
According to 247sports, the state of Tennessee in 2019 currently has TWENTY composite 4-star recruits. http://247sports.com/Season/2019-Fo...Rankings?InstitutionGroup=highschool&State=tn

That's INSANE because the 2018 in-state class that we have been raving about has only 8 composite 4-star or higher recruits. While the 2017 in-class that was similarly heralded had only 9 composite 4-star or higher recruits. Based on these early ratings, it looks like the 2019 class has more talent than the 2017 and 2018 classes COMBINED. That's CRAZY! Who woulda thought just a few years ago that the state of Tennessee could produce enough 4-star recruits in one year to fill an entire class for football team? Also good to see that Butch and the staff are on these kids early. We've offered 20 in-state recruits ALREADY. http://247sports.com/Gallery/Tennessee-Vols-football-Early-in-state-Class-of-2019-targets-106408149

2019 is shaping up to be an epic year for talent in the state of Tennessee. If Butch can lock down the state, we could potentially land the #1 recruiting class in the country and it would be made up primarily of in-state kids.


add in a Cade Mays and a junior Trey smith and red shirt junior drew richmond and look out. plenty of talent up front. with JG or Mcbride as a QB. were gonna be tough. atleast on offense.
 
#3
#3
ESPN also came out with its 2019 rankings two weeks ago. There were 16 ESPN 300 recruits from the state of Tennessee in the 2019 class. http://www.espn.com/college-sports/...kings/_/state/tennessee/class/2019/view/state

For reference sake, here are how many ESPN 300 recruits the state of Tennessee has produced over the last 6 years:

2019 - 16
2018 - 9
2017 - 10
2016 - 4
2015 - 10
2014 - 5

Trend line clearly pointing up.
 
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#4
#4
add in a Cade Mays and a junior Trey smith and red shirt junior drew richmond and look out. plenty of talent up front. with JG or Mcbride as a QB. were gonna be tough. atleast on offense.

Don't forget Carvin, Antonutti and the kid UT missed out on Wray(who also has a brother in '19) and that's not counting Calbert from 2018. That's just OL. The DL this year with Emerson, Litaker, Lawless and the one that may get away, Jordan Davis is unprecedented. There is at least 2 more big-time DLs next year, plus WR and DBs are loaded. The metro Nashville population boom with the improvement in ET talent and the usual Memphis area talent is making Tennessee the 3rd best state in producing elite football players in the SEC, behind perennial state powers, Florida and Georgia. If Butch can pull the right strings as a coach with his recruiting skills, he could bring UT back to the promised land and get half the roster in state.

My buddy, a Florida fan, used to all ways tell me, some coach will eventually get it right in Georgia with that unbelievable fertile state of elite football talent. He was right, Richt got it right, more or less. He just never could get over the hump. Tennessee is starting to become a mini Georgia in producing football talent and if Butch doesn't get it right, coaches should be beating down the door wanting to lock down the talent in this state with UTs football history, stadium, facilties and resources.
 
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#5
#5
2019 ESPN 300 recruits by state:

Florida - 48
Georgia - 39
Texas - 36
California - 34
Tennessee - 16
Louisiana - 14
Alabama - 9
Michigan - 9
North Carolina - 9
Ohio - 8
Mississippi - 8
New Jersey - 7
Virginia - 6
Kentucky - 6
Maryland - 5
Missouri - 5

State of Tennessee is beginning to establish itself right alongside Louisiana as the top producers to college football talent after the Big 4 (Florida, Georgia, Texas, and California). We seem to have moved past the likes of Alabama, Ohio, Michigan, and North Carolina. Which is pretty funny cause 10 years ago we would have killed to have an in-state recruiting base like Alabama or Ohio.

Tennessee is now a top 5 job in college football once again. If Butch can't get it done soon, we can and should try to target a big-name coach that can finally win with all the talent the state is producing.
 
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#6
#6
I agree 100% D4H!

UT CANNOT waste time on low budget gambles with regards to coaching hires any longer. If we continue on the path of "finding the diamond in the rough... " we will LOSE all the instate talent to better programs that SURROUND Tennessee.

A REAL, legitimate, highly paid, big-time coach could build a MONSTER at UT in short order with the talent now available in-state.

Gotta spend money to make money. UT leadership HAS GOT to realize this and quit with the bull**** and get real.
 
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#7
#7
I agree 100% D4H!

UT CANNOT waste time on low budget gambles with regards to coaching hires any longer. If we continue on the path of "finding the diamond in the rough... " we will LOSE all the instate talent to better programs that SURROUND Tennessee.

A REAL, legitimate, highly paid, big-time coach could build a MONSTER at UT in short order with the talent now available in-state.

Gotta spend money to make money. UT leadership HAS GOT to realize this and quit with the bull**** and get real.

who you got Jeff? Who you got?
 
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#8
#8
D4H, don't get your hopes up about the '19 class. Many are from Memphis, and it's unlikely we land a significant number of Memphis kids. 2 or 3....maybe. 6 or 7...not a chance. The Memphis kids have closer options and feel very little connection to Knoxville. They will likely end up at Ole Miss, Bama, Auburn, etc.
 
#9
#9
Man I wish there were some blue chip recruits closer to us...too bad we can't cross the state line!
 
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#10
#10
Must get both Lelan Wilhoite from Siegel and Lance Wilhoite from Franklin Road Academy. They have family ties to UT. Lance is a star receiver at FRA and Lelan just nearly had 400 yards rushing with 4 touchdowns last Friday.
 
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#11
#11
On paper, without a doubt and it is a complete game changer if that talent level can hold or even improve. The difficulty of recruiting to Tennessee has always been overstated. I feel like we are in a nice little area. But this level of talent coming up really sets a new bar for what we should expect Tennessee's recruiting classes to look like.
 
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#12
#12
D4H, don't get your hopes up about the '19 class. Many are from Memphis, and it's unlikely we land a significant number of Memphis kids. 2 or 3....maybe. 6 or 7...not a chance. The Memphis kids have closer options and feel very little connection to Knoxville. They will likely end up at Ole Miss, Bama, Auburn, etc.


in the past that was true...IMHO Butch has done a better job of mining the Memphis area than any other coach, and if he keeps working the area hard, it will pay off...:thumbsup:

GO BIG ORANGE!
 
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#13
#13
in the past that was true...IMHO Butch has done a better job of mining the Memphis area than any other coach, and if he keeps working the area hard, it will pay off...:thumbsup:

GO BIG ORANGE!

they've definitely concentrated their efforts on the mid state, and rightfully so.

Memphis has always been tough, will continue to be tough.

bama, ole miss, ms state, auburn, ark, vandy, MO are all as close or closer to Memphis than Knoxville.

and Ole miss is just an hour away. so if they can continue to recruit like Freeze did, there's always been a sort of pipeline to Ole Miss...and Bama for that matter...from Memphis.
 
#14
#14
they've definitely concentrated their efforts on the mid state, and rightfully so.

Memphis has always been tough, will continue to be tough.

bama, ole miss, ms state, auburn, ark, vandy, MO are all as close or closer to Memphis than Knoxville.

and Ole miss is just an hour away. so if they can continue to recruit like Freeze did, there's always been a sort of pipeline to Ole Miss...and Bama for that matter...from Memphis.

You can add LSU to that list. It's 5 1/2 hours from Memphis.
 
#15
#15
Don't forget Carvin, Antonutti and the kid UT missed out on Wray(who also has a brother in '19) and that's not counting Calbert from 2018. That's just OL. The DL this year with Emerson, Litaker, Lawless and the one that may get away, Jordan Davis is unprecedented. There is at least 2 more big-time DLs next year, plus WR and DBs are loaded. The metro Nashville population boom with the improvement in ET talent and the usual Memphis area talent is making Tennessee the 3rd best state in producing elite football players in the SEC, behind perennial state powers, Florida and Georgia. If Butch can pull the right strings as a coach with his recruiting skills, he could bring UT back to the promised land and get half the roster in state.

My buddy, a Florida fan, used to all ways tell me, some coach will eventually get it right in Georgia with that unbelievable fertile state of elite football talent. He was right, Richt got it right, more or less. He just never could get over the hump. Tennessee is starting to become a mini Georgia in producing football talent and if Butch doesn't get it right, coaches should be beating down the door wanting to lock down the talent in this state with UTs football history, stadium, facilties and resources.

Younger Wray is 2020 I believe.
 
#16
#16
D4H, don't get your hopes up about the '19 class. Many are from Memphis, and it's unlikely we land a significant number of Memphis kids. 2 or 3....maybe. 6 or 7...not a chance. The Memphis kids have closer options and feel very little connection to Knoxville. They will likely end up at Ole Miss, Bama, Auburn, etc.

I agree with Bama and Auburn, but Ole Miss will have an University of Miami like impact after what has transpired, it will likely be 5-7 years before they begin to come around, of course it depends on the penalty they hand down obviously.
 
#18
#18
You can add LSU to that list. It's 5 1/2 hours from Memphis.

yeah, and while LSU probably has gotten some guys from the area ( i know they got the kids out of the mid state last year), the bigger issues for getting the top talent out that area, which includes North Mississippi...is Bama, Ole Miss and MSU.
 
#19
#19
D4H, don't get your hopes up about the '19 class. Many are from Memphis, and it's unlikely we land a significant number of Memphis kids. 2 or 3....maybe. 6 or 7...not a chance. The Memphis kids have closer options and feel very little connection to Knoxville. They will likely end up at Ole Miss, Bama, Auburn, etc.

Not really. A couple are in Memphis. But the majority are middle Tennessee kids. According to the ESPN 300, only 5 of the top 16 instate prospects are from Memphis.

Stop being so pessimistic and making it sound like all the top rated kids are in Memphis. The truth is most are in the mid-state.

We can and should sign most of these kids in 2019.
 
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#21
#21
ESPN also came out with its 2019 rankings two weeks ago. There were 16 ESPN 300 recruits from the state of Tennessee in the 2019 class. http://www.espn.com/college-sports/...kings/_/state/tennessee/class/2019/view/state

For reference sake, here are how many ESPN 300 recruits the state of Tennessee has produced over the last 6 years:

2019 - 16
2018 - 9
2017 - 10
2016 - 4
2015 - 10
2014 - 5

Trend line clearly pointing up.

Dang. That's pretty extreme. Maybe we can put receipting on cruise control like UGA is this keeps up?
 
#23
#23
may be a bit premature to chalk this up as a win just yet. always seems like the projections for more than a year out always change pretty drastically. including the "ESPN hates us" drop. no doubt talent is getting better but we are talking about a huge increase and I doubt it is that big. or I doubt that it will be consistent.
 

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