Vols cleaning up on recruiting front...

[GAMECOCK]

Originally Posted by Venomous Vol

Fulmer is punking out Charleston Southern, Gardner-Webb and Duke for offensive linemen.

ol phil really knows his lemons ....I meant linemen. Keep up the great work Phil....

[chavisut]

Originally Posted by GAMECOCK

ol phil really knows his lemons ....I meant linemen. Keep up the great work Phil....

Tennessee probably has more offensive lineman in the NFL than South Carolina has overall players. Laugh it up clown.

[utfantilidie]

I wonder if we are really cleaning up or if it is the end result of recruits no longer being sought after by top 10 schools.

[jakez4ut]

Originally Posted by jsc1973

It doesn't surprise me that we're doing well. The only reason we didn't do well with this year's class is that we had all the turnover on the staff. By the time that the new coaches got on board, we were way behind.

Originally Posted by govols182

...or it could have had something to do with getting blown out by our two biggest rivals and the first game of the year on national TV.

i think it was a combination of the two.



a) we got throttled, left a bad impression with a lot of people. attitude was that despite winning the east, GA and FL still both better.

b) Clawson and Co. have brought about some buzz about the program. good spring, exciting spring game, and there's a sense of "New" and "fresh" coming out of Knoxville. ie, there's a reason for some potential recruits to be a bit more enamoured with Tennessee than they may have been previously.

we'll see how it works out. this is definitely a good start.

[hohenfelsvol]

Buzz about the program is good. Hope it doesn't fizzle. You're right Jake. Good start.

[BigPapaVol]

Originally Posted by utfantilidie

I wonder if we are really cleaning up or if it is the end result of recruits no longer being sought after by top 10 schools.

I am regularly amazed by you, but WTH?

[sjt18]

Originally Posted by govols182

...or it could have had something to do with getting blown out by our two biggest rivals and the first game of the year on national TV.

I think the conduct problems in January were the most critical thing. I think UT had a real shot with Page and the DT Thompson before the rash of problems

I think it was bigger than anything that happened during one season or staff turnover. One guy was D and one an OL. Their position coaches hadn't changed. One was from GA and the other from AL. I don't think their recruiter changed either.

Another reason to believe what I said is that Bowden has developed a "clean" reputation. His well publicized participation in FCA helps... as does the fact that it is much easier to quietly deal with behavior problems in a small college town like Clemson or Auburn.

[orange+white=heaven]

TFPs Wes Rucker had a piece on this in the Sunday paper. It includes some comments from Jeremy Crabtree at rivals...

Full Story

“Tennessee’s Phillip Fulmer is the dean of SEC coaches, and lately he has been taking everybody to school on the recruiting front,” Rivals.com recruiting editor Jeremy Crabtree wrote last week. “The Vols easily were the nation’s hottest team in the past week.”

Most classes feature just one quarterback, so signal-callers typically declare before most players. Though the Vols would like to add another quarterback before February — and it’s no secret that Clawson covets Californian Josh Nunes — Petty described his quick trigger as a necessity.

“When you get a spot a place like Tennessee, you have to take it,” he said. “If you love Tennessee, and I do, you don’t want anybody else taking your spot. You say, ‘Yes, sir,’ and you take it as fast as you can.”

Crabtree in a different article discussing this rash of early signings..

“It is pretty amazing to see all these kids making such early, early decisions,” Rivals.com national editor Jeremy Crabtree said. “Offers have gone out earlier, and kids have found their dream schools and jumped all over it. I thought we would have more kids each year make their minds up earlier, but not like this. This is something unprecedented.”

When it comes to projecting the SEC’s top classes for ’09, Crabtree expects the same old faces. He believes Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU and Tennessee are all on pace to finish among the top 15 nationally.


“There are reasons why those schools traditionally have done so well year in and year out,” he said. “They have the tradition and the facilities and natural recruiting bases, so you always have to start with those guys.”

[rexvol]

yeah buddy, Phil took Arkansas Tech and Carson Newman to school.

[cris]

Rivals was high on Phil's efforts and so am I. The entire SEC Recruiting results were posted. Every School had 95% Home grown boys...UT had 9 States in 13 recruits. As to all the critticism about no DTs...All the big boys played both ways in High School. He takes excess DBs, fattens them up and makes them LBs..He takes OGs-Ts -slims them down and makes them DTs...Nobody has many DTs that only played that position in High School. Phil is also signing them up right out of his camp. No Pigs in a Poke. Phil, Joe Pa, and Bowden with their yrs of experience, know a lottle more about players then the rest. I see the rest of the SEC picking cherries off the low branches and Phil is picking the good sun ripened ones at the top of the tree...I just believe he knows what he's doing. His record speaks for itself.

[utmba93]

Originally Posted by BigPapaVol

I am regularly amazed by you, but WTH?

That was a complex point that needed some elaboration. I'm not sure what it meant either.

[Vol423]

Originally Posted by cris

Rivals was high on Phil's efforts and so am I. The entire SEC Recruiting results were posted. Every School had 95% Home grown boys...UT had 9 States in 13 recruits. As to all the critticism about no DTs...All the big boys played both ways in High School. He takes excess DBs, fattens them up and makes them LBs..He takes OGs-Ts -slims them down and makes them DTs...Nobody has many DTs that only played that position in High School. Phil is also signing them up right out of his camp. No Pigs in a Poke. Phil, Joe Pa, and Bowden with their yrs of experience, know a lottle more about players then the rest. I see the rest of the SEC picking cherries off the low branches and Phil is picking the good sun ripened ones at the top of the tree...I just believe he knows what he's doing. His record speaks for itself.

That was one of the more amusing posts that I've seen in quite a while.

[GAVol]

Originally Posted by BigPapaVol

I am regularly amazed by you, but WTH?

You could have used that in response to about 90% of this thread. The negativity is remarkable.

[govols182]

Originally Posted by cris

Rivals was high on Phil's efforts and so am I. The entire SEC Recruiting results were posted. Every School had 95% Home grown boys...UT had 9 States in 13 recruits. As to all the critticism about no DTs...All the big boys played both ways in High School. He takes excess DBs, fattens them up and makes them LBs..He takes OGs-Ts -slims them down and makes them DTs...Nobody has many DTs that only played that position in High School. Phil is also signing them up right out of his camp. No Pigs in a Poke. Phil, Joe Pa, and Bowden with their yrs of experience, know a lottle more about players then the rest. I see the rest of the SEC picking cherries off the low branches and Phil is picking the good sun ripened ones at the top of the tree...I just believe he knows what he's doing. His record speaks for itself.

So Phil is being included in sentences with Bowden and JoePa? I hope he doesn't stay as long.

[g8terh8ter_eric]

Looks like we are still doing well with the commitment of Nunes today. Great job Phil and Co.