Recruiting Forum Football Talk XXXII

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I'm a numbers guy. That's one of the reasons I follow recruiting. I love to slice and dice the information to find outcomes most people don't see or expect.

I've looked at this from every angle on all the recruiting sites. I just can't find a way to spin this situation in a positive way. UT has a very large class of mostly average ballplayers. Even Rivals (which is our most favorable comparison point) has us 22nd in average star ranking. And don't tell me star rating is irrelevant. It does matter. You can't depend on diamonds in the rough --- especially 18 of them.

The fans and coaches have always complained about Tennessee producing inferior talent to most of the power states. "A great coach at UT needs to be able to recruit well outside the state" -- was the line we always heard. A few years ago, we noticed the talent level increasing in our state. Many people pointed to the 2017 class as the one that could deliver us a top 5 (and possibly #1) recruiting class. I bought into it.

The kids delivered on the talent. The state had several 5 and 4 stars. Our coaches whiffed big time. I've heard plenty of excuses about this kid "not caring about UT" or "he's going where they send WRs to the pros". In the end, the coaches failed. Plain and simple.

Butch couldn't win the SEC with two top 5 classes. Some of those guys are gone. Let's see what he can do with a middle of the pack class. As Breakerboy said, I'm ready for answers, one way or another.
 
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Pick Three

If I had to choose three signees that are underrated and will have the most impact, it would be the following.

Eric Crosby - more athletic version of Obrien

Cheyenne Labruzza - no idea how he wasn't a consensus 4 star

Marquez Bembry - he will be a stud LB for us

Page
Butler
Bailey
 
Phillips and Stevens were late 5 stars, especially Phillips. I like the 2018 class depth wise. I think it has more 4 stars anyway. Some have said that both Emerson and Harris are potential 5 stars. Heck, if we land the DL talent in Emerson, Litaker and Lawless, t get Teague and Harris, that is already in the right direction of being a very special class. But have to get it done. I'm glad that's Warren is now recruiting Harris and hopefully Hoke can help with the DL talent. Need Mays and Taylor to help with Camron also. But again, have to do it

Pretty much the last class my kid has any connection to. He's friends Litaker, Teague, Campbell. Feel pretty good about 2 of them. Litaker is hard to read. Jr ran into him a few weeks ago out in town and he had a UT hat on. Everyone knows my kid is a die hard Vol he said "don't read into this, it's a hat". Of course my kid replies "I'm going to need Bama game tickets". 😂

Teague is absolutely blowing up in recruiting. Look for a huge bump this year. 210 lb lightening fast RB. Long way to go. Butch needs to set up residence in Murfreesboro. He's getting offers every day.
 
First things first. We need JG to be great. Best thing to do to win in recruiting is to win on the field. We have the pieces on the roster to do this. Just need JG to be great. We won't be giving out cars like Bama so we won't recruit at that level. But we can get in the top 10 again consistently. Just need to win. JG needs to be great
 
Pretty much the last class my kid has any connection to. He's friends Litaker, Teague, Campbell. Feel pretty good about 2 of them. Litaker is hard to read. Jr ran into him a few weeks ago out in town and he had a UT hat on. Everyone knows my kid is a die hard Vol he said "don't read into this, it's a hat". Of course my kid replies "I'm going to need Bama game tickets". 😂

Teague is absolutely blowing up in recruiting. Look for a huge bump this year. 210 lb lightening fast RB. Long way to go. Butch needs to set up residence in Murfreesboro. He's getting offers every day.

Hopefully they'll stay home
 
First things first. We need JG to be great. Best thing to do to win in recruiting is to win on the field. We have the pieces on the roster to do this. Just need JG to be great. We won't be giving out cars like Bama so we won't recruit at that level. But we can get in the top 10 again consistently. Just need to win. JG needs to be great

Cars aren't hard to get for Tennessee recruits.
 
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DE and QB (which I understand due to JG) are the only positions I'm actually disappointed with in this class when I look at it overall.
 
Just saw trey Smith interview for the first time on ESPN with Joe Tess. Holy smoke that kid behaves and talks and looks like he's 30. I don't think I've ever seen a more polished and mature sounding HS recruit. Kid could end up being a great rep for UT.
 
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Pathetic finish to a below average class.

A new criteria is set for butch surviving next year. If he only wins 8 games and isn't committing more top 300 guys he's out

Recruiting doesn't determine Butch's future directly. Winning doesn't determine Butch's future directly. What determines Butch's future is whether or not it makes financial sense to fire him. As long as the stadium remains mostly full and money is coming in at rate that makes it more cost effective to keep him he'll be here. These are always financial decisions. He could go 6-6 every year and as long as the money was flowing in, he'd be here. Now usually 7-5 and 6-6 years affect the bottom line but 9-3 and 8-4 has less of an impact. Fans tend to still support the program with 8-4 and 9-3 type years.
 
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