I'm speaking specifically about this recruiting cycle. Not Pruitts future potential. the people who have thought this whole off season that Pruitt has this grand plan and that our sub 25 recruiting ranking was a false signal and that they were gonna have this epic finish to the recruiting cycle is specifically what I'm talking about.
ok, but i'm not sure any of that really matters. he has little control over what the recruit decides to do about coming to a decision, when or how.
i think the staff has a strategy...and part of it is a)battling the negative recruiting that's going on, which leads to b) having more of a soft sell...just don't tell us "no" yet, let us show you, this is what we're about.
and if there's any good news, it's that many of them are continuing to listen, and keeping us in their top "whatever" lists....many are still uncommitted, and will be at least well in to the season if not until after it.
we don't have much of a choice but to play the long game. sure, they're kids out there we could have taken already and we'd be further up the ranking board............for now.
all that matters is how it finishes. and this year, i do believe how we finish on the field, will dicatate in a lot of ways how we finish on the trail.
this program has everything a kid needs to be successful as a CFB player, a student and a path to the NFL. the only thing we don't have compared to to the top programs is the W's. and you go down the line and check some of those top 100 players and you see TN in top 5's, top 8's or whatever alongside aTm, Bama, GA, Clemson, LSU....etc...and we're the only program on those kids' lists that has only won 9 games in two years.
this staff is doing work. we just have to find a way to close the deal, and for now, the best way to do that is to put something ont he field that looks like we belong on all those lists. that doesnt' mean we have to go out and win 9+ games.
it does mean we better look a whole lot different than we did last year, and when we have opportunities to grab W's......we better start getting them.