We got a commit! Vols land GA OLB/DE Joshua Josephs

#77
#77
I do believe that Tennessee can compete with recruiting four and five star players. There is recent evidence for that. It’s sells itself. The question is whether CJH can recruit at that level. I’m not sure he can but I also don’t think he has to. He seems to be someone that can do more with less. Hopefully he doesn’t have to and that less becomes more. If this is the case, it’s going to be an amazing ride.
You can't remotely begin to judge Heupel's recruiting ability at UT until this NCAA investigation is over. It's like trying to judge your dating ability if there is a persistent rumor you have syphilis. It's not a level playing field.
 
#78
#78
In Georgia, Cobb and Gwinnett counties have become fertile ground for Tennessee. For one, I’m glad for this. CJH’s staff have a knack for recruiting players who will excel in their program. It’s not the star ratings of keyboard pundits but the stars on the field who win games.
 
#80
#80
You can't remotely begin to judge Heupel's recruiting ability at UT until this NCAA investigation is over. It's like trying to judge your dating ability if there is a persistent rumor you have syphilis. It's not a level playing field.

I disagree. This is not a legitimate reason for not going after a good players. A good recruiter can recruit, no excuses. I don’t think you will hear excuses coming from CJH. Paraphrasing A Band of Brothers, no excuses just accomplish the mission.
 
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#81
#81
I disagree. This is not a legitimate reason for not going after a good players. A good recruiter can recruit, no excuses. I don’t think you will hear excuses coming from CJH. Paraphrasing A Band of Brothers, no excuses just accomplish the mission.
Lol, taking honest stock of what you're up against is absolutely mandatory in any adversarial situation. If you think other teams aren't telling recruits we are going to get hammered and that doesn't put a us at a disadvantage you are either an idiot or a troll.
 
#82
#82
Recruits SHOULD see what's happening at UT and Jump on Board! Tenn is gonna be Back On Top! Soon. The Ncaa isn't going to punish Tenn beyond their self imposed penalties. JMHO. I suspect the ncaa is NOT a Pruitt Fan..
 
#84
#84
I disagree. This is not a legitimate reason for not going after a good players. A good recruiter can recruit, no excuses. I don’t think you will hear excuses coming from CJH. Paraphrasing A Band of Brothers, no excuses just accomplish the mission.

I'd offer several qualifications to the above statement:

Every recruiter knows he's working within a limited window of time and a limited number of young men with whom he can use that time to build a recruiting/coaching relationship. WHAT to target is about position needs, skillsets, and athletic ceiling.

But Skill #1 for being a good recruiter is the ability to quickly assess WHO to target, so that you don't waste precious time on great athletes who are very desirable but ultimately unobtainable (for any number of reasons). No matter how good a "salesman" you are, if a guy has his heart set on a pickup truck, you're not going to sell him a Lexus sedan--no matter how much "better" the Lexus may be in quality or status. You have no control over what the kid values, or imagines for his future.

Recruiting is not manipulating--not if you want to make a career of it. It's about building a trust relationship. Part of being in a trusting relationship is the freedom to say, "I like you, but I don't think your team/academic offerings/geographical location/etc. is the best fit for me"--and visa-versa: "I don't think you're exhibiting the kind of character, commitment, academic discipline, etc., that makes you the best fit for us."

We fans need to remind ourselves that we will never know from recruiters if or why a player ceased to be recruited. That betrayal of confidence would destroy the recruiter's reputation if he allowed it to be known that he discovered something (off the field) negative about the recruit that changed the estimation of his value to the program. And the same can be said if it's the family which becomes the reason for not pursuing a player. Everyone knows you have to recruit the entire family, and sometimes a key person in the family demands that you compromise your (or your program's) standards or character to recruit them, and you know that they would remain a source of poison in your program over the next 4-5 years.

For fans who have never recruited (for any capability--academic, artistic, or athletic) you can still appreciate the intangibles from your own life experiences. Romantically, why did you "fall in love" with certain people in your lifetime? You had certainly met better looking, smarter, funnier, warmer people, yet never developed the same feelings for them. No, something just "clicked" with that certain person, and even years later, it's hard to say why.

Same with friendships. Why did those special friends become so? Something just "clicked" between you two--likely beginning with a shared interest, value, communication style, or goal--and trust eventually developed as you continued to enjoy or value time spent with together.

Listen to how recruits talk. It's the same dynamic at work. A young, human brain is assimilating the widest variety of data, from multiple, competing sources simultaneously, while trying to reach the most important , appropriately self-interested decision of his lifetime. And after several suitors are objectively eliminated, somewhere in the process, with someone, something just clicks and the athlete just knows.

The best recruiters know themselves and quickly assess who they have the best chance of clicking with. If they think another coach on staff could click with this recruit, and it's a coach with whom he'd be relating at his expected playing position, the initial recruiter sees if he can coordinate that handoff. But all the recruiters are working with limited windows of time, which is why relationships are initiated at earlier and earlier ages--to maximize that time for building a trust relationship.

The ultimate goal is for when the newly admitted student-athlete arrives on campus, he feels like he's coming home instead of leaving home. That usually takes years of trust building.

The portal is now forcing recruiters to figure out how to recreate the same results in just a matter of weeks. It's also creating a new category of staying in touch recruiting relationships after the recruit has signed with someone else: "I hope you succeed there, but if it doesn't work out with ______... remember us."
 
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#85
#85
North Cobb HS, north of Atlanta, has become a hotbed for recruits as the population grows in the direction of Kennesaw and the outliers. Good pickup. One of my fav places to officiate.
Just curious, what is a HarsinVol?
 
#91
#91
I do believe that Tennessee can compete with recruiting four and five star players. There is recent evidence for that. It’s sells itself. The question is whether CJH can recruit at that level. I’m not sure he can but I also don’t think he has to. He seems to be someone that can do more with less. Hopefully he doesn’t have to and that less becomes more. If this is the case, it’s going to be an amazing ride.

The only recent evidence we have is Pruitt’s bags of money. I never said we couldn’t recruit some 4/5 star talent but that is much different than recruiting head to head with Georgia/Alabama on a consistent basis. We will have to start consistently winning more to do that
 
#92
#92
He took 10 of the top 15 in GA in that class. If Heupel could do the same thing here in TN we would be in great shape. As of today we don't have one. Maybe Stoops will take the LSU job. He has 3 of our top 15. As for Kirby he likes Tennessee's talent as he is getting our top running back from Murfreesboro. Saban is getting our top QB and Jimbo took our top player out of Knoxville Powell. Ohio St is taking our 2nd best rb (Aaron Hayden's son). Lots of talent here now. Things can still change and hoping they will. This would be the first year we didnt get one of our top 10 players to my knowledge. We must close the border.

We would be in better shape, yes but great shape is a bit of a stretch. He could take 10 of the top 30 every year and be in great shape, once you get outside the top 10-15 in Tennessee it’s a massive drop off. Georgia has 37 4/5 star recruits in the state this year, Tennessee has 15. Last year Georgia had 27 and Tennessee had 11. As of right now Georgia has 28 for the 23’ class and Tennessee has 8. You are comparing apples to hand grenades
 
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#93
#93
I disagree. This is not a legitimate reason for not going after a good players. A good recruiter can recruit, no excuses. I don’t think you will hear excuses coming from CJH. Paraphrasing A Band of Brothers, no excuses just accomplish the mission.

I really haven't kept track of our recruiting since last years wolf tickets Pruitt's staff sold the fanbase.

Are you saying we are intentionally avoiding competing for the best players right now?
 
#94
#94
I really haven't kept track of our recruiting since last years wolf tickets Pruitt's staff sold the fanbase.

Are you saying we are intentionally avoiding competing for the best players right now?

Not at all. I have no proof or connections to confirm something like that. I would expect it to be the opposite. Some comments on here it sounds like they think we should not waste our time which is ridiculous. We are Tennessee!
 
#96
#96
This recruiting class ain’t great but despite only winning 3 games last year with a coaching turnover along with the NCAA investigation going on, we’re still getting good quality players.

Heupel knows what he wants for his system.

I expect a huge improvement in recruiting next year.
Heard we are going to keep 5 spots open for Portal transfers coming
 
#97
#97
Time to raid FL and LA.

Good get, hopefully more to come in the next month. We need some recruiting momentum.
 
#98
#98
ARE U KIDDING ME- 4 stah out of Georgia ? , likely Youngs replacement. 6-3, 215 currently- WITH 82” wing span, 4.3 shuttle, 32” vertical.
ANY of you understand wingspan for a edge rusher? , just dayum. Coaches know a lot more than we do- Lets just leave it there and be happy.
 
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In Georgia, Cobb and Gwinnett counties have become fertile ground for Tennessee. For one, I’m glad for this. CJH’s staff have a knack for recruiting players who will excel in their program. It’s not the star ratings of keyboard pundits but the stars on the field who win games.
It's 3 hours from cobb county to neyland stadium. It's 2 hours from cobb county to sanford stadium. Lets hope the UT recruiters realize this
 

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