I think the "NCAA cloud" went a long way toward clearing with UT's closure of the internal investigation by saying we'll go bowlilng.
No, the NCAA hasn't done their part yet. But everyone knows the NCAA is notoriously slow, and often capricious. Tennessee shutting it down will do a lot to calm the recruiting waters as Heupel and Company get ready to make their big December-January push.
Besides that, here's the real reason not to get nervous about the 2022 signing class: "14." We've only signed 14 so far. Still tons of room to make up ground on those ahead of us in the SEC recruiting rankings. As one example, look at Georgia == 21...they're almost done. Really good class, but the score they have now is pretty close to the score they'll end up with. We're only halfway full. Really misleading comparing not only apples and oranges, but a half-basket of apples against a nearly full bushel of oranges.
If Heupel & Co close strong, we could leapfrog all but the top 3-4 on that list. Don't think we'll touch Georgia or Bama, and not too likely we could catch A&M or LSU. Everyone else, a strong finish can push us past them.
Go Vols!
EDIT and p.s.: If I'm Josh Heupel, here's exactly what I'm saying to recruits and their parents about the NCAA investigation:
(1) we kept the NCAA close while we held our internal investigation, welcomed them in, and gained some real synergy. We're not afraid of what they might do. We don't know what they'll do, but we're pretty confident it won't affect our current or future players.
(2) because we kept the NCAA investigators close, we have a reasonable expectation they will finish their work quicker than normal. Everyone knows the NCAA can take years...but in this case, we expect it to all be over within something like six to eight months. And any penalties applied will go into effect immediately. Which means you will be in your freshman season. Truly no impact to you directly, even if the NCAA were to go further than we think they will.
Bottom line, there's no reason at all for incoming players of the 2022 signing class to be wary. It will flow past them in a way that they'll never even feel.
Recruiting will pick up dramatically now, I think.
Go Vols!
