How concerned with the 2027 class at this time?

[VOLINVONORE]

The 2024 class had 2 5 stars and 10 4 stars and only 3 are still here. High school recruiting doesn’t really matter as much anymore so that’s why I’m not worried about the class. Most likely half of our current class will hit portal in another year or 2.

The majority of our players are still young. I think it is time to get some high school recruits, either super stars, or talented 3 stars to develop. The majority of the money should be toward Jr's and sr's in the portal. They have a lot lot more experience, especially at the college level.It has worked well for a few teams over the last two years.

 

[GSPVol]

It's DDG or bust. The rest of this class really doesn't matter other than hanging on to the QB for depth and potential developement.

Save cash for the big portal swing is the way to go now.

Yep. HS recruiting just isn't all that important anymore.

 

[Buoyvol2000]

Hs recruiting is still very important. I know people like to point to indiana using the portal, but most of those plays cignetti brought with him from jmu that he recruited out of hs. Obviously the transfer portal is important now, but it definitely doesn’t undermine hs recruiting.

Our class may not look the best in the world right now, but we do have a lot of underclassmen (69% of the roster is underclassmen, and 90% is eligible to return next year). Ik ive said this before but it’s important to bring it back up.

Roster retention is the most important thing this year nil wise

 

[Volfan76]

Currently rated at No. 32 for the Class of 2027, with only six blue-chippers among the 16 commitments. Landed the nation’s No. 56 prospect in March, but have had a quiet June with just three top-400 commitments. Might not have much time to make up significant ground between now and December with recruits committing elsewhere.

Other SEC teams-
Bama- hasn’t finished outside of the top five of the team rankings since the 2007. Likely will end this cycle as the '27 class ranks 61st nationally and features just 11 commitments. DeBoer said this class will be small because the Tide have so many young players and they’ve done well with retention.
Auburn- currently have a top-10 class that includes seven top-200 prospects and 12 blue-chippers. The average player rating of 89.99 is up two-plus points over last year.
A&M- the top-ranked class gets stronger. Bagged 5-star Kaden Henderson, a five-star linebacker from Tampa (Fla.) considered their highest recruit and highly regarded 4-star edge rusher Frederick Ards of Orlando (Fla.) Jones. Note that both are out of Florida. Positioned to sign their 2nd consecutive #1 class.

Summary from the college recruiting section of the The Athletic

I think it's been well documented that the staff have a new recruiting strategy. I wouldn't look for the hs class to be that stellar compared to other blue chip schools. Look for quality of the pieces that are in high demand and look for the transfer class to be elite.

 

[wmcovol]

Tennessee has a very solid foundation of players for 27-28 if they retain them. That’s job 1. Then they’ll add players who can contribute right away from the high school & portal classes. That’s the new strategy these days.

Schools like Auburn, Fla, etc have to build that foundation first just like Heupel had to do the past couple yrs after the NCAA finally left town.

High school recruiting rankings for teams become more meaningless each year.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

Tennessee has a very solid foundation of players for 27-28 if they retain them. That’s job 1. Then they’ll add players who can contribute right away from the high school & portal classes. That’s the new strategy these days.

Schools like Auburn, Fla, etc have to build that foundation first just like Heupel had to do the past couple yrs after the NCAA finally left town.

High school recruiting rankings for teams become more meaningless each year.

Don’t know how to factor RETENTION probabilities into stratifying war room wall. Getting them means little if you don’t feel good about keeping them. Really would like to be a fly on the wall for the real list by position.

 

[Jackcrevol]

Tennessee has a very solid foundation of players for 27-28 if they retain them. That’s job 1. Then they’ll add players who can contribute right away from the high school & portal classes. That’s the new strategy these days.

Schools like Auburn, Fla, etc have to build that foundation first just like Heupel had to do the past couple yrs after the NCAA finally left town.

High school recruiting rankings for teams become more meaningless each year.

There is something to be said about getting a kid so others dont.

 

[wmcovol]

There is something to be said about getting a kid so others dont.

There is but you can’t keep all your producing guys, buy a top 10 recruiting class AND go get top players in the portal. Returning players are the foundation that you gotta keep if they are good.

Unfortunately recruiting gurus don’t rank retention like they rank hs recruiting & portal recruiting.