In our own back yard

[sk vol]

Thanks for the reply and I'm not sure how anyone can disagree with that stance. One thing I think people need to take into account is that in recruiting, 50-60% success is pretty darn good. When you have an 82 player limit and you are trying to fill a two deep that is 44 players(not counting specialists), not all recruits shine. A good staff will get enough talent to absorb the occasional highly rated bust.

I hate to mention Fulmer as that tends to shift threads in a bad way, but one of his biggest failings at the end was having to many highly rated busts.

 

[Vol Catdaddy]

Dudes! Chill I was saying that its Gold in Dem Dar Hills ! We can't forget Georgia, The Carolinas, Virgina, Florida, Alabama (might get something out of the state),Arkansas,Mississippi, Kentucky, and Tennessee the whole state! I think Dooley will get the job done in the end!

 

[Regulator]

UT recruiting (or not recruiting Memphis) isn't completely unlike most of the North Carolina schools don't heavily recruit WNC. Granted, there aren't always SEC level players here in the area, but those players typically go out of state to college. We joke here in WNC that the state line is in Hickory. This is another area that UT should take advantage of. There was a time that WNC was basically on UT lockdown. It should be that way again. The opportunity is there.

 

[Vercingetorix]

People in Memphis generally regard Knoxville as being a foreign city in a strange and far-off land. It's too far away and too culturally different. Most people from Memphis literally never go to Knoxville; people from Knoxville very rarely visit Memphis. Until this attitude changes -- and there's no reason to think it ever will -- then heavily investing resources in Memphis will be a waste of time. Memphis has always disappointed Volunteer coaches, and it always will.

 

[CWGvol]

my point is more about putting a number/quota on it. If the talent is there then we get them. Pretending we struck out with a kid that went to So Miss is where this thing is crossing the line.

Atlanta is closer and has more talent we should go after



all those TN guys didn't win a conf title in the last decade

and if they aren't UT fans then the fact they happen to live in the state means very little

Nobody said put a quota on it! Answer this, is there 7 guys on average that can play SEC ball and we should get? Thats all Im saying! Dont focus on Brown!

Bold- So its because they are from TN! We also didnt win a conf title with all the out of state talent either, its a ridiculous point! I guess all the years bammer was down was because they had so many guys from in state. We have both won and lost with in state talent (and yes I know they have much more). The point is we need to get our in state talent, why is that so hard?

 

[CWGvol]

No matter what anyone says, Memphis is and will always be in our (the states) backyard. We for sure don't want to consider them our frontyard. True, there are SEC schools that are closer, but only one of those(Bama and they aren't that much closer) is, historically speaking anyway, more of a powerhouse in the SEC than UT. I agree with the statement that the Atlanta metro area is more of a priority than Memphis because that is where the most talent is by the chart in the original post and it is closer than Beale Street. Why can't we just do both? Let's keep the Micheal Oher type player away from Ole Miss while we keep the Eric Berry type player away from UGA. While we are at it, we can steal a qb from CA, a safety from LSU, a WR from Virginia and just maybe a DT from Florida. All I am trying to say is, if at all possible, lets mend those fences that were burned down on our Western and Southern borders and keep these Tennessee kids in-state if they are an SEC-caliber player and/or our coaches think they can develop them into one.

I don't think anybody is saying that Dooley needs to establish a 24/365 presence in Memphis. But, relationships do need to be developed all across Tennessee. UT is THE state university (no disrespect to Memphis, MTSU, ETSU, UT-C, etc.) for Tennessee. Restore the prestige to UT, build some relationships across the state, and there is no reason, NO REASON, that the top prospects in the state should have any school other than UT at the top of their list. IF UT isn't at the top of those lists, it shouldn't be due to lack of effort/attention on UT's part. Whatever the number of legit FBS/SEC caliber players are available across the state in a given year, they should be catching the eye of the UT staff and have a reasonable expectation of receiving a scholarship offer, taking into consideration player position vs. UT positional needs, academic standing, etc.

Thanks for the reply and I'm not sure how anyone can disagree with that stance. One thing I think people need to take into account is that in recruiting, 50-60% success is pretty darn good. When you have an 82 player limit and you are trying to fill a two deep that is 44 players(not counting specialists), not all recruits shine. A good staff will get enough talent to absorb the occasional highly rated bust.

I hate to mention Fulmer as that tends to shift threads in a bad way, but one of his biggest failings at the end was having to many highly rated busts.

Yep, its pretty simple, some of the mentally challenged like pj just freak out and lose track! They think we mean only get TN guys which is crazy, no one even mentioned that! Plus they have an inferiority complex that makes them think a guy from TN could never be as good as an out of state guy.

 

[RichRollin]

Jeff Hall-Winchester, TN (Franklin Co.)
Jeremaine Copeland-Harriman, TN (Harriman)
Cedrick Wilson-Memphis, TN (Melrose)
Al Wilson-Jackson, TN (Central-Merry)
Andre Lott-Memphis, TN (Melrose)
Eric Westmoreland-Jasper, TN (Marion Co.)
Toby Champion-Humboldt, TN (Humboldt)
Chad Clifton-Martin, TN (Westview)
Spencer Riley-New Market, TN (Jefferson Co.)


Correct me if I'm wrong, but were these guys or were they not starters on the NC team? I counted out 9 guys from Tennessee that started on that team, that's not counting the TE. I can't remember the starting TE from the roster I seen, 3 out of the 4 listed were Tennessee boys as well (Antron Peebles-Murfreesboro, TN (Riverdale); John Finlayson-Selmer, TN (McNairy Central); Neil Johnson-Nashville, TN (Franklin Road Academy) ). So there's a good chance there were 10 starters.

Also on that list were youngsters who turned out to be good, some GREAT Vols (Teddy Gaines-Kingsport, TN (Dobyns-Bennett); Travis Stephens-Clarksville, TN (Northeast); Will Bartholomew-Nashville, TN (Mongomery Bell Academy); Will Ofenhousle-Martin, TN (Westview). I'll post the list and let you guys sort it out. I'm sure of one thing.... The only NC I've seen in my lifetime was sprinkled with it's fair share of Tennessee boys, and the HS football in the state WAS NOT as good as it is now.

1998 Tennessee Vols Football Roster

 

[Vol Catdaddy]

Jeff Hall-Winchester, TN (Franklin Co.)
Jeremaine Copeland-Harriman, TN (Harriman)
Cedrick Wilson-Memphis, TN (Melrose)
Al Wilson-Jackson, TN (Central-Merry)
Andre Lott-Memphis, TN (Melrose)
Eric Westmoreland-Jasper, TN (Marion Co.)
Toby Champion-Humboldt, TN (Humboldt)
Chad Clifton-Martin, TN (Westview)
Spencer Riley-New Market, TN (Jefferson Co.)


Correct me if I'm wrong, but were these guys or were they not starters on the NC team? I counted out 9 guys from Tennessee that started on that team, that's not counting the TE. I can't remember the starting TE from the roster I seen, 3 out of the 4 listed were Tennessee boys as well (Antron Peebles-Murfreesboro, TN (Riverdale); John Finlayson-Selmer, TN (McNairy Central); Neil Johnson-Nashville, TN (Franklin Road Academy) ). So there's a good chance there were 10 starters.

Also on that list were youngsters who turned out to be good, some GREAT Vols (Teddy Gaines-Kingsport, TN (Dobyns-Bennett); Travis Stephens-Clarksville, TN (Northeast); Will Bartholomew-Nashville, TN (Mongomery Bell Academy); Will Ofenhousle-Martin, TN (Westview). I'll post the list and let you guys sort it out. I'm sure of one thing.... The only NC I've seen in my lifetime was sprinkled with it's fair share of Tennessee boys, and the HS football in the state WAS NOT as good as it is now.

1998 Tennessee Vols Football Roster

Well said Man!