Recruiting battle ground states....

#1
Ertel

Ertel

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#1
I was looking at the Rivals 250 last night and was shocked to see a few states right next to us who are unusually loaded with talent. Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia (im including d.c in virginia) have a combined 36 top 250 players. including 19 in the top 100. Thats an absolute ton of talent in our own state and right next door. Now we all know georgia is right next door and also has a ton of talent but i think these states, along with our legacy class will be a huge part of what could be an amazing class for us. correct me if im wrong but wasnt jay graham handling the east coast area? who has taken his place this year? cause they definitely have their work cut out for them and really need to be on their A game. theres such an abundance of quality talent over there.

heres the breakdown

VA- 9 top 250 players (11 if you include DC)
NC- 11
SC-8
TN-6

we need to win some battles this year in these crucial states, especially locking down our own borders. the talent at the top this year in tennessee is as good as i can remember with 4 top 75 players right in our own backyard.

heres a link of the rivals 250 so you can see all these great players within striking distance...

Yahoo Sports: Rivals.com Ranking - Rivals.com Rivals250 2014
 
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#2
#2
oh and of those 36 only 5 are currently committed to a school, 2 for florida, one for virginia and 2 for tennessee....
 
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#4
#4
Good posts. This is the stuff I love. If I was a recruiting coordinator (and I have literally ZERO qualifications), I would have a rolling list of nearby states that are ripe for picking due to struggling in-state schools. The top 2, imo, are Virginia and North Carolina.

UVA will land some in-state talent (i.e. Q. Blanding) but won't be a huge factor against mid-top level SEC schools. With Knoxville being a day drive or less for many Virginia players, it's good, too. Virginia Tech has been on a slight decline, but have never been recruiting monsters. That state is ripe for stealing top 250 recruits.

North Carolina is similar, but more competition. UNC isn't a top 25 program, but currently have the "NFL talent" pitch going strong. NCSU won't be a consistent monster in recruiting. Duke and Wake just aren't factors. Problem here is that USCe and Clemson are right down the road. Still, the drive from Charlotte to Clemson and the drive from Charlotte to Knoxville are both considered easily doable for parents and players.

Tennessee can also use this in Kentucky, but they don't produce many top flight prospects annually. Tennessee can also work Cincinnati a bit for many reasons: Cincinnati is close to Knoxville, Ohio produces more prospects than Ohio State can take, and this staff has relationships in that market. Come 2016, that will change.

Where Tennessee is going to struggle are places like South Carolina and Georgia. Where Fulmer was able to pick the best in the past, we simply don't have the pull right now to do that. And it won't happen until some of the in-state schools take a dip. Same with Alabama prospects.

Tennessee could land top 10 classes every year if we put a fence around our state (Tennessee is only going to continue to grow in talent - just like South Carolina has), steal the top prospects from surrounding states with down in-home schools, and win some battles for kids against the big dogs. We'll also get boosts from finding good players who in-state schools couldn't fit into their classes.
 
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#5
#5
Cincy/southern Ohio is closer to Knoxville than Memphis. Urban can't get all the players in that state.
 
#6
#6
This is what I will look like if we get a big signing class in 2014
pantera-you-re-broken-o.gif
[/URL] http://gifsoup.com
 
#7
#7
Good post. Was thinking about this, too. This year, the legacy class makes it interesting. If we get our legacies and lock down our own state (won't get them all), then we will be able to pick and choose who we want elsewhere. Legacies and instate could be as many as 15. In my mind, it is very important to keep as much instate talent this year.
 
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#8
#8
We need to land those six in state guys(they should be on our staff's speed dial). With UT's history, tradition, and facilities we are among the big dogs and should be an easy sell to prospects. I do believe we have a great salesman in CBJ, the man could sell ceiling wax !! :yes:
Nice work today guys ! :good!:
 
#9
#9
It has to be frustrating being a fan of the NC schools. That state has been producing very good talent and just about all of them leave the state.
 
#10
#10
VolinArizona said:
Good posts. This is the stuff I love. If I was a recruiting coordinator (and I have literally ZERO qualifications), I would have a rolling list of nearby states that are ripe for picking due to struggling in-state schools. The top 2, imo, are Virginia and North Carolina.

UVA will land some in-state talent (i.e. Q. Blanding) but won't be a huge factor against mid-top level SEC schools. With Knoxville being a day drive or less for many Virginia players, it's good, too. Virginia Tech has been on a slight decline, but have never been recruiting monsters. That state is ripe for stealing top 250 recruits.

North Carolina is similar, but more competition. UNC isn't a top 25 program, but currently have the "NFL talent" pitch going strong. NCSU won't be a consistent monster in recruiting. Duke and Wake just aren't factors. Problem here is that USCe and Clemson are right down the road. Still, the drive from Charlotte to Clemson and the drive from Charlotte to Knoxville are both considered easily doable for parents and players.

Tennessee can also use this in Kentucky, but they don't produce many top flight prospects annually. Tennessee can also work Cincinnati a bit for many reasons: Cincinnati is close to Knoxville, Ohio produces more prospects than Ohio State can take, and this staff has relationships in that market. Come 2016, that will change.

Where Tennessee is going to struggle are places like South Carolina and Georgia. Where Fulmer was able to pick the best in the past, we simply don't have the pull right now to do that. And it won't happen until some of the in-state schools take a dip. Same with Alabama prospects.

Tennessee could land top 10 classes every year if we put a fence around our state (Tennessee is only going to continue to grow in talent - just like South Carolina has), steal the top prospects from surrounding states with down in-home schools, and win some battles for kids against the big dogs. We'll also get boosts from finding good players who in-state schools couldn't fit into their classes.
Click to expand...

You make very good points. I believe your notes about South Carolina and Georgia are some of the biggest factors in our slide (starting with Phil). We're just not pulling the same caliber recruits from South Carolina and parts of Georgia especially with South Carolina on the rise and Clemson's revival.
 
#11
#11
i think tennessee will have a few more kids in the 250 when its all said and done. i think gaulden and barnett will both crack the list before its all said and done, and im sure theres more talented kids out there that im forgetting. tennessee has some serious talent this year. lock em down butch!!
 
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#12
#12
We usually get our share of NC & VA talent (Todd Kelly was from VA) there are LOTS of Vol fans in those 2 states, especially Western NC & SW Va. SC & GA have been good to us in the past too. Lock down TN then grab some border state talent. I believe bUTch will!
 
#13
#13
UGA insider said:
It has to be frustrating being a fan of the NC schools. That state has been producing very good talent and just about all of them leave the state.
Click to expand...

Not as bad as the instate school doing very well and missing on most instate guys. Not trying to start an argument but my guess is most UGA fans have to be frustrated to have had one of the best teams in the country last year and only sign 2 of the top 10 players in the state and 4 of the top 20. (247)

2013 Football Top Georgia Recruits

Rivals shows 1 top 10 4 top 20.

I know rankings do not always add up but a lot of talent left the state of GA last year.
 
#14
#14
TideWarrior said:
Not as bad as the instate school doing very well and missing on most instate guys. Not trying to start an argument but my guess is most UGA fans have to be frustrated to have had one of the best teams in the country last year and only sign 2 of the top 10 players in the state and 4 of the top 20. (247)

2013 Football Top Georgia Recruits

Rivals shows 1 top 10 4 top 20.

I know rankings do not always add up but a lot of talent left the state of GA last year.
Click to expand...


The state of Georgia is interesting though. There is good and bad for UGA. The good is that they have so much to choose from, and they barely have to go outside the state for anyone. On that list, 10-50 are probably mostly interchangeable. The 50th best recruit in Georgia is still better than the 10th in most other states.

The bad is that Atlanta has a melting pot of people, and the older generations aren't from there. Also, Tennessee has some influence in North Georgia. My brother used to live up off 85, and that is only a couple of hours from Clemson. Columbus, a hotbed for talent, is basically in Alabama. South Georgia, which is several hours from Atlanta, is practically Seminole country. Just alot of diversity when you are talking about "Georgia talent."
 
#15
#15
Being a Virginian my position is somewhat skewed, but I've always felt that this state has the potential to be a goldmine for Tennessee. Between Richmond, Northern Virginia, and Hampton Roads there is a ton of talent and UT is the closest SEC school by a long shot (Kentucky doesn't count). The farthest any part of VA is from Knoxville is about 9 hours driving, which wasn't a deterrent for me attending the university and I just went for an academic program. SEC football has to present an even bigger lure.
 
#16
#16
Ertel said:
I was looking at the Rivals 250 last night and was shocked to see a few states right next to us who are unusually loaded with talent. Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia (im including d.c in virginia) have a combined 36 top 250 players. including 19 in the top 100. Thats an absolute ton of talent in our own state and right next door. Now we all know georgia is right next door and also has a ton of talent but i think these states, along with our legacy class will be a huge part of what could be an amazing class for us. correct me if im wrong but wasnt jay graham handling the east coast area? who has taken his place this year? cause they definitely have their work cut out for them and really need to be on their A game. theres such an abundance of quality talent over there.

heres the breakdown

VA- 9 top 250 players (11 if you include DC)
NC- 11
SC-8
TN-6

we need to win some battles this year in these crucial states, especially locking down our own borders. the talent at the top this year in tennessee is as good as i can remember with 4 top 75 players right in our own backyard.

heres a link of the rivals 250 so you can see all these great players within striking distance...

Yahoo Sports: Rivals.com Ranking - Rivals.com Rivals250 2014
Click to expand...

That's what we used to do in our glory days. Time to get them back.
GO VOLS!
 
#17
#17
TideWarrior said:
Not as bad as the instate school doing very well and missing on most instate guys. Not trying to start an argument but my guess is most UGA fans have to be frustrated to have had one of the best teams in the country last year and only sign 2 of the top 10 players in the state and 4 of the top 20. (247)

2013 Football Top Georgia Recruits

Rivals shows 1 top 10 4 top 20.

I know rankings do not always add up but a lot of talent left the state of GA last year.
Click to expand...

You bring that up every chance you get. Does UGA have this problem every year?
 
#19
#19
UGA insider said:
You bring that up every chance you get. Does UGA have this problem every year?
Click to expand...

A little touchy are you not. Sometimes people just want to discuss things. Did not realize you were so sensitive and please feel free to quote the last time I said anything about UGA not getting GA players. It is not like UA had great success in GA this past year. UA got what 2 out of the top 50. Usually we do a lot better. For the most part prior to this year even the few top tier players that left, UGA came out very well.

You made a comment I responded. If you do not want a response do not post. Not hard and for your tone I believe it has been you lately everytime myself or RM to post that quickly has some useless response.:hi:
 
#20
#20
TideWarrior said:
A little touchy are you not. Sometimes people just want to discuss things. Did not realize you were so sensitive and please feel free to quote the last time I said anything about UGA not getting GA players. It is not like UA had great success in GA this past year. UA got what 2 out of the top 50. Usually we do a lot better. For the most part prior to this year even the few top tier players that left, UGA came out very well.

You made a comment I responded. If you do not want a response do not post. Not hard and for your tone I believe it has been you lately everytime myself or RM to post that quickly has some useless response.:hi:
Click to expand...
Try to stay on topic Mr. Bandwagon Bama fan. Not sensitive at all, more like annoyed by the constant BS you post. You have been on a roll lately.

I posted about NC putting out some very good talent lately, that is a fact. I also posted about how just about all of them leave the state, that too is a fact.

You posted about UGA's performance in the state of GA and now you are backtracking. You also, for some reason, brought up Saban's performance in this state. Both of which have absolutely nothing to do with my original post.

I must have struck a nerve with the NC comment. If you really are a NC fan then stand up and be proud of it instead of jumping on the Bama bandwagon to make yourself feel better. I bet you were probably a big Tebow or Reggie Bush fan before you remembered about your encounter with the Bear.
 
#21
#21
UGA insider said:
Try to stay on topic Mr. Bandwagon Bama fan. Not sensitive at all, more like annoyed by the constant BS you post. You have been on a roll lately.

I posted about NC putting out some very good talent lately, that is a fact. I also posted about how just about all of them leave the state, that too is a fact.

You posted about UGA's performance in the state of GA and now you are backtracking. You also, for some reason, brought up Saban's performance in this state. Both of which have absolutely nothing to do with my original post.

I must have struck a nerve with the NC comment. If you really are a NC fan then stand up and be proud of it instead of jumping on the Bama bandwagon to make yourself feel better. I bet you were probably a big Tebow or Reggie Bush fan before you remembered about your encounter with the Bear.
Click to expand...


You guys bringing it this morning. I like to argue and debate with both of you ... so I am torn.
 
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