Recruiting is Going Just Fine -- Here's Why

[sameolvol]

Kongbo is going to be a hard hold for 2 months

Nnnnnnot really. Let's consider the selling point of Jancek's current DE's development and the NFL potential of UT's DEs. Those players currently leaving appear to be following the pattern of those last two group of early decommits. They were asked to leave and Butch did so in a manner that didn't diminish their stock. Let's see...after the bowl game...how the participation of the K-Macs, et al, contributes to snagging and keeping some of those players with awesome potential. Nah. Kongbo's staying.

 

[overseasorange2]

If you didn't read/hear the Bob Welton interview, it tells you all you need to know. They are at a point where they can take "projects" with tremendous upside but can redshirt and develop a skill set and show out after some seasoning. UT doesn't get Bama offer * bumps, but this staff has proven they have a good eye and can develop raw talent.

I rewatched the Bama game last night, and we gave them all they could handle. We might not be quite there yet, but we are pretty damn close. :rock:Their fans looked very concerned in the 4th quarter.

 

[highspeed]

On 247's composite rankings we currently have an average star rating of 89.00. That's good for 11th in the country (6th in average ranking on Rivals) and pretty much in line with what we've done the last couple of years. IMO it's only going up from here. I still maintain that we will finish strong.

Here is why:

We seem to be in pretty good shape (by that I mean that I think we have a 40% chance or better) with the following:

5* DT D. Brown (maybe the biggest reach on here, but I can't help liking where we are with the final visit)
4/5* S N. Warrior
4* ATH M. Calloway
4* OL L. Dickerson

I think we have a pretty good shot of landing at least 3 of those listed above and wouldn't be shocked to see us land all 4.

We're also still in the mix for:

5* WR M. Hardman
4* WR D. Corley
4* CB L. Hill
4* LB J. Laguins
4* WR A. Richards (haven't heard much about him but 247 says he's visiting us the last weekend in Jan)
4* DT T. Clark
4* DE J. Simmons

I think we pull 1-3 of these.

There are also quite a few solid 3* prospects (No, Nationdom, that's not an oxymoron) we're in on, including a couple who look like locks if we want them. I'm not a hardcore stargazer, but that looks like a pretty good list to me. If we finish with a handful of the guys listed above and add a couple of those 3* guys to fill in the gaps, we'll be in good shape. Everything I've seen from Butch Jones in recruiting so far leads me to believe he can make that happen.