Sorry, but so far Heupel can't recruit worth a damn. We need more players on defense!
Ok....I don't know if this has been explained to you or not... Here it goes.....
Due to the recently closed internal investigation, the first year of this staff, the fact of Tennessee abysmal overall outlook and results on average for a decade. Recruiting isn't great.
Let's break this down further.
Investigation=very negative recruiting by opposition.
Investigation=unknown outlook by prospective athletes.
Investigation/first year staff=there have been unknown/unannounced recruiting restrictions on the staff. These include amount of calls, hours spent, number of off campus staff visits reductions. These were done quietly and to prepay the punishment to the NCAA during this year when this staff has the worst chance of a good class vs future years when on the field success and relationships with juniors and underclassmen can be nurtured and brought to fruition.
Tennessee status=recruits don't see us as you do, they see us as Mississippi state, Kansas, Nebraska, a wannabe.
Huepel will change all of this, he'll get more recruiting success with restrictions being lifted, further success and proof of concept, building relationships with future recruits, and most importantly, seeing a ranking next to Tennessee's name when they show it on the TV.