GoodlettsvilleVol
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- Oct 19, 2020
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It is my strong opinion we have been falling short in our recruiting classes for some time now. This baffles me since, with our nice facilities, we should be having consistent top 5/10 recruit groups.
We were doing quite well in Fulmer's first years. Phil was a recruiting machine. Put him in a recruits living room with mom, dad, uncle's, etc. and the man would shine. He got more than his share of top recruits then the bottom fell out. What happenned?
I've heard more than a few posters say Phil got lazy but not one of those knows that for a fact. They're just looking for someone to blame.
Anyway, here is my theory for the downturn:
Historically Vols have made a living cherry picking top players from, among others, the eight states that abut our borders. We've all but owned the Carolinas. Georgia, Ohio, Mississippi and the like. And we could go into Alabama, Louisiana, Florida and others with great success.
What changed? As a group those state's colleges have improved their own football programs giving their star recruits more reason to stay instate. Hence, it's more difficult to harvest their prime players.
To me Fulmer didn't get lazy. He put forth the same effort he always did. This trend began to occur during his tenure and effected him.
Now, I am certainly not saying that group of programs in those state's became stellar but collectively they got better which appealed to their recruits.
The record shows that recruiting for UT has dropped and has been a challenge ever since.
It bothers me that we can't recruit with the Alabama's, Georgia's, and the Ohio State's.
JMHO
I've heard more Fulmer haters snivelling about him. I refuse to be a part of that crowd.
No way is he lazy. No way is he stupid.
One of the worst aspects of this crowd is the deep need to blame so quickly.
This is one of the primary reasons why so many top coaches refuse a job with us.
We are our own worst enemy.
We were doing quite well in Fulmer's first years. Phil was a recruiting machine. Put him in a recruits living room with mom, dad, uncle's, etc. and the man would shine. He got more than his share of top recruits then the bottom fell out. What happenned?
I've heard more than a few posters say Phil got lazy but not one of those knows that for a fact. They're just looking for someone to blame.
Anyway, here is my theory for the downturn:
Historically Vols have made a living cherry picking top players from, among others, the eight states that abut our borders. We've all but owned the Carolinas. Georgia, Ohio, Mississippi and the like. And we could go into Alabama, Louisiana, Florida and others with great success.
What changed? As a group those state's colleges have improved their own football programs giving their star recruits more reason to stay instate. Hence, it's more difficult to harvest their prime players.
To me Fulmer didn't get lazy. He put forth the same effort he always did. This trend began to occur during his tenure and effected him.
Now, I am certainly not saying that group of programs in those state's became stellar but collectively they got better which appealed to their recruits.
The record shows that recruiting for UT has dropped and has been a challenge ever since.
It bothers me that we can't recruit with the Alabama's, Georgia's, and the Ohio State's.
JMHO
I've heard more Fulmer haters snivelling about him. I refuse to be a part of that crowd.
No way is he lazy. No way is he stupid.
One of the worst aspects of this crowd is the deep need to blame so quickly.
This is one of the primary reasons why so many top coaches refuse a job with us.
We are our own worst enemy.
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