I haven’t taken a deep dive into any other schools, but when I see a social media reaction or published report of deals for other schools and their players, I’m just reminded that I don’t see them from Tennessee.
I also can’t think of a single 2022 recruit committed to any of the three aforementioned schools that Tennessee seriously recruited and missed out on. So, maybe those three schools are doing a poor job, too, though each one of them are currently ranked comfortably ahead of Tennessee in the recruiting rankings (not an exact science).
And while I agree that it is too early to panic on 2023, a lot of our supposed top targets are falling away early. At what point is it safe to sound the alarm? I have full trust in Barnes, but recruiting is a different animal, now. Will he demand more cooperation and groundwork by the administration? Will he adjust to the new landscape, and what it takes to woo a large portion of these kids, or does he try to make the old way continue to work until it cripples his team on the floor with a major talent drop-off before he loses interest and retires? I think those are fair questions.