'24 FL CB Cai Bates (FSU Commit)

[Ratvol]

Hair past a freckle.

Eastern Elbow time

Go VOLS

 

[sjt18]

Also, saying we’re too 10 nationally sounds good but in reality that’s still like 6-7th in the SEC.

In "reality", even by the numbers used by the recruiting sites the Vol's current class is well within the margin of error.

247 shows UGA at #1 with a 93.62 average recruit score. UT is 10th with a 91.25 average score. That's just a tad over 2% difference. They don't have to overrate or underrate too many players to nullify that difference.

I'm not one who swallows these subjective rankings like you and others. Still, the best way to use them is to look at the average score or average stars on Rivals. If you rank the teams on that basis using 247's numbers then UT is 8th and .57 behind USC ranked 4th. Predictably, UGA, Bama, and OSU are 1-3 with average scores over 93. The legitimate question there is how much of a bump their commits get simply for being targeted by the current top 3 programs.

On3 is very similar with UT at #7 .34 points behind UF at #4.

IMHO, a lot of people are sleeping on Carson Gentle. He's athletic. As a wrestler, he has above average flexibility. He is tenacious.

UT is recruiting well enough RIGHT NOW to compete with anyone going forward. They need to string some classes together... but they're "close enough" with regard to recruiting site scoring. Only two of UT's commits, Gentle and Perry are not rated 4* by one of the 4 sources. So is that a matter of those giving 4* being wrong or those who didn't give them not carefully evaluating?


The sky is not falling. Calm down.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

Also, saying we’re too 10 nationally sounds good but in reality that’s still like 6-7th in the SEC.

Long way to signing day(s).

End results are less definitive without Portal results included.

Draft day shows a great margin of error with the number of 3’s that pass 4’s.

The upper reaches of 5’s and upper 4’s (highest ranked) kids have higher probability of accuracy. The nature of no-brainers. The variability of the rest by the services takes a lot of steam out of the rest. Using average helps. But giving 25% more value to the lowest ranked 4 over the highest ranked 3 star in calculations is what it is.

Aberrations are everywhere. I am hoping one of my favs Bishop gets enough reps to prove he was not the 1380th best player signed last year.

Can get an idea of realities in fall camp but a couple of years or more for the real analysis. For us and everyone.

 

[sjt18]

The difference is marginal outside the top 3 even then it’s still not the end all be all this is a championship level class no matter what the “rankings” say.

Supporting your point. People "buy the label" all the time. You can get the same item made on the same line in the same factory... one with a name brand and another with the store brand. Same product but one will be subjectively "rated" better than the other... just because of the name.

The exact same thing happens with recruit rankings. UGA, Bama, and OSU are part of a top "group" with average ratings over 92 on Rivals. The number 4 group heads another tier with a 90.74 average recruit score. Michigan is #10 in that tier at 90.03. That tier includes: UF, USCw, TAM, UT, Clemson, OU, and Michigan. The difference between the top 3 and any team in that group could easily be the name brand bias. It is well close enough for coaching and development to make up the difference.

 

[bigl3327]

I think this staff has a very concrete, defined player they want to get. It fits inside a box. Sometimes you have to look outside the box.

Botch was the anti-Huep. He offered everyone, based on analytics and perceived rankings. To me, his evals were off. Jermy trusted his evals too much, which were usually off.

Huep and company do a great job with evals. Tthe criticism Ive heard is that their board isnt big enough. We arent GA, Bama, or even Flarduh or Clemsuck, yet.

I do think thereve been more tossups this yeae than in the past. I also think our overall averages are up.

There needs to be a mesh point, a happy balance between taking guys. You do need to have depth, and we still dont have that. You cannot rely on the portal for all that, and when you lose what we're losing on OL/DL there is a cause for concern.

But you nor I have any control over it. So? Trust these guys to close strong.

Right now they stay within the box because the margin for error is so minimal. Establishing the right culture was priority #1 when they got here. Maintaining that culture while navigating reduced scholarship numbers is tricky. That's why they're very picky. A high 3*-low4* kid that stays 5 years benefits your program more than a 5* that disrupts the locker room and hits the portal for a bigger bag after one season. It's a calculated risk, but program stability is vital in building this thing. I definitely get what you're saying about numbers at certain positions though.

 

[RiseToTheTop]

With a 12 team playoff I think we are gonna be just fine recruiting in that 5-10 range. I mean we have a staff that actually develops players now. That’s going to go a long way and even more so as recruiting keeps getting better to go along with the player development.

As we keep winning the better it will get. Really no reason to freak out. We cant start recruiting like UGA and Bama overnight.

 

[Revived2002]

Also, saying we’re too 10 nationally sounds good but in reality that’s still like 6-7th in the SEC.

I’m never sure the point of posts like this. Even if this is true, it’s still the best, most consistent recruiting we’ve had in at least a decade. And it is probably about as good as Tennessee can do right now, given our recent history.

I personally never expect Tennessee to recruit at the Alabama or Georgia level. I do not think I will ever see that in my lifetime. I think there is a ceiling to how well Tennessee can recruit, unless Nashville truly becomes Atlanta.

With that said, I think you can still win a national title at Tennessee by simply getting in the top 10 consistently. If you’ve got a great coach and a great QB to combine with a super-talented (albeit not historically elite) roster, you can win.

I think we have those pieces coming into place and I’m excited to watch.

 

[NighthawkVol]

I personally never expect Tennessee to recruit at the Alabama or Georgia level. I do not think I will ever see that in my lifetime. I think there is a ceiling to how well Tennessee can recruit, unless Nashville truly becomes Atlanta.

That's ridiculous. Tennessee has been a recruiting juggernaut in the past and can be again.

 

[Jackcrevol]

Right now they stay within the box because the margin for error is so minimal. Establishing the right culture was priority #1 when they got here. Maintaining that culture while navigating reduced scholarship numbers is tricky. That's why they're very picky. A high 3*-low4* kid that stays 5 years benefits your program more than a 5* that disrupts the locker room and hits the portal for a bigger bag after one season. It's a calculated risk, but program stability is vital in building this thing. I definitely get what you're saying about numbers at certain positions though.

What you're saying makes a ton of cents. But sooner or later you gotta build depth, and good depth.

Beat the dog **** out of Florida and Bama again and that happens.

 

[BisonVol]

Some of y’all are exhausting and purposefully miserable.

Some of our fans have subconsciously became comfortable and perhaps even happy with having bad coaches to fire and many losses to complain about. Now with Heup having done a great job thus far, they have to grasp at straws to find something to be mad about so as not to leave their comfort zone.

We probably aren’t going to land a top 5 class like we might have hoped. We missed on a couple of guys we thought we were going to land. That’s the nature of the beast unless you’re Bama, Georgia, or Ohio State. Still, we’re absolutely getting our fair share of great talent. Now with a coaching staff that has shown that it can get the most out of its players, there is far more reason for excitement and optimism than there is for the woe is me attitude some are exhibiting.

 

[BisonVol]

That's ridiculous. Tennessee has been a recruiting juggernaut in the past and can be again.

Tennessee certainly can be a perennial powerhouse in recruiting. We weren’t going to out recruit the likes of Georgia and Alabama this cycle, though. We’re selling one good season while Kirby and Saban are rolling into living rooms with multiple national championship rings. We’re another really good season or two from truly being able to truly go toe to toe with those schools in recruiting.

 

[Abvolsfan92]

If Florida can recruit in the top 3 after back to back 6-7 seasons there is no reason we can't

 

[BowlBrother85]

I’m never sure the point of posts like this. Even if this is true, it’s still the best, most consistent recruiting we’ve had in at least a decade. And it is probably about as good as Tennessee can do right now, given our recent history.

I personally never expect Tennessee to recruit at the Alabama or Georgia level. I do not think I will ever see that in my lifetime. I think there is a ceiling to how well Tennessee can recruit, unless Nashville truly becomes Atlanta.

With that said, I think you can still win a national title at Tennessee by simply getting in the top 10 consistently. If you’ve got a great coach and a great QB to combine with a super-talented (albeit not historically elite) roster, you can win.

I think we have those pieces coming into place and I’m excited to watch.

Until recently, Heupel has been recruiting under an NCAA cloud, with opposing coaches telling our mutual recruits that we were going to receive bowl bans and over 30 scholarship losses ... and Heupel is still putting a top ten class together.

Also, every indication that we have right now is that Spyre Sports and Tennessee have and will continue to be big players when it comes to NIL. Tennessee football has no limitations.

 

[SSVol]

What you're saying makes a ton of cents. But sooner or later you gotta build depth, and good depth.

Beat the dog **** out of Florida and Bama again and that happens.

I think that's actually the point. It's easier to build depth with 5 year players than with 3 year players, particularly when the 3 year guys are prone to bolt to the first program that offers them more money.

 

[KptVFL]

If Florida can recruit in the top 3 after back to back 6-7 seasons there is no reason we can't

 

[knoxvol52]

If Florida can recruit in the top 3 after back to back 6-7 seasons there is no reason we can't

And they call you a troll how dare them degrade such a knowledgeable individual

 

[BisonVol]

If Florida can recruit in the top 3 after back to back 6-7 seasons there is no reason we can't

We’ll see how that class hangs together when Napier is getting it handed to him on a silver platter game after game this season. That Florida team has train wreck written all over it.

 

[titansvolsfaninga]

If Florida can recruit in the top 3 after back to back 6-7 seasons there is no reason we can't

Florida is a talent rich state. Kids that grow up in Florida want to play for Miami, Florida or FSU. They can get a top 10 class just by recruiting FL kids.

 

[volbeast33]

If Florida can recruit in the top 3 after back to back 6-7 seasons there is no reason we can't

Id bet money that we will still be beating them and if we reranked the class four yrs later…. Ours would be ranked higher.

 

[BowlBrother85]

If Florida can recruit in the top 3 after back to back 6-7 seasons there is no reason we can't

I know what the player averages and rankings say, but I don't think I would trade our class for theirs, given that choice.

 

[LouderVol]

I think this staff has a very concrete, defined player they want to get. It fits inside a box. Sometimes you have to look outside the box.

Botch was the anti-Huep. He offered everyone, based on analytics and perceived rankings. To me, his evals were off. Jermy trusted his evals too much, which were usually off.

Huep and company do a great job with evals. Tthe criticism Ive heard is that their board isnt big enough. We arent GA, Bama, or even Flarduh or Clemsuck, yet.

I do think thereve been more tossups this yeae than in the past. I also think our overall averages are up.

There needs to be a mesh point, a happy balance between taking guys. You do need to have depth, and we still dont have that. You cannot rely on the portal for all that, and when you lose what we're losing on OL/DL there is a cause for concern.

But you nor I have any control over it. So? Trust these guys to close strong.

This goes hand in hand imo.

We are trying to get better recruits. More schools want better recruits. Thus we aren't going to get as many of the guys we are in vs how we used to recruit with Butch against NC St for some 4 star none of the big programs would sniff.

Its just the nature of the beast to have fewer successes. Thankfully this staff doesn't have the Pruitt mindset of only recruit your #1 and #2 guy, so that when we don't get a guy we aren't scrambling for some 3* against GT. Its not like we are having to turn to a bunch of scrubs to fill our class, because our average ranking is higher than its been.

so the fact that we are recruiting against the best teams, and maintaining our best average ranking is a good sign. People want to get upset that we aren't perfect, but refuse to admit that no one is. And when you question them on it, they want us to at least be better, but they also can't define that. They want us to be like UGA but can't define what that means, they don't know how many guys UGA hasn't got, never acknowledge it when they miss, or have one flip away.

 

[aRmo]

In "reality", even by the numbers used by the recruiting sites the Vol's current class is well within the margin of error.

247 shows UGA at #1 with a 93.62 average recruit score. UT is 10th with a 91.25 average score. That's just a tad over 2% difference. They don't have to overrate or underrate too many players to nullify that difference.

I'm not one who swallows these subjective rankings like you and others. Still, the best way to use them is to look at the average score or average stars on Rivals. If you rank the teams on that basis using 247's numbers then UT is 8th and .57 behind USC ranked 4th. Predictably, UGA, Bama, and OSU are 1-3 with average scores over 93. The legitimate question there is how much of a bump their commits get simply for being targeted by the current top 3 programs.

On3 is very similar with UT at #7 .34 points behind UF at #4.

IMHO, a lot of people are sleeping on Carson Gentle. He's athletic. As a wrestler, he has above average flexibility. He is tenacious.

UT is recruiting well enough RIGHT NOW to compete with anyone going forward. They need to string some classes together... but they're "close enough" with regard to recruiting site scoring. Only two of UT's commits, Gentle and Perry are not rated 4* by one of the 4 sources. So is that a matter of those giving 4* being wrong or those who didn't give them not carefully evaluating?


The sky is not falling. Calm down.

This is an excellent way to look at it. Thanks man!

 

[bigl3327]

What you're saying makes a ton of cents. But sooner or later you gotta build depth, and good depth.

Beat the dog **** out of Florida and Bama again and that happens.

We're building quality depth everywhere currently, with the exception of OT and DT. I know that is concerning, considering the SEC is about the trenches. But.... if you have to use the portal for those positions until recruiting picks up, then it is what it is. You're not having to hit the portal for half of your roster.

 

[LouderVol]

What you're saying makes a ton of cents. But sooner or later you gotta build depth, and good depth.

Beat the dog **** out of Florida and Bama again and that happens.

we are. Even if we end up at #10 again, that will considerably raise our average.

Our team average talent is #19, so #10 is a big step up. that is closing ground. Even a number 1 class doesn't make us UGA.

 

[KingVFL]

I think this will be long forgotten by end of week or worst case next