Reason why recruiting is down a bit compared to previous 2 classes

[Magic8Vol]

Two Words

Playing Time

Big time recruits want to play early. Unless ur a 5* RB commit to bammer, most high 4 & 5 star kids wont wait more than a year for PT. Its not that recruiting is down, its that taking early commits have slowed down because TN is more selective in who we offer that PT. We have slowed down our approach thus fewer early commits.Top 10 by February.

 

[HoptownVol]

Wasnt KY Jelly in the Top 10 last July?

I ain't worried about it. I think momentum has slowed to a degree because of negative recruiting, i.e "They haven't proven it on the field." And
I also think Butch is being more deliberate with evaluations and has probably put some commits on hold because of numbers.

 

[thetennlegend]

The only reason is because ummm it's july??? Alot of these kids are just getting around to visits and seriously thinking about next year.

 

[sanddune50]

We were ranked in the Top 5....IN JULY...last year. I'll hang up and listen to your attempt to 'splain that one.

I'm just spitballing here, but here we go....Not every year is the same? Less numbers? Need to be more picky due to less numbers?Nothing really matters until a kid signs a LOI? Kids planning official visits are waiting to attend a game? Just a few obvious reasons that any person with common sense should identify.

 

[TGVol]

I'm just spitballing here, but here we go....Not every year is the same? Less numbers? Need to be more picky due to less numbers?Nothing really matters until a kid signs a LOI? Kids planning official visits are waiting to attend a game? Just a few obvious reasons that any person with common sense should identify.

The problem with what you said about numbers (even though it sounds logical) is that our biggest traditional rival somehow seems to get around those issues and ends up #1 almost every year. Our fans will be unhappy if we are not back to beating Bama on more or less regular basis, and to do that we probably can't have even average recruiting years here and there. If we want to compete with them (and most others in SEC) we just about have to be in top 10 all the time, and top 5 more often than not.

 

[sanddune50]

The problem with what you said about numbers (even though it sounds logical) is that our biggest traditional rival somehow seems to get around those issues and ends up #1 almost every year. Our fans will be unhappy if we are not back to beating Bama on more or less regular basis, and to do that we probably can't have even average recruiting years here and there. If we want to compete with them (and most others in SEC) we just about have to be in top 10 all the time, and top 5 more often than not.

There is no problem. You just picked out one of my hypothetical answers and targeted it, instead of noticing that there are multiple reasons why the OP shouldn't jump off a cliff. The main point being that it is currently summer and NSD is on February 2016.

 

[LouderVol]

We're sitting at 18th in rivals right now with only 12 commits...6 4*s, 6 3*s, no 5 stars. I'm thinking that 1 or 2 of our current 3* commits won't eventually sign, leaving us with 8-9 players left to sign. If we're able to sign a couple of 5*s with the remaining signees all 4*s (this is optimistic yet doable given the players we're strongly in on, ie Warrior, Knott, Brown, Emmons, Williams, Davis, Dickerson, etc), we'll have a chance to crack the top 10. Our current avg star rating is higher than 8-9 teams ahead of us in the ranking now, and, iiirc, they'll only look at each team's top 20 players anyway. If we have 18-19 recruits, 12-13 of which are very highly ranked players I think we can crack the top 10.

UCLA from last year disagrees, they were 12 w/ 19 commits
Michigan from 2014 disagrees they were 20th w/ 16 commits.
USC in 2013 had 12 recruits and were ranked 13th. with no 3 star recruits (nationdom be praised)

those were the top ranked classes the last 3 years according to 247 when they had less than 20 players. good classes, yes. great classes no.

ok looking at rivals for those guys.

2015 UCLA was 13th with 19 recruits. which would have been 7th among SEC teams.
2014 USC was 10th with 19 recruits. which would have been 8th among SEC teams
2013 USC was 13th with 12 recruits. which would have been 8th among SEC teams.

recruiting less than 20 leads to a class being outside the top 10, in almost every case. i won't count on us bucking the trend to get a meaningless ranking.

 

[KBVol]

The '16 class is going to be great too.

No idea why people are freaking moaning...

Seriously? Not saying it's right. And I'm certainly not one of the hand wringers. I think we're gonna be all good. But it's as simple as this.....each of the last 2 classes were ranked in the top 5-10 at this point in the year/recruiting cycle. Right now Rivals has us at #18 and 247 has us at #23. Add to that the idea that since we'll bring in a smaller class and all the talk/belief about
Butch being more choosy with who he accepts commitments from....yet half our current commits are "3stars"....IMHO, that's why some are freaking out. Don't have to agree with it (which I don't) to be able to see it.

 

[butchna]

Seriously? Not saying it's right. And I'm certainly not one of the hand wringers. I think we're gonna be all good. But it's as simple as this.....each of the last 2 classes were ranked in the top 5-10 at this point in the year/recruiting cycle. Right now Rivals has us at #18 and 247 has us at #23. Add to that the idea that since we'll bring in a smaller class and all the talk/belief about
Butch being more choosy with who he accepts commitments from....yet half our current commits are "3stars"....IMHO, that's why some are freaking out. Don't have to agree with it (which I don't) to be able to see it.

CURRENTLY 3 stars KB...big chance for bumps all around. And if JG gets a 5th?

 

[KBVol]

CURRENTLY 3 stars KB...big chance for bumps all around. And if JG gets a 5th?

For real Butchy Ol' boy. I'd think Butch would get the benefit of the doubt at this point, but some are just gonna freak no matter what. It's all good. I think some 3s get bumped to 4s, some 3s get replaced by 4s, and we might squeak out a 5 or two what with JG already in the fold. It's all good as long as we win on Saturdays.

 

[TriedAndTrueVOL]

For real Butchy Ol' boy. I'd think Butch would get the benefit of the doubt at this point, but some are just gonna freak no matter what. It's all good. I think some 3s get bumped to 4s, some 3s get replaced by 4s, and we might squeak out a 5 or two what with JG already in the fold. It's all good as long as we win on Saturdays.

+1

 

[LWSVOL]

If we're going after higher quality players because we have limited numbers, then why are we taking the commitments of primarily 3 star/lower rated players to this point? Doesn't make sense.

I expect a lot of changes to the commitment list. We are in on a lot of good players, likely better than several commitments. it will remain dynamic right up to signing day.

I heard from staff just last week that the number they will take is 17. that is what they are working with.

 

[85SugarVol]

I expect a lot of changes to the commitment list. We are in on a lot of good players, likely better than several commitments. it will remain dynamic right up to signing day.

I heard from staff just last week that the number they will take is 17. that is what they are working with.

I think it's definitely likely that some of our committed players do not end up signing.

What are we going to do if Kyle Davis & Mecole Hardman want in? LOL, tell them we're full?

No, if some of these big guns want in, we'll start to see current guys "decide" to look elsewhere.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

 

[RockyTopInBham]

I think it's definitely likely that some of our committed players do not end up signing.

What are we going to do if Kyle Davis & Mecole Hardman want in? LOL, tell them we're full?

No, if some of these big guns want in, we'll start to see current guys "decide" to look elsewhere.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

Yeah man, it's crazy the amount of talent we are in on. Davis, Hardman, Corley, Freddie Swain, Victor, Overton, Mykel Jones, Dillon Mitchell, Ahmir Mitchell, Marquez Callaway, plus our current receivers in Henderson, Marshall, and George (who are nothing to sneeze at). And that's just receivers. Butch has made this an elite destination for top talent, and it's about to show on the field. September can't get here soon enough!

 

[KBVol]

I expect a lot of changes to the commitment list. We are in on a lot of good players, likely better than several commitments. it will remain dynamic right up to signing day.

I heard from staff just last week that the number they will take is 17. that is what they are working with.

Completely agree, which I've articulated in other posts. Was just responding to another poster's logic (or lack thereof) regarding his explanation of why our class stands as it currently does.

Also, thanks for the update on the 17 number. But disappointing. Heard Mathews say last Sunday we might be able to bring in 19, possibly even 20. Oh well, I trust Butch to bring in 17 very talented players to fill needs appropriately.

 

[sjt18]

At this point, I use Rivals rankings then re-sort for average "star" rating. As of yesterday, UT was 3.5 stars on avg which made them around 9th or 10th nationally.

After you build the base Jones has over the last two classes and get down to taking 20 or less then the issue becomes quality over point total.

 

[utvolmaniac]

The answer is: "The stars haven't aligned correctly yet"

 

[RockyTopInBham]

I expect a lot of changes to the commitment list. We are in on a lot of good players, likely better than several commitments. it will remain dynamic right up to signing day.

I heard from staff just last week that the number they will take is 17. that is what they are working with.

After hearing for months that the number would be 18, and it changing only recently to 17 according to the staff, I wonder where that 1 lost came from-

a) Potentially red-shirting V.Pearson since the legal matters may not be done in time for the season?
b) A guy like Colton Jumper earning a scholarship?

 

[LWSVOL]

After hearing for months that the number would be 18, and it changing only recently to 17 according to the staff, I wonder where that 1 lost came from-

a) Potentially red-shirting V.Pearson since the legal matters may not be done in time for the season?
b) A guy like Colton Jumper earning a scholarship?

Pearson would have no impact one way or the other on the numbers.

It could be Jumper. If they put him on scholarship he has to be an initial counter for getting scholarship within the first two years. At this point, they expect him to start at MLB.

 

[OGbabyaviVol]

Pearson would have no impact one way or the other on the numbers.

It could be Jumper. If they put him on scholarship he has to be an initial counter for getting scholarship within the first two years. At this point, they expect him to start at MLB.

😳😳 opcorn:

 

[sanddune50]

Pearson would have no impact one way or the other on the numbers.

It could be Jumper. If they put him on scholarship he has to be an initial counter for getting scholarship within the first two years. At this point, they expect him to start at MLB.

I thought this has already been debunked.

 

[KBVol]

Pearson would have no impact one way or the other on the numbers.

It could be Jumper. If they put him on scholarship he has to be an initial counter for getting scholarship within the first two years. At this point, they expect him to start at MLB.

Whoa! Starting at MLB....over Bates, Bynum, DKJr?? I heard Thig's interview with Doug Mathews last month and he raved about Jumper, but I didn't realize they regarded him quite that highly. Kid must really be a stud.

 

[LWSVOL]

Whoa! Starting at MLB....over Bates, Bynum, DKJr?? I heard Thig's interview with Doug Mathews last month and he raved about Jumper, but I didn't realize they regarded him quite that highly. Kid must really be a stud.

he knows what to do and where to be.. far better than anyone else. when he tackles he gets people down as well.

 

[LWSVOL]

I thought this has already been debunked.

not sure who debunked it for you but what I understand is watch out for him.. to be there..

 

[WallyBalls]

The problem with what you said about numbers (even though it sounds logical) is that our biggest traditional rival somehow seems to get around those issues and ends up #1 almost every year. Our fans will be unhappy if we are not back to beating Bama on more or less regular basis, and to do that we probably can't have even average recruiting years here and there. If we want to compete with them (and most others in SEC) we just about have to be in top 10 all the time, and top 5 more often than not.

Bama isn't exactly getting around those issues. They're in more of a maintenance mode for their roster, while UT was in a complete and total rebuild.

UT took two of the largest classes they could possibly put together in 14 and 15 to build a base, I assume while knowing the 16 class would be a smaller, more selective class before getting back to a more standard number in 2017 and beyond.