A Recruiting Guide to Not so Far Off Places

 

There are nine states in which the twelve SEC schools reside. This recruiting data highlights which states SEC schools are finding their talent from. It is a snapshot taken from November 10, 2009 for the 2010 class. With 85 days remaining until National Signing Day, these numbers will be amended.

But it provides some insight into this year cache of SEC caliber talent. One number that jumps out immediately is the amount of talent in the state of Georgia. Of the 173 conference state commitments right now, Georgia has 50. That represents 28% of SEC commits within the nine conference states.

Out of 217 verbal commitments to SEC teams, 80% are within conference states. Some schools, such as Georgia and Mississippi State have 100% of their incoming talent from the CS.

Arkansas is the only SEC school to have over half of their commits outside the SEC ‘region’ at 43%.  Between Tennessee and Vanderbilt’s 43 commitments, one (1) is from within the state.

While some of the numbers follow population demographics, there are some surprises. Georgia with 50 high school players committed throughout the SEC has half the population of Florida who has 36 at this point.

The state of Alabama with roughly 25% less population than Tennessee has over four times the number of player’s committed.

The states of Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi lead the way in number of commits. Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana, and South Carolina have the lowest instate commits going to SEC schools. These five states combined do not equal the number of commits to SEC schools  from Georgia alone.

It’s understandable why Lane Kiffin pointed to Georgia as a must win to reap the benefits of talent not that far away. One of the hotbeds of Georgia high school football is the Atlanta Metro area which is a little over 200 miles from Knoxville.

When Coach Kiffin talked about building a fence, he meant it. There are good players in the state of Tennessee who sign with FBS schools. However, with Tennessee in the mix for the best of the best players in the country, the numbers will not be a high percentage.

Last year Tennessee took six in state players, this year may be half that. They have lined up the number one player in the state, Jacques Smith from Ooltewah. Going forward, Tennessee would like nothing better than to see a bigger influx of homegrown talent.

Ultimately, the Tennessee coaching staff has committed themselves to bringing in the best players out there to help bring a national championship back to Knoxville.

The southeast is THE hotbed region of the country for football talent. In the current ESPN 150 that rates the top 150 prospect, 46% are from conference states of the SEC.

With the likes of Florida, Alabama, and LSU vying for that talent we can be assured it will be an exciting ride. Even as the Vols staff works their recruiting craft in California, Texas, and elsewhere, the results promise to be excellent in not so far off places.