I went back and looked at the past 7 years of Recruiting Rankings and some schools that we play every year are in the top 10 no matter who the Coach is or what their record ends up being. We do not have this luxury in Knoxville although the Mid-State Region is picking up. The one surprise to me was Auburn has been in the top 10 every year.
Alabama and Auburn made the top 10 each year
USC, LSU, Ohio State, FSU, UGA and UF were in the top 10 every year but one.
It does not matter who is coaching at Alabama, Auburn, LSU, UGA or UF or what their record is due to they have so much talent in these states they are always in the top 10. We do not have this luxury and I believe other HC realize this. Does it mean we cannot win, of course not? Is it an excuse for our past 10 years, absolutely no!
However, if we finish 15th in rankings and this is 6th in the SEC we need to realize Alabama, Auburn, LSU, UGA and UF are probably ahead of us and this will not change since they can roll out of bed and have a top 10 class with players in a 120 mile radius. I consistently hear the, "we made no progress on this school or look at their rankings" which you can say every year since based on these stats they are ALWAYS in the top 10 and 75% of this is in state talent/star rankings.
What I believe will help is when we continue winning like the past 2 years then hopefully the kids in the 7th and 8th grade will pull for UT, young people like winners, so when they are Juniors and Seniors we see the same loyalty some of the other schools see which makes in state recruiting easier.
Alabama and Auburn made the top 10 each year
USC, LSU, Ohio State, FSU, UGA and UF were in the top 10 every year but one.
It does not matter who is coaching at Alabama, Auburn, LSU, UGA or UF or what their record is due to they have so much talent in these states they are always in the top 10. We do not have this luxury and I believe other HC realize this. Does it mean we cannot win, of course not? Is it an excuse for our past 10 years, absolutely no!
However, if we finish 15th in rankings and this is 6th in the SEC we need to realize Alabama, Auburn, LSU, UGA and UF are probably ahead of us and this will not change since they can roll out of bed and have a top 10 class with players in a 120 mile radius. I consistently hear the, "we made no progress on this school or look at their rankings" which you can say every year since based on these stats they are ALWAYS in the top 10 and 75% of this is in state talent/star rankings.
What I believe will help is when we continue winning like the past 2 years then hopefully the kids in the 7th and 8th grade will pull for UT, young people like winners, so when they are Juniors and Seniors we see the same loyalty some of the other schools see which makes in state recruiting easier.
