Probably a "tl;dr" but...
As frustrated and disappointed as I am today, I think it has to be put into perspective. Maybe I am trying to convince myself. But I had a conversation with a few buddies who are fans of other SEC schools and the one common theme was that they were surprised how solid Tennessee's class is, all things considered.
Pruitt inherited a program that was coming off of their worst season in program history including their worst home loss ever. He inherited a recruiting class ranked in the mid-60's with almost no talent. He is also learning how to recruit as a HC which is massively different than an assistant where he could visit a kid weekly. Not to mention he was playing dual-role for all over December.
He made a few mistakes in the timing of when to see kids but the talent he got on campus, considering the state of our program, is amazing. Sure, some kids used us for a free trip (i.e. Coynis Miller, Nesta Silvera) but most of these kids had legit interest in Tennessee. While coming bridesmaid to other schools counts for absolutely nothing, at one point we appeared to be the leader for kids who were being chased by every major program in the country. We still have some talent in this class and may land Copeland or ITS (wishful thinking, I fear).
However, with the in-state talent in the 2019 and 2020 classes, that will be Pruitt's chance. We have to win on the field before people take us seriously. What he did in a short time was solid. Let's see what this staff can do with 365 days to recruit, develop relationships and, hopefully, show recruits the program is on the rise. We are certainly in a better spot than when this staff took over in December.
As frustrated and disappointed as I am today, I think it has to be put into perspective. Maybe I am trying to convince myself. But I had a conversation with a few buddies who are fans of other SEC schools and the one common theme was that they were surprised how solid Tennessee's class is, all things considered.
Pruitt inherited a program that was coming off of their worst season in program history including their worst home loss ever. He inherited a recruiting class ranked in the mid-60's with almost no talent. He is also learning how to recruit as a HC which is massively different than an assistant where he could visit a kid weekly. Not to mention he was playing dual-role for all over December.
He made a few mistakes in the timing of when to see kids but the talent he got on campus, considering the state of our program, is amazing. Sure, some kids used us for a free trip (i.e. Coynis Miller, Nesta Silvera) but most of these kids had legit interest in Tennessee. While coming bridesmaid to other schools counts for absolutely nothing, at one point we appeared to be the leader for kids who were being chased by every major program in the country. We still have some talent in this class and may land Copeland or ITS (wishful thinking, I fear).
However, with the in-state talent in the 2019 and 2020 classes, that will be Pruitt's chance. We have to win on the field before people take us seriously. What he did in a short time was solid. Let's see what this staff can do with 365 days to recruit, develop relationships and, hopefully, show recruits the program is on the rise. We are certainly in a better spot than when this staff took over in December.
