Owning the State
From 2000 to 2007, the University
of Alabama was nowhere near the perennial football power they are today. During
that span of eight years, they managed a mediocre total of 53-46. In the seven
years since, they have rolled over their competition en route to an overall
record of 84-11. This drastic turnaround was led large in part by Alabama’s
2008 recruiting class, which ranked number 1 according to Rivals.com. This
class of 32 members was led by a whopping 20 players from the state of Alabama,
including 15 of the top 20 prospects. In order to get back to the top, Alabama
had to reclaim their state.
These circumstances seem eerily
familiar to what has occurred in Knoxville in recent years. During the six year
period ranging from 2008 to 2013, UT managed an abysmal record of 33-41.
Despite their on-field performance, Butch Jones was able to reel in a class similar
to the program changing class Alabama brought in during 2008. This 2014 class
ranked 5th by Rivals entailed of 9 of the top 11 players from the
Volunteer state, including 10 total. The Volunteers now hope they see the
turnaround Alabama experienced following a program-changing class.
Now that we understand the
importance of owning the state, let’s look at some specific regions in
Tennessee, dating back to 2010 (Derek Dooley’s first year as head coach.)
Memphis
It’s common knowledge that Memphis
hasn’t always been kind to Tennessee on the recruiting trail. During Dooley’s
tenure at UT, he only managed to sign one Rivals 5.7 or higher rated prospect. That
prospect was Cameron Clear, and we all know how that turned out. Butch Jones,
however managed to snag 3 of these recruits in his first 2 years and around a
month. One of these 3 was arguably the most essential get for Tennessee in
their 2015 class, as 5 star offensive tackle Drew Richmond filled the gaping
hole on the offensive line and kept the state all the more Orange. These charts
shows all of the Rivals 5.7 or higher prospects from 2010-2015, and the schools
that obtained the most signatures.
Mid State
The Mid State area of Tennessee has
been much kinder to the Vols than has Memphis. Butch Jones has essentially
dominated this region over the past two years, when he signed a total of 14
players from the area. This group of players also featured 10 of the top 19
players out of the region over the past two years. From the years 2010 to 2013,
when Derek Dooley was largely responsible for recruiting efforts, the Vols only
managed to get 2 of the 8 Rivals 5.7 or higher rated prospects. Jones was also
able to establish pipelines in multiple schools as he took multiple prospects
from schools such as Hillsboro, Oakland, Independence, and Beech. This not only
is a testament to Butch Jones and his staff for their recruiting efforts, but
it also shows the recent growth of talent in the Mid State.
Local
The
Knoxville area doesn’t produce the top-tier talent that the Memphis and
Nashville regions do, but UT doesn’t let them leave the area when talented
prospects do come around. Since 2010, there have only been 2 local prospects
that have rated a 5.7 or higher (Todd Kelly Jr. and Kyler Kerbyson), and they
have both ended up in the Big Orange. Here is a look at the amount of recruits from
the Knoxville area that have signed to UT in recent years:
Talent in Tennessee
There
is no question that in recent years the talent level in Tennessee has increased
dramatically, and Butch Jones has certainly taken advantage of that. Now,
instead of having to invade rival states for recruits (which Butch is still
doing) he is able to reap the products of the growing investment in Tennessee
high school football. The Vols are hoping that the increase in talent at the
high school level will lead to an increase in talent at the college level in
Tennessee. During the 2014 football season, the freshmen from the state of
Tennessee alone combined for 115 appearances and 56 starts. Those numbers are
off the charts and this all relates back to the level of high school talent in
Tennessee.
