Hardy (Tennessee isn't all the way out but it's unlikely) Ratledge Rakim Jarrett Savel Smalls Noah Sewell Rybka Justin Rogers Those are all guys they missed on and those are all elite talents. Sewell going to play with his brother isn't that big, but the others were losses. Tennessee took a Hill as a transfer just to get another in with Jarrett. The staff does pretty well closing on 8 to 10 guys in the last 6 weeks, but they've had some losses on the trail too.
Smalls was also going to be an exceptionally difficult pull from the west coast. Rybka hates the Vols. Rogers has a handler. Ratledge and Jarrett are two we could've closed on, but we're not Georgia and LSU right now. I think this is a longer slog back to relevance and we are a step or two away from being a top choice for some of those guys without some extraordinary situation or having an elite recruiter like Niedermeyer on the case. Butch really [uck fay]ed this program for a good 3-5 years. What a colossal dumbass. Worst coach in Volunteer history, even worse than Wade Houston. My most hated figure in Vol athletics by far.
Rybka had us and UK as his last two choices. Rogers has a handler... so we lost him to UK? Is he going there to play basketball? Ratledge’s family consists of UT fans and we’ve recruited him for two years. That doesn’t seem like some super tall order that only elite programs can handle.
There's times where schools cut bait with recruits. There never were a lot of big time programs going after Rogers after they visited him or he visited them. I'm not tore up over losing Rogers. Rybka said he didn't go to Tennessee because "people pressured him" to go here. It looks like the staff went after the coach and the grandparents, sold them and Rybka said no. That's a miss, but 9 times out of ten that works. Ratledge was a flat out bad job by Tennessee.
Rogers' recruitment reminds me of that one qb prospect Butch wanted that wound up at Ohio State then kicked out of school. He came on a visit, told the staff what he expected then wouldn't leave. Tennessee stopped contacting him after that. Cam Newton's recruitment was another one that was so blatantly bad Kiffin and Orgeron decided not to get involved. Recruits and their families get paid all the time, but there's right and wrong ways to go about it.
Hmm, I wonder what's the common denominator in both those situations? Oh, it's coming to me, just at the tip of my tongue...
Ga kid staying home to play for a top 10 program vs out of state recent last place sec team isnt shocking to me. Go for big fish and you are gonma miss, especially recuiting all over. In addition, peer recruting and pressure hasnt been strong yet. Guys listed are from Utah to Michigan to Maryland. How many SEC teams pulling Samoan lbs from Utah? Rybka and Hardy attitudes make them not worth a look imo. Thomas woulda been a big miss. And Lawrence.
Calloway saying he will probably sign this week, but wants to think it over. Said it's between Tennessee and Kentucky. I can't believe how many times we've been running into Kentucky. [uck fay]ing Kentucky?!
