He's behind...get this...Paul Johnson at GaTech, and Mark Richt. Surely we can beat Mark Richt, right?
The Montgomery Advertiser shows us how Coach Saban has molded this team that, at the beginning of the year, appeared to be full of holes that have apparently been filled with guys that were already on the roster. Read more here.
I'm going to repost something I posted on the TideSports.com board. We were having an argument on whether or not Tennessee is a good job, and whether or not the state of North Carolina is a "fairly fertile" recruiting ground, especially for Tennessee.
"Since 1988, these are the number of kids that were drafted in the NFL that went to high school in these states. I'm only going to do the ones that surround Tennessee, and then I'll post a reminder of who the coaches are in those states that will keep players at home.
Now, out of ALL of those states, the state of Tennessee ranks ahead of only Arkansas and Kentucky for NFL players drafted since 1988.
Now, this is not per capita, because that's a whole different story. Alabama has one of the better percentages in that regard, and North Carolina gets knocked way down...but regardless, you see where I'm coming from.
That's the 2008 UT football roster. Out of 90 players, they now have 34 players from instate high-schools. That's roughly 38%. It was the same thing back then -
Back in 1998 they had 86 players on the roster, and there were only 31 from the state of Tennessee. That's roughly 36%.
Just to give you an idea, in 1998, there were 11 players from North Carolina on the roster - that's 13%. In 2008 that number is down to 6. Only 7%. And the sad thing is that 3 of them are freshmen, with one being a 3 star, and the other two not even being ranked. The other 3 are Montario Hardesty, who can't seem to win a starting job (he was a 4*), Johnathan Crompton (5*, #2 QB in the country coming out of high school - aka FLOP), and Josh Briscoe, a senior who was a 3* wide receiver coming out of high school.
Tennessee can't go into these states and pick out the best talent like they did a decade ago. The coaches have sealed up their states. What UT gets is leftovers. How else do you explain a 3 star and two kids that didn't even obtain a star in this last class from North Carolina?
Regardless, all of that is to prove the point that yes, North Carolina is a fairly fertile recruiting ground, and no, Tennessee is not a good job. It is a job where you have a fanbase that expects compete with Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, but without the built in resources."
I didn't post this - let's take a look at teams, which are the biggest in their state, and what percentage of instate players they have on their team.
Georgia has 101 players on their rivals roster. They have 64 players from the state of Georgia. That's 63% instate on their roster.
Alabama has 103 players on their rivals roster. They have 57 players from the state of Alabama. That's 55% instate on their roster.
Florida has 96 players on their rivals roster. They have 63 players from the state of Florida. That's 66% instate on their roster.
LSU has 110 players on their rivals roster. They have 61 players from the state of Louisiana. That's 55% instate on their roster.
North Carolina has 101 players on their roster. They have 49 players from the state of North Carolina. That's 49% instate on their roster.
Texas has 112 players on their rivals roster. They have 103 players from the state of Texas. That's 92% instate on their roster. That's insane.
USC has 108 players on their rivals roster. They have 82 players from the state of California. That's 76% instate on their roster.
That's all to point out that teams build their core from within their own state, and then try to go after surrounding states. If Tennessee's surrounding states are all having successful seasons, with good coaches that know how to recruit, then there's not much cherry picking that UT can do. It could be a LOONG time before UT is any good again.
¶ 9:06 AM
