Around 120 high school and college football coaches attended the Tennessee Titans and Tennessee Football Coaches Association High School Football Recruiting Fair on Tuesday at LP Field.
The NFL Draft is only days away, but there wasn’t any talk of the Titans‘ No. 2 pick Tuesday morning at LP Field.
Instead, roughly 120 high school and college football coaches filled the fourth-floor West Club for the Tennessee Titans and Tennessee Football Coaches Association High School Football Recruiting Fair.
“We actually had some colleges sort of talk to us in December about the possibility of doing this,” Mt. Juliet coach and TnFCA board member Trey Perry said of the event, designed to provide exposure for high school football players as well as to help smaller college programs better evaluate the state’s talent. “They sort of shared with us how they did this in other states, and it just kind of jumped off the page at us as kind of the common sense thing to do.”
Eighty high school football coaches from across Tennessee, including around 35 from the Midstate, spent Tuesday morning meeting with representatives from about 40 area colleges to discuss their prospective collegiate athletes.
Everything from game film to test scores and transcripts were shared during the roughly four-hour event.
“Obviously as a coach you want to push your kids, and this is awesome because it’s colleges from all levels,” Perry said. “What this did for me was actually make me get all my boxes checked off as far as what I need to do, and for the kids, it holds them responsible to make sure all their highlights are updated and things like that.”
Coaches’ roles in recruiting evolve
Battle Ground Academy, Brentwood High, Clarksville, Clarksville Northeast, Clarksville Northwest, Coffee County, Cookeville, Christ Presbyterian Academy, Lipscomb Academy, Father Ryan, Franklin Road Academy, Giles County, Goodpasture, Grace Christian, Hillwood, Jo Byrns, Kenwood, McGavock, Montgomery Bell Academy, Mt. Juliet, Mt. Juliet Christian Academy, Oakland, Page, Pearl-Cohn, Siegel, Smyrna, Spring Hill, Springfield, Station Camp, Stewarts Creek, Stratford, Tullahoma, Upperman, West Creek and Wilson Central were each represented on Tuesday.
“This is a great opportunity for the smaller division schools in our state — the (Class) 1As, the 2As, the 3As — to really promote their kids,” said Greg Wyant, Siegel coach and TnFCA vice president. “They don’t get as much college coaching traffic as some of the larger schools, and we thought it’d be a great opportunity for them to promote their kids and their kids out there.
Prospective college football players weren’t the only ones to benefit from Tuesday’s recruiting fair. It was every bit as valuable to the colleges in attendance.
“We can’t go visit all these schools,” said Regis Scafe, head coach of Division III Thomas More College. “(Tennessee) is a neighboring state, but it’s hard with such a small staff. To go out and visit all the high schools is impossible, and this really gives us an opportunity to learn about the kids and meet with their coaches.”
Added Tennessee Titans Youth Football Coordinator Josh Corey, “It’s the classic example of a win-win scenario. It’s great for the colleges, it’s great for the high schools, and we’re glad to be a part of it.”
Reach Michael Murphy at 615-259-8262 and on Twitter @Murph_TNsports.
