Where has all the talent in TN gone in HS football

[chief15]

Poor Lane will have a hard time recruiting in our state for SEC talent. Guys our talent in this state has just gone down hill every year. I would say you couldn't find 10 kids from this whole state that could start on an SEC team roster. When teams like Alcoa, Maryville, and MUS can have a couple of kids (I mean just a couple) that get looked at or recruited by Big time schools and that's all of the talent they need to dominate the state (and I mean Dominate each game that they win!). Lane sure does have his work cut out for him when UGA, FL, BAMA, LSU, even South Carolina and Mississippi only has to go 30 min to an hour to see several players that could really have an impact on their team immediately.

[TrenchWarrior]

There's plenty of talent in TN this year.

 

I see people online and on sports radio act like the recruiting services are proof that we've got no talent in this state. The recruiting services are a JOKE. It's more about hype, networking, and connections than anything else, and about half the ranking is based on who is offering a kid.

 

For example, did you know that a 1 star player suddenly becomes a 3 star player if USC offers him a scholarship, or that he becomes a 4 star player if Florida offers him, too? The kid didn't change, just the hype surrounding him.

 

Did you know that a 220lb RB with 2,500 yards and 4.4 speed in HS won't even be included on those lists if he hasn't attended some type of major football camp sponsored by a big program or corporation?

 

Did you know that half the guys drafted by the NFL were rated as 3 star players or below in HS?

 

Did you know that, due to the recent efforts of a local "handler" in promoting Wichita, KS athletes to the recruiting services, that Kansas--a state with similar demographics and 1/4 the population of TN, is now supposedly got 4 times the elite football talent? Do you believe that's truly the case?

 

Tennessee's got tons of talent out there besides Alcoa, Maryville, and MUS. For example, White Station alone has Anthony Hayes, Julian Burton, and several other guys who figure to be real players at major colleges in a few years. Kingsport has Chris Sensabaugh, who's probably going to go Clemson. There are others out there I'm not thinking of right now, but the cupboard is far from bare. Don't believe recruiting media B.S.

[chief15]

I don't go off of recruiting services, I go with what I see. The talent is just not here, I watched a TON of HS football this season teams from 6A to 1A and it just isnt here. Watching some of the HS games from around the nation on TV and being in other states watching HS live (SC, GA, TX, FL) the speed of our game just isnt what it is at the other big time states (plus the majority of our teams from out here struggle heavily in throwing the pigskin around). I watched 4 teams in TX that could beat ANYONE we have out here and those teams didnt make it past the 3rd round of the playoffs out there. St. Thomas Aquanis in FL would beat ANY team we have out here by 3 tds or more. Byrnes, SC would probably do the same. You named kids from across our whole state; TX, FL, GA probably have that many just on one team in certain places in their states. For instance, there was a game between two schools in TX on ESPNU the other night that had over 15 D-1 recruits on the field. Where could you go out here to see that!

[workinprogress]

You say there's no talent here and you use two teams from Texas and one from Florida as examples along with Byrnes. First of all Texas is just a bit larger state than we are and some of the best football in all of the US is played there. Second if Florida, Miami, Florida State, USF dont have to go out of state to find talent that probably tells you that along with Texas Florida plays top notch football. Along with those two I would probably add in California and then pretty much its a big gap followed by all the other states. Tennessee plays just as good any other state besides those three. Talent is here. Where can you go here to see that kind of talent......how about Alcoa v Ooletewah in east, BA v Ensworth in middle, and how about Whitestation v Melrose in west and thats just a few to throw out there. Maybe you have just been looking in the wrong places or maybe you just didnt know what to look for.

[chief15]

I know what I am looking for pal. I have seen HS football in many different states and you have got to be joking if you think that we have a lot of talent here. If we did why does Kiffin have to go out of state so much. Wait and see in a few years of recruiting and our roster will probably hail more players from out of state. As for looking for talent Alcoa might have 2 D-1 prospects and don't say Toney (dont get me wrong I think he is a great player but he wouldnt make it at the SEC level). Robinson is probably their best shot and I dont think he will do much at KY I might be wrong but I just dont see that out of him. And you also said Ootelwah??? I watched them play Franklin this year and that was the most boring game I have ever seen; even the 5 star stud was really disappointing. Face it we just dont have the talent here and if things dont change here in the next few years we will be lucky (UT that is) to be able to field a solid team of home staters. Maybe Lane can recruit nationwide like we did in the 90s. That will be the only thing that could save our program.

[Indian]

don't say Toney (dont get me wrong I think he is a great player but he wouldnt make it at the SEC level)

 

The same things were said about some guy from there now tearing it up at Kentucky, maybe you've heard of him.

[JodyJoe]

How do you define talent? How many stars a player has or what offers he gets? Honestly the Memphis greater area(including Olive Branch since well, we know how they build their program) has plenty of "SEC" talent if thats what you're looking.

 

Julian Burton, Chaz Moore, Eric Watson, Adam Poole, Ferlando Bohana(Miss. St Commit SEC!!!), Fred Harvey(Tex. Tech commit BCS!), Barry Bruenetti(WVU BSC!!), Anthony Hayes, Lonnie Ballentine, Daveon Porter(walking on at UT or receiving a scholarship), Sir Gregory Thornton, Keiwone Malone(Alabama commit SEC!!), Corey Jones(Kansas commit, BCS!!), Darius Poole, Kendrick Golden, Jonathon Brown, Corey Acosta, Justin Maclin(LSU commit, SEC!), Tony Jefferson, Artaves Gibson, DaWayne Harris, Stephon Almond, D.J. McNeil.

 

All those players above are receiving BCS offers or interest, so there is plenty of talent in Tennessee. Kiffin just has to get it before other schools come and get it.

[workinprogress]

I know what I am looking for pal. I have seen HS football in many different states and you have got to be joking if you think that we have a lot of talent here. If we did why does Kiffin have to go out of state so much. Wait and see in a few years of recruiting and our roster will probably hail more players from out of state. As for looking for talent Alcoa might have 2 D-1 prospects and don't say Toney (dont get me wrong I think he is a great player but he wouldnt make it at the SEC level). Robinson is probably their best shot and I dont think he will do much at KY I might be wrong but I just dont see that out of him. And you also said Ootelwah??? I watched them play Franklin this year and that was the most boring game I have ever seen; even the 5 star stud was really disappointing. Face it we just dont have the talent here and if things dont change here in the next few years we will be lucky (UT that is) to be able to field a solid team of home staters. Maybe Lane can recruit nationwide like we did in the 90s. That will be the only thing that could save our program.

Kiffin goes out of state so much because UT is a nationally known program. Its his job to not only look in state but to look at the best talent in the US so that he and UT can be the top ncaa program. In fact all of the top programs recruit nationally. When Lane was at USC I am pretty sure he played a part in bringing Patrick Turner there. You argument is almost like saying UT should have stayed in house and brought in a coach from TN.

[bigvalvenus]

There are a ton of D1 College schools littered with HS Kids from Tennessee. 2 starters for Notre Dame, Running back for Miami, several at Ole Miss, Alabama, Aubur, and yes there several kids who start for TENNESSEE. You are an idiot who has no clue what he is talking about. There have been several kids who have already signed with D1 schools just out of Memphis. Come back with some facts besides your opinion.

[OmahaVol]

I don't go off of recruiting services, I go with what I see. The talent is just not here, I watched a TON of HS football this season teams from 6A to 1A and it just isnt here. Watching some of the HS games from around the nation on TV and being in other states watching HS live (SC, GA, TX, FL) the speed of our game just isnt what it is at the other big time states (plus the majority of our teams from out here struggle heavily in throwing the pigskin around). I watched 4 teams in TX that could beat ANYONE we have out here and those teams didnt make it past the 3rd round of the playoffs out there. St. Thomas Aquanis in FL would beat ANY team we have out here by 3 tds or more. Byrnes, SC would probably do the same. You named kids from across our whole state; TX, FL, GA probably have that many just on one team in certain places in their states. For instance, there was a game between two schools in TX on ESPNU the other night that had over 15 D-1 recruits on the field. Where could you go out here to see that!

Well, Chief, you are right about Tennessee when comparing them against the likes of Texas, California, Florida, or Ohio. They just don't stand up to those states. Guess what? Neither does the rest of the nation. Tennessee only has about 350 schools that play football in the entire state. California has 1048 schools, Texas has 1146 schools, Florida has 569 schools, and Ohio has 742 schools. So, based on the numbers those states should dominate Tennessee across the board. STA(St. Thomas Aquinas) is the #1 team in the country and would whip most teams. Byrnes,SC is #2(if you didn't already know STA beat Byrnes this year 42-34.) Tennessee is actually in the top half of the country for high school football. My guess would be in the top 15. Our two best teams are MUS and Alcoa. MUS is one the top 10-15 teams in the nation. I would like to know the four teams in Texas that you think would handily beat MUS. I, too, have watched many games live and on film. I do this every year and help recruiters analyze different teams all over the country. The ten best teams in Texas are Cedar Hill, Longview, SLC, Allen, Tyler, Skyline, The Woodlands, Katy, Lake Travis, and probably Trinity. All of those teams would struggle with MUS. Conceivably all of those teams could beat MUS on a given day, but MUS could also beat them on a given day, as well. Also, you do know that Texas has only completed one round of the playoffs, not three. Which game did you watch on ESPNU?

[GREYRIDER]

I'll throw my 2 cents worth in... no player should be expected to come in and contribute as freshmen. The other "talent" should be able to take care of it. College football was built on the the backs of upper class men and the coaches of old new how to develop the "talent" , today they don't. There are plenty of players around this state that could play D1 FOOTBALL if they were developed as they should be. I guess you just gotta be a blue chipper with a wrap sheet to play D1 ball.

[wrangler615]

There are phenomenal players all across the state and on multiple different levels. For example, there are about 10-12 large D1 colleges prospects coming out of DII along with twice as many Conf-USA and SunBelt type players.