UTC/Tennessee High School players

[Indian]

I read this morning UTC has 18 verbals, but I was very disappointed to read not one of them is from Tennessee, much less the Chattanooga area. A few were junior college players, including 2 linebackers they probably hope can step in for Cain right away, and the rest were from South Carolina and Georgia. The coach was at Clemson and it looks like he took Clemson's recruiting list and went down the list after the top recruits said they'd play 1-A. I've never heard of any of the players, so who knows, maybe they're all better than any besides 1-A talent in the Chattanooga area. But I just can't see that. I don't expect UTC to sign Adarius Bowman, or the defensive lineman from Tyner next year. But I do hope they at least offer the players maybe just a tad below that level, guys like McGlone from Tyner, Springs from Marion, Rivers from Hixson, Healy and Nelson from Boyd-Buchanan, Foster from Ooltewah, and others. I think these players could help UTC become a Top 10 type team in 1-AA, and maybe some could sign, there's still time till signing day. But if there's been none so far I doubt it. UTC has signed some players from around Chattanooga, but a lot of the ones they've signed have been busts. Some of the top players leave, and worse, help 1-AA opponents (Baucom from McCallie, Thurman from Red Bank, Losey from Soddy-Daisy, the younger one at ETSU not Vandy). And there were two linemen from Chattanooga, one from Ooltewah and one from Boyd-Buchanan, who were second or third team All-Americans in Division II so they certainly would have helped UTC's weak spots, the offensive or defensive lines. Maybe grades were a problem in those cases, but if a player graduated from Boyd-Buchanan I'd assume he could go to UTC. This is late so it's probably all over the road but the point is a first year coach can't afford to burn bridges right away, and if the 1-AA type players aren't being offered he's going to alienate local coaches and teams before he plays his first game.

[dbdcrazie]

In Coach Allison's defense, which I do not know him at all, but he may be trying to rebuild the bridges that were previously burned. This is not something that can be done overnight. I do not know this to be fact, but I am like you and hope that he heavily recruits the local talent.

 

Good luck to Coach Allison and his rebuilding project at UTC. From what I have heard, he has really shaken things up with the players that are left.

[Ultimatefan]

The complaints about the UTC football program the last couple of years have been that they only recruited inside chattanooga and east tennessee and that the coaches never left the state to get top talent for 1-aa. now that a new coach is getting junior college players and players outside the state people are gonna be upset because he isn't recruiting the kids inside the city which haven't produced winning numbers. the fact is that no matter what a coach does at UTC he will always be heavily criticized unless he wins championships. everyone thought coach green was not a good coach when he was there but then everyone realized what they were missing when kirkpatrick took over and they could barely win a game. i applaud the new coach for getting contacts outside of the city and state. also the players that have been recruited from inside the city have flopped. also there were numerous kids signed that payed in the chattanooga area this past year, if they don't flop then maybe he will look back within the city in the future. remember he has not been there for very long. give him a chance.