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As always, you make a decent point, Witchy. As the old saying goes, "You can't make the sales if you don't make the calls." But coaches offer scholarships for all kinds of reasons not directly related to the ability of a player to make a difference THIS YEAR. One of those reasons in cases like this might be to start to repair some of the damage Dooley reportedly caused to UT's relations with TN high schools. Maybe it wouldn't be smart to offer scholarships to a kid like High or his #1 receiver right out of the box, but, nearer the end of the process, why wouldn't they offer a scholarship to the local kid who had a life-long dream of playing at UT over somebody of equal ability who couldn't previously find Tennessee on a map?

Maybe it wouldn't be smart for such a kid to WAIT to see if UT offered, or maybe for reasons of his own pride he decided NOT to wait. I just think coaches sometimes worry too much about what others think if they were to sign some kid that not everybody else wanted. We see how fans talk about Jones' and Martin's recruiting so far. All I am really looking for is evidence that UT coaches aren't overlooking local athletes just because "everybody knows" in-state kids can't cut it in the SEC and smaller kids generally can't play.