At various points in his career, Steve Caldwell has received massive amounts of praise and more than his fair share of criticism. The longtime Tennessee football recruiter knows all too well that the truth lies somewhere in between.

For the past three recruiting years, Caldwell has been UT's best recruiter. The defensive end coach has signed at least 14 prospects in the last three recruiting classes: 2001-2003. More than 10 of those players will compete for a starting position this fall.

"I think as a recruiter, you can get hot," UT recruiting coordinator Greg Adkins said. "Often times, it goes along with the class. A class can snowball. If you get one guy, then more can follow.

"Steve has done a great job in areas that are tough to recruit. He's pulled in the top one or two recruits in a state a number of times."

Caldwell's formidable recruiting areas include Arkansas, Mississippi, Hawaii, and Oklahoma., where Caldwell often finds rabid in-state loyalty that is tough to overcome. Caldwell, who also works the junior college circuit, said Arkansas' borders always are among the most challenging to cross.

"It's up there at the top," Caldwell said. "A lot of little towns are tough. As Coach Dickey used to say, 'Those one-bank towns can put a lot of pressure on them.' That's where most of the Arkansas kids that we have gotten are located."

Tennessee's Bret Smith, RoShaun Fellows, and recent commitment Ricardo Kemp are from Warren, Ark., which has a population of 6,442. Official bank numbers were not available.

Caldwell has seen both sides of fan feedback when it comes to recruiting. Before his recent run, Caldwell was widely criticized for not bringing in more quality recruits.

"You get aggravated," Caldwell said. "People don't always know all the facts."

The truth is, Caldwell was close to having more signees during that time. Then, in the final evaluation, Tennessee's coaching staff decided other prospects better fit their needs. To Tennessee fans and high school prospects, Caldwell was left looking like the bad guy.

"It gets frustrating," Caldwell said. "It hurts to tell a kid, 'we're not going to take you.' "

Caldwell has told plenty of prospects "yes." In 2001, Caldwell signed Cedric Houston, Chris Heath, and Derrick Tinsley. In 2002, Caldwell signed Smith, Parys Haralson, Greg Jones, J.T. Mapu, Jason Hall, Mondre Dickerson, and Gerald Riggs.

As for 2003, Fellows, Robert Meachem, Antonio Reynolds, Turk McBride, and Brandon Johnson agreed to be a Vol at Caldwell's behest.

Kemp Wavering? Don't read too much into Kemp's recent comments to Arkansas media. Kemp implied he was only tentatively committed to Tennessee but that could change after he received a scholarship offer from Arkansas last week.

Kemp will entertain Arkansas' offer but he has plenty of reasons to sign with Tennessee. The two strongest draws for Kemp are playing with high school teammates Smith and Fellows.

Warren High School head coach Bo Hembree said he thinks Smith and Fellows love living in Knoxville. Hembree said the two rarely travel back to Arkansas, a sure sign that they are happy at UT. That is Kemp's main reason for choosing UT.

From a public relations perspective, it wouldn't be a bad idea for Kemp to publicly waver in order to lower some in-state pressure until February.

Crompton Update: Jonathan Crompton's recent visit to the Elite 11 football camp was, by all accounts, a huge success. Crompton attended the camp last year as a ball boy, the top honor bestowed on juniors. This season, the Waynesville, N.C., quarterback said he found the camp much more beneficial.

"It was a good camp," Crompton said. "I wanted to improve in the classroom a little bit. I feel like I got better there.

"I learned how to watch film. I learned some more coverages and good routes to run versus certain coverages. I think I did a good job. Some days were better than others. But overall I did really well."

Crompton's above-average technique was noticed by camp counselors. Crompton was given the "Best Feet" award at the four-day camp. Crompton also proudly noted that he reached the semifinals in the PlayStation 2 NCAA Football tournament held at the camp. The camp is sponsored by EA Sports, which manufactures the game.

Georgia commitment Joe Cox, from Independence, N.C., received the "Best Leader" award.

Crompton said he plans to start calling Vol prospects soon, now that his busy summer has slowed down. Aside from football camps, Crompton has been working on former Vol Heath Shuler's farm.

"I've been so busy that I haven't been able to talk to very many (prospects). I'm going to talk to Patrick Turner (WR, Goodpasture) and Josh Briscoe (WR, Lawndale, N.C.). I know that Patrick is looking at Tennessee. I'm hoping he wants to go there."

Turner's father, Steve, said Crompton's commitment to Tennessee will be a "plus" for the Vols when it comes time for Patrick to make a decision.

LSU May Offer Bruhin: Powell offensive lineman Zane Bruhin recently visited Baton Rouge for an LSU camp. An offer from the Tigers on the offensive lineman could be coming soon.

Zane's father, John, was an offensive lineman at UT (1983-1987) and went on to a successful NFL career.

Dave Hooker covers recruiting. He may be reached at 865-342-6327.