Bayou has talent, UT gets some of it

The two former University of Tennessee stars could have ended up playing football hundreds of miles from Knoxville if not for UT's astute assessment of both prospects.

LSU's 2003 national title guarantees recruiting in Louisiana will be as challenging as ever. LSU coach Nick Saban's dedication to recruiting only raises the bar.

The key to recruiting Louisiana hasn't changed. In order to overcome LSU's in-state dominance, other programs must accurately assess the prospect's talent level and his sincere willingness to attend a school hundreds of miles from home.

"It's always challenging when you cross state lines where loyalties are deep," UT coach Phillip Fulmer said. "You have to pick and choose to find the kid that's willing to leave the state or has an attraction to your school. Some states have so many players that the in-state school can't take them all."

The Vols' Louisiana recruiting will benefit from playing Louisiana Tech this weekend. UT will receive exposure in north Louisiana. Exposure is the first step. The next step in the process is overcoming yet another southern state that is ultra-passionate about football.

"Everybody loves LSU back home," said UT linebacker Jason Mitchell who is an Abbeville, La., native. "I like watching them play. LSU is a great school and always has been."

Mitchell said Saban's success at LSU will likely result in even more support from "bandwagon" fans.

Saban has a firm grasp on his home turf. The former Michigan State head coach built a championship-caliber program on a foundation of in-state talent. Saban said team success combined with academic support has given LSU something he lacked early in his Tiger tenure.

"Credibility is what we all try to establish from a program's standpoint," Saban said. "The credibility issue is not nearly as much of an issue as it was when we first got here. People didn't know what sort of program we were going to have. And they didn't know me."

Saban said he first learned of LSU's potential while he was coaching in the NFL.

"I knew that there were a lot of players in the NFL from the state of Louisiana," Saban said. "I didn't know why players weren't coming to LSU, but I felt like there was a great opportunity for success here if we could attract those players to LSU. The most important factor in our ability to make improvements in this team is we have been able to get more players to stay in state and go to LSU."

Saban's approach and subsequent success doesn't surprise Tennessee offensive coordinator Randy Sanders. Sanders recruited Louisiana from 1992 to 2002.

Asked if he thought the right coach could get LSU to a championship level, Sanders said: "No doubt. The first time I ever went Louisiana recruiting, I saw five or six of the best players I had ever seen in high school football. To see five or six players of that quality in one day, it was unbelievable."

"I don't think there's any doubt that one of the things that got his program to a national championship level is they had some of the best players in the nation in their own state like Marcus Spears and Michael Clayton. They were two of the top 10 players in the country.

"When you have players like that in-state and they work out, it's a tremendous boost to recruiting."

LSU's success doesn't mean football coaches should scratch their Louisiana travel plans. Louisiana still has more football talent than the state school can handle.

Last year, UT capitalized by signing Chris Brown from Destrahan and Ja'Kouri Williams from Plaquemine.

Neither received the attention from LSU that UT, and other programs, offered. LSU saw Brown as a "tweener" despite his fantastic athletic ability. LSU prefers tight ends in their system be in the 250-260 pound range.

LSU seemed interested in Williams throughout his junior year. The Tigers backed off Williams during his senior campaign partially because of the Tigers' projected depth at running back.

LSU didn't deem either a good fit in Baton Rouge. That didn't stop Tennessee from signing both.

So far, UT's talent evaluation of the two prospects is right on. Both have impressed coaches with their athleticism. Both seem poised to have productive careers at UT. Brown played significant snaps against Florida.

The key for UT: find players willing to leave Louisiana who have the talent to play at UT. After all, Manning and Thompson worked out.