You don't have to wait for SEC football media days next week. You already know that everybody in the conference is chasing the defending national champion Florida Gators.
And if you're going to catch them, the best place to start is on their home turf. It's a lot easier to get recruits out of Florida than it is to get a victory in The Swamp.
UT's 2010 signing class already has a Florida accent. The Vols have four commitments from Florida, including John Brown, who originally signed with the Gators and is now playing junior college football.
New Tennessee football coach Lane Kiffin proved that his first two months on the job. One of UT's most high-profile signees in its top-10 class was wide receiver Nu'Keese Richardson of Pahokee, Fla. UT didn't just sign him. It signed him after he had committed to the Gators.
UT's 2010 signing class already has a Florida accent. The Vols have four commitments from Florida, including John Brown, who originally signed with the Gators and is now playing junior college football.
UT won't be the only SEC school capitalizing on Florida's talent, which should be as bountiful as ever this year. When the 400 nominations were announced for the 2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl two months ago, Florida led all states with 55.
The Gators can't come close to getting them all. And although they're at the top of their game, they can't always get the in-state recruits they want the most.
Imagine what an impact running back Trent Richardson might have had on the Gators, who, for all their offensive talent, still need someone besides Tim Tebow who can run with authority between the tackles. Instead, Richardson will do his running for Alabama this fall.
There will be plenty more success stories for out-of-state recruiters in Florida this fall. In fact, the SEC rarely has had better Florida connections. Seven SEC coaches formerly coached in Florida.
Alabama's Nick Saban coached the Miami Dolphins.
South Carolina's Steve Spurrier is a Florida legend as a coach and player.
Arkansas' Bobby Petrino was an assistant coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Georgia's Mark Richt was a longtime offensive coordinator at Florida State and played college football at Miami.
Mississippi State's Dan Mullen was Florida's offensive coordinator last season.
Auburn's Gene Chizik is a Florida native who was an assistant coach at Central Florida.
Kiffin was a quality-control coach with the Jaguars for a year.
UT's staff has plenty of other Florida connections besides its head coach. Running backs coach Eddie Gran has recruited Florida wherever he has worked as an assistant, recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron was an assistant coach at the University of Miami and defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin ran the Tampa Bay Bucs defense from 1996 through last season.
Those connections mean something in recruiting. The best recruiters develop relationships with high school coaches that can last for a career.
And if they can develop those relationships in Florida, so much the better.
Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
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Comments » 50
belayvol writes:
It's all about the jorts state.
trollhunter writes:
Why is a Gator troll, pretending to be a Vol fan, slandering his own team?
RockyMountainVolunteer+RockyMtnGator
vol_chaz writes:
Gran seems to have alot to say in recruiting in Florida. I'm glad we have him.
halloffamebowler writes:
Yep,they suck, but only because we can't beat them.If they were our Tennessee Vols ,they would be world beaters.I only hope we become competive with them soon.The worse thing about the Gators is their fans.There is no need for them nor us trashing each other like we do.It is a game and right now the game isn't much fun for us.I expect that to change in a couple of years.We all should remember that the larger the crow,the tougher it is to swallow.GO BIG ORANGE.
halloffamebowler writes:
Sorry for the spelling.I know how ,but my fingers are a little faster than my brain.
teampenny#658108 writes:
We have the greatest fans and they have the greatest players. Twisted but true. Go Vols
trollhunter writes:
Ummm
You know you are talking to a GATOR FAN dressed up as a VOL FAN!
walter1998 writes:
Realistically it will be very hard to out-recruit Meyer in Florida. Many of the kids want to play there, and Meyer is good at getting out of state top recruits also. All of the other teams have a shot at some good players because Adams is right...UF can't land them all.
FWBVol writes:
I really believe the next two or three years could be key for the long term success of Meyer at Florida. So far none of his QBs have panned out well in the NFL. If Tebow doesn't play QB in the NFL or doesn't do well at QB, I believe a
lot of the kids with pro dreams will start looking elsewhere if they play QB. Yes, Florida would still have a lot of great athletes, but the QB is probably the most important position on the field.
The fact is sometimes the best prospects in a state want to see new places and kids will leave Florida, Tennessee or Alabama to get a new perspective on things.
If we can target, and get, five or six top kids out of Florida each year we will be in great shape.
DennisVols writes:
This year is pivotal for CLK and UT. No one should expect a division or conference championship this year but many talented recruits that are considering UT will be looking at what improvements are made. Verbal commitments can be swayed and if there is a significant improvements in Crompton or Stephens along with improvements at the other offensive positions the pipeline into any state including FL will be easier to establish for this coaching staff.
While CMK has an impressive resume it is the offensive side of the ball that drew the most news last year and none of it was good. The largest number of sacks given up in many a year, passing game a total wreck, running game mediocre on a good day have all left questions in the minds of many of the top rated recruits.
CLK has to build his resume here at UT. His offensive numbers at USC were impressive but that was as an OC not a HC. It was also against Pac-10 not SEC defenses.
Winning changes everything. UF runs a spread offensive which is not used anywhere in the NFL. It does hurt their players to get serious looks by NFL scouts. Tebow has won a Heisman and was close last year to winning another yet was predicted to be a late 3rd round NFL draft pick and not even play QB.
H.S. football players want the same thing college football players want, to play in the NFL. CLK's pro-style offense along with all the NFL experienced coaches now at UT will become very attractive to the top talent if UT begins to show signs of improvement this year on the offense. They don’t have to be great this year just good would be a big improvement over last year. Improvement at QB will be a great selling point that things are different now.
smoky50 writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
hotrodvol writes:
Dennis, that was a very good read, way to bring it!
gohawks1 writes:
Another all-hail to Flarduh article? Somebody's been spending too much time with his life-sized Tim Tebow blowup doll again.
VolSolo20 writes:
Now does that include the dirt ones or just the unpaved roads? They are hot right now but the SEC goes in cycles. We just a few years away from being the class of the SEC. They might have 2 more years of this BS and fall back to the pack.
BillVol writes:
An aside here. As we Tennesseans all know, our state is currently being invaded with people from the Sunshine State who could not stand living there anymore. Without exception, every one I have talked to says they much prefer living in Tennessee over Florida.
teampenny#658108 writes:
Pro style offense helps you be prepared for the NFL, but the spread is what winning NC's in college. What is our goal here make pros or win NC's.
DarthVol writes:
LSU, USC and Oklahoma didn't get the memo.
GreenDevilVol writes:
True, and if USC or Texas would of played the gators, we would not have so many big mouth trolls on here, claiming they are the face of football..........
99gator writes:
the "nfl qb" stuff is funny.
you can have a great team in college and not have an nfl 1st round draft pick at qb.
recent qb's of national title winners.....
tim tebow (nfl tbd)
matt flynn
chris leak
vince young (1st round pick and bust)
matt leinert (1st roud pick and bust)
matt mauck
craig krenzel
ken dorsey
josh heupel
chris weinke
tee martin
scott frost, brian griese
danny wuerffel
tommy frazier
tommy frazier
charlie ward
jay barker
the best career out of all these guys is brian griese.
heck, tebow may be one of the few on the list drafted in the 1st round.
TommyJack writes:
Teebow. Now there's a guy Adams can get behind.
cloudodust writes:
Let's not slight Texas or California...and Gatorade.
CoachFulmer writes:
But then again we are talking about 18 yr. old kids who don't put those facts into consideration when choosing a school. If we were recruiting a bunch of MIT kids, then we could be in trouble. Let Kiffin do what he has to do, and you do what you gotta do.
GO VOLS!
mbradshaw1#655539 writes:
You are right. I bet if you saw the defensive stats from all these teams you would find them to be better than average. It starts with D.
GO VOLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hotrodvol writes:
99, that's a good point, but you got to remember there are only a handfull of QBs drafted each year. Also each year there are 15 pro-style QBs coming out of highschool, but you know maybe only a few will make it into the NFL.
Just because CLK wants to run a pro-style offense dosn't mean his QB's will be drafted (as QBs)into the NFL. UFs QBs will have a much less chance of being drafted (as QBs) than UTs QBs.
99 you also said Teebow maybe drafted in the first round, now that was funny. Come on 99 you always keep it real, so don't change with Teebow.
volsoutwest writes:
Ok, I'll bite, what's a wister?
GerryOP writes:
I totally agree Dennis, a lot rides on this season. And it will not necessarily be proven in Ws and Ls. Performance, attitude, enthusiasm, improvement, and execution will be what recruits will be looking at.
As I have alluded to elsewhere, isn't it ironic that Jon Crompton's performance will be key? If he shows definite improvement and shows signs of living up to his out-of-HS 5* status, it will do wonders for our recruiting. If he shows a resmeblance to his performance of last year, which was not totally his fault, we are in for a long, hard ride.
Be well my friend.
49 -- Fear The Kiffin...
allntl1#565211 writes:
Here is the right link, http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/96...
You are next.
Hey Adams you left out the coaches that have been to Disney World and have flown into FL to get on a cruise ship. I think that just might give every coach a FL connection.
Hey what about a Las Vegas connection?
allntl1#565211 writes:
That's funny. Just got back from Miami wow I could not believe all the leather skinned women covered with tatoos and wearing thongs. What are these women gonna look like when they hit their mid 20's. Hey what's up with all the 60 and 70 year old women wearing thongs down there. If FL had any decency laws that would be illeagal.
Orangeblood13 writes:
agree, he can't wait to write an article of positive feel for the rest of the league. Come on Adams, take off the Tebow panties.
Orangeblood13 writes:
hate to do this, really, but I agree with your point on Scroggins. I don't think you guys are in the run, but USC probably has the inside track, which is ashame, cause unless the kid is super talented, he could ride the pine or end up lost in the transfer school shuffle.
tdforvols writes:
There are some great players in Florida but they are 49 other states out there as well. Let's stay grounded and not get too washed out to sea by the current Florida wave sweeping over the national media.
MemphoVol writes:
Hey Adams, I didn't notice that you had a Florida connection. Have you ever thought about moving there?
Ringleader writes:
Simply not so......In fact Charley Pell had the Gators ranked No 1 before Herschel took care of them. Then everything came apart, cheating, etc. and in came Gaylen Hall, followed by Spurrier
gohawks1 writes:
He's sensational,
heisman capable,
he's a gata bull,
he's inflatable!
(apologies to Cledus T. Judd)
99gator writes:
to tie this in with my previous post......
the last qb of a college football national champion to have what i would call a successful nfl career......
bernie kosar 1983- miami
gohawks1 writes:
Very curious indeed. The nfl careers of heisman winners can be fickle as well. Just shows that it takes a team to win championships.
DennisVols writes:
Let’s get something perfectly clear!!
The "Spread" did not win a National Championship. It is just a scheme like the "Pro-style" is another form of an offensive scheme.
What wins games is execution of the scheme that you have better than the other team does theirs.
Nutt’s Old Miss team executed better in last year’s game against the Gators and they won.
Auburn and UT attempted to rum forms of a "Spread" and I do not remember either of them being successful because they could not execute it properly. Several other teams in the nation ran a "Spread" and did not even play in a BCS game or win thier conference.
What will win games is being able to out execute your opponents. Your defense has to out execute their offense no matter what style or scheme, your offense has to out execute their defense. You must control turnovers, the penalties. The “Spread” is just the latest style until someone figures out a better one. I remember in the ‘70’s OU and UN running the “Wishbone” and running over everyone until someone figured it out. The “Spread” like a lot of Spurrier’s offenses depends on precise timing. If you disrupt it, it fails to execute. UF currently has the luxury of having a QB who can run like a fullback but how many teams are going to be able to find another Tebow? Most QB’s in a “Spread” can run but few, if any, have the toughness to take the pounding, or dish it out, that Tebow has.
So it is not a scheme but how you execute it on any given Saturday that will win a game and if you do it on enough game days you will win championships.
ctownvol writes:
Seriously? You post a link about a cheating coach setting up a mock recruiting visit for someone already in the NBA? The NBA! Kentucky? Dude this is an article about Tennessee Football. Nothing to do with Mildcat basketball.
kman29 writes:
A couple things wrong with your post.
1. Meyer has had 3 starting QBs over the last 6 years. One went on to be the #1 overall pick in the draft (Alex Smith) another won a national title (Chris Leak) and the final has won the heisman trophy and a national title (Tim Tebow). Outside of Pete Caroll who has a better resume with their QBs than that currently coaching? Meyer had a system in place that helped contribut to Alex Smith getting millions of dollars. What Smith did beyond that in the NFL for a bad team is not Meyer's fault. Additionally he has shown he can develop heisman winners and national title winners with his QBs. What more can you ask for from a college coach?
2. Plenty of top QBs don't focus as much on what schools have produced in the past when it comes to NFL talent. If so schools like FSU, Penn St., Ohio State ect. would never get any top QBs, yet those schools do all the time. Spurrier at UF had how many top NFL QBs? Zero! Think 5 star QBs still didn't line up to sign to play with UF in the 90s? Heck, even Tennessee if you take away Peyton Manning has never produced much of anything at QB in the NFL. Did that stop recruits in the past from going to UT? No. Its something fans more than anybody try to imply is important
kman29 writes:
You think LSU and Oklahoma are running a "pro style" offense? I will agree with USC, but when I watch a OU team who routinely lines up in 3 and 4 wr sets out of the shotgun, that is not pro style, that is a spread. Additionally LSU runs a similar system that UF was running in 2006. Lot of shotgun, mis direction, option read and spreading the field. Not sure sometimes what people think is a pro style offense but those two are not it. Granted they will run some sets of a pro formation, but those two for the most part run out of spread formations.
givehim6 writes:
Well now KNS has gotten there FL. praise and worship out of the way, now let's get on with UT football OK?
walter1998 writes:
I have to agree, W_D. The guy new how to keep the board going. Normally there would be 200 posts on this subject by now.
tngeoff2 writes:
I found this story to be slightly misleading. In order to challenge my theory I drove all the way out Chapman Highway and rest assured, IT DOES NOT LEAD TO FLORIDA. No. It does not. In fact, it actually leads to TENNESSEE. Does that now mean that all roads lead to Tennessee? Just curious. I guess we could say that if we wanted to. ALL ROADS LEAD TO TENNESSEE.
DC_Vol writes:
Actually Tennessee beat Florida 13 - 12 to break their undefeaated season. Your post sounds like Florida won the game. Tennessee won the SEC that year. Either way, going back to 1928 to prove a point highlights a lot of years in between of irrelevance. Florida doesn't have the history of a Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn and Georgia. To their credit Florida has been exceptional over the last two decades.
livinginknoxnow writes:
As a proud member of the jorts club, I want to thank UT in advance for UF's next national title. I have been concerned about how a team returning 20 starters gets motivated to win another one. Fortunately Kiffin keeps pissing in our cornflakes (is that too adult for this site?) and as Meyer is a master of motivation (ex: Ohio State) I thank UT for giving Florida needed focus as we start summer practice.
belayvol writes:
Want to get motivated? Your fly is unzipped jort boy.
livinginknoxnow writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
transplantiam writes:
Which way did you go? I think you got turned around. lol US Hwy. 441 (aka Chapman Hwy.)if you follow south goes right down the middle of Fl., right through Pahokee, Fl. haha. Know it's just a joke. From here though, You have to go through Tennessee First! GO VOLS!!!!
VOLFORLIFE writes:
Then what are you doing on a VOLS site that talks about Tennessee football?
Dummy.
GO VOLS!!!
JUGHEAD
livinginknoxnow writes:
Sure, why not? I'd think after the last few years you boys would be used to getting bent over, and Sept. 19th it will continue in a BIG way. I know last year most of you left at halftime to avoid the reality of the situation, but this year you'll get to feel the pain all over again.
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