Event Details
- What: Tennessee vs. Memphis
- When: Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010, 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.
- Where: Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
- Cost: $50
- Age limit: All ages
Tennessee Stat Book
Melrose High School football coach Hubbard Alexander scoffs at the perception that Tennessee can't recruit in Memphis.
He's one of the few coaches in the area that has evidence to prove it wrong.
Alexander coached linebacker Greg King, who signed with the Vols in 2009, and athlete Tino Thomas, who committed to the Vols last month. King and Thomas are the only two players from the River City area to align with the Vols since Chris Walker (Christian Brothers) in 2007 and Victor Thomas (Olive Branch, Miss.) in 2006.
"It's not that far away," Alexander said. "It's not like you're going to UCLA or UNC."
That's certainly true, but, in terms of the SEC, UT is one of the longest hauls from Memphis. The entire SEC West, according to Google Maps, is a shorter drive. Vanderbilt, of course, is about half the distance as well.
State pride, apparently, only goes so far. And for the majority of Memphis-area recruits, it's stopped well short of UT.
"The proximity of the (SEC West) schools, that definitely helps them to come into Memphis," said Rodney Saulsberry, the head coach at Whitehaven High, which has produced a number of Division I prospects over the past few years.
"But if they're coming to get them, I would think Tennessee would want to come in and get them, too. If they're good enough to play at Alabama, I would think they're good enough to play at Tennessee."
UT has had some definite misses in Memphis over the past few years, but it also has smartly backed off highly ranked players who never panned out or even qualified.
In 2010, eight Memphis-area players were featured in Rivals.com's Top 10 in the state of Tennessee. UT didn't sign any of them.
The departure of Philip Fulmer and the arrival of Lane Kiffin in 2008 certainly didn't help the Vols in their pursuit of the state's top two prospects, both of whom hailed from Memphis. Wide receiver Marlon Brown (Harding Academy) and offensive lineman Austin Long (Briarcrest Christian) both eventually signed with Georgia.
Though the Vols lost out in the pursuit of offensive lineman Michael Oher in 2005, they signed the Memphis area's second-, third- and fourth-highest ranked players in Malcolm Rawls, Todd Cox and Dan Williams. Only Williams finished his playing career at UT.
Recruits from Memphis, just like any major city, might not always pan out, but UT is willing to take the risk.
"It's one of those hotbeds where you stay in," UT recruiting coordinator Terry Joseph said. "We're going to try to do what we got to do to get them out of there."
Wide receivers coach Charlie Baggett is the Vols' top recruiter in Greater Memphis and Joseph focuses heavily on the Jackson area. Baggett admitted that the Vols had to play a bit of catch-up when Derek Dooley initially took over at UT.
"We felt like it was an area we had to cultivate and do a better job in," Baggett said. "I think there's athletes year in and year out that we have to be able to get.
"I feel good about it. We feel good about the area."
Compared to past years, it's a down season for Memphis-area recruits, who, in the past, have dominated the recruiting rankings for the state of Tennessee. Three of the area's players, including Thomas, comprise Rivals.com's Top 10 list in 2011, and only two of those players, also including Thomas, received offers from the Vols.
If the Vols can land the signature of four-star tight end/offensive tackle Cameron Clear (Central High), it would mark the first time in nearly 10 years that they acquire the Memphis area's top-ranked prospect.
Clear, ranked second in the state by Rivals.com behind Nashville's Antonio Richardson, has the Vols in his final five, which also features Florida, Ole Miss, Alabama and Duke. Clear, who has been on campus twice this year and plans to attend tonight's game at Memphis, said he plans to make UT one of his last official visits in January.
He said he would not announce his decision until he takes all five of his allotted official visits.
"They seem hyped about having me and they show me a lot of love every time I come on a visit," Clear said. "The players seem just like Coach Dooley. It's made me feel good on my visits."
Though scouts project Clear to eventually play offensive tackle, he said he wants at least "a shot" to play the position he loves most.
The impending departure of senior Luke Stocker makes UT a potentially attractive landing spot, Clear said.
"The depth chart plays a big part," he said. "I want to come right in and have a possibility to play."
Andrew Gribble covers Tennessee football and recruiting. He may be reached at 865-342-6327. Follow him at http://twitter.com/Andrew_Gribble and http://blogs.knoxnews.com/gribble/
Oregon sends Lady Vols home from…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 29
CoverOrange writes:
Clear-ly tackle eligible will be in Chaney's playbook.
tnoutlaw2001#228008 writes:
Yep, remember when Brown picked Georgia and some tried to say UT failed in recruiting?
Well here we are 2 season later and Brown has done nothing. Most now consider him a bust at the division 1 level.
So much for those 5 stars recruits.
TopTenn writes:
Wrong. Memphis high school coaches unlike BB like their players going to UT.
tnoutlaw2001#228008 writes:
Not saying you're wrong, but I bet if you took all the DIV 1 kids from the East part of the state, and measured them against the West/Memphis it would be even if not tilted towards the EAST.
And my comparison would include what they became in college, not the star rating coming out of High school.
The hype around Memphis is over-rated, but that's not to say we should not go after and sign the best kids they have to offer each year.
Vols4Ever writes:
Memphis players have always came to UT. Cedric Wilson from Melrose, Eric Still, etc. The whole Logan Young affair hurt our relationship with the high school coaches. Bama cheats, we catch the short end of the stick. The best athletes play Bball, but there are players in football and we must compete to get them. More importantly, losing stars like Hightower and other West Tennessee phenoms hurt worse.
tennrich1 writes:
Man, I'll just say this is COMPLETELY wrong. You obviously know nothing about the Mid-South, especially Memphis, area....
gc_scvol writes:
I agree completely, only I'll go one step farther and say he knows nothing about a lot o things. Check out his profile, and you'll see he just tries to stir s##t. Evidentaly, a very unhappy person. L
TommyJack writes:
I'm sure he lives on here as a troll.
licknpromise777#651578 writes:
Ole miss and Bama seem to have a stronger presence.At times it seems Memphis is barely a TN city..Good to hear Clear is making a second visit!It's a must to land one of these two..I get the feeling Richardson is looking hard at playing for a NC contender at bama rather than being a part of our major rebuild..Signing a dominate DLineman still eludes us and should be a major priority..Gabe Wright and Mickey Johnson have shown some interest; Does anyone know if they are serious about playing here??Otherwise we will have to go the JUCO route..Hopefully Martin;Worley and AJ Johnson stay committed..Otherwise this class is average at best.
Hounddog writes:
I'd say you went to school at tiger high, maybe. Please stay in Nashville, you are better off taking the high road. Some stay in a place and try to make it better, some chose to vacate it and then sit back and offer nothing but negative comments about a place. Shouldn't you add "chicken little" nto your name? Hounddog.
licknpromise777#651578 writes:
Rebuilding;losing records and coaching changes for sure aren't helping in recruiting..It's a bitter pill to swallow when we are out recruited by the likes of Arkansas;VA;Pitt;Washington and Stanford..This was unheard of 5 years ago!!!Recruiting in alabama isn't easy with Auburn and Bama riding high..UT got some excellent prospects under Fulmer and Majors from So. Carolina now thats changed also..A winning season next year and our willingness to play freshman will slowly turn the tide.
RollTideJoe writes:
Get over it. Whose got three sports programs under NCAA investigation now, bubba? Who leads the conference in thugs? Get off your wagon.
MidTennVol writes:
Brothers, as a lifelong Vol fan and as a Memphis alum, I can vouch for the "disconnect" between Memphis and the rest of the state of Tennessee. Too many folks down there just don't feel like Memphis even is a part of Tennessee. They resent even having UTCHS in Memphis.
Memphis is either the capital of Mississippi or of Arkansas. It's still up for debate down there.
BigOrangeinCharge writes:
Tackle eligible is illegal in college and HS.
tnoutlaw2001#228008 writes:
Florida leads the league in thugs, and last I checked several SEC including Alabama were under investigation for agent gate, funny UT was omitted from that investigation. Who was it again that was hit with NCAA violations for free text books within the last 2 years? Closet, go check yours
BubbaJ writes:
Although Memphis can at times be worth the Vols time, there seems to be more tallent in both the Middle TN and Knoxville areas this year, looking at both the Sr. and Jr. classes.
Just a bit of encouraging info from a UT assistant, is that expect the Vols to land some highly rated players from the Atlanta area next season. The coach could not give out names, due to NCAA rules, but said the Vols were in on most every Jr. in the Atlanta area. Seems like that
would mean more than what Memphis doesn't offer at this time.
dvols writes:
logan young ruined memphis for us for a while.....
murrayvol writes:
No doubt. He loves to toy with GVX patrons.
murrayvol writes:
A year or two of coaching stability will work wonders for recruiting in Memphis and elsewhere.
BigOrangeinCharge writes:
This is true. I was out there last summer to interview for a HS assistant coaching job. The HC asked me who my favorite team was and I told him UT. He made a disgusted face and said that Fulmer's staff were the most arrogant bunch of MFers he'd ever dealt with, but he'd heard even worse things about <name redacted>. Most coaches in the Memphis area don't encourage, like, or even trust UT. Dooley probably has some connections there from his days at his old job, which will be a huge help in opening up an important recruiting pipeline.
There's lots of talent in the Memphis area, though some of the best slips through the cracks because those kids don't get the exposure and hype that players in the Atlanta or Miami metro areas get. Some are busts, but there are usually at least a couple of fine football players to come out of there every year.
TnScooby writes:
As usual Nancy you are wrong again...Your ignorance is reminicent of all the brainless trolls who continue to post stupidazz drivel on here...For your information dumbazz, UT has NEVER "held" the Fulmer Cup:
Past winners
2006: Marshall University
2007: University of Illinois
2008: University of Alabama
2009: University of South Florida
2010: University of Georgia
At least ATTEMPT to know something before you post...Impossible for your ignorant azz we realize but since you continue to show up here,get something right or STFU!!!!
mybolognahasasecondname writes:
I've been following UT for the past 54 years and I remember an awful lot of highly touted talent from Memphis going to closer schools in Mississipi, Alabama, etc. Yes the Vols get some but not as much as you would expect from inside the state of TN.
BigOrangeinCharge writes:
Memphis is about 8 hours away from Knoxville and it's within our borders. The same drive radius gets you most of AL, GA, SC, NC, VA, KY, WV. In other words... all the other regional areas that we try to recruit. The thing is, there aren't all that many major metro areas in there that produce the type of talent that Memphis does--you basically have Nashville and Atlanta and that's about it. If you want to "build a fence" around the state, you've got to start by locking down the 3 major metros: Knoxville, Nashville, and Memphis. For the first time in my lifetime, we have a HC who seems to value that. I'm glad.
UneducatedRedneck writes:
Yes, it would be nice to have a strong recruiting presence in Memphis, but I can make a pretty strong point that it isn't crucial to the Vols' success. We've been able to recruit guys like Peyton Manning and Janzen Jackson from Louisiana, Stallworth and Clausen from California, Travis Henry from Florida, Jerrod Mayo from Virginia, Luke Stocker from Kentucky....point being that we can find players, even if Memphis falls into the Mississippi River.
BigOrangeinCharge writes:
That's true, but we got most of those guys back when UT was contending for the national championship, or at least the SEC championship.
It's hard to convince a guy out of CA with every school in the nation recruiting him hard to come play for a team that he and his friends only think finishes 3rd or 4th in the SEC East. Most HS recruits don't remember the last time the Vols were even in contention for the SEC Championship, much less a factor in the national championship picture. That's just reality.
We've kind of fallen into the position that Pitt was in back during the early 90s. Sure we won a national championship 12 years ago and the best QB in the NFL is one of our alums, but what've we done lately to make HS kids think this is still a great place to live, go to school, and play ball?
We've got to start from the ground up again. This is a rebuilding project, and the first part of it is rebuilding our recruiting structure. Get those pipelines laid and those relationships cultivated. We had surprisingly good classes the last two years, but all the turmoil and disappointments on the field are taking their toll, especially when it comes to getting the elite prospects.
That's why the Vols still have one of the nation's 25 best classes on paper, but among SEC schools their 2011 class is currently only rated ahead of Vanderbilt by the major services. We need to focus on finding the real players in our own backyard that the services overlook--they're out there in Tennessee and a lot of them are in Memphis. CDD knows this.
Colliervol writes:
Chris Rainey: Player of the Week. Well of course he is. Definitely would make me proud of my Florida diploma. "Time To Die"-- Do you think that will be the title of his autobiography?
Our problems are momentary blips on the radar. In Gainesville, it's a way of life.
Colliervol writes:
As far as Memphis recruiting goes, it's a hit and miss proposition. As in 2005, we may get some and two out of three don't work out for some reason. Historically, we've gotten players that we want. But you have to remember two things down here:
1) There just aren't that many D-1 prospects in the system from year to year. That leaves a bunch of schools panting after a couple of prospects.
2) If they are decent players, you have to take a hard look at the grade situation. Sad to say it but that's a big factor especially in the city schools.
bluetickhoundguy writes:
And who actually invented (and host a website that I won't bother to publicise) the so-called "Fulmer Cup"? A couple of Florida grads. Boom. Busted. Thanks for playing but you can go home now.
Slystone writes:
The problem is that ppl don't realize what a foot hold Bama, LSU, Ole Miss and a few other SEC schools have in Memphis. The Vols lack of wins over the last 5 to 6 years hasn't endeared itself to players either. I believe the Vols have a better chance of landing D1 prospects out of Memphis under Dooley then Pearl in Basketball.
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.