OT - Like it or not, HS Coaches want love from State U

[huskymedic]

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/nov/25/area-teams-ignored-by-dooley-staff/

"Not only did Derek Dooley finish with a losing record in all three of his seasons as UT's head coach, but he and his staff also failed to build a working relationship with high school coaches in the tri-state area, long a recruiting base for the Volunteers."

 

[whaler11]

I don't think people dispute that. I'd guess that Dooley was of the same mindset as Edsall. Didn't think there were enough players to expend the resources.

My decade of high school officiating showed me at least one thing: high school football coaches are very difficult to make happy. I'm sure I'd be the same way, acting as if my 3-7 team was just a couple of plays from a State Championship and my best players should be fawned over by college recruiters and I could hold my own at the next level but 95% of them are wrong.

 

[huskymedic]

I don't think people dispute that. I'd guess that Dooley was of the same mindset as Edsall. Didn't think there were enough players to expend the resources.

My decade of high school officiating showed me at least one thing: high school football coaches are very difficult to make happy. I'm sure I'd be the same way, acting as if my 3-7 team was just a couple of plays from a State Championship and my best players should be fawned over by college recruiters and I could hold my own at the next level but 95% of them are wrong.

Off the top - you'd have to think that southeast Tennessee, northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama had some decent talent but who knows.

 

[whaler11]

Tennessee is going to be a pretty tough place to win big. Dooley didn't win at all - but getting them to .500 in the league won't be easy.

 

[gioff23]

I disagree. I think w/a Charlie Strong type coach UT will be back on top in no time. Great history, embedded in a fertile recruiting area, lots of donors willing to help out, etc. Everything is in place structurally to win, and win soon.

 

[Husky68]

I disagree. I think w/a Charlie Strong type coach UT will be back on top in no time. Great history, embedded in a fertile recruiting area, lots of donors willing to help out, etc. Everything is in place structurally to win, and win soon.

Loserville won a lot of close games this year. Teams came back at them like Uconn, except they mostly held on. Recruiting to beat Fl, Al, LSU, Ga, SC is not so easly, never mind A&M, and the dregs of the SEC. Strong had strong recruiting ties to Fl, got a rebound QB from Miami. Far from a sure thing at a tough sell school. Vandy coach seems to be doing it but Gill got killed at Kansas. The smart Boise coach wasn't so smart at Colorado.

You better really have a plan to recruit and boosters who know how to get around NCAA rules if you want to compete in SEC.