The Unsung Heroes In Tennessee Recruiting

The University of Tennessee coaching tree has some of the most talented coaches and recruiters in the nation.

What Butch Jones and his staff have been able to do over their tenure is purely electrifying, and it has put Tennessee football back on the map.

The Lady Vols softball team is always one of the top teams in the country. They are currently set as a top eight seed for the NCAA tourney.

The Vols’ baseball team currently has a recruiting class that consists of four players that are top 100 MLB prospects.

Rick Barnes is bringing his impressive resume over from Texas and seemingly has Vol basketball trending upward again.

And we all know what the Lady Vol basketball team can do.

The point is that Tennessee is in an exciting time right now and the fans are passionate as ever.

Tennessee has a fan base whose passion leads to treating the Kahlil McKenzie’s, Drew Richmond’s, and Preston Williams’ of the world like some kind of higher beings. This passionate fan base deserves some of the credit for helping bring in some of these players, and that is starting to shine through on the world wide web.

Everyday fans are interacting with media, coaches, players, and each other just talking Tennessee. The conversation on social media also crosses over to the recruiting trail. On Twitter, fans are tweeting at players, and even potential recruits demonstrating their thoughts on where they should play.

In some cases, fans just want to say happy birthday.

In an era where social media is playing a part in virtually every area of society, it allows an outlet for college recruits to get better exposure. A kid can upload his or her video to Youtube, post it on Twitter or Facebook, and then their name is out there.

However, if a coach sees something they like, they cannot tweet at that young recruit. Coaches walk a thin line when it comes to the use of social media and recruiting. With tweets like the ones above, fans are helping do some of the coaches’ work for them.

If I were to put up a video of me knocking down three-pointers, and dunking on everybody (a dream that will never come true), Rick Barnes could not tweet @SethNorris12 and say “come play for me.” Even if a recruit were to commit to a university, the coach cannot publicly name that student until a national letter of intent is signed. When a player commits, coaches find their own ways to recognize it:

Coaches also cannot retweet a possible player. For example, when Kahlil McKenzie was tweeting pictures of he and Jones as the Top Gun duo before he signed, Jones could not retweet the image because it would be a violation. This is where fans have the advantage. Fans can retweet the image, share it on Facebook, or whatever social media site they are using. Recruits feel that love. Fans take the recruiting game to the next level on social media.

Whether it is #fillyneyland, or #richmondtothehill, recruits take notice. Recruits are constantly interacting back and forth with fans, and it has to have an impact. Do Vol fans have the ultimate say in where a kid goes? No, the coaching staffs are, after all, the ones visiting them at home, and going to the games. However, with thousands of people constantly chattering and demonstrating that it will be great to be a Tennessee Vol, the advantages that fans have certainly make an impact.