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Tennessee football: 5 strongest states for Vols in 2019

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 29: A general view of Neyland Stadium during the South Carolina Gamecocks game against the Tennessee Volunteers on October 29, 2011 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 29: A general view of Neyland Stadium during the South Carolina Gamecocks game against the Tennessee Volunteers on October 29, 2011 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee football always goes national to build its talent. Here are the five strongest states for the Volunteers heading into the 2019 season.

Even as in-state talent has improved over the past few years, Tennessee football has still needed to go national to compete. Jeremy Pruitt recognized that, and the result was the leading state for the Vols’ 2019 recruiting class not being at home.

Including that class, UT is set to have players from 19 states in the U.S. and another from Canada as they get set to enter the 2019 season. The talent ranges from South Florida to Northern California to Ontario.

But it’s clear that Tennessee football is turning to lots of different places to try to get the program going again entering Pruitt’s second year. A program that has always gone national is focused on doing that again.

No area has a monopoly, and depending on how the depth chart shakes out with the new talent added, some of those states could move up in terms of importance. Where does Rocky Top stand right now with that talent?

Well, in this post we’re going to break down the five strongest states for the Vols. This is based slightly on projections given what we expect from some of the new guys in this recruiting class, but it is also based on numbers and contributors from last year.

Our criteria will obviously include the raw numbers from each state. However, we also place an emphasis on key players, so a state with less players on the Vols may be ahead of another one simply due to the players we are projecting to start this Fall. What will be clear is just how far the program spreads to get the talent it needs to win.

So just how far does UT stretch? Where are the best players coming from? Take a look with this slideshow. These are the five strongest states for Tennessee football heading into Pruitt’s second season as head coach of the Vols.

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