Tennessee football: 5 concerns with Vols revamped staff heading into 2019
2. Loss of key recruiting pipeline states
The additions of Derrick Ansley, Jim Chaney and Tee Martin strengthened Tennessee football’s recruiting pipelines into the states of Alabama, Georgia and California. But they did not add any pipeline states from what the Vols had last year.
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Instead, Jeremy Pruitt lost a couple of pipeline connections. Charles Kelly’s departure significantly weakened their pipeline into Florida, as he had spent years with the Florida State Seminoles and wore many different hats. Sure, there’s still Chris Weinke, but Kelly would have been helpful.
Kelly also gave the Vols a pipeline into the state of Louisiana, a very fertile recruiting ground. Now, David Johnson is still in Knoxville, but having two guys with a connection there made the pipeline significantly stronger.
On the other hand, Tyson Helton’s departure pretty much ended Tennessee’s pipeline into a couple of places. He had the California pipeline already, so Martin and Ansley arriving on Rocky Top didn’t add much.
Meanwhile, Helton had experience coaching in Hawaii and the fertile recruiting ground of Ohio, where he spent some time with the Cincinnati Bearcats. That’s a state where Pruitt really wants to have a connection, so yes, losing Helton hurt on that front.
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Helton also helped with a pipeline into Memphis, for what it’s worth. Martin replacing Terry Fair probably slightly helps the Vols strengthen their in-state recruiting chances, but Fair did have connections out West, being from Arizona and coaching in Colorado for three years. So the changes don’t all mean upgrades when it comes to recruiting.