Every Tennessee Vols head coach says they plan to make local talent a priority, but not every UT head coach delivers on that promise.
Derek Dooley was accused of ignoring Tri-state area schools.
Butch Jones missed on key local stars such as Tee Higgins and Amari Rodgers (Knoxville area natives who both landed at Clemson).
And Jeremy Pruitt seemed more interested in recruiting three-star players from Alabama instead of local kids.
New Vols head coach Josh Heupel, however, is taking a different approach. Early in Heupel’s tenure, he’s proving that he’s serious about landing local talent.
The Vols recently extended a scholarship offer to 2023 running back DeSean Bishop, a Karns High School standout from Knoxville who hasn’t been rated yet by the major recruiting services.
Bishop received the offer after camping with Tennessee this past weekend.
“It’s the SEC and I get the opportunity to potentially play in my hometown which is a big deal,” said Bishop to VolQuest after the Volunteers offered.
So far, UT is the only Power-5 program that’s offered Bishop (his other offers are from Austin Peay, Eastern Kentucky, and Tulane).
If Bishop wasn’t from Knoxville, he probably wouldn’t have an offer from the Vols right now (he’d likely be lost in the crowd if he wasn’t from Knoxville).
But Heupel understands how important it is to keep talented players from leaving the area. And he clearly believes Bishop has enough talent to play in the SEC (remember, Heupel doesn’t usually make non-committable offers).
By offering Bishop, Heupel is building trust with local high schools. He’s building relationships that could be extremely beneficial to the Volunteers in the future.
Heupel’s a smart coach. He knows how important it is to keep local talent from going to Clemson or Georgia. And he’s making sure he does everything in his power to prevent Tennessee from ever losing another elite Knoxville native to a rival program.
Featured image via Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel via Imagn Content Services
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June 17, 2021 at 12:29PM
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Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel proves he's serious about landing local talent - atozsportsnashville.com
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