Hey, let’s see how Tennessee is doing on the recruiting trail compared to Alabama and Georgia! They’re two of our biggest rivals and were the two best teams in the nation last year, and that’s where we want to be ASAP! Surely we’re closing the gap…
| Team | Current Rank (247) | Commits | Blue Chips (4/5*) | Blue Chip Ratio |
| Alabama | 1 | 15 | 14 | 93.33% |
| Georgia | 13 | 8 | 8 | 100.00% |
| Tennessee | 17 | 10 | 6 | 60.00% |
(Fulmerized.)
Seriously, Georgia’s blue chip ratio is 100% through their first eight commits for 2019. Alabama’s is a measly 93% through fifteen commits only because their lone three-star is a kicker. SB Nation’s blue chip ratio is based on the idea of a team needing at least 50% of its players to be four-or-five-stars to win a national championship. I think the Dawgs and Tide have it covered.
But…for the moment, so does Tennessee.
It ain’t 14 four-or-five stars, and it ain’t a (well-earned) perfect start like Georgia’s. But so far Jeremy Pruitt’s staff has put the Vols in great position with blue chip players more often than not. His transition class went 9-for-23 (39.1%) in blue chip ratio, better than Butch Jones’ final class in 2017 (5-for-28, 17.9%) and his transition class in 2013 (4-for-23, 17.4%).
And while Jones’ first full class was getting us (rightfully) excited around this time five years ago, and did ultimately end up hitting the 50% mark on the money (16-for-32), I do think it’s noteworthy that its four highest-rated players were in-state and/or legacy commits. It’s to Jones’ credit that he landed those players at Tennessee, especially after the struggles he inherited from Derek Dooley. It’s to Pruitt’s credit that his four highest-rated players are currently out-of-state kids, plus legacy commit Jackson Lampley at number five, especially after the struggles of last season.
Comparing Tennessee to Alabama or Georgia right now is an exercise in futility. And comparing Pruitt to Jones on a small sample size is an exercise in seeing what we want to see. But Tennessee can establish important separation among the rest of the SEC East. And in that regard:
| Team | Current Rank (247) | Commits | Blue Chips (4/5*) | Blue Chip Ratio |
| Tennessee | 17 | 10 | 6 | 60.00% |
| Florida | 27 | 9 | 4 | 44.44% |
| South Carolina | 5 | 15 | 5 | 33.33% |
| Missouri | 73 | 3 | 1 | 33.33% |
| Kentucky | 53 | 6 | 0 | 0.00% |
| Vanderbilt | 80 | 2 | 0 | 0.00% |
Long way to go. South Carolina is off to a great start in quantity, but less so in quality. But it’s Tennessee who leads the non-Georgia SEC East in blue chip ratio through mid-June, and the Vols are above the 50% threshold so far. If this is one of the most important battles for Tennessee to win on the field early in Pruitt’s tenure – how are we compared to the rest of the non-UGA SEC East? – the Vols are also doing a good job gaining a leg up on that battle in the future. Right now, this comparison is more important than Pruitt-to-Butch or the Vols to teams that just played for the title. Success is relative, and Pruitt is doing relatively well so far.