Tennessean Article “Can Clark Lea get...

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Tennessean Article “Can Clark Lea get...

Post by BamaVandyFan »

Nashville’s Private Schools wealth of Power 5 recruits to Vanderbilt?” Question: is there that much SEC level talent in the private school system in an average year?

Sorry, couldn’t read behind the paywall and interested in what Nashville locals thoughts.


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Re: Tennessean Article “Can Clark Lea get...

Post by BrentVU »

I don't think you could build a successful college program based solely on Nashville private school recruits. But there are definitely a lot of studs coming from those programs for sure, and the private schools are playing at a very high level these days.

P.S. Adam Sparks did a nice story on how Langston Patterson committed to Vandy based on the presence of Lea, and now this one. Tennessean readers are going to miss Adam. (Both stories are subscriber-only.)
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Re: Tennessean Article “Can Clark Lea get...

Post by Doresince89 »

I thought I read somewhere Lea claimed over the last several years, something like 80 kids went to power 5 programs. I don't think it was just Nashville area though, might have been statewide.
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Re: Tennessean Article “Can Clark Lea get...

Post by AuricGoldfinger »

It's an interesting hypothesis.
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Re: Tennessean Article “Can Clark Lea get...

Post by Labradore »

That’s the math to aim for... can’t build an entire program around middle Tennessee private school players. But if Lea can bring in 3-4 per class, that would be an entirely realistic way to attract the local fan base and construct a quality foundation of each recruiting cycle.
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Re: Tennessean Article “Can Clark Lea get...

Post by vandy05 »

So that is 7 per year and we were only getting one of them each year. I wouldn't assume that all 7 each year would qualify for admission, so maybe the eligible pool is only 5. If we could get 3, I would consider that to be outperformance. Even if it just meant keeping a kid from going to Purdue or Georgia Tech or Illinois (not some four star kid), that is nice progress.
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Re: Tennessean Article “Can Clark Lea get...

Post by BamaVandyFan »

Man it is really refreshing to have CCL that understands the landscape and is a part of such discussions. Never remember this before.
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Re: Tennessean Article “Can Clark Lea get...

Post by alathIN »

Lots of good points in this thread.

Agreed it's not a given that all of these would be academically eligible, but it's probably a decent percentage. A lot of academically ineligible players would be a lot stronger academically if they had the chance to attend better schools with more attention, better resources, and less random gunfire. I think there are more who are unprepared to be Vanderbilt students and very few who are innately too dumb to be Vanderbilt students. (I got a bachelors and masters from VU so I am living proof you don't have to be a genius).

Also these are families who understand the value of a high quality education. I know that some private high schools are almost becoming mini-college football programs, bringing in great athletes on what amounts to scholarships - no idea how much of that is going on in Nashville - but minimally these are parents who are willing to physically take their kids across town to an upper level high school rather than just putting them on the school bus.
If these families value education, they are probably more receptive to recruitment from Vanderbilt.

I had not thought of the local fans angle but it makes a lot of sense. All of these HS athletes have local friends and extended families and fan bases at their schools. In my undergrad days I remember the Gaines brothers and Carl Woods as being players with a strong local following. The Gaines family was practically an institution. Building some more of that vibe could help keep more black and gold in the stadium than a total invasion of the visiting team's colors. Even outside of the actual games building local interest is good for the program.
Another example is Kurt Page. There were a lot of Father Ryan fans/students/alums following Vanderbilt in those years. Bringing in more local heroes on a regular basis could really help build the program and the fan base.

It is interesting because when Lea was first hired I listened to a Notre Dame podcast talking about this career move. Their interest, by the way, was that they were rooting for Lea to succeed somewhere as a HC so they could hire him back to Notre Dame in a few years as HC - he is very highly regarded in that fan base.
Their take on Lea's recruiting was that his base was nationwide. Apparently he has contacts everywhere. "Probably one of the best connected coaches in the business." Has coached in multiple of the "trees" and multiple regions. Their take is that you have to look harder longer and wider to find great players who can also perform academically (also an issue at ND).
These podcasters seemed to be very well informed - so it's kind of a twist that Lea comes here and the immediate emphasis is on the five hour radius and the local private schools.

I do believe in the concept of low hanging fruit. If you have X hours to spend recruiting, spending those hours where you're more likely to be successful (families who value education) and where the payoff is extended (program building that goes beyond just the player) makes a lot of sense.

That, by the way, is another thing those ND podcasters kept hammering on.
They kept using the word "cerebral" and "detailed."
His rep is that he thinks through everything he does, everything is for a reason.

Another detail - I read recently that the new OC was previously an artificial limb salesman and kept hanging around a program where Lea was an assistant - so excited to be part of a football program that he would put in long hours unpaid just to be there.
Apparently the guy was the most successful salesman in his company's history and had done so well financially he could afford to quit his day job and devote his time to football.
When Lea first hired this random NFL assistant to be the OC my reaction was "huh?"
But I can see how a guy who is that driven to coach and has that degree of sales skills could easily be a home run hire.
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