Alabama Football: Tide fans can ignore the Tennessee recruiting buzz

The Tennessee Vols have the top SEC recruiting class and No. 3 in the FBS. Alabama football is No. 12 in the SEC and No. 55 in the FBS. There is no cause for concern.

Alabama football fans have heard the national buzz about Tennessee Vols recruiting success. It is impossible to miss given all the swooning by national pundits. As is so often true, the gap between perception and reality is wide.

Vols head coach and former Alabama football Defensive Coordinator, Jeremy Pruitt should be commended. He has the orange-clad faithful more pumped up than at any point in the last several years. Pruitt has 17 verbal commitments in the Vols 2021 class.

Some Alabama football fans believe there is reason to worry. Especially so, since the Alabama football 2021 class has only three verbal commits. In the oddest recruiting cycle ever, it is a long time until December. If Alabama football recruiting reaches a point for concern, that point is not May or June or even July. Most top prospects intend to wait for official visits to make a choice. Just like the upcoming football season, it is not known when those visits can occur.

Nick Saban is being patient. Jeremy Pruitt is rushing forward. It appears Jeremy is counting on some kind of bandwagon effect to attract a few elite players. Given two 5-Stars recently announced choosing the Vols, Pruitt’s strategy might work.

In reality, loading up early to currently have the SEC’s No. 1 class and the No. 3 class in the nation is not risk-free. Later flips, away from the Vols, can occur. Nick Saban has never favored taking a verbal commitment until the recruit is sure.

One thing, Pruitt may not need to fret over, is a large number of later flips. Among his 17 verbal commits, are 10 recruits rated by 247Sports  from the overall No. 415 in the class to No. 802. Three more are rated outside the Top 200. Another is a 3-Star, JUCO running back, who may or may not be a Top 200 player. The point is Jeremy Pruitt need not fret over flips by 14 of his 17 verbal commits, at least not to top Power Five teams.

Before swallowing media frenzy that the Vols are building a top class, take a closer look. Among the 14, mentioned above, are the No. 42 and No. 68 wide receivers, the No. 42 defensive tackle, the No. 45 safety, the No. 59 cornerback and the No. 37 and No. 56 athletes.

The Vols class is so non-distinguished, among Pruitt’s top 70 or so, 2021 targets, only two have chosen other top, Power Five programs. Most of college football’s elite programs are not much interested in the Vols’ targets.

There are exceptions. Cody Brown, 4-Star, and No. 9 rated running back had considerable interest. The two 5-Stars were chased by a host of Power Five programs. They are the No. 1 rated weakside defensive end, Dylan Brooks and the No. 1 rated, outside linebacker, Terrence Lewis. Nick Saban had targeted and offered both. An unconfirmed rumor out of Tuscaloosa is only Brooks was a sure take for the Crimson Tide.

Any Alabama Crimson Tide fan worried by Tennessee’s recruiting can look for another object of concern. You can bet Kirby Smart and Dan Mullen are not worried and certainly not Nick Saban.