I didn't want to touch this one. I figured it would blow over fairly quickly. After all, recruiting rankings are fluid right up until National Signing Day, so a couple of days of outrage and things mellow out until the next round of recruiting rankings. That's how it usually goes, but not this time. Nope. For some reason, the chatter just keeps growing. Fans are getting angrier and angrier.
For those lucky enough to have missed the current perceived slight to the Vols, quarterback commitment Harrison Bailey saw his ranking with 247Sports drop 49 spots in the latest recruiting ranking update after a somewhat up and down showing at The Opening. Harrison Bailey was at one time ranked as high as #48 nationally very early in the rankings for the 2020 class back in February of 2018, and since then has seen his ranking with 247Sports dip to its current low of #210 nationally. He is holding steady as the #5 pro-style quarterback in the class.
For fans, who have developed a victim mentality both deserved and unwarranted at times, it adds 247Sports to a list of those who hate Tennessee, along with referees, ESPN, CBS, and presumably God. Now, on the victim mentality matter, fans have every reason to feel disrespected, but it's not the media or referees or SEC or the Lord above they have to blame. It's the University of Tennessee. It's mismanagement from the top on down that has led to this mess. Questionable athletic director hires led to bad head coaching hires, iffy staffs, poor recruiting results, underwhelming player development, etc. Honesty from the media or veering off onto other topics during Tennessee games when the Vols aren't performing is all a consequence of over a decade of mismanagement and poor play.
ESPN absolutely does not hate Tennessee. That would be cutting their nose off to spite their face. Knoxville, as of 2017, was tied for the #4 market for college football in the country. Nashville tied for #6. Feel free to toss in at least portions of the viewing audience in some of the other top ten markets like Birmingham, Atlanta, and Greenville and you can see why ESPN isn't trying to run off Tennessee fans. Knoxville is the #60 market for television overall, but when it comes to college football the numbers skyrocket. Trust me, ESPN knows this.
Similar for CBS's Tennessee games. They know they get a boost from Vol fans when they air them. They aren't looking to run you off. They also can't ask announcers to spend too much time talking about a lopsided blowout loss by Tennessee again. Guys, I've been in the booth. You have to have something to talk about, and frankly, there's only so much you can say about one-sided contests.
247Sports isn't out to get anyone. GoVols247 is among the top 15 to 20 sites for traffic every month in the 247Sports network. The idea that they want to run people off or attack Tennessee recruits because they didn't commit to Alabama or Georgia is ridiculous. They aren't seeking to run off subscribers. Heck, when it comes to Tennessee content, there aren't many sites that give Vol fans as much to read as 247Sports, especially when it comes to things that can be read for free.
What about the rankings though? Why did Harrison Bailey fall so much? First of all, he didn't fall quite the way some fans are making it out that he did. He's still #210 in the country and is well within the Top247. As a four-star prospect, he is a player expected to play professionally. He didn't drop to a three-star prospect. He fell within the top 210 players in the country. He fell somewhat because other guys at different positions clearly moved ahead of him. That happens. All the time.
However, the other factor is that a prior concern proved to still be lingering, and that is his quickness in making his drops, moving his feet, and getting the ball out quickly. These are things that can be fixed with coaching, of course. They aren't even necessarily things that are uncommon to find among quarterbacks coming out of high school. It's a different level of competition week in and week out.
Jack Miller and Harrison Bailey both participated in The Opening and both saw some changes to their rankings out of the event. The Opening is a big stage, and it's a big stage with many of the best players at every position showing up and showing out. That means that little issues with a player's game can be highlighted as they are compared to other top talents. It's normal to see players move up or down after such an event.
Now, many fans are pointing to the Rivals 5-Star Challenge, where Bailey won MVP, as proof that 247Sports is being biased against him. That's not particularly meaningful in 247Sports' ranking because they aren't hosting the event, don't attend the event, and don't get a chance to analyze players at that event. In truth, The Opening is probably the first chance they had to evaluate Bailey since he went to the Charlotte regional back in May. Rivals is going to rank Bailey accordingly since they hosted the event, and that will boost Bailey's composite ranking. It's silly to accuse 247Sports for being biased against a player because they haven't had all the same events to evaluate a recruit at.
As for a bias against Tennessee, spare me. Cooper Mays moved up 72 spots in the last update. He has moved from being ranked as low as #531 in February to being at an all-time high now for him of #236 and entering the Top247. You can't ask for honesty from recruiting analysts and then get angry when they give honest assessments.
I get it. Bailey is one of the earliest big names to join the class. He's a quarterback, so he's viewed as the leader of the recruiting class. Anything that happens with him, positive or negative, is going to be overblown. Feel free to disagree with the recruiting assessments or the importance of recruiting rankings or even the value of mobility within the pocket. I'm all for that. Express yourselves to your heart's content. However, stop making false accusations of bias. Stop playing the victim when any network or website does something you disagree with.
Settle down. Harrison Bailey is the same kid you were excited about before. He's still the future at quarterback for the Vols. He's still one of the most active player recruiters. He is everything you thought he was no matter what one site has him ranked at as a recruit. Ultimately, he's going to decide who he's going to be as a Tennessee quarterback, not rankings from a website. If you can't handle kids being ranked and evaluated, maybe don't follow recruiting until National Signing Day and just enjoy the final result. It might be healthier for you mentally.
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