Why the Music City Bowl is a great destination for Tennessee Vols
The Tennessee Vols learned on Sunday that they'll be playing in the Music City Bowl in Nashville on December 30. Tennessee will be taking on the Purdue Boilermakers. Purdue is coming off an 8-4 season that saw the Boilermakers beat top five teams in Iowa and Michigan State (those programs were ranked in the top […]
The Tennessee Vols learned on Sunday that they'll be playing in the Music City Bowl in Nashville on December 30.
Tennessee will be taking on the Purdue Boilermakers.
Purdue is coming off an 8-4 season that saw the Boilermakers beat top five teams in Iowa and Michigan State (those programs were ranked in the top five at the time of the game).
The Vols should be happy to be playing in Nashville. The opponent doesn't matter all that much (all that matters for UT is winning and getting to 8-5). But playing in Nashville could be big for the program.
This is all about recruiting.
Sure, there are arguments to be made that bowl games don't help recruiting that much. And in most cases, I'd agree. I don't think playing in the Outback Bowl in Tampa would help the Vols when it comes to recruiting in Florida.
And I'm not sure how much playing in the Duke's Mayo Bowl in Charlotte would help Tennessee in the Carolinas.
But it's a different story when it comes to Nashville.
The Vols have to dominate in recruiting in Nashville and surrounding areas if the program is going to be a threat to win the SEC in the coming years.
Tennessee has lost too many players from the mid-state to opposing programs in recent years.
The top seven in-state players during the 2021 recruiting cycle signed with other programs. Four of those players played high school football in the Nashville area.
That can't keep happening if the Vols are going to compete for championships. It's imperative that they land those players.
Playing in Nashville more often can help prevent those players from going from elsewhere. Tennessee essentially needs to be seen more in Nashville. It needs to be the program's home away from home.
Playing in the Music City Bowl is step one. Step two is playing the Orange and White game in 2022 in Nashville (which looks likely, due to renovations taking place at Neyland).
More neutral site games in Nashville would be step three. From there, UT should schedule more events in Nashville where players and coaches are featured.
The Vols need to change how they're perceived by recruits in Nashville. Making the Music City Bowl a big week-long event would only serve to help Tennessee in recruiting moving forward.
Featured image via Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
