Since unveiling Rocky Top Talk's Tennessee Volunteers 2010 Recruiting Big Board earlier this week, I've had the opportunity to take some observations on board and to make some updates. Most of these changes - both technical and personnel-wise - came from the feedback, so many thanks to those of you who commented earlier.
First, the board:
View Rocky Top Talk Tennessee Volunteers Recruiting Big Board 2010 in a larger map
As before, you can zoom in and view everything from within the embedded map, though the popup videos might not be visible in the small window. (That's what the link below the embed is for...) Also, if you haven't done it already, the Google Earth download is here. The beauty of the GE file is that it will update every time you open it; you can save it to your desktop and, when you click on it, you'll automatically have the board open up with the latest and greatest.
Now, onto the news:
Recruits
- Chase Rettig, QB from the LA area, is added. He's looking like a stronger possibility as our Scroggins-jitters increase. It sounds like the biggest knock on him was a bad year due to injuries of teammates.
- Barry Brunetti, QB from Memphis, is added. He's committed to West Virginia, but the tea leaves are suggesting he might consider a switch if pressed hard enough.
- Hutson Mason, QB from Lassiter GA, is added. Mason's another unknown quantity, but comments eariler in the week led me to take a peek, and he's worth having on the board.
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Lamarcus Joyner, DB from Florida, is added. Joyner's one of those universal-5* types that everybody's going after. It sounds like some people are trying to smear UT around him, but I can't tell if that means he's considering the Vols seriously or not. He is, however, taking an official visit to UT later on.
- Tyrone Cornelius, LB from Stone Mtn. GA, is added. Cornelius is from the same town as current Vol LB LaMarcus Thompson, albeit from different high schools. He's down to 4 (UT, Miami, GaTech, and SoCar).
- Jeff Luc, LB from South Florida, is added. Luc is the consensus #1 middle linebacker prospect in the nation. Big and fast. And fast. And big. And mean. The "Mike" is the guy who really makes the T-2 defense work, and having somebody of his caliber would be a huge breakthrough.
- Garrison Smith, DT from Altanta, is added. Another fast, athletic type. As a junior, he's about 250-260, which is somehow considered undersized, but he seems to have a frame that can support tackle-level weight.
Who else am I missing? This thing's in its infancy, so I'm sure there are more people I need to add and a few I need to remove.
Technical
The biggest question I have from a technical perspective is the use of the embedded map on the front page. One the upside, it's instantly accessible and usable. On the downside, I've noticed that it takes a lot of scripts and might slow down the site loading. Do you notice that? If it's not a problem, I'll keep doing that; if it creates lag issues, I'll find a workaround.
I haven't found out why Firefox can have troubles with the videos yet. If it persists, I'll abandon the vids and stick with text. Any help here would be appreciated, though, as the videos are a nice touch.
Incoming There are a few changes coming down the pike to the map - things that I'm doing some beta-testing on the side. I don't want to give anything away quite yet, but I do think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Other than that, if you notice any issues with the Map, the Google Earth application, or any of the information, leave a comment so I can get to it.