Lane Kiffin on Tennessee, the strength of the SEC, recruiting

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"Tennessee was great for me. We feel we laid the foundation down in recruiting to do something really special there. I made some rookie mistakes with the way I handled some things, but there's no doubt we would be doing some special things there just like we feel like we're doing here.

I understand why the people there still feel bitter towards me, I understand that completely. They knew we were doing something special there. It hurt to leave, but like I've said there's not another job in America that I would have left Tennessee to take. The USC job is it, the only one.

There's no doubt the SEC is the best league in America. They've won 6 national titles in a row. They're the best until another conference proves otherwise....

No doubt the biggest difference is in the front sevens. We feel like out here we have some pretty great offenses and secondaries out here, but the quality of d-lines and linebackers are not close out to what they are there out here, the NFL draft shows that every year. That's something that we've really tried to correct in recruiting. You're not going to beat an SEC school unless you recruit those seven spots at the level the SEC schools do."

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