Due to the recent misses on two highly recruited 5-star defensive tackles in the last month, I was wondering if anybody has compiled any empirical data on where the top 4 and 5 star tackles around the country (and abroad) come from and who they end up signing with. 

Since 2012, Urban has gone after a few from the South and heavily invested his recruiting efforts towards them to no avail. Obviously his recruiting classes and teams havn't skipped a beat because of it but it always perplexes me nonetheless. 

When Urbz was at Florida, he did have access to higher concentrations of these types of players but here in the Midwest he can't seem to get them to leave that SEC footprint. Clearly he prioritizes big time offensive and defensive linemen on his teams so its not for lack of trying. It seems his best hopes are maybe mid-Atlantic tackles in the ACC/ Big East footprint but even then, they still tend to drift South or even TTUN. 

Even more of a head scratcher is: Why are so many of these 4 and 5 star D-tackles from the deep South? Why? Was it always historically like that? WTF? Why does that particular position player tend to stay within a two or three state radius?

Please keep this discussion polite and civilized people for the sake of all our enlightenment. I would hate to get this thread on lock down so none of us learn anything.  

My  take is, Urban needs to maybe think about these factors when the next round of coaching hires comes up. Then again, LJ has been a phenomenal position coach/recruiter for decades now while stationed in the Midwest/East Coast. Anybody got stats on LJ's track record recruiting top-notch defensive tackles (or ends) from the South? I wouldn't give up coach Johnson for anybody in the country but maybe Urban can pair him up with somebody in the future for going down South to recruit D-linemen.