Coleman Thomas survived the sacks & the jerks

[kamoshika]

Glad Thomas weathered the firestorm of criticism last fall; he's a tough kid physically & mentally who'll develop into an outstanding o-lineman in another year, IMO.

He was 18 years old. Offensive tackle was a new position. And there he was, making his first collegiate start in Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. It was an eye-opener for Tennessee freshman Coleman Thomas from the tiny burg of Max Meadows, Va.

So was the reaction that followed on social media and message boards after Thomas’ rough night in a 34-10 Sooners victory over the Vols.

Shakespeare wrote of suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortunes. Thomas had to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous UT fans.

...“It was eye-opening,’’ Thomas said Tuesday, “to know there are that many fans who would say that to a kid.’’
Mike Strange: Coleman Thomas survived the sacks and the cracks - News Sentinel Story

 

[fade route]

I'd bet most D1 players think their fans are meatheads, and for the most part they're right.

 

[walkenvol]

No doubt there are some true meatheads who say completely inappropriate things about college players, things that would be inappropriate about a professional player.

An interesting topic though is what level of critism is appropriate for a D1 scholarship player at one of the power 5 conference schools? While they aren't getting $millions, we've all seen the valuations folks have placed on those scholarships, meal plans, medical treatment, first class travel, etc. By accepting all that should a player be expected to endure some legit critism for poor play. Its not upward bound sport at that level and the fans pay some legit dollars to watch the games.

I personally wish folks would keep it more civil when commenting on poor play but I do think stating one's opinion without being hateful or crase is reasonable.

 

[orange parmejohn]

I'd bet most D1 players think their fans are meatheads, and for the most part they're right.

100% truth.

 

[lovavol]

Yea bunch of wannabes and wouldn't dare spew their garbage face to face with that young man. Fanatics = ignorance

 

[dreVol]

No doubt there are some true meatheads who say completely inappropriate things about college players, things that would be inappropriate about a professional player.

An interesting topic though is what level of critism is appropriate for a D1 scholarship player at one of the power 5 conference schools? While they aren't getting $millions, we've all seen the valuations folks have placed on those scholarships, meal plans, medical treatment, first class travel, etc. By accepting all that should a player be expected to endure some legit critism for poor play. Its not upward bound sport at that level and the fans pay some legit dollars to watch the games.

I personally wish folks would keep it more civil when commenting on poor play but I do think stating one's opinion without being hateful or crase is reasonable.

The line is directly contacting the player.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Just my opinion, but if you would get ugly with a Tennessee player like that, you're not a real fan. You're all about what the team can do for you (bragging rights, pride, chest-thumping) and not enough about what the team does for our young athletes, for our students, for the university, for the community, for the state of Tennessee, and for the nation.

It's all in the motivation. WHY are you a Vols fan? WHO are you really caring for? If it's all about 'me, me, me', then you're not truly a Vols fan...you're a you fan.

I prefer hanging out with real Vols fans. I'm sorry Coleman had this experience. Hope he gets to spend more time (real or virtual) with the true fans instead in 2015.

 

[JC61]

I'd like to see what he can do at center....the position he is evidently most comfortable playing. He just may not have the skill set to play tackle but could be a bang up interior lineman.

 

[JonGrudensAgent]

Easily one of the worst coaching decisions to date by Jones was to think Thomas was ready for that game.

No reflection on Thomas being a true freshman, he shouldn't have been put in that position.

 

[Bms4880]

These fans are an embarrassment to the entire fanbase.

Seriously, these people would do well to let their Milwaukee's Best buzz wear off before hitting Twitter.

 

[Other_Guy]

The problem is Dooleys fault.

 

[RockyTop411]

Easily one of the worst coaching decisions to date by Jones was to think Thomas was ready for that game.

No reflection on Thomas being a true freshman, he shouldn't have been put in that position.

Jones didn't have a choice.

It was all he had.

Do you think he wanted to put him out there? Good grief.

 

[volroadwarrior]

Easily one of the worst coaching decisions to date by Jones was to think Thomas was ready for that game.

No reflection on Thomas being a true freshman, he shouldn't have been put in that position.

What choices did he have? None of the others could touch Striker in that game. If that was his worst coaching decision that means he hasn't made too many bad ones.

Still butt hurt over Gruden?

 

[macrovol]

Thomas was put into a ridiculous situation by necessity. I wish all fans were more knowledgeable and respectful, but to expect this is naive.

 

[Hacksaw]

I'd bet most D1 players think their fans are meatheads, and for the most part they're right.

If by "meatheads" you mean the kind who would post abusive messages on social media or make derisive comments to them within earshot, then I'd have to disagree.

The vast majority of fans don't engage in that sort of activity. Vol fans, in particular, have proven our loyalty during some dark times. Just as the players deserve our respect, I would hope that the players genuinely appreciate most of the fans.

They just have to understand that there are always going to be idiots in any fan base and they have to learn to tune them out. The players aren't always going to make us proud and neither are the fans.

 

[VOLfrombama]

College football fans are irrational? No way

 

[sjt18]

Thomas was put into a ridiculous situation by necessity. I wish all fans were more knowledgeable and respectful, but to expect this is naive.

He was put in a bad position but he also played poorly. Not his fault that he was played too early.

As was revealed later, UT had better options than to play him too early.

 

[terrypedigo]

Thomas was put into a ridiculous situation by necessity. I wish all fans were more knowledgeable and respectful, but to expect this is naive.

We had to put a kid up against future first round NFL draft picks of course he got man handled, but in the end he will be a very good OL in the SEC, the kid didnt have a chance from the get go.

 

[BigOrange15]

Coleman Thomas will be a very good player here. Playing one of the most difficult line positions, as a true freshman, out of your normal position against a loaded line in your first game and then against some of the best lines in the country...I just don't hate understand all the hate. I mean, yeah he struggled...but of course he ****ing did. What was he supposed to do?

 

[1orangews6]

Hoping the 2015 OL will be an improvement over 2014's. Everyone will have experience and more depth.

 

[papatomany]

If by "meatheads" you mean the kind who would post abusive messages on social media or make derisive comments to them within earshot, then I'd have to disagree.

The vast majority of fans don't engage in that sort of activity. Vol fans, in particular, have proven our loyalty during some dark times. Just as the players deserve our respect, I would hope that the players genuinely appreciate most of the fans.

They just have to understand that there are always going to be idiots in any fan base and they have to learn to tune them out. The players aren't always going to make us proud and neither are the fans.

Nicely put.

Why in the world would anyone take to heart the words of twenty random strangers debating something on a message board? (We ARE dealing with teenage boys, here, but there's also the fact that the national media treats posts on twitter, facebook, and, yes, even volnation as though they're newsworthy. With no mention of the hundreds of us who roll our eyes and skip right over the whole thread, or the hundreds of thousands of fans who stay off altogether. All of which, of course, shows us that there isn't enough real sports-related news to fill up all the space we've allotted for it.)

Kind of reminds me of the way polls work, e.g. "93% of all Americans believe dogs can fly..." based on question #37: "would a dog harnessed into an open parachute a) plummet, or b) glide?"

 

[BaldBiker]

Nicely put.

Why in the world would anyone take to heart the words of twenty random strangers debating something on a message board? (We ARE dealing with teenage boys, here, but there's also the fact that the national media treats posts on twitter, facebook, and, yes, even volnation as though they're newsworthy. With no mention of the hundreds of us who roll our eyes and skip right over the whole thread, or the hundreds of thousands of fans who stay off altogether. All of which, of course, shows us that there isn't enough real sports-related news to fill up all the space we've allotted for it.)

Kind of reminds me of the way polls work, e.g. "93% of all Americans believe dogs can fly..." based on question #37: "would a dog harnessed into an open parachute a) plummet, or b) glide?"

Also very nicely put.

In general there are usually no less than 2000 people signed on to VN at pretty much any given time. More often than not, the number of actual idiots posting can be counted on your fingers. Unfortunately for the rest of us 2 things usually happen. First those less than stellar posters tend to post a lot, and second, their posts are what gets used as fodder for the media.

 

[Catbone]

Lol

 

[Volview]

If by "meatheads" you mean the kind who would post abusive messages on social media or make derisive comments to them within earshot, then I'd have to disagree.

The vast majority of fans don't engage in that sort of activity. Vol fans, in particular, have proven our loyalty during some dark times. Just as the players deserve our respect, I would hope that the players genuinely appreciate most of the fans.

They just have to understand that there are always going to be idiots in any fan base and they have to learn to tune them out. The players aren't always going to make us proud and neither are the fans.

Agreed, the "meatheads" are a very vocal and very small minority. Every fan group has them.

 

[Biopsyman]

Still a year away with having the right depth... Will be nice to see FR linemen RS unless that are superstars