The Most Important Question of the Day

[zidanefan]

For all of those who are bloviating in every thread about what a miserable NSD this is, answer honestly.

Prior to Pruitt's being hired, was there a reasonable expectation that any of:

Griffin
ITS
Walker
Campbell
Peterson
or any of the Juco kids we signed

would entertain the notion of attending UT, let alone visit or place us in their top 3/4/5 on signing day?

How about if Jones was still the coach? Schiano? Leach? Doernen (or whoever NC St.'s coach is)?

Reality check... this program is a train wreck - an unmitigated disaster.

Let's have a quick recap of the last five months.

• Jones, quite literally the laughing stock of college football last year, presents to us our only 4-8, winless in the SEC, season in school history as his parting gift.

• UT AD proceeds to act out a two month Keystone Cops routine for the national media to salivate over, which ended in Fulmer being reinstated as AD with approximately 11 minutes to name a coach before the first inaugural early signing period.

• Meanwhile, one of our biggest East rivals played for the national title, while our biggest West rival actually won it.

• Oh, yes, let's not forget that every other school, from Florida down to Brambleweed Southern Community College was able to hire one of their top three coaches before we knew who our AD was, despite most of them firing or losing their sitting coach to another school after we fired ours.

Yes, what failure our national championship winning head coach is on national signing day.

I'm honestly shocked, not only that he wanted to walk into this mess, but that he was able to bring such an accomplished staff with him.

This began as a rant in another thread, but I figured I'd give it its own thread. Feel free to do what you do.

 

[Wii60]

Doesn't matter if the expectation was reasonable, we have a right to be pissed at the administration for screwing up this badly and putting us in this situation.

Florida State got hit as badly as we did by a coaching search- 11th ranked class.
Florida had their poop together and hired the right guy quickly- 14th ranked recruiting class.
Oregon got wrecked by losing a first-year coach- 16th ranked class.

No, it isn't Pruitt's fault. Maybe its just Currie's fault, but we never should have been in this position to begin with, and you can't tell me that at least the old administration's blunders didn't prevent a much better class. Today didn't have to go down like this.

 

[zidanefan]

Doesn't matter if the expectation was reasonable, we have a right to be pissed at the administration for screwing up this badly and putting us in this situation.

Florida State got hit as badly as we did by a coaching search- 11th ranked class.
Florida had their poop together and hired the right guy quickly- 14th ranked recruiting class.
Oregon got wrecked by losing a first-year coach- 16th ranked class.

No, it isn't Pruitt's fault. Maybe its just Currie's fault, but we never should have been in this position to begin with, and you can't tell me that at least the old administration's blunders didn't prevent a much better class. Today didn't have to go down like this.

Sure. But you have people raking Pruitt over the coals for not signing some of these guys who couldn't have given two craps in a bucket about UT prior to December 15. They considered us because of Pruitt.

Yes, UT AD is absolutely to blame. Boosters, too. But not Pruitt and his staff. That's the point.

EDIT: And, to your rankings, we're 20th with excrement show we've endured.

 

[joevol33]

Doesn't matter if the expectation was reasonable, we have a right to be pissed at the administration for screwing up this badly and putting us in this situation.

Florida State got hit as badly as we did by a coaching search- 11th ranked class.
Florida had their poop together and hired the right guy quickly- 14th ranked recruiting class.
Oregon got wrecked by losing a first-year coach- 16th ranked class.

No, it isn't Pruitt's fault. Maybe its just Currie's fault, but we never should have been in this position to begin with, and you can't tell me that at least the old administration's blunders didn't prevent a much better class. Today didn't have to go down like this.

Florida State hasn't had over a decade of their worst coaches in their history, we have. To think both situations are the same is crazy.

 

[ScreaminVolHawkins]

.

 

[Wii60]

Sure. But you have people raking Pruitt over the coals for not signing some of these guys who couldn't have given two craps in a bucket about UT prior to December 15. They considered us because of Pruitt.

Yes, UT AD is absolutely to blame. Boosters, too. But not Pruitt and his staff. That's the point.

It is a high expectation to set on Pruitt, but isn't it fair to say elite coaches are the ones who are able to make the difference and get those guys flipped to UT?

We treaded water today. The roster is plenty talented and we've bought another year to right the ship. Hard to celebrate though when its blatantly obvious that without Currie's disaster we'd be much farther ahead with this recruiting class.

 

[Wii60]

Florida State hasn't had over a decade of their worst coaches in their history, we have. To think both situations are the same is crazy.

Without the Schiano debacle, we're sitting ahead of them in the rankings.

 

[lovavol]

haslems = worst football minds ever

 

[joevol33]

I hate to be the one to bring this up, but we did get out recruited by Penn St...

What does that have to do with Tennessee and Florida State? That's who we were talking about.

 

[joevol33]

Without the Schiano debacle, we're sitting ahead of them in the rankings.

Maybe, maybe not. It is what it is now, let's just hope Pruitt can really coach, and we'll be okay.

 

[Wii60]

Maybe, maybe not. It is what it is now, let's just hope Pruitt can really coach, and we'll be okay.

It is what it is now, but we are where we are because of our administration. Critical errors have been made and have set us back. Pruitt could have shown us he has what it takes to overcome the AD's blunders today and he didn't. We can't finish fourth in recruiting in the SEC East again and expect to dig out of the hole.

Doesn't mean he won't get us there, but it is fair to be disappointed that he didn't clear a very high bar.

 

[Hacksaw]

Who cares if Butch would have gotten some guys to visit when they weren't coming anyway?

This is the worst recruiting class of the past 5 years. We have every reason to be disappointed. And there's every reason to think we would have done better with Butch -- because his classes each of the past 4 seasons were better than this one.

So Pruitt was able to get our hopes up, but he failed to close the deal. That doesn't mean he won't be a great coach, but so far this is all we have to go on.

And I wonder if, while we were wasting our time with those 5-star prima donnas, maybe we could have gotten some guys in who might not have been as highly-rated -- but who might have actually wanted to be here?

I guess we'll never know, but it's not an unfair question to ask, IMO.

 

[82_VOL_83]

Yes I'm having a beer!


Oh wait......

 

[DaUndergroundMan]

I hate to be the one to bring this up, but we did get out recruited by Penn St...

Is this supposed to be about schiano???

Dont see or understnd the relevance.

They have james franklin, been there a few years, by most estimations SHOULD BE out-recruiting us this we

We prob had the best recruiting of all teams that went 0-8 in their conference last year.

So theres that.

 

[ScreaminVolHawkins]

Who cares if Butch would have gotten some guys to visit when they weren't coming anyway?

This is the worst recruiting class of the past 5 years. We have every reason to be disappointed. And there's every reason to think we would have done better with Butch -- because his classes each of the past 4 seasons were better than this one.

So Pruitt was able to get our hopes up, but he failed to close the deal. That doesn't mean he won't be a great coach, but so far this is all we have to go on.

And I wonder if, while we were wasting our time with those 5-star prima donnas, maybe we could have gotten some guys in who might not have been as highly-rated -- but who might have actually wanted to be here?

I guess we'll never know, but it's not an unfair question to ask, IMO.

My man

 

[82_VOL_83]

Who cares if Butch would have gotten some guys to visit when they weren't coming anyway?

This is the worst recruiting class of the past 5 years. We have every reason to be disappointed. And there's every reason to think we would have done better with Butch -- because his classes each of the past 4 seasons were better than this one.

So Pruitt was able to get our hopes up, but he failed to close the deal. That doesn't mean he won't be a great coach, but so far this is all we have to go on.

And I wonder if, while we were wasting our time with those 5-star prima donnas, maybe we could have gotten some guys in who might not have been as highly-rated -- but who might have actually wanted to be here?

I guess we'll never know, but it's not an unfair question to ask, IMO.

Pruitt got your hopes up or you heard what you wanted to hear and got your hopes up yourself?

 

[ScreaminVolHawkins]

Is this supposed to be about schiano???

Dont see or understnd the relevance.

They have james franklin, been there a few years, by most estimations SHOULD BE out-recruiting us this we

We prob had the best recruiting of all teams that went 0-8 in their conference last year.

So theres that.

Nah, its not but I dont want to talk about it explicitly. I'll get rid of the post

 

[Volador]

Who cares if Butch would have gotten some guys to visit when they weren't coming anyway?

This is the worst recruiting class of the past 5 years. We have every reason to be disappointed. And there's every reason to think we would have done better with Butch -- because his classes each of the past 4 seasons were better than this one.

So Pruitt was able to get our hopes up, but he failed to close the deal. That doesn't mean he won't be a great coach, but so far this is all we have to go on.

And I wonder if, while we were wasting our time with those 5-star prima donnas, maybe we could have gotten some guys in who might not have been as highly-rated -- but who might have actually wanted to be here?

I guess we'll never know, but it's not an unfair question to ask, IMO.

Totally beg to differ Hack about being disappointed w/the class. Did someone/anyone actually think that with all UT's missteps over the past 3 months that we'd get a Top 10 Class??? Would YOU have come to UT with all this mayhem between UT Administration, Coaching Staff and loyal fans?? What a disaster Knoxville has been for 90 days!!

So, did I hope for more? Yes. Did I expect more? No, not after how bad just about everything that came out of Knoxville was nuclear waste.

CJP - hope you can coach up our kids as your predecessor had NO clue how to do so. Thanks for coming to Knoxville.

 

[ptcarter]

This is the worst recruiting class of the past 5 years. We have every reason to be disappointed. And there's every reason to think we would have done better with Butch -- because his classes each of the past 4 seasons were better than this one.

Photography is one of my passions. I read photography forums as much as I'm on here. Here is a photography analogy; one that I take to heart.

"A good photographer can do more with a cheap camera than a bad photographer with an expensive camera".

Butch tanked. Who cares how good his recruiting classes were. We didn't win a damn SEC game last season. Give Pruitt a chance, he might just surprise you given the players he has.

 

[ScreaminVolHawkins]

Totally beg to differ Hack about being disappointed w/the class. Did someone/anyone actually think that with all UT's missteps over the past 3 months that we'd get a Top 10 Class??? Would YOU have come to UT with all this mayhem between UT Administration, Coaching Staff and loyal fans?? What a disaster Knoxville has been for 90 days!!

So, did I hope for more? Yes. Did I expect more? No, not after how bad just about everything that came out of Knoxville was nuclear waste.

CJP - hope you can coach up our kids as your predecessor had NO clue how to do so. Thanks for coming to Knoxville.

I mean, we make more money than anyone, our fans are probably the hungriest for a winning season/glimpse of future glory of any team out there, we have relatively low expectations, and if you turn the corner here, the ceiling is the limit. You would be remembered as a savior of the program instead of, for example, having a legitimate chance of getting kicked off Bama's team. Sure, its uphill but team 2018 has the potential to turn it around, and you have the potential to be a fundamental component to that. I understand not going here, but its not such a dire and unsellable situation

 

[ScreaminVolHawkins]

Photography is one of my passions. I read photography forums as much as I'm on here. Here is a photography analogy; one that I take to heart.

"A good photographer can do more with a cheap camera than a bad photographer with an expensive camera".

Butch tanked. Who cares how good his recruiting classes were. We didn't win a damn SEC game last season. Give Pruitt a chance, he might just surprise you given the players he has.

To be fair tho, he was stating that this isnt about CJP as a coach, but as a recruiter (which is all we got). So using your analogy, CBJ kept using the newest and best model camera but is a sh*t photographer. However CJP has just been setting up the tripod "really well" for a great photographer for several years, and never actually taking the picture. And now that he is taking pictures, he isnt even going to be using as good of a camera as he had bid on.

 

[zidanefan]

Who cares if Butch would have gotten some guys to visit when they weren't coming anyway?

This is the worst recruiting class of the past 5 years. We have every reason to be disappointed. And there's every reason to think we would have done better with Butch -- because his classes each of the past 4 seasons were better than this one.

So Pruitt was able to get our hopes up, but he failed to close the deal. That doesn't mean he won't be a great coach, but so far this is all we have to go on.

And I wonder if, while we were wasting our time with those 5-star prima donnas, maybe we could have gotten some guys in who might not have been as highly-rated -- but who might have actually wanted to be here?

I guess we'll never know, but it's not an unfair question to ask, IMO.

You've presented a false dilemma here... what we ended up with was exactly those lower rated guys who want to be here. Gooden is even higher rated and clearly really wants to be here. Norwood wept when he got the offer, for crying out loud.

But, it's not either you waste time on prima donnas or you bring in kids who want to be here. If we'd gotten Campbell/Griffin/ITS and didn't have room for Norwood, no one would be complaining that they didn't want to be here as badly as he did. And, Norwood is a talented kid - one who wasn't precluded from coming simply because we pursued and missed out on those better players.

The whole point of this thread is the constant complaining that Pruitt failed today, when he swung for the fences and didn't land the home runs, none of whom would have considered us had he not been here.

 

[Neyland123]

Who cares if Butch would have gotten some guys to visit when they weren't coming anyway?

This is the worst recruiting class of the past 5 years. We have every reason to be disappointed. And there's every reason to think we would have done better with Butch -- because his classes each of the past 4 seasons were better than this one.
So Pruitt was able to get our hopes up, but he failed to close the deal. That doesn't mean he won't be a great coach, but so far this is all we have to go on.

And I wonder if, while we were wasting our time with those 5-star prima donnas, maybe we could have gotten some guys in who might not have been as highly-rated -- but who might have actually wanted to be here?

I guess we'll never know, but it's not an unfair question to ask, IMO.

I’m glad we have a coach that’s not scared to challenge teams like Alabama, Georgia and etc. for the 5 stars! Sure we didn’t do great today but we have a coach that’s not scared to go after anyone. Let’s give Coach Pruitt the time to do his thing before we give up on him. Go VOLS

 

[djohnnyg]

I think everyone was hoping for a BOOM type day and sadly we aren't getting it. No way to spin it...it was a bad day. We can certainly justify "why" it was a bad day...but it's most definitely a sizable letdown. Not a complete disaster...but very unfortunate.

We'll have better coaching. Shoot..Northern Illinois made it to an Orange Bowl with 2 stars...so we know coaching (on the field) can make a huge difference, but overall it was a bad day.

 

[Hacksaw]

Pruitt got your hopes up or you heard what you wanted to hear and got your hopes up yourself?

Been reading here all day and I can tell you that hopes were most definitely high. You should have been here this morning.

I actually laughed when I read posts over the past few weeks pointing out what a great job Pruitt was doing with recruiting and how he was not afraid to go after the guys Butch thought we didn't have a realistic chance to get. Yeah, some of those people definitely raised their own hopes. But I wasn't one of them.