Really early, but looking ahead for next year...

#1
lacrossepro70

lacrossepro70

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#1
Offense-
QB-?
RB-Foster
TE-Warren? and Jeff Cottam
OL- Scott, Foster, McNeil, Richard, McClendon
WR- Briscoe, Taylor

Keys to next year- Sign more offensive linemen to provide depth before our line runs too thin.

Areas of concern- who knows how the reciever and QB situations will work out. With a new OC, G. Jones, Paige, and other highly touted freshmen may get more PT in a system that isn't as conservative as Cutcliffe's. Taylor and Briscoe are decent, but we need playmakers. The battle between Crompton and Coleman should be interesting.

Deffensively-
DE- Ayers, ?
DT- Bolden and Williams
LB- Wilson, McCoy, and ?
CB- Vinson, Willingham
FS-?
SS-Berry

Keys to next year- Defensive line play must improve. Our starting tackles are solid, but Ben Martin and Chris Walker will have to step up big. Wes Brown is a solid backup/average starter. Next year's defense will probably be more talented than this year's, if they step up. Ayers is more of a prospect than both Mitchell and Reynolds, Martin is a freak, and Wilson>Karl. The exception to that is Mayo, who will probably be out of here.

Areas of concern- It's defidently a little early to hope for a Kelley Washington talent in the form of Vince Faison, but he could provide a big boost to a secondary that is severly lacking in depth. Finding a replacement for Mayo will be a hassel if he goes pro, and only God knows how the Morley situation will work out.

Bottom line- With the exception of 05-06, this could be the strangest yet most important offseason that Tennessee has faced since Fulmer's career began. Finding a new OC, several new position coaches, an iffy recruiting class, and a talented yet young defense, this could get very interesting.
 
#2
#2
QB- Crompton

LB.... hopefully Mayo will come back and we'll get Donald ready

FS..... cue Eric Berry... which leaves SS open... What happened to M.Johnson?

Dont froget we have Gerald Jones at WR... he's an impact guy.... we'll need him to have a big year. Denarius Moore looked pretty good yesterday too.
 
#3
#3
CovVol said:
QB- Crompton

LB.... hopefully Mayo will come back and we'll get Donald ready

FS..... cue Eric Berry... which leaves SS open... What happened to M.Johnson?

Dont froget we have Gerald Jones at WR... he's an impact guy.... we'll need him to have a big year. Denarius Moore looked pretty good yesterday too.
Click to expand...

M. Johnson got schooled in every game he played in this season.
 
#7
#7
sjt18 said:
You aren't thinking about Hefney early on are you? Johnson was probably playing the best of any of them when he got hurt.
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I thought he was too.... plus he played at Smyrna... gotta go with my home boys.
 
#8
#8
sjt18 said:
You aren't thinking about Hefney early on are you? Johnson was probably playing the best of any of them when he got hurt.
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No he wasn't. He got torched by Southern Miss for crying out loud. Berry was better the moment he stepped on the field.
 
#9
#9
and I didn't "forget about him." Hefney played fairly well down the stretch and Willingham and Vinson were solid the last couple of games with almost no experience. I'm not so sure Johnson will slide back into the starting lineup. If he does, good for him and that means he's good enough to beat out Vinson or Willingham, but for now, they're the starters.
 
#10
#10
I wish Vinson knew how to catch, seems like hes always in the right spot for interceptions but drops them.
 
#12
#12
QB- Crompton, Stephens, Coleman (in order of likelihood to start at this point)
RB- Foster(?), Creer, Hardesty (I love what Hardesty does but he can't stay healthy)
OL- Foster, Richard, McClendon, Johnson, McNeil, Parker (probably), Scott, (I wouldn't be surprised to see Sawtelle make a move and there are a couple of guys that were good prep players who might fit the new OC's philosophy better)
TE- What you said plus Stocker who didn't look bad this year, Holbert, and Cooper
WR- Since UT more or less admitted that they've kept an Ainge shoulder injury secret the whole season while taking criticism for not stretching the field... Who know who will emerge? I'd say Jones is a near lock though for stardom.

On D....

DE- Brown, Ayers, Martin, Mathis, Walker, and maybe Gerald Williams
DT- Bolden, Williams, Langley, Fisher, Brimfield, Nelson, Thomas
LB- Gerald Williams (?), Mayo, Davis, Frazier, McCoy, Wilson, Donald, McKenzie
S- Berry, Willingham, Morley, Wardlow, Kemp, Williams
CB- Willingham, Johnson, Vinson, Rogan, Fleming, Evans
 
#13
#13
lacrossepro70 said:
and I didn't "forget about him."
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All of them got torched at one time or another... are you talking about that one long play? ... and you do remember that he was a true Sophomore starting for the first time, right?

Hefney played fairly well down the stretch
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Yeah but he was a Sr 3 year starter... who wasn't playing as well as Johnson OR Berry to start the season.
and Willingham and Vinson were solid the last couple of games with almost no experience.
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Agreed. But if Morley doesn't make it back I wouldn't be surprised to see Willingham at Safety instead of CB.
I'm not so sure Johnson will slide back into the starting lineup. If he does, good for him and that means he's good enough to beat out Vinson or Willingham, but for now, they're the starters.
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Vinson is a fixture for the next 2-3 years. He did what he did with a bum shoulder... pretty amazing. Willingham busted more coverages than Johnson... but again I think he may be more suited to play S.
 
#14
#14
What makes some of you think Donald will go back to LB? He's a DE for good until we hear differently.
 
#15
#15
sjt18 said:
Hardesty (I love what Hardesty does but he can't stay healthy)
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He might be healthier than most people think. To me it seems like when he is healthy the coaches don't really push for him to get PT. If he could improve his vision a bit he could be really good. Hardesty did have the biggest run of the day against Wisconsin for us, but his carries were minimal compared to Foster. I'm not so sure he's getting an equall shot.
 
#16
#16
Bassmanbruno said:
What makes some of you think Donald will go back to LB? He's a DE for good until we hear differently.
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I honestly hadn't seen where they'd made that move permanent. I know they toyed with it then favored Walker as a DE over Donald for this past season.

Where did you see that it was permanent?
 
#18
#18
They favored Walker over Donald, yes - But they still basically moved them both to DE because they weren't sure if he was fast enough to play at LB. Walker has more experience at DE so he was naturally better when they first moved them both.

But to be honest I haven't heard anything from the situation since - which led me to assume he was staying at DE.
 
#21
#21
lacrossepro70 said:
He might be healthier than most people think. To me it seems like when he is healthy the coaches don't really push for him to get PT. If he could improve his vision a bit he could be really good. Hardesty did have the biggest run of the day against Wisconsin for us, but his carries were minimal compared to Foster. I'm not so sure he's getting an equall shot.
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Some good points. He isn't being allowed to play nicked up either when maybe he could go.

He probably isn't getting an equal shot. The coaches seemed to really love AF... I understand how a guy that works that hard earns respect. I still like Hardesty's burst, quickness, and tackle breaking compared to AF though.
 
#22
#22
Bassmanbruno said:
They favored Walker over Donald, yes - But they still basically moved them both to DE because they weren't sure if he was fast enough to play at LB. Walker has more experience at DE so he was naturally better when they first moved them both.

But to be honest I haven't heard anything from the situation since - which led me to assume he was staying at DE.
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I read that he was being moved back after RSing though I don't remember where.
 
#24
#24
sjt18 said:
QB- Crompton, Stephens, Coleman (in order of likelihood to start at this point)
RB- Foster(?), Creer, Hardesty (I love what Hardesty does but he can't stay healthy)
OL- Foster, Richard, McClendon, Johnson, McNeil, Parker (probably), Scott, (I wouldn't be surprised to see Sawtelle make a move and there are a couple of guys that were good prep players who might fit the new OC's philosophy better)
TE- What you said plus Stocker who didn't look bad this year, Holbert, and Cooper
WR- Since UT more or less admitted that they've kept an Ainge shoulder injury secret the whole season while taking criticism for not stretching the field... Who know who will emerge? I'd say Jones is a near lock though for stardom.

On D....

DE- Brown, Ayers, Martin, Mathis, Walker, and maybe Gerald Williams
DT- Bolden, Williams, Langley, Fisher, Brimfield, Nelson, Thomas
LB- Gerald Williams (?), Mayo, Davis, Frazier, McCoy, Wilson, Donald, McKenzie
S- Berry, Willingham, Morley, Wardlow, Kemp, Williams
CB- Willingham, Johnson, Vinson, Rogan, Fleming, Evans
Click to expand...


Great post!!:)

DT is what I've heard the most concern about. Bolden has good potential to improve by next fall. Can anyone talk some about these other DT's?
 
#25
#25
utmba93 said:
Great post!!:)

DT is what I've heard the most concern about. Bolden has good potential to improve by next fall. Can anyone talk some about these other DT's?
Click to expand...


The fourth year is a charm?

If the team is able to run the ball consistently and rush the passer, this team has a shot at the SEC.
 
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