2017 Loaded! Starters by position.....

#101
#101
madbamahater said:
You all do realize that Alabama, Auburn, Ohio State, Penn State and many others recruited Jennings to play safety

He came to UT because they gave him a chance at QB, where he initially wanted to play. He got that chance in camp.

He was moved to WR though to get the ball in his hands. He has stated many times that he will do whatever is best for the team.

He should have been moved to safety back in camp.

This coming year, he will make the move......
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I agree with Doug Matthews and you on moving Jennings and Byrd to the secondary.

Given how utterly terrible the play has been back there and how underused both of those guys actually are on offense, it makes sense to upgrade the athleticism.

They combined for 49 receptions and 730 yards with 7 TDs.

They should be able to coax similar production out of Calloway and George.

Of course, it would have been nice to have Preston Williams but Jones couldn't hang onto him.
 
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#102
#102
madbamahater said:
2017 Starters

QB - Jarrett Guarantano
RB - John Kelly (Alvin Kamara if no draft)
WR - Josh Malone
WR - Marquez Callaway
WR - Josh Smith
TE - Ethan Wolf
LT - Brett Kendrick*
LG - Venzell Boulware* or Jashon Robertson*
C - Coleman Thomas
RG - Jack Jones*
RT - Chance Hall*
* Hard to tell who will start where because they have all been moved around and have tons of experience at multiple positions (group played well considering)

DE - Kyle Phillips moves back outside
DT - Shy Tuttle
DT - Kahlil McKenzie
DE - Alexis Johnson or Darrell Taylor
** There will be great depth along the DL provided no injuries
OLB - Todd Kelly Jr (Weak Side)
MLB - Darrin Kirkland Jr
OLB - Quart'e Sapp or Ja'Quain Blakely (Strong Side)
LCB - Baylen Buchanan
SS - Nigel Warrior
FS - Jauan Jennings
RCB - Tyler Byrd

N-B - Rashaan Gaulden (2 LB sets)

P - Trevor Daniel
PK - Aaron Medley
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That's "loaded"?

OFFENSE-

-New, inexperienced, unproven qb

-Not loaded anywhere at OL

-Not loaded at TE....Ethan Wolf is decent at best

-Rb is really good, assuming Chandler still comes here

-Wr isn't loaded at all, especially if you're gonna move Jennings over. Malone is our only proven, experienced returner....if he returns

DEFENSE-
-Nothing about our DL says "loaded"....unproven DEs, average DTs returning from injury in Tuttle and KMac, and we have no idea what Alexis Johnson is....Johnson is a DT btw, can't remotely play DE.

-LB would appear to be ok with DKJr, Jumper, Bituli and McDowell. No idea about Blakely and no idea about Sapp coming off an ACL.

-Moving Byrd to corner could be good but it's a new position for him, no idea how he'd do. Buchanan was in over his head as a freshman.

-Gaulden is good in run support at nickel, but can't cover me in pass coverage

-TKJr, Abernathy and Warrior is ok at safety, could be very good if Warrior progresses due to his great athletic ability and attitude....still not great as a group IMO.

-Daniel is a great punter

-Medley is a below average place kicker


Not sure where in the world you're getting we'll be loaded next year. It's virtually all potential next year, very few proven players and/or players who have played at this point, but not very well. Only Kelly, Malone, Jennings (at WR) on offense and maybe DKJr and maybe Tuttle on defense have shown they can play at a high enough level (in spurts only) for us to legitimately win the SEC East. TKJr is good, is solid, but just not athletic enough and Gaulden could be a solid nickel with improvement in his coverage skills, but that's about it IMO. Everybody else is either unproven or just hasn't shown enough good play to be confident in.
 
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#103
#103
KBVol said:
That's "loaded"?

OFFENSE-

-New, inexperienced, unproven qb

-Not loaded anywhere at OL

-Not loaded at TE....Ethan Wolf is decent at best

-Rb is really good, assuming Chandler still comes here

-Wr isn't loaded at all, especially if you're gonna move Jennings over. Malone is our only proven, experienced returner....if he returns

DEFENSE-
-Nothing about our DL says "loaded"....unproven DEs, average DTs returning from injury in Tuttle and KMac, and we have no idea what Alexis Johnson is....Johnson is a DT btw, can't remotely play DE.

-LB would appear to be ok with DKJr, Jumper, Bituli and McDowell. No idea about Blakely and no idea about Sapp coming off an ACL.

-Moving Byrd to corner could be good but it's a new position for him, no idea how he'd do. Buchanan was in over his head as a freshman.

-Gaulden is good in run support at nickel, but can't cover me in pass coverage

-TKJr, Abernathy and Warrior is ok at safety, could be very good if Warrior progresses due to his great athletic ability and attitude....still not great as a group IMO.

-Daniel is a great punter

-Medley is a below average place kicker


Not sure where in the world you're getting we'll be loaded next year. It's virtually all potential next year, very few proven players and/or players who have played at this point, but not very well. Only Kelly, Malone, Jennings (at WR) on offense and maybe DKJr and maybe Tuttle on defense have shown they can play at a high enough level (in spurts only) for us to legitimately win the SEC East. TKJr is good, is solid, but just not athletic enough and Gaulden could be a solid nickel with improvement in his coverage skills, but that's about it IMO. Everybody else is either unproven or just hasn't shown enough good play to be confident in.
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I like the 2017 chances better than the 2016 chances. I'm on record about this. I predicted 8-9 wins this year.
 
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#108
#108
TexasVolfan1 said:
Yeah well we we're pretty loaded this year and lost to vandy and South Carolina. Not getting my hopes too high for next year
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That's what I'm saying. Everybody and his momma said we were gonna win the East and compete for the championship this year. Let's try this. How bout we ain't gonna be worth a damn...then maybe we will win the East.
 
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#109
#109
That isn't "loaded" and especially if injury rates do not improve significantly.

Tuttle's injury last year prevented him from being ready in August. It is difficult to say if he or McKenzie will be ready or when. None of the returning DE's have even shown flashes of being as good as those being lost. None of the LB's have proven they are SEC quality except for DKjr and perhaps McDowell when healthy. UT has good safeties. CB is a weakness and will be one until they recruit better players.

The OL is still a mess. It is probably scheme related... which isn't changing unless Jones leaves or the new AD forces him to change it. RB looks good. At WR, it appears Jones has finally gotten used to the idea that you cannot effectively play 9 in rotation and get production from any of them. Wolf still isn't as good as expected and nowhere near as good as Croom was this year. QB will be an interesting battle. Vols have 3 good talents.... but Jones better not screw the battle up or else UT could be playing one deep at the position.

I am pretty sure based on the way he finished the season that Richmond will start at LT.
 
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#111
#111
madbamahater said:
Not everyone wants this to happen. The fans who don't understand the sport (most of them) want him to stay at WR.

Few fans want Jennings at safety actually.....the smart one's.........
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LOL, funny. Since I played it in college and doubt you did, I'll stick with my assessment.

But just for giggles, enlighten us with your in depth football knowledge on why he should switch to safety. I haven't seen that yet.
 
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#112
#112
madbamahater said:
I like the 2017 chances better than the 2016 chances. I'm on record about this. I predicted 8-9 wins this year.
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Uh, ok.

Can never really tell year to year unless you're talking about Bama or Ohio State, certainly not with Tennessee. I outlined why I think next year is a crapshoot and why I don't think you can say the roster is "loaded" for next year. The wildcard is team chemistry and attitude, both of which were lacking this year. Guess we'll have to wait and see what happens.
 
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#113
#113
volgr said:
The more fun way to approach next year's roster...look at it and imagine a good coach who knows what the frick he is doing and surrounded by other good coaches who know what the frick they are doing. Now you have a recipe for success. Think of the wings at Hooters....

gruden.png
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Yes we should get Gruden he had 54% winning % during his HC days. That's close to 9 wins 7 losses in NFL and 7 wins 5 losses in college I'm sure VN would be OK with those numbers.
 
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#118
#118
jps2194 said:
LOL, funny. Since I played it in college and doubt you did, I'll stick with my assessment.

But just for giggles, enlighten us with your in depth football knowledge on why he should switch to safety. I haven't seen that yet.
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He has 0 football knowledge and hopefully he is just trying to troll bc if he really thinks Jennings fits better at safety then he does at WR then he really dont know football. Yes Jennings would be good a safety but he also would be good at any position you put him at on the field but he can be a great WR. He has every tool needed to make a long career at it in the NFL.
 
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#119
#119
Underwhelming roster considering the Vols will lose Kamara, Dobbs, Sutton, Barnett and possibly Malone from a team that lost to SC and Candy, no?
 
#124
#124
madbamahater said:
Malone going nowhere
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After seeing what happened to JRM and Sutton when they came back this year I wouldn't be so sure. Also, it's not a great draft for WRs which could help me.

I think and hope Malone stays and that he should....GOD knows team 121 badly needs him next year. But there's uncertainty at QB next year and another year of Azzani sure as hell does him no good. He's very talented, has had an outstanding season, and if he gets a decent draft grade back, 3rd round or so, I could see him declaring.
 
#125
#125
madbamahater said:
I like the 2017 chances better than the 2016 chances. I'm on record about this. I predicted 8-9 wins this year.
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Dobbs made the oline look a lot better than it is.
We are all in for a rude awakening if QD isn't mobile enough.
Loosing the best player on the team imo at RB doesent make them better.
Malone probably leaves. If Jennings and Byrd move over to Defense there's no go to guy for the inexperienced QB.
Wolf is inconsistent and there's nothing behind him with Croom out.
A ton of guys could leave early on the Oline.

Loosing Barnett and Vareen will hurt. The rest are unproven and injury prone.

DKJ returning is a great thing outside of that I haven't seen anything that says starter. A bunch of filler guys.

Sutton, Martin on his own not for draft reasons, and TK I like the potential in Abernathy and Osborne.

Not anything close to loaded and nowhere near the potential of this season next year.
 
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