Recruiting Forum Football Talk LVII

[Sugaray13]

In addition to Pruitt, we have a new AD, new (real) S&C coach, commitment to winning. I think it will take time, but we are much better off today than the circus we've been watching the last few years.

And better position coaches as well.

 

[rekinhavoc]

Snap and clear.

Butch was all talk.

Pruitt is bring the best ya' got and meet us in the parking lot!

 

[Ulysees E. McGill]

Middle of the pack in the SEC means about 7 wins.



IMO (unless we’re curse with the injury bug again), a good coach should get about that much out of this team. A great coach finds a way to either get to 8 wins or make one of those 7 wins be a pretty sizeable upset.


A coach who takes this team and misses a bowl probably never amounts to much as a HC.

How in the heck do you come to this conclusion with this OL? The offense is going to suck, and good coaches or not the Defense has to many talent holes to be better than soundly mediocre..you are usually more perceptive than this. We could be anywhere from 5-7 to 7-5. The only way I really start losing it on Pruitt is if we go 4-8 again.

A bowl game ultimatum is silly. Especially when you know there will be significant injuries, there always are.

 

[InVOLuntary]

Maybe it's just how you worded that but I don't see how you are on board with him if you don't believe he can turn it around. Do you think he's just another bridge to a better coach?

It's kinda like this, you're getting ready to have heart surgery. Come to find out the surgeon Is a first year medical student. You are pulling for him to succeed.

 

[vol2002]

Next year is gonna be fun. I don't even understand why some folks feel the need to put a cap on this teams potential. We have no clue what we have. We have no clue how coaching will change things.

We also have no clue how hard our schedule really is.

All I know is we have a head coach that has historically turned around defenses fast. Caaant wait. I miss football.

I actually agree with this on a personal level. I think this fall will be fun because the team / schedule is completely unknown. I have this odd inkling that the Bama game in particular will be fun for once.

I’m having to train myself to not be so uptight about our program. Embrace the fact that we have a been a bottom feeder for a long time now (i.e., that is the new normal) and that Vandy owns us at the moment. And just enjoy the wins if and when they come. If we play a tight game with a Charlotte or an ETSU, just relax and enjoy the game and cheer on the team to victory and laugh about it afterwards!

I think we can be great again and win a national title. We have the facilities, support and the recruiting base. But I have no idea when that will be. Three years from now or thirteen? No guarantees there and nothing is owed to us by anyone. Nebraska, Notre Dame and Michigan all have faded glory as do we.

However I don’t think most Tennessee fans see it this way - at least not yet. Thus I think if we miss a bowl this fall, Pruitt will be way behind the eight ball with the fanbase and with recruits. The Schianomo happened for a reason and it was not so that we could see a 5 win team and modest, incremental improvements.

 

[millst987]

This is the first coach I’ve been excited about since Lane. I’ve been wrong before, but I believe the guy will get it done here.

 

[HankHill]

How in the heck do you come to this conclusion with this OL? The offense is going to suck, and good coaches or not the Defense has to many talent holes to be better than soundly mediocre..you are usually more perceptive than this. We could be anywhere from 5-7 to 7-5. The only way I really start losing it on Pruitt is if we go 4-8 again.

A bowl game ultimatum is silly. Especially when you know there will be significant injuries, there always are.

There is no guarantee this offense is going to suck. We are good at RB and WR and could be decent on the OL. Good scheme and surprising QB play and we will score points.

 

[Big Gucci Sosa]

Three things we learned in Tennessee’s third week of spring ball:
1. The Vols have mental challenges – Pruitt said on Saturday that he didn't like his team's body language when things went didn't go well. He also didn't like his team's ability to focus on the next play. Frankly, it was the most candid and telling comment that Pruitt made on Saturday. It's also arguably the most troubling. This team has to get stronger and more physical. That's attainable through work in the weight room. They have to get more talented, which is why recruiting is key for Pruitt & Co. Both of those things take time, but can be done with hard work. But teaching a group of 18-22 year olds to manage adversity and focus on the next play is a different kind of challenge. When you look at the roster, few are expected to contribute who were on the team when they were picked to win the SEC East in 2016. Few were factors in beating Georgia or Florida. Most on the expected contributors this fall either are just arriving or their biggest contributions came in the school's first ever winless SEC campaign. So teaching a team to not sure when but to mentally fight through bad moments is a challenge Pruitt probably didn't realize the severity of till Saturday.

2. Baylen Buchanan could be the biggest story of the spring – Everyone knows that cornerback is a huge concern for this team. Buchanan was kind of an after thought heading into spring practice. There was some assumption that Tyler Byrd was going to be the answer there, but he hasn't been. Instead, it's been Buchanan, who has been the consistent guy at corner this spring and it's Buchanan who's regaining his confidence. As a freshman, Buchanan started one game, played in 13 and recorded 20 tackles. As a sophomore in 2017, Buchanan played in only six games recorded just four tackles and his first didn't come until mid-season at Alabama. That despite a team who was had corner issues all season. It's safe to say the coaching change has been good for Buchanan and his “emergence” this spring as a real option at corner is a big story this spring.

3. The reality of things – Pruitt continues to do a marvelous job of side-stepping specific questions about individuals or position groups. Saturday when Pruitt was pinned down and asked if any player or group impressed him in the scrimmage, Pruitt responded simply with a “Nah.” As one person told Volquest, this team looks like they know what to do and fundamentally they are an ever-improving team, but they don't have enough horses in the stable. That's exposed at more positions than others and that's why getting Trey Smith back is so big for the offensive line. His return will change the reality of the offensive line. Getting Daniel Bituli and Darin Kirkland healthy changes the linebacker position. But overall, the truth is this team is not at the talent level it needs to be or is expected to be at.

-VQ

 

[WarMachine]

Time for a new WarMachine avatar. EB ftw.

 

[volatil]

Y’all haven’t learned yet.


No expectations... good or bad. Let’s see it THEN form opinion.

 

[Big Gucci Sosa]

Questions heading into week 4?

1. Who visits this week? – The class of 2020 in the state of Tennessee is one that Jeremy Pruitt and his staff really like. We believe that today, the Vol coaching staff would take 10-12 instate commitments from the 2020 class. The Vols are planning on hosting a sophomore day on Saturday. Who all ends up here for that workout and who all do the Vols have in this week? One of the storylines this spring is who all the Vols have had in town highlighted by names like Darnell Wright and Quavaris Crouch. Who visits this weekend is definitely worth watching.

2. Are there any position moves? – With just six practices left, will Pruitt and his staff move anyone to a different position? The first place to look is at tight end with LaTrell Bumphus. Will the sophomore get to look on defense? What about the players who were moved to different positions to start spring? Will some of them move back to the position they played a year ago? Specifically where does Tyler Byrd practice this week after minimal impact on defense thus far in spring.

One prediction: Chandler will impress
When asked Saturday about the play of his running backs, Pruitt sidestepped the question as he normally does offering little about the position and nothing about the individual backs. However, in talking to some close to the program, Ty Chandler showed the best of any back on Saturday particularly with outside runs where the offense had the most success.

It's no secret that this coaching staff wants bigger backs and that Chandler's size is a concern for them, but the sophomore's production on Saturday and the fact that he has continued to get better throughout the spring, look for Chandler to finish the last two weeks impressing his new coaching staff.

-VQ

 

[InVOLuntary]

Y’all haven’t learned yet.


No expectations... good or bad. Let’s see it THEN form opinion.

Yep. First time head coach. Not much history to go off of.

 

[Sleegro]

It's kinda like this, you're getting ready to have heart surgery. Come to find out the surgeon Is a first year medical student. You are pulling for him to succeed.

Haha nice metaphor. I think instead of first year student though, Pruitt is more of a first year after graduating from medical school though. He's had over 10 years of extensive schooling from some of the best teachers and graduated with high honors, but this is his first year with his own practice. There will likely be growing pains, but when it comes to "medical" knowledge he seems to really know his stuff. :lolabove:

 

[Ulysees E. McGill]

There is no guarantee this offense is going to suck. We are good at RB and WR and could be decent on the OL. Good scheme and surprising QB play and we will score points.

I agree we have good players at WR and RB barring injury, and JG may be better this year than last, but the OL is atrocious, especially if Smith doesn't come back. With him we have a chance to be mediocre at best.

On OL we have one great player that may not even be available, a couple of talented HS kids, and a few meh guys who are having to be retrained in a crash course on how to play real football...that is a recipe for a disaster at OL.

I hope they are better, but objectively I just don't see a lot of improvement happening that quick, therefore I think the offense will be horrid to watch against any defense with a pulse.

 

[LA Vol]

UT's in a tough spot. Fans are tired of being patient and want Tennessee to be back. We're not back and nobody knows how long it'll take. Fulmer is going to give Pruitt time-- more time than many would like. Everybody's sick of hearing "it's a process" and "enjoy the ride" while getting smacked around by our rivals and watching programs that used to be sure wins beat us year after year. UT fans have hung in longer than any other fanbase would've... but now it's wait and see time. There are no guarantees-- just hope.

 

[butchna]

Someone remind me what happened with Chance Hall? Was it just can't stay healthy? Knee, back, neck, what's the issue?

Blew his Achilles at the beginning of his senior season in high school. Recovered from that to contribute as a freshman, but compensating led to stress on the knees imo. Hadn’t been an issue before.

 

[Ulysees E. McGill]

UT's in a tough spot. Fans are tired of being patient and want Tennessee to be back. We're not back and nobody knows how long it'll take. Fulmer is going to give Pruitt time-- more time than many would like. Everybody's sick of hearing "it's a process" and "enjoy the ride" while getting smacked around by our rivals and watching programs that used to be sure wins beat us year after year. UT fans have hung in longer than any other fanbase would've... but now it's wait and see time. There are no guarantees-- just hope.

That's why I think the wild blind optimism is dangerous, it turns into a poisonous situation when they don't live up to ridiculous expectations.

Everybody calls me a pessimist now, but I am optimistic about the future with Pruitt, I just don't think this year is going to be fun to watch.

I look for the real improvement to be made in year two...there are just to many major problems to fix in this years team to expect much more than a more fundamentally sound team with a tougher attitude.

 

[HankHill]

I agree we have good players at WR and RB barring injury, and JG may be better this year than last, but the OL is atrocious, especially if Smith doesn't come back. With him we have a chance to be mediocre at best.

On OL we have one great player that may not even be available, a couple of talented HS kids, and a few meh guys who are having to be retrained in a crash course on how to play real football...that is a recipe for a disaster at OL.

I hope they are better, but objectively I just don't see a lot of improvement happening that quick, therefore I think the offense will be horrid to watch against any defense with a pulse.

You don’t have to have a great OL to score points. The seahawks have had awful OL play the last two years and still score points.

They are ways to work around it if you have a good QB and scheme.

 

[Ron Swanson]

You don’t have to have a great OL to score points. The seahawks have had awful OL play the last two years and still score points.

They are ways to work around it if you have a good QB and scheme.

Exactly. Most of the teams UT plays don't have good or great OL's. Scheme, coaching and talent around them helps a great deal.

 

[butchna]

That's why I think the wild blind optimism is dangerous, it turns into a poisonous situation when they don't live up to ridiculous expectations.

Everybody calls me a pessimist now, but I am optimistic about the future with Pruitt, I just don't think this year is going to be fun to watch.

I look for the real improvement to be made in year two...there are just to many major problems to fix in this years team to expect much more than a more fundamentally sound team with a tougher attitude.

But you’re not going to be silent about your disappointment while you’re waiting for the optimism to happen. inch:

 

[Ulysees E. McGill]

You don’t have to have a great OL to score points. The seahawks have had awful OL play the last two years and still score points.

They are ways to work around it if you have a good QB and scheme.

I hope you are right, but it will not be fun to watch against good defenses imo. I just don't see how scheme will score many points against good DCs.

 

[Ulysees E. McGill]

But you’re not going to be silent about your disappointment while you’re waiting for the optimism to happen. inch:

Lol..I'm trying to be supportively pessimistic..to coin a phrase. 😉

 

[butchna]

Lol..I'm trying to be supportively pessimistic..to coin a phrase. 😉

It’s yours.

 

[BigZiti09]

That's why I think the wild blind optimism is dangerous, it turns into a poisonous situation when they don't live up to ridiculous expectations.

Everybody calls me a pessimist now, but I am optimistic about the future with Pruitt, I just don't think this year is going to be fun to watch.

I look for the real improvement to be made in year two...there are just to many major problems to fix in this years team to expect much more than a more fundamentally sound team with a tougher attitude.

You are overly pessimistic about the upcoming season though.

 

[Chief Vol 13]

-VQ

That last sentence should tell people something IMO. We have people thinking our talent level is in the 8-10 win range. It's not. Doesn't matter how well this team is coached, I don't see how anyone could realistically think we have a good shot of winning more than 7.