Recruiting Forum Football Talk [RIP 9.3.2019]

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#14,001
#14,001
millst987 said:
I’ll step away for awhile, sorry dudes
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Don't worry about it.
Some focus on the negatives, some the positive and we get the truth somewhere in the middle. I was just responding to you suggesting people shouldn't point out the few improvements. There were a few and *if Pruitt is any kind of good, we will improve. Just don't know how much.
 
#14,002
#14,002
Kingston Vol said:
I read a stat that stunned me the other day. The last time Tennessee had less than 4 losses in a season was 14 years ago.

14 years. Would have been unthinkable to lose 4 games in the 90’s. Let alone for a decade and a half.

I’m 24 so I don’t really remember the 90’s. My first real memories are of the ‘01 season. And I can attest with firsthand knowledge that people my age and younger do not expect Tennessee to be good or to be competitive. We’re largely a laughing stock in that demographic.
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I'm 23 and this is about right IMO. Talk to any football fan who knows anything and they think Tennessee is of the same caliber as a Missouri, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, etc. I think Pruitt is going to be our last chance. If he doesn't get it done, that's just the level this program is going to be at more often than not. It's kind of like believing in Santa Claus as a kid. You believe he's real, but every year you don't see him you kinda lose more and more faith. Until eventually, you're like yeah this dude ain't real. Lol we'll see.
 
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#14,003
#14,003
Catbone said:
Pruitt did make a good point about only having 5 seniors on the team that play. We should be much improved next year but the DL will likely be a problem again.

Look, this season is probably going to be bad. But I think we can all agree we have a staff around Pruitt with a proven record in the SEC. THE most important thing is to lock up a top 12-15 recruiting class this year and we will be in decent enough shape.
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It's hard to imagine this staff just falling flat on its face. Jones and Dooley were one dumb decision away from being successful here and they are garbage head coaches. Obviously they both had experience, but Kirby Smart is probably 10 times the coach either of them are and Pruitt is basically his clone from a coordinator standpoint. I think he'll do great here given enough time, but unfortunately Butch burned so much of the fanbase's goodwill and patience that Pruitt won't have the same momentum on the recruiting trail.
 
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#14,007
#14,007
LA Vol said:
IDT the 5-7 finish many are predicting and a Top 10 class go hand-in-hand. To close with the elite recruits we want, I think we need to show more competitiveness and finish with a better W-L record.

We're seeing the pattern in other sports-- younger fans aren't as loyal and financially generous as older, long-time donors. Legacy donations are slipping. The torch isn't being passed.
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Maybe just the first signs of the bubble bursting for college football. If you're top 10 you can still generate the revenue. Other than that, not so much. College football needs parity and Saban has killed that over the last decade. The face of the sport is a grumpy old man pissed that they ask him about his QB competition. That, coupled with 70" TV's and every game on TV makes going to the game not nearly as meaningful in years past. Essentially the sport is canabalizing itself. I don't know what reverses it because, like you said, younger fans aren't loyal and don't see the benefit of sports. Maybe it's because of the disdain with which athletes in general have been viewed for the last 20 years. You see all the bad stories, but not many of the good ones where the sports stars are heroes and good role models of the younger generation. I think we have catered to the "everyone is special and should all be treated the same" mentality so younger kids are "meh" towards sports in general. / End Rant
 
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#14,010
#14,010
Aesius said:
It's hard to imagine this staff just falling flat on its face. Jones and Dooley were one dumb decision away from being successful here and they are garbage head coaches. Obviously they both had experience, but Kirby Smart is probably 10 times the coach either of them are and Pruitt is basically his clone from a coordinator standpoint. I think he'll do great here given enough time, but unfortunately Butch burned so much of the fanbase's goodwill and patience that Pruitt won't have the same momentum on the recruiting trail.
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Blast the next two opponents and beat UF and this WVU game is all forgotten. Get in the film room and on the practice field and get better. No time for crying about it and giving up. Some of our fans might but Pruitt and his staff aren't going to and they won't allow their players to either. That's what all the offseason talk was about...toughness. Mentally and physically tough teams get over these losses and get better. I suspect the 2018 Vols will do just that. Hopefully they have enough improvement over the next couple weeks to get a W over goofy ass Dan Mehlen and the gators. I'm already over the loss, personally, it's time to get ready for ETSU and be better. Crybaby fans and players can stay home and cry about it if they choose to do so. 14-1 until we aren't.
 
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#14,013
#14,013
From last night.

Regarding the OLine, Jeremy pointed out that, “Trey Smith has practiced for 8 days. He’s 19 years old. Jahmir Johnson was not here in the spring and he played left tackle most of the time in fall camp. He’s played guard since Trey came back. Brandon Kennedy wasn’t here in the spring. Chance Hall just started this fall camp. Because we didn’t know if these guys were going to be back we had to prepare like they weren’t going to be back. That means we had to play guys at a bunch of different spots. When you do that sometimes you’re not hardly a unit yet. I like our guys on the offensive line. I believe in them. Those guys are hardnosed. I think they fight but we’ve got to execute a little better. I think as the season goes on and these guys get to play together and get to play the same positions over and over I think they’ll do that. I really do.”

I think it was on the postgame show with Bob he said we had a backup plan for the OLine in case guys didn’t make it back in time. I’m not informed enough to suggest we may have been better off starting with the backup plan but since limited preparedness wasn’t a decisive issue I suspect JJ Peterson could possibly be ready for Florida. Jk.
 
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#14,014
#14,014
Kingston Vol said:
I read a stat that stunned me the other day. The last time Tennessee had less than 4 losses in a season was 14 years ago.

14 years. Would have been unthinkable to lose 4 games in the 90’s. Let alone for a decade and a half.

I’m 24 so I don’t really remember the 90’s. My first real memories are of the ‘01 season. And I can attest with firsthand knowledge that people my age and younger do not expect Tennessee to be good or to be competitive. We’re largely a laughing stock in that demographic.
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And a large number of fans sandwiched between the old-time donors and fans in their 20s are those who remember the 90s and are starting to believe that the glory days aren't coming back. It's this middle demographic that's growing increasingly impatient and disillusioned with both the progress and the product. That's why I think we're at a pivot point.

Despite the dreadful start, we can have an okay season. A lot of yesterday's mistakes are correctable.
 
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#14,015
#14,015
Aesius said:
A Florida win changes everything and would make the season a success for many even if we miss a bowl game.
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I hope this happens.

I believe this team is on an up swing.

Just started out a little lower than I expected. That’s my fault.

I think Pruitt is the right guy.
 
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#14,016
#14,016
Ron Swanson said:
Blast the next two opponents and beat UF and this WVU game is all forgotten. Get in the film room and on the practice field and get better. No time for crying about it and giving up. Some of our fans might but Pruitt and his staff aren't going to and they won't allow their players to either. That's what all the offseason talk was about...toughness. Mentally and physically tough teams get over these losses and get better. I suspect the 2018 Vols will do just that. Hopefully they have enough improvement over the next couple weeks to get a W over goofy ass Dan Mehlen and the gators. I'm already over the loss, personally, it's time to get ready for ETSU and be better. Crybaby fans and players can stay home and cry about it if they choose to do so. 14-1 until we aren't.
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I am with you.
 
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#14,017
#14,017
Also from last night.

I like Jeremy. I like his personality. I like that he took responsibility for some of the play calling and not always putting our guys in a position where they could be successful. Specifically he said he needed to do a better job coaching the young guys in the secondary. He said he put them in a bad spot a couple times and next time he’ll help them out a little more hopefully.

There was also this.

“To me the most important thing is how your team plays because how your team plays tells you what kind of coach you are. Their team played better than we did today and that’s on me. I’ve got to get these guys to where they execute at a higher level, where they believe in themselves, and I think we’ll do that. There are lots of lessons to be learned from today and the key to the drill is we have to learn the lessons and go apply them. West Virginia had a fantastic plan and they played the entire game. They played 60 minutes; we played 30.”
 
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#14,018
#14,018
Kingston Vol said:
I read a stat that stunned me the other day. The last time Tennessee had less than 4 losses in a season was 14 years ago.

14 years. Would have been unthinkable to lose 4 games in the 90’s. Let alone for a decade and a half.

I’m 24 so I don’t really remember the 90’s. My first real memories are of the ‘01 season. And I can attest with firsthand knowledge that people my age and younger do not expect Tennessee to be good or to be competitive. We’re largely a laughing stock in that demographic.
Click to expand...

I worked at Best Buy in college circa 2009-2010 and even back then my coworkers would give me crap about Tennessee sucking. We've been a joke for a hell of a long time. And yeah, young fans of both other programs and even Tennessee itself don't know what a strong Vols football program even looks like.
 
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#14,021
#14,021
I'll be wearing my Vol t-shirt and hat proudly tomorrow at a friends cookout. Ready for the hate with a smile. You know why? Because I live in Virginia and most there will be UVA and VT fans. They have no idea what it's like being a fan of a REAL Football program. I'll take their jabs proudly and remind them that no matter what I'm a Vol fan til I die. And the difference between their programs and ours is that at least there is a posslibity of being elite (again) but they will never have that luxury.

GBO
 
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#14,022
#14,022
Aesius said:
I worked at Best Buy in college circa 2009-2010 and even back then my coworkers would give me crap about Tennessee sucking. We've been a joke for a hell of a long time. And yeah, young fans of both other programs and even Tennessee itself don't know what a strong Vols football program even looks like.
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It's kind of why I cringe when I see people wearing the "98" jersey and stuff like that. I think that just looks weak to dwell on the past like that constantly. Alabama has 5 of those in 9 years and we're over here flashing a big 98 in everybody's face.
 
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#14,023
#14,023
millst987 said:
The thing with JG is that he’s good, but he’s not going to go win a game for you. He has 1 win as a starter? I watch him play, and I’m impressed. However, at the end of the game I just feel like he’s never done enough to get us a W
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He will, greatly improved from last year.
 
#14,024
#14,024
It was said here during the Dooley years that, eventually, you are what your record says you are. I think a lot of the angst in the fan base comes from the fact that people have a hard time accepting that, after 10+ years, we just are what we are — a very mediocre program.

I don’t like it either, but I think people just have to adjust their expectations. This was never getting fixed overnight.

The thing that concerns me is getting into a hole we simply can’t climb out of, as happened with Colorado (though their circumstances are different and much of their downfall was self-imposed by intentionally and explicitly handicapping their own program). There’s a lot of fan support, but just anecdotally it sure seems like people are starting to tune out. My dad gave up his season tickets, which I didn’t think he’d ever do, but when he told me why it made sense. He’s getting older and he wants to spend time enjoying his children and grandchildren and being at the beach. I’m not sure that sentiment is uncommon.
 
#14,025
#14,025
Chief Vol 13 said:
It's kind of why I cringe when I see people wearing the "98" jersey and stuff like that. I think that just looks weak to dwell on the past like that constantly. Alabama has 5 of those in 9 years and we're over here flashing a big 98 in everybody's face.
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For a guy proud of not flushing, you sure are bothered by a lot of little things 😂
 
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