Recruiting Forum Football Talk [RIP 9.3.2019]

[HankHill]

They may be handcuffed, but you still have to scheme around what you have. Trying to run against 7/8/9 man boxes is not helping your OL. Quick passes, rollouts, misdirections, and running in spread formations are things that you can do to help out your OL.

The reason they are stacked boxes against is because 1. We can’t pass protect long enough to consistently hit routes down the field and 2. They don’t respect our qb.

 

[jakez4ut]

We will know a lot more once they play Miss St this week.

gotta be honest, i'm not not buying MSU. i think Fitzgerald is going backwards.

to me, this screams UF win. i like MSU's front 7, but so far, i've not been impressed with that offense. good RB, but that's it.

 

[InVOLuntary]

That’s fair. But i don’t think even [insert whatever name you want] aka anybody could have a great unit with our current roster on offense.

I agree. A crap sandwich is a crap sandwich. It's how you prepare it. It's how you spice it up. We're not even getting the special sauce on this crap sandwich.

 

[jakez4ut]

that we would be better had we hired Mullen. That's debatable, although a pointless debate. It is too early to tell.

i seriously doubt we'd be better off with Mullen. i don't know how well off we are with Pruitt yet either. but there's just something about Mullen that just doesn't fit at UT. Pruitt fits better. we'll see if he's the right coach for this program.

mullen would have failed, but for different reasons. if Pruitt fails, it's because he's just not a good head coach. i think he brings all the other stuff to the table.

 

[jakez4ut]

UF was one of the most beatable SEC teams and the Vols got them early in the season when all but a few of our players were healthy and available. Playing UGA-Auburn-Bama is going to take a toll, physically and mentally. Needing a beat-up team to turn around and win 3/4 against SCAR, UK, Mizzou and Vandy puts us in the position we needed to avoid. This team is going to have to grow up and toughen up fast to make that happen. Would be amazing to see and would send a positive message to recruits, if they can find a way.

agree with all that. hope it happens. not real sure it will. this next month is gonna be tough. and it makes November that much tougher.

 

[Kingston Vol]

That’s fair. But i don’t think even [insert whatever name you want] aka anybody could have a great unit with our current roster on offense.

Probably not, but it’s clear we don’t have an offensive staff that is capable of accentuating whatever small strengths we might have.

If there really is a system split between Helton and Friend then that makes a ton of sense.

 

[Ulysees E. McGill]

Just like the Mehlans started in with Butch 2.0 after one loss?

Look..I have said and will say again..Dan Mullen is a good coach, which Botch Jonz is definitely not.

I think Jeremy Pruitt is a better overall football mind, teacher and recruiter, and thus is better suited for this program in the long run.

I did not and still don't, and never will want Mehlan as the HC at Tennessee.

 

[LynxVol]

Just like the Mehlans started in with Butch 2.0 after one loss?

You should probably put those posters on ignore. Anyone who has watched football for the last decade knows that Mullen is one of the farthest things from Butch Jones. Maybe it's because he's relatively young, is more "hip", is offensive-minded, and typically likes dual-threat QBs? Maybe I missed something, but I honestly can't think of a reason why people would try to draw that comparison.

 

[Aesius]

i seriously doubt we'd be better off with Mullen. i don't know how well off we are with Pruitt yet either. but there's just something about Mullen that just doesn't fit at UT. Pruitt fits better. we'll see if he's the right coach for this program.

mullen would have failed, but for different reasons. if Pruitt fails, it's because he's just not a good head coach. i think he brings all the other stuff to the table.

Pruitt failing is a terrifying thought. I think that would be the final nail in the coffin of this program. Hell, the Haslams would probably find a way to hire Schiano after all just to give the fans the ultimate middle finger.

 

[LA Vol]

I agree. A crap sandwich is a crap sandwich. It's how you prepare it. It's how you spice it up. We're not even getting the special sauce on this crap sandwich.

No sauce. Stale bread. It's an acquired taste few fanbases would relish. UT fans have been dining on it so long the bread's molding.

 

[Ulysees E. McGill]

Coaches who can’t/don’t evolve get left in the dust. Even Saban let go of his offense and changed it completely lol

When you go 3-9, 5-7 because you’re playing to their weaknesses to “force them to toughen up” and “learn your system” have fun recruiting and dealing with the boosters calling for your head. You should stop complaining about how terrible we are because clearly this staff isn’t worried about this year

Ok brilliant armchair guy...What are their strengths? They don't have any as far as I can tell to scheme around.

 

[JAllen18]

UF was one of the most beatable SEC teams and the Vols got them early in the season when all but a few of our players were healthy and available. Playing UGA-Auburn-Bama is going to take a toll, physically and mentally. Needing a beat-up team to turn around and win 3/4 against SCAR, UK, Mizzou and Vandy puts us in the position we needed to avoid. This team is going to have to grow up and toughen up fast to make that happen. Would be amazing to see and would send a positive message to recruits, if they can find a way.

Pruitt should be COY if he can go 3-1 and get to 6-6 against SCAR, UK, Mizzou, and Vandy. All of those teams should be bowl teams.

 

[BruinVol]

Do you think I'm calling you out or something?

I'm not.

To me, it's funny to see posts on here, TOS, etc. stating that we would be better had we hired Mullen. That's debatable, although a pointless debate. It is too early to tell.

It's too early to say Mullen should have been hired but it isn't too early to start keeping score in that question. Mullen has way more experience and has had a much better start than Pruitt. 2-0 is the score by my count. We have 3-5 more years before we know the final score

 

[jakez4ut]

Pruitt failing is a terrifying thought. I think that would be the final nail in the coffin of this program. Hell, the Haslams would probably find a way to hire Schiano after all just to give the fans the ultimate middle finger.

lol, hope not. and i'm not calling my shot with Pruitt either. just that if he does, it's not because of anythign goofy. it'll be because he's just not a good head coach.

 

[Ulysees E. McGill]

Probably not, but it’s clear we don’t have an offensive staff that is capable of accentuating whatever small strengths we might have.

If there really is a system split between Helton and Friend then that makes a ton of sense.

It's..MAGIC...

 

[bignewt]

A large part of it is mental, especially given the sheer amount of missed assignments through 4 games,. I think that coincides with experience.

When I say the guys are soft, I mean mentally. that in turn causes mistakes.

 

[VolGee4]

Fans want a reason to justify not being good.

Someone would have to check all of the SEC East rosters, but I doubt we are undersized (at least on the OL). I think talent and experience are bigger issues at the line of scrimmage.

I got into a discussion with a friend about talent, and he heard Gene Chizik say that NFL scouts are really watching some of the players on UK's lines. So, I decided to look at recruiting rankings. I used Rivals, but with a quick glance 247 is not much different at all. UK has one starting 4 star in its front seven. There is a 2 star that starts on DL. They have one starting 4 star on the OL. Meanwhile, all of our front seven are 4+ stars with 3 being 5 stars! 6 in our 2 deep OL are 4+ stars. So, don't talk to me about not having talent. Sure, being soft mentally can be a problm, but the evaluations aren't that far off.

BTW, UK's 2016 class consisted of six 2 stars and fourteen 3 stars to make up 20 of their 25 class.

 

[mr.checkerboards]

Ok brilliant armchair guy...What are their strengths? They don't have any as far as I can tell to scheme around.

The strength is our receivers. We have two guys who I feel good about throwing it up to in 1 on 1 situations. Max protect with 9 split them out wide and take some shots what do we have to lose

 

[LA Vol]

Pruitt should be COY if he can go 3-1 and get to 6-6 against SCAR, UK, Mizzou, and Vandy. All of those teams should be bowl teams.

The team that showed up against WVU and UF can't do it. Talent's going to have to show up, the young guys are going to have to grow up and everybody's going to have to man up to pull it off. I think they can do it-- I just don't believe they will.

 

[VolGee4]

The reason they are stacked boxes against is because 1. We can’t pass protect long enough to consistently hit routes down the field and 2. They don’t respect our qb.

You can roll the pocket or scheme quick hitters to adjust to that. People said playing Grier wasn't as bad as we really thought because he got rid of the ball quickly. There were multiple times where we had numbers on the perimeter to throw a quick pass. You challenge their secondary (Trey Dean) and you gas them because they only have like 6 DB's on scholarship. We can't move the chains running, so you have to do it passing. Every once in a while you fake short and throw long to loosen them up even if it's incomplete.

 

[VolunteerHillbilly]

I think Jeremy Pruitt is a better overall football mind, teacher and recruiter, and thus is better suited for this program in the long run.

I don't want Mullen either, but why do you think this, particularly the better football mind part?

 

[BleedorangeinGA]

A few things we (the majority) agree on.

We suck

No coach could win 6 games with this roster and schedule this year.

Most have never looked forward to basketball season as much as we do this year.

 

[HankHill]

Probably not, but it’s clear we don’t have an offensive staff that is capable of accentuating whatever small strengths we might have.

If there really is a system split between Helton and Friend then that makes a ton of sense.

I honestly don’t buy any kind of a rift. I’ve heard nothing like it. I’m sure several people have say in the offensive game plan just like anywhere else. I just think we called a tight game. Which is understandable given where we are. I figured all game plan would be very conservative with a couple trick plays / shots.

 

[VolGee4]

Ok brilliant armchair guy...What are their strengths? They don't have any as far as I can tell to scheme around.

As we know, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. That is exactly what we were doing on first and second downs.

 

[bignewt]

I honestly don’t buy any kind of a rift. I’ve heard nothing like it. I’m sure several people have say in the offensive game plan just like anywhere else. I just think we called a tight game. Which is understandable given where we are. I figured all game plan would be very conservative with a couple trick plays / shots.

Which to me is idiotic. Have they not seen us play Florida the last 15 years? We play tight and almost always lose! Why not...oh my...do the opposite? Go crazy! Throw all caution to the wind! Run wildcats, reverses, wr throws...I cannot fathom how anyone would think calling a conservative, tight game was going to get us a win. I just can't.