Recruiting Forum Football Talk [RIP 9.3.2019]

[Smokey123]

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

I never said we have any “strengths”, but we definitely have weaknesses, which we’ve been playing into and even you agreed with that.

We have some talent at WR and a Back who’s good in space. We play better in the spread than under center. If JG can’t get past his first read than simplify it for him and design more plays to get the ball out quickly where he’s not making any reads. Stop running to set up the pass because it’s only making it more difficult on our offense. Instead of calling plays that hurt them because it plays into their weakness try to HIDE those weaknesses

 

[Aesius]

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.

I just wonder if we can win 6 games next year. And if not, what kind of leash does Fulmer give Pruitt, and what kind of leash does the administration give Fulmer?

 

[Smokey123]

It's..MAGIC...

You think good coaching is magic. Lol

 

[Kingston Vol]

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.

It’s not just the Florida game. There’s not really been a good offensive game plan in any of the games.

I don’t know if it’s a “rift” but if Helton does things one way and Friend does them another and it’s kind of an unspoken rule among the staff that they have the same say in game planning then it makes sense that get stuck in the middle.

I’ve complained all year that sometimes we come out under center for 3 straight plays and try to be a power running team and then on the next drive we’ll come out in the shotgun for 3 straight plays and try to be a spread type system. And now it makes some sense that there’s a battle for offensive identity.

 

[Kingston Vol]

It's..MAGIC...

It shouldn’t be magic to roll the pocket from time to time; to get the ball to your three above average wide receivers and one very good running back; to design plays and combinations of plays that make the defense take an extra split second to think before they barrel through your RT and get immediate pressure.

 

[jakez4ut]

And now it makes some sense that there’s a battle for offensive identity.

i think there's probably several other more tangible football related issues/reasons that might be the case, and i'd believe any of those before i did anything Tony B said on his show.

i'm not sure rumors on his show would really make the list.

 

[VolunteerHillbilly]

Kelly Bryant. Go get him?

 

[JAllen18]

I just wonder if we can win 6 games next year. And if not, what kind of leash does Fulmer give Pruitt, and what kind of leash does the administration give Fulmer?

We lose every starter on the D-line next year too with Alexis Johnson, Shy Tuttle, Phillips, Paul Bain, and Kongbo all being seniors.

The juco guys like Savion Williams and Middleton will help, but we will still have very little depth on the D-line.

 

[Kingston Vol]

i think there's probably several other more tangible football related issues/reasons that might be the case, and i'd believe any of those before i did anything Tony B said on his show.

i'm not sure rumors on his show would really make the list.

Basilio gets things right occasionally. He’s the shock jock of Knoxville sports media but it’s not like he is batting 0%.

I wonder too how much Jeremy Pruitt inserts himself into the offense on a game by game basis. We don’t know that yet but it’s a possible answer as to why it seems so bipolar at times.

 

[Smokey123]

It’s not just the Florida game. There’s not really been a good offensive game plan in any of the games.

I don’t know if it’s a “rift” but if Helton does things one way and Friend does them another and it’s kind of an unspoken rule among the staff that they have the same say in game planning then it makes sense that get stuck in the middle.

I’ve complained all year that sometimes we come out under center for 3 straight plays and try to be a power running team and then on the next drive we’ll come out in the shotgun for 3 straight plays and try to be a spread type system. And now it makes some sense that there’s a battle for offensive identity.

We ran 2 of almost exactly the same plays to the right side on 2nd and 3 and 3rd and 4 vs WVU just before half. When JG was hot and we were doing pretty well running to the left side. 10-10 game or 14-10 is such a different game going into half. I was mad, it was pathetic play calling

 

[Kingston Vol]

We lose every starter on the D-line next year too with Alexis Johnson, Shy Tuttle, Phillips, Paul Bain, and Kongbo all being seniors.

The juco guys like Savion Williams and Middleton will help, but we will still have very little depth on the D-line.

Issues like we have on both sides of the line of scrimmage don’t get fixed in a year. I thought for sure we’d be looking at 8 wins minimum but that could very easily be revised down to battling for a bowl game.

 

[Aesius]

We lose every starter on the D-line next year too with Alexis Johnson, Shy Tuttle, Phillips, Paul Bain, and Kongbo all being seniors.

The juco guys like Savion Williams and Middleton will help, but we will still have very little depth on the D-line.

Yikes. We might be looking at another 2011-2013 stretch of no bowl games. I don't know if there's enough patience in the program or among fans to give Pruitt enough time to truly rebuild.

 

[Smokey123]

It shouldn’t be magic to roll the pocket from time to time; to get the ball to your three above average wide receivers and one very good running back; to design plays and combinations of plays that make the defense take an extra split second to think before they barrel through your RT and get immediate pressure.

We have one of the highest paid OC’s and it’s “magic” for him to maximize our potential...

 

[jakez4ut]

Basilio gets things right occasionally. He’s the shock jock of Knoxville sports media but it’s not like he is batting 0%.

I wonder too how much Jeremy Pruitt inserts himself into the offense on a game by game basis. We don’t know that yet but it’s a possible answer as to why it seems so bipolar at times.

everybody is right sometimes. blind squirrel and all. but that's not his purpose for being on the air. stirring s**t is. and that's what's happening here.

as for pruitt inserting himself on offense, i'm sure he does at times, he's the head coach. and from what i've heard/read about Pruitt, if there was an issue on that staff, he doesn't strike me as the type of guy that would let it go unchecked.

either way, there's a lot of reasons the play calling was bad. and one of those reasons could certainly be we have bad playcallers.

but there's also a lot of other waaaay more rational reasons....like teh o line really does limit some of the stuff you'd like to be able to do....or your qb does tend to hold the ball too long at times...or he's not yet seeing the field and going thru progressions like you want....or TE's and Backs aren't picking up their parts of the blocking schemes yet.....or we do have inexperience at OC and we didn't have a plan B for what actually took place during the game....or he was told to run those plays by the head coach.....

i just doubt seriously the poor play calling is a reslut of two coaches on teh staff being spiteful with each other.

 

[Kingston Vol]

Yikes. We might be looking at another 2011-2013 stretch of no bowl games. I don't know if there's enough patience in the program or among fans to give Pruitt enough time to truly rebuild.

It is interesting and I’d like to hear as many opinions as possible on this:

Has Jeremy Pruitt gotten the same buy in from Tennessee fans that our previous coaches received? Of course we all support him and wish him well, but it seems like as a whole, the fan base is sticking to the “prove it” narrative and up to this point it feels like we are much more neutral on him.

Am I off base here?

 

[BruinVol]

I swear all these kids think they can play immediately year if they stop after 4 games. So much misinformation out there about this

 

[Smokey123]

It’s kinda crazy how much people will side with coaches who make millions of dollars over “amateur” players who don’t make any money.... Until of course they want that coach fired

 

[VolGee4]

everybody is right sometimes. blind squirrel and all. but that's not his purpose for being on the air. stirring s**t is. and that's what's happening here.

as for pruitt inserting himself on offense, i'm sure he does at times, he's the head coach. and from what i've heard/read about Pruitt, if there was an issue on that staff, he doesn't strike me as the type of guy that would let it go unchecked.

either way, there's a lot of reasons the play calling was bad. and one of those reasons could certainly be we have bad playcallers.

but there's also a lot of other waaaay more rational reasons....like teh o line really does limit some of the stuff you'd like to be able to do....or your qb does tend to hold the ball too long at times...or he's not yet seeing the field and going thru progressions like you want....or TE's and Backs aren't picking up their parts of the blocking schemes yet.....or we do have inexperience at OC and we didn't have a plan B for what actually took place during the game....or he was told to run those plays by the head coach.....

i just doubt seriously the poor play calling is a reslut of two coaches on teh staff being spiteful with each other.

All of that probably plays a part in it. Someone did say that Pruitt admitted that we ran too much on first down. I didn't hear it. But if that is the case, then he may not be inserting himself in the playcalling as much as he should. He doesn't have to call the actual play but at least talk about strategy.

 

[Blake25p]

We lose every starter on the D-line next year too with Alexis Johnson, Shy Tuttle, Phillips, Paul Bain, and Kongbo all being seniors.

The juco guys like Savion Williams and Middleton will help, but we will still have very little depth on the D-line.

I bet we get a couple grad transfer DL.

 

[Aesius]

It is interesting and I’d like to hear as many opinions as possible on this:

Has Jeremy Pruitt gotten the same buy in from Tennessee fans that our previous coaches received? Of course we all support him and wish him well, but it seems like as a whole, the fan base is sticking to the “prove it” narrative and up to this point it feels like we are much more neutral on him.

Am I off base here?

Definitely not off base. I think there's very little fan buy-in for Pruitt. There's just too much coaching change fatigue after Kiffin, Dooley, and Jones. We suck and Pruitt doesn't have a magic wand to fix it. He's also not a "name." The Bama connection also might make some fans a little more wary of him and more likely to turn on him if and when **** truly hits the fan (i.e., 3-9 and 0-8 SEC again).

Although to be fair, he hasn't done much to help himself in that regard. He has been pretty much invisible after his introductory press conference. Butch was actually fairly masterful at hyping up the fanbase during his first couple of years.

 

[JAllen18]

It is interesting and I’d like to hear as many opinions as possible on this:

Has Jeremy Pruitt gotten the same buy in from Tennessee fans that our previous coaches received? Of course we all support him and wish him well, but it seems like as a whole, the fan base is sticking to the “prove it” narrative and up to this point it feels like we are much more neutral on him.

Am I off base here?

I think most "educated" fans know this is a 4 year rebuild. We won't know at least until year 3 at the latest if we got the right guy.

 

[Smokey123]

It is interesting and I’d like to hear as many opinions as possible on this:

Has Jeremy Pruitt gotten the same buy in from Tennessee fans that our previous coaches received? Of course we all support him and wish him well, but it seems like as a whole, the fan base is sticking to the “prove it” narrative and up to this point it feels like we are much more neutral on him.

Am I off base here?

Yea I think so. But that could also be partly because Pruitt has never been a HC

 

[jakez4ut]

We lose every starter on the D-line next year too with Alexis Johnson, Shy Tuttle, Phillips, Paul Bain, and Kongbo all being seniors.

The juco guys like Savion Williams and Middleton will help, but we will still have very little depth on the D-line.

the guys coming back are:
Kingston Harris
John Mincey
Kurott Garland
Greg Emerson
Emmit Gooden
Mathey Butler
Kivon Bennett

incoming Freshmen:
LeDarrius cox
Savion Williams
Darel Middleton
Elijah Simmons
Roman Harrison
TBD

the only good news about the DL is that in the true 34, you don't necessarily need your DL to be stars or big time stat grabbers as far as sacks/TFL's etc...they need to be able to occupy OL and allow the DE/OLB and ILB's do their thing.

that said, there currently isn't anyone that you would call a difference maker on the DL. and i think you probably have to look at guys like Good and Emerson to be the anchors, and really develop the crap out of everyone else.

 

[VFLBerg]

It is interesting and I’d like to hear as many opinions as possible on this:

Has Jeremy Pruitt gotten the same buy in from Tennessee fans that our previous coaches received? Of course we all support him and wish him well, but it seems like as a whole, the fan base is sticking to the “prove it” narrative and up to this point it feels like we are much more neutral on him.

Am I off base here?

This is exactly where I am. After so much disappointment with the previous coaching staffs I am definitely in the "prove it" mode now.

 

[VolGee4]

I think most "educated" fans know this is a 4 year rebuild. We won't know at least until year 3 at the latest if we got the right guy.

Yes, I agree to a point. As others have said in the past though, you can tell in the first two years just based off how the team plays. At some point, a coach has to win a toss up game.
That's why I thought Butch was going to be solid with the team's win against USC and performance against UGA in 2013. He outperformed. 2015 was ok,, and then the end of 2016 just fell apart. But, Pruitt has to beat a couple of Vandy, UK, Mizzou, SC the next two years to show he can coach.