5 concerns from spring practice..

#51
#51
FLVOL_79 said:
They use what I call baseball stats. You know in baseball how they always have meaningless stats like "Soandso always bats .500+ in the last days of September during a waning moon"? They basically use stuff like that. Because there is no way in gods green earth that someone looks at a team that went 4-8 to 5-7 and blew multiple chances to go to a bowl game as some how being the 15th best in the country. Some teams drop spots for losing players and yet UT goes up with the mostly the same guys who have been terrible for 2 straight years?
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Right. Sometimes I think they hype us up on purpose because when we don't live up to said hype, everyone can joke and poke fun at UT. Happens every year.
 
#53
#53
KBVol said:
The only difference in the schedule this year from last is we don’t get a top 15-20 team like WVa as our toughest out of conference game. However, instead of only having 1 OOC team like last year that could beat us (WVa), we actually have 2 this year imo (BYU and UAB) although neither are as good as WVa was.

Beyond that, just like last year, we got Florida, Georgia, SCar, Mizzou, Ky, Vandy and Alabama. And just like last year when we played Auburn, we’ll be underdogs to another SECw team when we play a good, tough MissSt team.

I’m not seeing where the schedule is “nowhere close to last year”. It’s virtually identical imo.
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Behr said:
Ive laughed when others have said things like that.. "our schedule is cake compared to last year and others". I understand if someone thinks its a little lighter because of BYU instead of Oregon, Oklahoma, West Virginia etc. but where we are, it's not a "gimme " in any way. And we go to Tuscaloosa, Gainesville and Columbia ...Yay.

Yea, it's not "Nothing compared to last year"
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On paper it should be... we have, by far, the least amount of turnover in the east. If we can’t climb to 3rd in the east this year I’m going to be worried.
 
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#54
#54
O line better show marked improvement by opener in the fall. Otherwise, Will Friend and co deserve the criticism that will come their way. We can’t have a repeat of last year.
 
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#55
#55
Proud Army Wife said:
Exactly. We may have a lot of players returning, but how many of them are decent? Not many. Can't wait til all the remaining Butch players are gone and the new guys have a couple years under their belt.
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True but most naturally get better from year to year. Also, lot of players will be recruited over too on OL, LB, #2 TE, etc.
 
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#59
#59
Pacer92 said:
Our DL will be better than last years. I don’t care how much experience they had.
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It's possible, but probably unlikely.

Best case scenario IMO:

(1) Solomon is declared eligible --- immediately becomes our best DL,
(2) Savion Williams doesn't take much time to get acclimated and also becomes an instant-impact starter,
(3) The guys in our 2- and 3-deep (e.g. Latrell Bumphus, John Mincey, Kingston Harris) become contributors much quicker than expected, giving us better depth

It can happen for sure, but a lot of "ifs" there.

Kyle Phillips was arguably our best defensive player last year and we'll see a dropoff there.

On the other hand, while Shy Tuttle was solid, it felt like he was playing out of position as a 3-4 NT rather than a 4-3 DT. Kahlil McKenzie, who left for the draft in 2018, was definitely the more natural fit at NT on the roster, but Shy was forced to move there without Kahlil on the roster. Defense might work a little better with a true NT.

Still, the biggest issue last season was depth, and it's tough to imagine how that issue gets resolved losing your top 4 D-linemen. Unfortunately, we probably need at least 1 or 2 more recruiting classes to be in great shape at DL.
 
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#60
#60
DiderotsGhost said:
It's possible, but probably unlikely.

Best case scenario IMO:

(1) Solomon is declared eligible --- immediately becomes our best DL,
(2) Savion Williams doesn't take much time to get acclimated and also becomes an instant-impact starter,
(3) The guys in our 2- and 3-deep (e.g. Latrell Bumphus, John Mincey, Kingston Harris) become contributors much quicker than expected, giving us better depth

It can happen for sure, but a lot of "ifs" there.

Kyle Phillips was arguably our best defensive player last year and we'll see a dropoff there.

On the other hand, while Shy Tuttle was solid, it felt like he was playing out of position as a 3-4 NT rather than a 4-3 DT. Kahlil McKenzie, who left for the draft in 2018, was definitely the more natural fit at NT on the roster, but Shy was forced to move there without Kahlil on the roster. Defense might work a little better with a true NT.

Still, the biggest issue last season was depth, and it's tough to imagine how that issue gets resolved losing your top 4 D-linemen. Unfortunately, we probably need at least 1 or 2 more recruiting classes to be in great shape at DL.
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Tuttle was a bust and Kyle Phillips did nothing while he was here.

In my opinion the D-line can only get better. We had one of the softest D-lines I have ever seen. They were pathetic in every aspect of the game. The one bright spot was Alexis Johnson's run stuff ability.
 
#61
#61
DiderotsGhost said:
It's possible, but probably unlikely.

Best case scenario IMO:

(1) Solomon is declared eligible --- immediately becomes our best DL,
(2) Savion Williams doesn't take much time to get acclimated and also becomes an instant-impact starter,
(3) The guys in our 2- and 3-deep (e.g. Latrell Bumphus, John Mincey, Kingston Harris) become contributors much quicker than expected, giving us better depth

It can happen for sure, but a lot of "ifs" there.

Kyle Phillips was arguably our best defensive player last year and we'll see a dropoff there.

On the other hand, while Shy Tuttle was solid, it felt like he was playing out of position as a 3-4 NT rather than a 4-3 DT. Kahlil McKenzie, who left for the draft in 2018, was definitely the more natural fit at NT on the roster, but Shy was forced to move there without Kahlil on the roster. Defense might work a little better with a true NT.

Still, the biggest issue last season was depth, and it's tough to imagine how that issue gets resolved losing your top 4 D-linemen. Unfortunately, we probably need at least 1 or 2 more recruiting classes to be in great shape at DL.
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Last years DL was weak for the most part. Gooden emerged as the most capable and consistent guy the last half of the season. Agree depth was an issue, but with an eligible Solomon and as advertised S. Williams, we are immediately much better at the DL position.
 
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#63
#63
BeardedVol said:
It doesn't take 2-3 years in a Division I S&C program before even minimal progress materializes. This staff has to take ownership of player development, or the lack thereof, at this point.
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OffTackleVol said:
This is year 2 of the current S&C program.
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Key words and phrases are important for successful reading comprehension.
 
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#64
#64
Vol423 said:
Kids appear to be developed? Based on what exactly?
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Support your side,...............why don't they appear to be developed? Do you believe there has been no development between December-April?

Please tell me you don't put a lot of weight on the O&W game, when rotations are happening all over the place.
 
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#65
#65
BeardedVol said:
It doesn't take 2-3 years in a Division I S&C program before even minimal progress materializes. This staff has to take ownership of player development, or the lack thereof, at this point.
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after 1 year? as bad as you thought the last staff was, for as long as you thought they were bad, your contention is that all that gets fixed in 1 year....or else?
 
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#67
#67
BeardedVol said:
Reference two posts above yours.
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yeah, i saw those after i posted. still, your overall tone seems very ultimatimish.........and it really depends on how one defines "minimal".

for me, just don't be THE reason we lose football games..........they were SO bad last year, they could be average this year and that would seem like a giant improvement.

but, my overall point is as bad as things were here for as long as they were, it does take longer than 1 off season and 1 season to get where you want to go.......and that gets harder when you lose your best OL for medical reasons, 2 retire from football, another transfers (boulware, not Richmond)....and your pinning your hopes on 2 incoming freshman..........again............now, those 2 freshmen are studs talent wise. but are they really THE answer to the oline woes, this year? probably not....

anyway, OL is a developmental position. we've improved the front line talent. we don't have enough depth yet.

work in progress....but totally fair to expect improvement in year 2......
 
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#68
#68
jakez4ut said:
yeah, i saw those after i posted. still, your overall tone seems very ultimatimish.........and it really depends on how one defines "minimal".

for me, just don't be THE reason we lose football games..........they were SO bad last year, they could be average this year and that would seem like a giant improvement.

but, my overall point is as bad as things were here for as long as they were, it does take longer than 1 off season and 1 season to get where you want to go.......and that gets harder when you lose your best OL for medical reasons, 2 retire from football, another transfers (boulware, not Richmond)....and your pinning your hopes on 2 incoming freshman..........again............now, those 2 freshmen are studs talent wise. but are they really THE answer to the oline woes, this year? probably not....

anyway, OL is a developmental position. we've improved the front line talent. we don't have enough depth yet.

work in progress....but totally fair to expect improvement in year 2......
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Why is it that we see other programs developing players form the moment they get on campus, but any talk of expectations and measurable results from the current coaching staff is met with pearl-clutching gasps of "how dare you?!"

It does not take 2 full years of S&C, or even 2 years of college level coaching before improvement should be realized in the form of increased performance on the field. As far as the oline specifically is concerned, if Will Friend can't field 5 guys this year that by the end of the 2019 season can't at the very least be counted on to block someone on every play, then we have a problem with coaching.
 
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#69
#69
BeardedVol said:
Why is it that we see other programs developing players form the moment they get on campus, but any talk of expectations and measurable results from the current coaching staff is met with pearl-clutching gasps of "how dare you?!"

It does not take 2 full years of S&C, or even 2 years of college level coaching before improvement should be realized in the form of increased performance on the field. As far as the oline specifically is concerned, if Will Friend can't field 5 guys this year that by the end of the 2019 season can't at the very least be counted on to block someone on every play, then we have a problem with coaching.
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well, you lost your best OL to a medical condition, 2 more retired from football all together, and 2 transferred. so you're left with...........the guys that weren't good enough to start for the last staff.

and you're scrambling to plug holes with Jucos and grad transfers.

i think i just closed that post off iwth it's fair to expect improvement.

i don't think it's fair to put quasai ultimatums on a coach that got a crappy hand dealt to him, and is still looking for new cards, a full year later.

and now, before year 2 is even started, before we even get the rest of the OL hual we just signed is no campus, you're telling everyone that if they're not better (by whatever measure you decide on) then coaching is the problem.

that's just not necessarily true.

and like i said, it's fair to expect improvement. i do. and if they're as bad as they were last year, then we have a lot of problems.

just be average, and that's probably worth a game, maybe two. and an average o line would seem like gigantic improvement imo.

just don't get the need to put an ultimatum on it, in April.
 
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#70
#70
Tutt
Admiral_Goatfield said:
Tuttle was a bust and Kyle Phillips did nothing while he was here.

In my opinion the D-line can only get better. We had one of the softest D-lines I have ever seen. They were pathetic in every aspect of the game. The one bright spot was Alexis Johnson's run stuff ability.
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Tuttle was our best d lineman with the exception of Barnett as a freshman. I wouldn't call a guy who had severe injuries a bust, personally.
 
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#71
#71
jakez4ut said:
well, you lost your best OL to a medical condition, 2 more retired from football all together, and 2 transferred. so you're left with...........the guys that weren't good enough to start for the last staff.

and you're scrambling to plug holes with Jucos and grad transfers.

i think i just closed that post off iwth it's fair to expect improvement.

i don't think it's fair to put quasai ultimatums on a coach that got a crappy hand dealt to him, and is still looking for new cards, a full year later.

and now, before year 2 is even started, before we even get the rest of the OL hual we just signed is no campus, you're telling everyone that if they're not better (by whatever measure you decide on) then coaching is the problem.

that's just not necessarily true.

and like i said, it's fair to expect improvement. i do. and if they're as bad as they were last year, then we have a lot of problems.

just be average, and that's probably worth a game, maybe two. and an average o line would seem like gigantic improvement imo.

just don't get the need to put an ultimatum on it, in April.
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You type that as if the guys we have on the roster, are just fat dudes picked up from around Knoxville and shoved into a uniform. We're not talking about guys who have never played football in their life showing up on campus and having to learn football from the ground up. If Will Friend can't put together a bare-minimum viable product by the end of the season, then he's most likely never going to be able to get it done here. With our lack of in-state talent, he's probably never going to have 5 guys on that line that are all 4-5 stars, he's going to have to be able to get more out of a few 3-stars if he's going to be successful here.
 
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#72
#72
BeardedVol said:
You type that as if the guys we have on the roster, are just fat dudes picked up from around Knoxville and shoved into a uniform. We're not talking about guys who have never played football in their life showing up on campus and having to learn football from the ground up. If Will Friend can't put together a bare-minimum viable product by the end of the season, then he's most likely never going to be able to get it done here. With our lack of in-state talent, he's probably never going to have 5 guys on that line that are all 4-5 stars, he's going to have to be able to get more out of a few 3-stars if he's going to be successful here.
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So if he doesn't make chicken salad out of chicken you know what... He sucks...

Like I said... Fair to expect improvement.

Not necessarily fair to put an ultimatum on it... Right now.
 
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#73
#73
Proud Army Wife said:
Exactly. We may have a lot of players returning, but how many of them are decent? Not many. Can't wait til all the remaining Butch players are gone and the new guys have a couple years under their belt.
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I don't think that is fair statement considering the s__t storm UT has gone through the last ten years.
 
#74
#74
jakez4ut said:
So if he doesn't make chicken salad out of chicken you know what... He sucks...

Like I said... Fair to expect improvement.

Not necessarily fair to put an ultimatum on it... Right now.
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So how many coaching staffs on other teams do you have to see do more, year in and year out with olines comprised totally of 2-3 star recruits, before you question abilities of Will Friend, and/or Pruitt's decision to hire and retain him?

Or do you really believe that every olineman on the roster except Trey Smith is uncoachable trash?
 
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#75
#75
BeardedVol said:
So how many coaching staffs on other teams do you have to see do more, year in and year out with olines comprised totally of 2-3 star recruits, before you question abilities of Will Friend, and/or Pruitt's decision to hire and retain him?

Or do you really be alive that every olineman on the roster except Trey Smith is uncoachable trash?
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A) not relevant imo. Every situation is different. And it won't be during the first full off season when you just got your first real crop of ol on campus the your staff recruited.... Who happen to be top 10 prospects... And the next crop looks like it could be pretty good too... Lol

B) never said that.

Future looks much brighter than the present. And I still think they'll be better this season. No where to go but up.
 
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