UT will be the most improved team in the SEC

[lawgator1]

I don't agree with that at all. Florida only had 1 WR with over 400 yards last season. We had major O-line issues that limited the passing game and we still had more 400+ yard receivers. Calling Florida's WR corps "best in the nation" is huge exaggeration. Alabama has at least 4 WRs that are probably top 25 in the country --- all on the same team. It's not even a close competition between you all and Bama (or us and Bama for that matter).

Walter Football says we have the #6 and #16 NFL draft prospects at WR. You all have the #15 and #17 prospects.

Dan Mullen is an offensive genius who's gotten the most of that unit, but on a talent level:

Jennings / Callaway / Palmer > Jefferson / Grimes / Swain

WRs are the least of our troubles. Having enough time to get the ball to them and having an O-line that can run block are much bigger issues. It's actually a minor miracle that our passing production was similar to your all's, in spite of having the vastly inferior offense.

Not knocking your all's WRs. It's one of the better units in the SEC; but acting like it's world's better than ours (even though the stats don't support that idea) or that it's "best in the nation" is some extreme homerism.

UF's problems on offensive production have been three-fold, and all of them related to one another:

1) an underperforming offensive line; 2) a QB who despite physical ability has not translated into a passing offense; and 3) lack of a consistent offensive identity.

# 1 we are replacing lots of players. Now, some of those replaced were highly touted in the recruiting rankings, but they just did not pan out and the NFL draft reflects that. I am not predicting huge improvement there, yet, but I do think its coming. I also think that the lack of consistency there last year and immediately prior leaves lots of room for us to be better.

# 2 is what it is. Franks has shown only flashes of ability as a throwing QB. And by that I am not referring to his arm strength or anything of the like. Its his mental and football IQ development which I have questioned. Those around the program insist that in Mullen's second year that Franks now "gets it." That he has improved and is more mature and can be patient, in command, and therefore a better passer. We'll see. I want to believe that.

#3 is where Mullen excels. It is why he now our coach. Despite a decade or so of outstanding defensive performance, we have not been competitive in the W-L department and so the red alert was for offensive improvement. Mullen represents that. His real strength is taking what he has and molding the offense around that, rather than taking too long to find players that fit what he wants to do.

 

[Jaws]

He didn't get smoked, It looked that way because you didn't know the play. The DB that was covering him initially released before he was supposed to leaving Cleveland wide open so it "looked" as though the safety got there late (safety was positioned to Cleveland's right) and took a bad angle. Part of the reason the DB released early was because you all had another receiver running a drag across the middle (no threat to score might I add) and the defender that was there left his position. Bad play but a busted coverage play nonetheless. It happens to the best of teams.

I have no problem saying Tabor got burned, not sure why this is difficult for you. Cleveland is fast, he got behind the UT defense and made a great catch. Cleveland has burnt many teams with elite DB’s, including LSU and FSU. If it makes it any less of a game-winning TD and any less of a miracle finish and any less of a great play by Cleveland, to say that it was a busted coverage, then go for it, make yourself feel better.

And I’ll say Tabor slipped on bad Neyland turf.

 

[MemphisVol3]

I have no problem saying Tabor got burned, not sure why this is difficult for you. Cleveland is fast, he got behind the UT defense and made a great catch. Cleveland has burnt many teams with elite DB’s, including LSU and FSU. If it makes it any less of a game-winning TD and any less of a miracle finish and any less of a great play by Cleveland, to say that it was a busted coverage, then go for it, make yourself feel better.

And I’ll say Tabor slipped on bad Neyland turf.

I'm speaking strictly off facts. Cleveland got behind the defense due to busted coverage. The busted coverage was a fact and the chain of events that followed led to Cleveland getting behind the defense. I'm not taking anything away from the actual catch, but at the same time it's not like he ran straight by defenders on his own accord which is what you keep saying. If the coverage wasn't busted and he makes the same play more credit to him but that is not what happened.

 

[bamawriter]

No gymnastics, just facts. The 6 returning UF starters that I mentioned have 339 career catches for 33 TD’s. That’s Van Jefferson, Tyrie Cleveland, Trevon Grimes, Josh Hammond, Freddie Swain and Kadrius Toney. That’s a ton of production returning. Maybe someone else in the country can surpass that, but nobody jumps out at me. Nobody should mention elite WR groups without mentioning Florida.

Bama's top 4 WRs (one of whom is the reigning Biletnikoff winner) bring 234 receptions for 49 TDs.

And since you forgot to mention yards, that's 4,246 yards between four guys at an average of 18.15 ypc. Compare that to the six guys you mentioned: 3,470 total yards at an average of 10.24 ypc. There is no one on this forum, including the other Florida fans, who would take UF's receiving corps over Bama's.

 

[MemphisVol3]

Bama's top 4 WRs (one of whom is the reigning Biletnikoff winner) bring 234 receptions for 49 TDs.

And since you forgot to mention yards, that's 4,246 yards between four guys at an average of 18.15 ypc. Compare that to the six guys you mentioned: 3,470 total yards at an average of 10.24 ypc. There is no one on this forum, including the other Florida fans, who would take UF's receiving corps over Bama's.

I agree...IMO, Bama had the best receiving corp in the SEC. Those guys were a straight up handful and another reason Tua got the praise he got (he's obviously a good QB) but he has some elite receivers. The only time they were really slowed down was part of the SEC championship game and against Clemson (in which both games a major part of that was due to a very good pass rush)

 

[Boogievol]

I think there's a good chance this comes to fruition. I really expect a much bigger and more physical team this year. Don't ask me how this is going to happen, let's just enjoy the results.

 

[Jaws]

Bama's top 4 WRs (one of whom is the reigning Biletnikoff winner) bring 234 receptions for 49 TDs.

And since you forgot to mention yards, that's 4,246 yards between four guys at an average of 18.15 ypc. Compare that to the six guys you mentioned: 3,470 total yards at an average of 10.24 ypc. There is no one on this forum, including the other Florida fans, who would take UF's receiving corps over Bama's.

Thank you for doing the research, Bama has a bunch of studs, no doubt. Van Jefferson will be a long time NFL guy and Trevon Grimes has the tools to be a 1st rounder. The others for UF are solid college players and will get their shots in the NFL. To me, Waddle is the guy at Bama who is truly special, freakish speed and wiggle. I’d trade any UF guys for him. But Van and Grimes can hold their own with anyone. People continue to sell UF WR’s short. Bama and Florida have elite SEC WR units, which means they are among the best nationally.

This started with a poster claiming the only WR unit that may be better than UT was Georgia. That’s wrong.

 

[OnlyGodForgives]

Bama writers have more confidence in Pruitt than UT writers.

Bama writers, like Saban, love him right where he is.

 

[Behr]

This started with a poster claiming the only WR unit that may be better than UT was Georgia. That’s wrong.

Oh no, thank goodness you were here.

 

[MemphisVol3]

Thank you for doing the research, Bama has a bunch of studs, no doubt. Van Jefferson will be a long time NFL guy and Trevon Grimes has the tools to be a 1st rounder. The others for UF are solid college players and will get their shots in the NFL. To me, Waddle is the guy at Bama who is truly special, freakish speed and wiggle. I’d trade any UF guys for him. But Van and Grimes can hold their own with anyone. People continue to sell UF WR’s short. Bama and Florida have elite SEC WR units, which means they are among the best nationally.

This started with a poster claiming the only WR unit that may be better than UT was Georgia. That’s wrong.

I thought the poster said in the SEC East but I'll go back and check.

Just checked and the poster did in fact say the SEC East...I do think Florida has a solid WR corp but hard to judge where in the pecking order given the lack of stats to back it up. UT unfortunately had a bad O-line so there's somewhat of an excuse for the lack of production on that end.

 

[TrueVolsGBOInsider]

Bama writers have more confidence in Pruitt than UT writers.

That stands out for several reasons to me. Biggest one being bama writers know what a good coach looks Like and and how he handles business. They obviously have tremendous respect for CJP, and if he’s half as good as they think he is then I think vol nation will be collectively happy with that result cause it’ll be a squad full of ballers.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Hate to say it, but "most improved team in the SEC" isn't much of a fight. Look at every team's record from last season, and try to imagine them winning 2 to 3 games more in 2019. Almost impossible to imagine most of them doing that. We and Arkansas are the only real competitors.

And since Arky starts from a 2-10 mark in 2018, they may have a significant advantage over us in winning this particular distinction. Heh.

 

[Boogievol]

They bring it out in the skillet; toss it up and catch it in the same skillet. The "Cock Of The Walk". Best Catfish Ever. But for some reason; they left Mobile about 10 years ag, and Now gone from Pensacola too. I think there are still a few in Mississippi, where they originated. Google them, and GO EAT! (the cornbread flip is strictly fluff) lol

There is one in Nashville on music valley drive near opryland hotel.

 

[TNnative]

Unfortunately, I think this is the least likely of those predictions to happen. We'll improve but issues on both the O-line and D-line are going to hold us back.

Biggest reasons for optimism:

(*) Ty Chandler is underrated as a Running Back; he's up in the top 5 RBs in the SEC
(*) Wide receiver corp is arguably the strongest in the East [the only argument would be with Georgia]
(*) JG is now a veteran and could be poised to take the next step
(*) Chaney will maximize the offense
(*) Defense will improve significantly in Year 2 as players won't have to think as much
(*) LBs will improve significantly after struggling last season
(*) DBs look much improved after we played true Freshmen last season

That said, the line issues are very big. While we brought in the best O-line class in the country, they're still true Freshmen in a league where true Freshmen O-linemen typically don't fare very well. For significantly improvement on O-line, we need the veteran guys (Niehaus, Tatum, Ryan Johnson, etc) to take a big step forward this year. They've bulked up and look more like SEC OL now, so that's good, but we still have a very young and inexperienced O-line overall.

D-line depth is a major issue, as well, and I'm not optimistic that Solomon is going to be declared eligible this season. Solomon would be an insta-starter at NT, but without him, that reduces our depth and makes NT a lot trickier. Savion Williams is promising, but he doesn't come in till the summer and hasn't played SEC-level ball before, so might take him a few games to get adjusted.

I'd be pretty happy with 7-5. If Pruitt went 9-3, he'd deserve to be coach of the year.

If the OLine is to improve, an honest to God faith healer need to lay hands on Trey Smith. He comes back full speed? We have a shot, because the rest step up more to his level. On the sidelines, he is just another guy watching. Inspirational maybe, but he needs to be on the field. Sadly, I doubt that happens until it does.

 

[MemphisVol77]

I have never served cornbread out of the skillet. The pan will keep cooking the bread and suck the moisture out as it cools. Not to mention, screwing up your knife edge. Nice photo, though.

The trick is knowing your cornbread. You've got about a 2-5 minute window to get it out the pan. Too soon and it's still too hot, crumbles, and you're left with crumbs. Wait too long and it's already started to dry out.

I think Pruitt actually did a good job with what he had to work with last year on the DL. But for the sake of analogy let's agree 2018's cornbread had been left in the skillet too long.
We're gonna need some great work on the DL this year. We need Solomon eligible and Gooden to progress. Then maybe, just maybe, Pruitt/Ansley can flip it out the skillet and serve it perfectly.

My pos made in China Fischerprice© magic 8-ball says we go 7-5 with 8-4 our best case scenario and 5-7 worst case.
Where we're most improved is instead of 6 25+ point blowouts we only lose 3 games by 17+ points.

Cornbread.

 

[photovol]

I guess we can all agree the Old Gray Tennessee Mare, just ain't what she used to be, but being a VFL she never ever gives up!

 

[VolinMC]

9-3 would be outstanding to me after all we have been thru. A lot of things have to go right and the ball bounce our way. I just want to get back to a bowl game and play sound fundamental football this year setting it up for a long run of great seasons.

 

[Atlanta917]

Is

Thank you for doing the research, Bama has a bunch of studs, no doubt. Van Jefferson will be a long time NFL guy and Trevon Grimes has the tools to be a 1st rounder. The others for UF are solid college players and will get their shots in the NFL. To me, Waddle is the guy at Bama who is truly special, freakish speed and wiggle. I’d trade any UF guys for him. But Van and Grimes can hold their own with anyone. People continue to sell UF WR’s short. Bama and Florida have elite SEC WR units, which means they are among the best nationally.

This started with a poster claiming the only WR unit that may be better than UT was Georgia. That’s wrong.

I think everyone except Florida fans would take Jerry Juedy over any receiver at Florida. Pretty sure he’s projected to be the top receiver taken in the draft.

 

[BanditVol]

I can see him going 5 for 5 on predictions



AL.com All-Access: 5 bold SEC football predictions for 2019

I really hope he's right, that would be fantastic, but I still think our OL will struggle and we are reloading the DL also. Hard to win when both lines have issues.

And I notice he makes the same mistake many have made regarding bammer's offense. Yes they piled up some numbers last year, but they did so against some really weak pass D's, including ours. In their first 7 games, every single team they played was in the bottom 20% of the NCAA in pass D. And when Tua faced good pass Ds such as LSU and MSU, he struggled even in the regular season. Then Uga and Clemson pretty much exposed him. Having said that, they may face weak pass Ds again this year, I haven't bothered to check. I have no doubt their offense will be good, but Tua IMO is a bit overated.

 

[BanditVol]

Miss State does lose some talent, but are they any easier than Auburn last season? I'm not so sure.

I would say yes, as it's in Neyland while last year was on the road. Also what I suspect is that their coach is in over his head but rode the Mullen momentum last year and that won't work this year. But ICBW about that, we will have to see.

 

[IPleadInsanity]

I can see him going 5 for 5 on predictions



AL.com All-Access: 5 bold SEC football predictions for 2019

I would predict wins based on offensive and defensive linemen alone. If you predict 9 wins then you would need to clearly have 9 O&D linemen capable of playing SEC football to begin the season. If you don't have them you can have the best coaches and backs around you will not win 9 games. You can fudge and shuffle players, try to create them on the fly, be creative on x's and o's but you will be up against teams that have these components ready to go in the SEC more than 1/2 the time.

 

[TDawg]

And I stand by the best in the SEC comment, right there with Bama. And anytime you’re best in the SEC, you’re among the best in the nation.

Lets say we go along for the ride with you on this one, although I can't possibly put that group up there with Bama's WRs, but let's say we somehow believe that 339 CAREER catches and 33 CAREER TDs is good for a group of SIX WRs, does any of that really matter when you have squat for an O-Line and One-Read Franks for a QB?

 

[TDawg]

UF's problems on offensive production have been three-fold, and all of them related to one another:

1) an underperforming offensive line; 2) a QB who despite physical ability has not translated into a passing offense; and 3) lack of a consistent offensive identity.

# 2 is what it is. Franks has shown only flashes of ability as a throwing QB. And by that I am not referring to his arm strength or anything of the like. Its his mental and football IQ development which I have questioned. Those around the program insist that in Mullen's second year that Franks now "gets it." That he has improved and is more mature and can be patient, in command, and therefore a better passer. We'll see. I want to believe that.

You hit the nail on the head with Franks .. he has all the physical tools but he lacks accuracy and if he has to think past his first read it's like chaos mentally for him. What Mullen did last year was work to minimize the amount he has to think by allowing him more chances to pull and run or just give him easier first reads.

His last five games last year, he got trucked by Mizzou which is saying something right there but beat a hapless group in FSU, Idaho and USuCk then won the bowl, looked pretty good in that one, against a Mushagain team that had quite a few starters sitting for the draft.

Adding to what you stated, this has not been a good month to be a Gator and yesterday had to sting.

 

[lawgator1]

You hit the nail on the head with Franks .. he has all the physical tools but he lacks accuracy and if he has to think past his first read it's like chaos mentally for him. What Mullen did last year was work to minimize the amount he has to think by allowing him more chances to pull and run or just give him easier first reads.

His last five games last year, he got trucked by Mizzou which is saying something right there but beat a hapless group in FSU, Idaho and USuCk then won the bowl, looked pretty good in that one, against a Mushagain team that had quite a few starters sitting for the draft.

Adding to what you stated, this has not been a good month to be a Gator and yesterday had to sting.

You talking about Steele?

Very unusual situation. On the face of it, a black eye for UF that it did not act on his earlier request to be moved to another room. On the other hand, it is only in hindsight that it seems like the request had some special significance due to the Jones thing. And it is a good thing that Mullen and his wife flew out there to apologize for the whole thing.

I don't know. Seems like we don't know the whole story. But right now, yeah, makes us look bad.

 

[TDawg]

You talking about Steele?

Very unusual situation. On the face of it, a black eye for UF that it did not act on his earlier request to be moved to another room. On the other hand, it is only in hindsight that it seems like the request had some special significance due to the Jones thing. And it is a good thing that Mullen and his wife flew out there to apologize for the whole thing.

I don't know. Seems like we don't know the whole story. But right now, yeah, makes us look bad.

Saw some Gator boards where a few, not many, but a few were trashing Steele like "he was a p**ssy for not just waiting til Summer to get his room moved" and I am thinking, dude, the damage was done by then and Steele had to feel a bit uneasy about how it all played out with his name in the police report.

Most were like you and saw the reality of this as not good .. regardless of the school being a rival, hate seeing a kid dealing with this, and hate it for the two girls caught in the middle of it all as well.