Recruiting Forum Football Talk II

[MoCo_Vol]

I do think you have to recruit at a really high level to win here. I’d be interested to see what happens if you just win football games. How much of recruiting is just that? 80%? Of course, because we’re so far in the hole, you have to recruit first.

You have to win games first actually. Winning is the only thing that seems to consistently impact recruiting. Cause Butch has proven that smoke blowing & early playing time can't carry you long term and instills entitlement attitudes. Pruitt is currently proving that player development might not be enough...

The only team right now in the top 10 for 2020 that isn't outright winning, is Florida State, and honestly location will always help the Florida schools. It's why Miami is 13th without a great on field product this season under a new HC.

You think Texas is recruiting so well just because Tom Herman is a great recruiter? lol Dude won 10 games and beat Georgia in prime time. I think we need to focus the next HC hire on proven on the field production.

 

[jave36]

Tbf, not much of a choice, haha. We make our bed with "just fire ____, anybody we hire will be better than this"

Followed shortly by "oops".

In fairness to us, hiring a coach shouldn't be this hard. Our admin and boosters royally botch it. If admin/boosters were even average, we wouldn't have the last couple of "oops" to deal with.

 

[Kingston Vol]

I don't think it's slide of hand. It's more about JG being a pre-madonna and having a lack of pocket presents.

This staff has had two signing classes to find a better QB and they haven’t done it. On top of plenty of time to scour the transfer market.

Even if you can’t replace him, it is your responsibility to make him better. Maybe he’ll never be a good QB. It certainly looks that way. But he hasn’t gotten any better in two years - in fact he looks to have regressed a bit.

 

[jave36]

I mean Bronco in Knoxville, TN just seems like a great fit...

Proven track record of rebuilding programs (on his 2nd now).
Power 5 experience.
Defensive minded.
Teams always run the ball well.

The only question is how well can he recruit. At BYU it's kind of a hard sell, but he's done fairly well at Virginia which is also historically not an easy place to recruit.

He has his pick of programs after the job he's done at UVA. UT will not be at the top of that list. He can go to Michigan or USC or FSU if those jobs come open.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

I agree with all of this but the reality is that kids today DO NOT view us as a powerhouse anymore. The sooner people start to realize this, the better off we'll be.

I don't think you are understanding what it means. How many other schools can match the crowd atmosphere of a packed Neyland?

Butch got the support and Pruitt had it too...the fans will show up for a good product and the first time a kid sits in Neyland with 100k+ going crazy for a team competing for the SEC East, we'll be right back.

 

[Kingston Vol]

You have to win games first actually. Winning is the only thing that seems to consistently impact recruiting. Cause Butch has proven that smoke blowing & early playing time can't carry you long term and instills entitlement attitudes. Pruitt is currently proving that player development might not be enough...

The only team right now in the top 10 for 2020 that isn't outright winning, is Florida State, and honestly location will always help the Florida schools. It's why Miami is 13th without a great on field product this season under a new HC.

You think Texas is recruiting so well just because Tom Herman is a great recruiter? lol Dude won 10 games and beat Georgia in prime time. I think we need to focus the next HC hire on proven on the field production.

I’m with it. Hire a guy who can win games and the recruiting will take care of itself.

 

[LA Vol]

Blaming the QB and the roster is semi-warranted. But the roster and QB are better than the QBs and rosters at BYU, GSU and Vandy. We’re underachieving and throwing it all on the QB is a convenient way to play a little slide of hand with the real issue.

EVERYBODY agrees we're underachieving. Big-time. It's infuriating. Every coach and player deserves a share of the blame-- and there's plenty to go around. Every person on that field and sideline needs to get better faster. But we're still going to have depth issues and gaps at key positions. There's no magic wand for that.

 

[Cactus Jack]

You have to win games first actually. Winning is the only thing that seems to consistently impact recruiting. Cause Butch has proven that smoke blowing & early playing time can't carry you long term and instills entitlement attitudes. Pruitt is currently proving that player development might not be enough...

The only team right now in the top 10 for 2020 that isn't outright winning, is Florida State, and honestly location will always help the Florida schools. It's why Miami is 13th without a great on field product this season under a new HC.

You think Texas is recruiting so well just because Tom Herman is a great recruiter? lol Dude won 10 games and beat Georgia in prime time. I think we need to focus the next HC hire on proven on the field production.

Yes, yes, yes. Give me a coach who can coach up his team. Tennessee is always going to be able to recruit. And you can always hire ace recruiters to your staff. But at the end of the day the HC has to be a proven developer of talent who can insert a system that works for players even if they're not high level 4/5 stars. It seems to me that one of Pruitt's problems could be he's asking his lesser talented players to do things they simply can't that his players at UGA and Bama could. you have to mold your system to fit the people you have.

 

[Kingston Vol]

He has his pick of programs after the job he's done at UVA. UT will not be at the top of that list. He can go to Michigan or USC or FSU if those jobs come open.

He’d be a really good fit at USC. Get those big Polynesian badasses every year there and it’ll fix a lot of their problems.

 

[chargervol]

Well then...FAHR PRUITT....HIRE SOMEBODY!


Idiots..

I'm out...sick of this...doesn't matter what I think anyway..

We are just gonna keep on sucking no matter what happens.

Haha, breaks are a good thing imo. I've had a steady diet the last couple of weeks and it definitely gives perspective.

The "mob" is keeping each other worked up. Just popping in, I've seen people that are absolute known pot stirrers and trolls getting likes from what used to be rational posters and insider questions being asked to people that absolutely shouldn't be being asked.

Frustration is the catalyst but there's a definite case of the inmates running the asylum. Yep, breaks are a good thing.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

He has his pick of programs after the job he's done at UVA. UT will not be at the top of that list. He can go to Michigan or USC or FSU if those jobs come open.

Michigan would be the only spot I could see pulling him honestly. I doubt he goes to FSU, it's not a great job and it's in conference. USC he has no ties there, so I'm not sure why he'd take it...and they haven't really paid the big bucks to pull anyone.

 

[JAllen18]

I'm curious to hear what Fulmer thinks, and surprised he hasn't made a statement yet similar to Arkansas's AD.

 

[HankHill]

Instantly? No.

Yes. By competitive i mean not losing to GA state at home and getting blown out in almost every P5 game including Vanderbilt

 

[Rocky_Top_Vol13]

Ubben talking about 25 point losses for Fulmer verses Pruitt is baffling to me. Fulmer took over a well oiled machine in the mid 90s and kept it rolling for decade. Pruitt took over a cluster F in an era where almost every SEC team has improved plus scholly limitations making the rebuild even slower. Ubben needs to EAD.

 

[Kingston Vol]

EVERYBODY agrees we're underachieving. Big-time. It's infuriating. Every coach and player deserves a share of the blame-- and there's plenty to go around. Every person on that field and sideline needs to get better faster. But we're still going to have depth issues and gaps at key positions. There's no magic wand for that.

It does not take a magic wand to beat Georgia State and BYU. It just doesn’t.

This roster is really bad. It isn’t that bad. You insert another coaching staff in here and they get those two games figured out.

Hell, I think our coaching staff is fantastic. The head coach must be making the wrong decisions and limiting how well our assistants can do their jobs. It’s the only thing that makes sense.

 

[RiotVol]

So, with the various folks entering the portal, medical retirements, etc., how far below 85 are we right now?

 

[Weezer]

This staff has had two signing classes to find a better QB and they haven’t done it. On top of plenty of time to scour the transfer market.

Even if you can’t replace him, it is your responsibility to make him better. Maybe he’ll never be a good QB. It certainly looks that way. But he hasn’t gotten any better in two years - in fact he looks to have regressed a bit.

Let's be realistic. That first class they got a late start and never had a shot at a top QB. Last class, we were dealing with Helton leaving and an OC search, which doesn't necessarily draw QB recruits. None of the higher rated grad transfer QBs considered us because they thought it a lock JG would be starter. In fact, most of the top transfer QBs looked for a spot they were pretty much guaranteed to starting role. You can see that as an excuse, or you can accept that was the reality, but looking at class number 3, we have Bailey.

The only way to make a player better is if they're coachable. I'm beginning to wonder if JG is. He keeps making the same mistakes, and it's very hard for me to believe that someone like Chaney who has had a successful career wouldn't try to fix that.

 

[Weezer]

Yes. By competitive i mean not losing to GA state at home and getting blown out in almost every P5 game including Vanderbilt

That's not really the definition of competitive.

 

[HankHill]

For some reason people want to believe Jeremy Pruitt is a really good head coach being brought down by the program instead of the alternative which is that Tennessee is really good program being held down by bad head coaches.

Tennessee is so big and powerful that it actually made everyone think for even a moment that Derek Dooley And Butch Jones we’re good head Coaches. Think about that.

 

[Weezer]

You have to win games first actually. Winning is the only thing that seems to consistently impact recruiting. Cause Butch has proven that smoke blowing & early playing time can't carry you long term and instills entitlement attitudes. Pruitt is currently proving that player development might not be enough...

The only team right now in the top 10 for 2020 that isn't outright winning, is Florida State, and honestly location will always help the Florida schools. It's why Miami is 13th without a great on field product this season under a new HC.

You think Texas is recruiting so well just because Tom Herman is a great recruiter? lol Dude won 10 games and beat Georgia in prime time. I think we need to focus the next HC hire on proven on the field production.

It also helps that Texas is like Florida in that the state is full of talent, many looking to stay close to home.

 

[SLICKYINC]

I don't think you are understanding what it means. How many other schools can match the crowd atmosphere of a packed Neyland?

Butch got the support and Pruitt had it too...the fans will show up for a good product and the first time a kid sits in Neyland with 100k+ going crazy for a team competing for the SEC East, we'll be right back.

I Know exactly what it means, do you think I'm a brand new fan? I grew up watching the teams of the 90s and early 2000s. These kids haven't.

But what they do see is Bama and Clemson swapping NCs every other year and teams all over the country being competitive year in and year out. We haven't been close at all in any of these kids recent memories.

Last week UGA matched the crowd atmosphere and probably created a new standard, as bad as it pains me to say that.

 

[HankHill]

That's not really the definition of competitive.

Competitive doesnt mean win. Everyone’s narrative of Pruitt would be drastically different if instead of 7- 25 point losses. (Or whatever the number is) He had 7 once score losses

 

[zhangliao04]

and yet he isn't insane. would make the jump to the SEC. He is a realistic option, proven head coach.

I'm in the "Pruitt is here for another year after this one" boat. Unless he 0-fers the rest of this year. Not even gonna put any thought into the coaching search process until it's a done deal which it isn't right now.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

EVERYBODY agrees we're underachieving. Big-time. It's infuriating. Every coach and player deserves a share of the blame-- and there's plenty to go around. Every person on that field and sideline needs to get better faster. But we're still going to have depth issues and gaps at key positions. There's no magic wand for that.

True. End of the day it's majority on Pruitt. Fair or not. You picked your staff, you've recruited two classes, you've picked starters, and you've been involved with game planning.

Honestly my biggest worry is that Pruitt was so certain that he knew the guys to get on staff. That was the big selling point with the hire, he had his staff ready.

Year 1 Staff:
OC - Tyson Helton
DC/ILB - Kevin Sherrer
DC/OLB - Chris Rumph
RB - Chris Weinke
ST/S - Charles Kelly
CB - Terry Fair
WR - David Johnson
OL - Will Friend
DL - Tracy Rocker
TE - Brian Niedermeyer
S&C - Craig Fitzgerald

Year 2 Staff:
OC - Jim Chaney
DC/DB - Derrick Ansley
DC/OLB - Chris Rumph
ST/ILB - Kevin Sherrer
WR - Tee Martin
OL - Will Friend
RB - David Johnson
TE - Brian Niedermeyer
DL - Tracy Rocker
QB - Chris Weinke
S&C - Craig Fitzgerald

Bold = new faces at the position. That's a lotta change, and it worries me more than anything else I've seen. A first time HC who is tinkering this much with players & staff really seems to be lost.

 

[zhangliao04]

Boys, I had an amazing t-bone last night. A little montreal steak seasoning, 12 minutes under high broil......mmmmmmmm.