Recruiting Forum Football Talk III

[butchna]

If Bailey beats Florida or wins out....it will definitely be like 98’ around here and recruiting will pick back up again!...And Pruitt will get flamed for not playing him sooner

Any different flame would be good.

 

[jakez4ut]

Right, none of these guys seem to address our issues. What I'm getting at is what you're getting at, if they're betting on Pruitt turning this thing around next season, I wouldn't think anyone in this class makes the difference.

as bad as our QB play has been the past 3+ years....i'd think the two most important recruits he's gotten so far are HB and KS.

a QB can make a big difference......and for us, that "big" difference could be just winning 8 or 9 games again....

and if he could do that next year, that would be big as it would probabl help with that 22 in state class and maybe, just maybe, that 22 class is the one?

i'm reaching...i know. but that's a scenario that's still viable.....for now.

 

[butchna]

We should've hired Mark Right to consistently get to 10-2, fired him after getting sick of that, and then be sitting here right now wondering who to hire from that window, rather than this one

He was done and then proved it. If he couldn’t conjure up any energy for his alma mater, Knoxville wouldn’t have gotten his juices going.

 

[Aesius]

How was Bama viewed circa 2006? I don't remember the national perception of them at that point. They had been down for a long time but managed to land Saban, who wasn't quite viewed on the level he is today but was still a can't miss coach even back then.

Bama is historically dominant but they hadn't done much since the early 90s at that point.

 

[butchna]

as bad as our QB play has been the past 3+ years....i'd think the two most important recruits he's gotten so far are HB and KS.

a QB can make a big difference......and for us, that "big" difference could be just winning 8 or 9 games again....

and if he could do that next year, that would be big as it would probabl help with that 22 in state class and maybe, just maybe, that 22 class is the one?

i'm reaching...i know. but that's a scenario that's still viable.....for now.

It’s the same gripe I had for Butch even when everything else looked promising...quit looking for excuses and play your damn talent! He’d do it with the return game. Once he let Sutton, Berry and Kamara field punts and kickoffs, games turned and were actually won.

 

[Kingston Vol]

as bad as our QB play has been the past 3+ years....i'd think the two most important recruits he's gotten so far are HB and KS.

a QB can make a big difference......and for us, that "big" difference could be just winning 8 or 9 games again....

and if he could do that next year, that would be big as it would probabl help with that 22 in state class and maybe, just maybe, that 22 class is the one?

i'm reaching...i know. but that's a scenario that's still viable.....for now.

Even with a good QB, I don't see any way this team is at 8 wins next year. That would mean .500 in the SEC. Part of that is me just assuming that team chemistry gets worse and that the work is not "put in" over the offseason because everyone in the program knows the team sucks and the coach is one bad loss away from getting fired.

We're going to get pushed around next year, HB is going to struggle because of it, and we're going to be 5-7 and looking for a new coach. Write it in stone.

 

[jakez4ut]

We never got the Kirby or Kiffin class we thought we were going to get.

It's been a bunch of Butch and Dooley classes, which explains why we are where we are. You have to be able to recruit really well or develop really well. It seems like we've got our toes in both sides of the pool, excelling at neither.

i don't think we necessarily know that yet. the 19 and 20 classes, i think it's safe to say are in TBD status.

that's not to say there aren't holes.....but neither class has had a chance, really, to showcase anything yet.....

and kirby was the benfactor in year 2 of all those upper classmen on defense that stuck around for their sr year, not to mention chubb and michel sticking around as well...

i'm curious to see if any of the sr's/jr's that obvioulsy can stay, will stay for next year....i don't think our group of upper classmen that could stay, collectively, are as talented as the ones that stuck around for kirby, but it could have a similar impact on depth and competition for younger guys, and you never know how it goes next year on the field.

 

[Bassmaster_Vol]

How was Bama viewed circa 2006? I don't remember the national perception of them at that point. They had been down for a long time but managed to land Saban, who wasn't quite viewed on the level he is today but was still a can't miss coach even back then.

Bama is historically dominant but they hadn't done much since the early 90s at that point.

The funny thing is, Bama has nothing that we don't have. The only advantage that bama has over us is that they have slightly more in state talent. But that is changing quickly, and bama isn't GA or something as far as in state talent. We have everything else that they have, which is why we are the second winningest SEC program of all time. The difference right now is that their admin is 100% devoted to winning and did whatever it took to get Saban, and I'm not sure that our admin is there, even with Phil as the AD. There are signs though with him giving Pruitt literally whatever he asked for. We'll see what the coaching search looks like when the Pruitt era is done. Will we be willing to pony up to pay for the hottest name out there or not?

 

[jakez4ut]

It’s the same gripe I had for Butch even when everything else looked promising...quit looking for excuses and play your damn talent! He’d do it with the return game. Once he let Sutton, Berry and Kamara field punts and kickoffs, games turned and were actually won.

yep. all im saying is he has opportunity. hope he takes advantage of it.

 

[jakez4ut]

Even with a good QB, I don't see any way this team is at 8 wins next year. That would mean .500 in the SEC. Part of that is me just assuming that team chemistry gets worse and that the work is not "put in" over the offseason because everyone in the program knows the team sucks and the coach is one bad loss away from getting fired.

We're going to get pushed around next year, HB is going to struggle because of it, and we're going to be 5-7 and looking for a new coach. Write it in stone.

yeah, i'm not there yet. lol....

 

[Ace]

Losing to LSU in SEC championship broke Fulmer. If we had won, we would have played Miami for National Championship. It was the beginning of the end. If we win that game, recruiting would have continued to soar. We lost to a back up QB and lost to a team we had beaten convincingly in the regular season. Even Vol fans began to question Fulmer. So much talent for 7 years, yet only two SEC titles at that point.

In the TN - LSU game in Knoxville that year, I will always remember the Clausen to Kelly Washington TD pass. I had seats in south end zone and watched the play develop from behind LSU’s defense.

 

[GoBigOrange86]

How was Bama viewed circa 2006? I don't remember the national perception of them at that point. They had been down for a long time but managed to land Saban, who wasn't quite viewed on the level he is today but was still a can't miss coach even back then.

Bama is historically dominant but they hadn't done much since the early 90s at that point.

They were widely viewed as a joke and a relic of a bygone era feasting off their memories of the Bear.

 

[SSVol]

Without a doubt, success or failure does start with leadership. Folks tend to point to the head coach, or coaching staff, as the beginning and end of leadership, but coaching ends at the sideline. Once the team steps onto the field, players become leaders, and no single leader is more influential than the QB...on both sides of the ball. Pruitt's biggest leadership failure is failing to put an effective leader into in the most influential position. Fix QB and this team starts playing closer to their potential. It really is that simple.

Now whether Pruitt is capable of that is an entirely different question. Pride is ugly and some of the smartest people find it most difficult to admit fault or failure.

 

[jakez4ut]

How was Bama viewed circa 2006? I don't remember the national perception of them at that point. They had been down for a long time but managed to land Saban, who wasn't quite viewed on the level he is today but was still a can't miss coach even back then.

Bama is historically dominant but they hadn't done much since the early 90s at that point.

bama was mediocre by their standards from about 95 til about 06.
they didn't "land" saban.

they wound up with him. Rich Rod told them no, and they went in desperation mode. Mal Moore living in his car parked in front of Saban's house til he said yes.....if only twitter was a big deal back then......

but saban was viewed as an elite coach then too. just not historically elite like he is now.

 

[butchna]

How was Bama viewed circa 2006? I don't remember the national perception of them at that point. They had been down for a long time but managed to land Saban, who wasn't quite viewed on the level he is today but was still a can't miss coach even back then.

Bama is historically dominant but they hadn't done much since the early 90s at that point.

They were always the right coaching hire away. No one who knew football dreamed any differently.

 

[chavisut]

The funny thing is, Bama has nothing that we don't have. The only advantage that bama has over us is that they have slightly more in state talent. But that is changing quickly, and bama isn't GA or something as far as in state talent. We have everything else that they have, which is why we are the second winningest SEC program of all time. The difference right now is that their admin is 100% devoted to winning and did whatever it took to get Saban, and I'm not sure that our admin is there, even with Phil as the AD. There are signs though with him giving Pruitt literally whatever he asked for. We'll see what the coaching search looks like when the Pruitt era is done. Will we be willing to pony up to pay for the hottest name out there or not?

Ultimately it comes down to the coach. Few, if any, programs run themselves. USC and Texas would be top 10 every year if that were the case.

Clemson wouldn’t have showed up on anyone’s top 10 program list a decade ago. Maybe not even top 25.

 

[Skizer41]

Russel Smith on the Drive yesterday also saying JG quit the team. Fan run radio at its finest.

Ah I think that was just one of Russell's comments where he was spouting off. I'm not sure he was truly meaning it. They've been pretty careful the last few weeks about not letting some of their info out. They had a whole segment yesterday about how their sources are telling them that its really really bad inside the program right now. But they all said they weren't ready to go down that road yet.

 

[Glocker_Alum_2005]

Is it just me or do a lot of teams owe us for their success?

We thumped Iowa. Great next year
We thumped Northwestern. They’ve been good recently
We thumped Indiana. They are top 15 team
We had BYU beat if not for stupidity. They are undefeated.

Anybody see a pattern here?

They have a 1st Round QB. See what happens when he's gone next year.

 

[jakez4ut]

Even with a good QB, I don't see any way this team is at 8 wins next year. That would mean .500 in the SEC. Part of that is me just assuming that team chemistry gets worse and that the work is not "put in" over the offseason because everyone in the program knows the team sucks and the coach is one bad loss away from getting fired.

We're going to get pushed around next year, HB is going to struggle because of it, and we're going to be 5-7 and looking for a new coach. Write it in stone.

if we had good qb play, we could be +2 or 3 in the w column this year. would have likely been at least +2 last year too.

 

[Ace]

I think UT fans like to romanticize about the 01 team. Truth is we lived on the edge all season and played amazing against the Gators. I think the decline began when Sanders took over at OC. Everyone talks about the 01 team, but the 99 team may have had the most talent.

It could be argued that Fulmer did less with more from 96-2002. I know how hard it is to win championships, but that 7 year window produced 2 SEC and 1 national championship. Tennessee had dominate personnel over everyone they played with the exception of Nebraska in early part of Fulmer’s tenure

 

[jakez4ut]

In the TN - LSU game in Knoxville that year, I will always remember the Clausen to Kelly Washington TD pass. I had seats in south end zone and watched the play develop from behind LSU’s defense.

that's where i was too. my youngest brother and I went to that game and sat uner the jumbo tron.....

 

[letsgoUT29]

When would y'all say that Tennessee stopped being an elite program? 2001? I know that 2001 team is romanticized and potentially overrated in some regard, but it was obscenely talented and finished #4. I still look at it as a continuation of the elite period that began in 1995. I know that we won the East again in 2004 and 2007, but we were underdogs both times and pretty clearly the weaker team on paper. I didn't expect to win either of those games.

It's absolutely unfathomable to me that a program with our resources hasn't had a top 10 finish in nearly 20 years. It's almost like in order to pull that off, you'd have to do it intentionally. It seems like we at least should have been able to fall over ourselves into a top 10 finish once.

Great Teams- 89-94
Elite Teams -95-01
Very Good- 02-07

 

[MrVolton]

Meyer is probably the only name that would immediately move the needle. And he and Fulmer talk, so if Meyer had interest, it would've been made known.

If Vandy gets O’Brien and we stick with Pruitt, there’s a real chance we slip behind them again in the SEC pecking order.

 

[Kingston Vol]

if we had good qb play, we could be +2 or 3 in the w column this year. would have likely been at least +2 last year too.

I think a good QB helps, obviously, but I guess I'm just not sure if it's a simple in the W/L record.

I think some teams, specifically Auburn and Georgia this year, played down to us because they know we can't really score. I think A&M will probably do the same.

That's just me spitballing, but sometimes teams look better if you give them better competition.

 

[letsgoUT29]

That team is still my favorite Tennessee team. I still remember being a kid and just being elated when Tennessee was up on Florida, and then being completely demoralized when the rain hit and everything just went off the rails.

Me too, but defeating that OSU team with George, Glenn, Pace, and Vrable was awesome