A View from Big Ben: Albert Einstein and National Signing Day - See you again Walter Nolen

#29
#29
London Vol said:
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result ~ Albert Einstein.

I have now experienced National Signing Day 11 times and because I have very little exposure to High School football I have usually based my judgement on how many stars our new incumbents have (this policy has been supported by the often-mentioned fact that all National Champions had a majority of blue chip players i.e. 5 & 4 stars on their roster). Here is a sample of the players who would have been our No 1 pick this year, you judge how successful they were.:

Preston Williams No 47
LaDarrell McNeil No 90
De’Anthony Arnett No 40
Drew Richmond No 56
Todd Kelly Jnr No 64
Dillon Bates No 96
Khalil McKenzie No 6
Wanya Morris No 28
JJ Petersen No 48
Maleik Gray No 80
Tyler Byrd No 93

I think Mr. Einstein would not approve of many on that list.

In the 12 months of Josh Heupel’s tenure at Tennessee I have grown to trust the man. He has already proven that he has a clear idea of the system he wishes to implement and what type of player he needs for that. Albert, you will be relieved to hear that at last I will listen to you and instead of looking at the stars, this year I will look at the skill set each player has to allow them to fit in Coach Heupel’s scheme. So just look how suitable these 7 players we signed on Wednesday are.


QUARTERBACK
For this key position Josh Heupel clearly prefers a mobile Quarterback that also has a strong arm. In other words a dual threat Quarterback. Personally, I prefer a Pro-Style Quarterback but fortunately I’m not in charge and anyway that type of Quarterback is not the best fit for this system, this was proven by the Harrison Bailey experiment. I was always a fan of Bailey but I realise we would not have had such a good season with him under center. Tayven Jackson is almost a clone of a classic Heupel Quarterback and even luckier he will have a season to watch and learn from Hendon Hooker before given the “keys to the offense”.


RUNNING BACK
We already have two very useful running backs in Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright but they are both quite small and tricky, in other words a little bit “samey”. Last year we were very poor in short yardage situations, so a larger downhill runner is exactly what we need. Justin Williams 6-0 and 205 pounds apparently has these skills.


WIDE RECEIVER
A big part of the Heupel strategy is to throw deep and to the side line and therefore needs, not only speed in his WR but also jumping ability. This is something we have had now for a number of years with North, Callaway, Jennings, Palmer and Tillman to name just five. Ladies and Gentlemen let me introduce you to Kaleb Webb who is 6-3 and 185 pounds, he is a state 4x100 metre State Champion and can leap like a salmon.


WIDE RECEIVER
Hopefully Cedric Tillman will, as predicted, return and with Jalin Hyatt, Jimmy Calloway and Walter Merrill developing, but you can always do with an electric Receiver, with the ability to stop on a "dime" and with speed to burn. Remember you can always coach route running and build body mass but speed is there or its not and apparently Marquarius “Squirrel” White has an abundance of it. He also has the best nickname since Alton “Pig” Howard so how can you not wish him well.


OFFENSIVE LINE
With Wright, Carvin, Cooper Mays, Spraggins and possibly Cade Mays returning we are probably looking for projects to develop but Addison Nichols is that good that he may become a starter as a Freshman, so another plus from Wednesday.


DEFENSIVE LINE
We are so lucky to have Rodney Garner and he has already coached the line to keep the opponents to under 4 yards a run. However, we did not get much penetration from the Defensive Tackles. Now Tyre West is 6-3 and 280 pounds (not that Im say he is just as good as him but he is the exact weight of Aaron Donald and Donald is the ultimate disruptor against larger Offensive Linemen). West is widely regarded as a bull rush beast, so whilst we already have Thomas, Simmons and Terry Tyre will be a different weapon for Coach Garner to scheme with.


EDGE RUSHER
Next season I expect Byron Young will gain nationwide exposure and we also have Tyler Baron and Roman Harrison, but James Pearce could be a breakout Freshman candidate. He is 6-5 and 220 pounds he has long arms and a very flexible bend, he may only be a situational rusher but think how many 3rd and longs we gave up last year and “getting off the edge” will help in this regard.


SEE YOU LATER WALTER NOLEN
It was a shame that we lost out on Nolen and we will never really know why he chose College Station. For him to say that he wanted to come to Tennessee and we also offered the best NIL package yet he chose aTm (that’s is also the name for a cash point in England) is just not credible. Anyway, remember Cade Mays four years ago going to Jawgia only for him to find the “grass wasn’t greener on the other side” and return home, so I would not be surprised to see him in Orange before he is finished with College Football.

Albert Einstein, I have finally listened to you and have judged the new signees on their skill set in relation to our particular needs rather than the number of stars 247 Sports award them and using this method I think we had a great day on Wednesday.

Finally, we wish you all a Merry Christmas next weekend and then we can look forward to Purdue.

View attachment 421724

I always enjoy your comments and observations


GO VOLS
Click to expand...
Flat-footed QBs only work when you have a dominant OL and can run at will. We haven't had that in 20 years. Einstein would find insane Tennessee not operating with mobile QBs.
 
#31
#31
London Vol said:
Thank you, that was exactly the point I was trying to make about using stars as a guide to recruiting success.

I do think Butch Jones and Jeremy Pruitt were obsessed by the rating rather than the type of player and also the character of the person.
Click to expand...

Well, once again, I cannot elaborate upon how obsessed Butch Jones and Jeremy Pruitt were with stars. That does not hold up on Jones concerning Emmanuel Moseley. He was very hgh on him despite the 2 star rating. Not meaning to offend, but that conclusion seems to come from your bowels rather than your cranium. Jones was actually, for the most part , a damn good recruiter. It was what he did with players once they got here that is debatable. Both how he treated them and how he and his staff utilized them. But what killed his time here more than anything was real simple. People lost all patience with what came out of his mouth. Jones sounded competent in his introductory PC. But from that point on, he often sounded like a complete and total dumbass. Our eyes rolled back into our skulls on a daily basis with him. "Individuals" "Champions of Life" Hell, he would have been better off being a jerk and answers several questions with, "next question" rather than some of the soundbites he gave. And it all made fans ready for him to leave well before he actually did.

As to Pruitt? Well, he was Fulmer's project. And I blame Pruitt's failure upon Fulmer as much as I blame Pruitt himself. Fulmer had no business being the AD. I said it the day he was named AD, the day he resigned as AD, and every damn day in between. And for Pruitt's sake, if he is HC material? He might one day get somebody to give him another shot. And he might do well without Fulmer being his "Mentor". For whatever Pruitt did wrong, Most if not all was at Fulmer's direction and consent. And I am pretty damn sure Fulmer had full knowledge of it all, including McDonald's bags. And as to those who defend him and want to give him credit? Well, believe what you want.

But in both cases? Recruiting was the least of our worries.
 
Last edited:
#35
#35
London Vol said:
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result ~ Albert Einstein.

I have now experienced National Signing Day 11 times and because I have very little exposure to High School football I have usually based my judgement on how many stars our new incumbents have (this policy has been supported by the often-mentioned fact that all National Champions had a majority of blue chip players i.e. 5 & 4 stars on their roster). Here is a sample of the players who would have been our No 1 pick this year, you judge how successful they were.:

Preston Williams No 47
LaDarrell McNeil No 90
De’Anthony Arnett No 40
Drew Richmond No 56
Todd Kelly Jnr No 64
Dillon Bates No 96
Khalil McKenzie No 6
Wanya Morris No 28
JJ Petersen No 48
Maleik Gray No 80
Tyler Byrd No 93

I think Mr. Einstein would not approve of many on that list.

In the 12 months of Josh Heupel’s tenure at Tennessee I have grown to trust the man. He has already proven that he has a clear idea of the system he wishes to implement and what type of player he needs for that. Albert, you will be relieved to hear that at last I will listen to you and instead of looking at the stars, this year I will look at the skill set each player has to allow them to fit in Coach Heupel’s scheme. So just look how suitable these 7 players we signed on Wednesday are.


QUARTERBACK
For this key position Josh Heupel clearly prefers a mobile Quarterback that also has a strong arm. In other words a dual threat Quarterback. Personally, I prefer a Pro-Style Quarterback but fortunately I’m not in charge and anyway that type of Quarterback is not the best fit for this system, this was proven by the Harrison Bailey experiment. I was always a fan of Bailey but I realise we would not have had such a good season with him under center. Tayven Jackson is almost a clone of a classic Heupel Quarterback and even luckier he will have a season to watch and learn from Hendon Hooker before given the “keys to the offense”.


RUNNING BACK
We already have two very useful running backs in Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright but they are both quite small and tricky, in other words a little bit “samey”. Last year we were very poor in short yardage situations, so a larger downhill runner is exactly what we need. Justin Williams 6-0 and 205 pounds apparently has these skills.


WIDE RECEIVER
A big part of the Heupel strategy is to throw deep and to the side line and therefore needs, not only speed in his WR but also jumping ability. This is something we have had now for a number of years with North, Callaway, Jennings, Palmer and Tillman to name just five. Ladies and Gentlemen let me introduce you to Kaleb Webb who is 6-3 and 185 pounds, he is a state 4x100 metre State Champion and can leap like a salmon.


WIDE RECEIVER
Hopefully Cedric Tillman will, as predicted, return and with Jalin Hyatt, Jimmy Calloway and Walter Merrill developing, but you can always do with an electric Receiver, with the ability to stop on a "dime" and with speed to burn. Remember you can always coach route running and build body mass but speed is there or its not and apparently Marquarius “Squirrel” White has an abundance of it. He also has the best nickname since Alton “Pig” Howard so how can you not wish him well.


OFFENSIVE LINE
With Wright, Carvin, Cooper Mays, Spraggins and possibly Cade Mays returning we are probably looking for projects to develop but Addison Nichols is that good that he may become a starter as a Freshman, so another plus from Wednesday.


DEFENSIVE LINE
We are so lucky to have Rodney Garner and he has already coached the line to keep the opponents to under 4 yards a run. However, we did not get much penetration from the Defensive Tackles. Now Tyre West is 6-3 and 280 pounds (not that Im say he is just as good as him but he is the exact weight of Aaron Donald and Donald is the ultimate disruptor against larger Offensive Linemen). West is widely regarded as a bull rush beast, so whilst we already have Thomas, Simmons and Terry Tyre will be a different weapon for Coach Garner to scheme with.


EDGE RUSHER
Next season I expect Byron Young will gain nationwide exposure and we also have Tyler Baron and Roman Harrison, but James Pearce could be a breakout Freshman candidate. He is 6-5 and 220 pounds he has long arms and a very flexible bend, he may only be a situational rusher but think how many 3rd and longs we gave up last year and “getting off the edge” will help in this regard.


SEE YOU LATER WALTER NOLEN
It was a shame that we lost out on Nolen and we will never really know why he chose College Station. For him to say that he wanted to come to Tennessee and we also offered the best NIL package yet he chose aTm (that’s is also the name for a cash point in England) is just not credible. Anyway, remember Cade Mays four years ago going to Jawgia only for him to find the “grass wasn’t greener on the other side” and return home, so I would not be surprised to see him in Orange before he is finished with College Football.

Albert Einstein, I have finally listened to you and have judged the new signees on their skill set in relation to our particular needs rather than the number of stars 247 Sports award them and using this method I think we had a great day on Wednesday.

Finally, we wish you all a Merry Christmas next weekend and then we can look forward to Purdue.

View attachment 421724

I always enjoy your comments and observations


GO VOLS
Click to expand...
Nolen returning home? I didn't realize that he is from here. He 'moved' to Powell this summer did he not?
 
#37
#37
Einstein is often credited with the insanity quote, but he never said it:

12 Famous Quotes That Always Get Misattributed

On the flip side, most of what has transpired with the UT football program in the last fifteen years can most definitely be safely classified as falling squarely within the realm of insanity. Hopefully Heupel reverses that trend.
 
#38
#38
  • Like
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#40
#40
London Vol said:
Pardon my ignorance, where is Murica?
Click to expand...
It's a phonetic spelling, mocking how some Southern Americans pronounce "America". It's often used as a pejorative against the conservative, patriotic sentiments of rural southern America. Yet it's often embraced and purposefully accentuated by that same targeted group as a sense of pride.
 
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Reactions: jes
#41
#41
Orange_Crush said:
It's a phonetic spelling, mocking how some Southern Americans pronounce "America". It's often used as a pejorative against the conservative, patriotic sentiments of rural southern America. Yet it's often embraced and purposefully accentuated by that same targeted group as a sense of pride.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the explanation I would have never had guessed.
 
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Reactions: Orange_Crush and jes
#42
#42
lifeisdeep said:
Einstein is often credited with the insanity quote, but he never said it:

12 Famous Quotes That Always Get Misattributed

On the flip side, most of what has transpired with the UT football program in the last fifteen years can most definitely be safely classified as falling squarely within the realm of insanity. Hopefully Heupel reverses that trend.
Click to expand...

We can hope for the best. So far, so good. And all we can do is stay tuned for what happens next. Surely by now, the folks have Tennessee have learned from their mistakes. They have made every one we knew of, and even have invented a few new ones. But even a blind squirrel finds a nut sooner or later.
 
  • Like
Reactions: lifeisdeep
#47
#47
London Vol said:
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result ~ Albert Einstein.

I have now experienced National Signing Day 11 times and because I have very little exposure to High School football I have usually based my judgement on how many stars our new incumbents have (this policy has been supported by the often-mentioned fact that all National Champions had a majority of blue chip players i.e. 5 & 4 stars on their roster). Here is a sample of the players who would have been our No 1 pick this year, you judge how successful they were.:

Preston Williams No 47
LaDarrell McNeil No 90
De’Anthony Arnett No 40
Drew Richmond No 56
Todd Kelly Jnr No 64
Dillon Bates No 96
Khalil McKenzie No 6
Wanya Morris No 28
JJ Petersen No 48
Maleik Gray No 80
Tyler Byrd No 93

I think Mr. Einstein would not approve of many on that list.

In the 12 months of Josh Heupel’s tenure at Tennessee I have grown to trust the man. He has already proven that he has a clear idea of the system he wishes to implement and what type of player he needs for that. Albert, you will be relieved to hear that at last I will listen to you and instead of looking at the stars, this year I will look at the skill set each player has to allow them to fit in Coach Heupel’s scheme. So just look how suitable these 7 players we signed on Wednesday are.


QUARTERBACK
For this key position Josh Heupel clearly prefers a mobile Quarterback that also has a strong arm. In other words a dual threat Quarterback. Personally, I prefer a Pro-Style Quarterback but fortunately I’m not in charge and anyway that type of Quarterback is not the best fit for this system, this was proven by the Harrison Bailey experiment. I was always a fan of Bailey but I realise we would not have had such a good season with him under center. Tayven Jackson is almost a clone of a classic Heupel Quarterback and even luckier he will have a season to watch and learn from Hendon Hooker before given the “keys to the offense”.


RUNNING BACK
We already have two very useful running backs in Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright but they are both quite small and tricky, in other words a little bit “samey”. Last year we were very poor in short yardage situations, so a larger downhill runner is exactly what we need. Justin Williams 6-0 and 205 pounds apparently has these skills.


WIDE RECEIVER
A big part of the Heupel strategy is to throw deep and to the side line and therefore needs, not only speed in his WR but also jumping ability. This is something we have had now for a number of years with North, Callaway, Jennings, Palmer and Tillman to name just five. Ladies and Gentlemen let me introduce you to Kaleb Webb who is 6-3 and 185 pounds, he is a state 4x100 metre State Champion and can leap like a salmon.


WIDE RECEIVER
Hopefully Cedric Tillman will, as predicted, return and with Jalin Hyatt, Jimmy Calloway and Walter Merrill developing, but you can always do with an electric Receiver, with the ability to stop on a "dime" and with speed to burn. Remember you can always coach route running and build body mass but speed is there or its not and apparently Marquarius “Squirrel” White has an abundance of it. He also has the best nickname since Alton “Pig” Howard so how can you not wish him well.


OFFENSIVE LINE
With Wright, Carvin, Cooper Mays, Spraggins and possibly Cade Mays returning we are probably looking for projects to develop but Addison Nichols is that good that he may become a starter as a Freshman, so another plus from Wednesday.


DEFENSIVE LINE
We are so lucky to have Rodney Garner and he has already coached the line to keep the opponents to under 4 yards a run. However, we did not get much penetration from the Defensive Tackles. Now Tyre West is 6-3 and 280 pounds (not that Im say he is just as good as him but he is the exact weight of Aaron Donald and Donald is the ultimate disruptor against larger Offensive Linemen). West is widely regarded as a bull rush beast, so whilst we already have Thomas, Simmons and Terry Tyre will be a different weapon for Coach Garner to scheme with.


EDGE RUSHER
Next season I expect Byron Young will gain nationwide exposure and we also have Tyler Baron and Roman Harrison, but James Pearce could be a breakout Freshman candidate. He is 6-5 and 220 pounds he has long arms and a very flexible bend, he may only be a situational rusher but think how many 3rd and longs we gave up last year and “getting off the edge” will help in this regard.


SEE YOU LATER WALTER NOLEN
It was a shame that we lost out on Nolen and we will never really know why he chose College Station. For him to say that he wanted to come to Tennessee and we also offered the best NIL package yet he chose aTm (that’s is also the name for a cash point in England) is just not credible. Anyway, remember Cade Mays four years ago going to Jawgia only for him to find the “grass wasn’t greener on the other side” and return home, so I would not be surprised to see him in Orange before he is finished with College Football.

Albert Einstein, I have finally listened to you and have judged the new signees on their skill set in relation to our particular needs rather than the number of stars 247 Sports award them and using this method I think we had a great day on Wednesday.

Finally, we wish you all a Merry Christmas next weekend and then we can look forward to Purdue.

View attachment 421724

I always enjoy your comments and observations


GO VOLS
Click to expand...
Justin Williams - - - 6' 205lbs. not all that big. Now, when/if they put about 20-25 lbs. on him without losing any speed,,, well that will be different.

Nolen --- I wonder how much his high school coach, or other "advisors" influenced this decision ( I still think money talked). As to him coming back - if he plays up to his expectations, no, the money will keep him there. Your Mays' example, for me, is not too good, as I never thought he "played to his expectation" at Ga. As we say around here "he was just another duck on the big pond". Coming to Tenn. made him a pretty big duck on this pond. (when he is able to play).
Other wise very good comments as I see them.
YOU AND YOURS HAVE GREAT HOLLIDAYS AND A GREAT 2022 THAT SEE YOU IN TENNESSEE!!!
 
#48
#48
I wish I could write as well as you, London Vol. I think those star ratings mean about as much as the Level of Effectiveness scores they give teachers every year in Tennessee. I'd much rather have a 3 star team player than a 5 star with eyes firmly on the NFL. Merry Christmas to you and yours and I look forward to your future posts!
 
#50
#50
London Vol said:
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result ~ Albert Einstein.

I have now experienced National Signing Day 11 times and because I have very little exposure to High School football I have usually based my judgement on how many stars our new incumbents have (this policy has been supported by the often-mentioned fact that all National Champions had a majority of blue chip players i.e. 5 & 4 stars on their roster). Here is a sample of the players who would have been our No 1 pick this year, you judge how successful they were.:

Preston Williams No 47
LaDarrell McNeil No 90
De’Anthony Arnett No 40
Drew Richmond No 56
Todd Kelly Jnr No 64
Dillon Bates No 96
Khalil McKenzie No 6
Wanya Morris No 28
JJ Petersen No 48
Maleik Gray No 80
Tyler Byrd No 93

I think Mr. Einstein would not approve of many on that list.

In the 12 months of Josh Heupel’s tenure at Tennessee I have grown to trust the man. He has already proven that he has a clear idea of the system he wishes to implement and what type of player he needs for that. Albert, you will be relieved to hear that at last I will listen to you and instead of looking at the stars, this year I will look at the skill set each player has to allow them to fit in Coach Heupel’s scheme. So just look how suitable these 7 players we signed on Wednesday are.


QUARTERBACK
For this key position Josh Heupel clearly prefers a mobile Quarterback that also has a strong arm. In other words a dual threat Quarterback. Personally, I prefer a Pro-Style Quarterback but fortunately I’m not in charge and anyway that type of Quarterback is not the best fit for this system, this was proven by the Harrison Bailey experiment. I was always a fan of Bailey but I realise we would not have had such a good season with him under center. Tayven Jackson is almost a clone of a classic Heupel Quarterback and even luckier he will have a season to watch and learn from Hendon Hooker before given the “keys to the offense”.


RUNNING BACK
We already have two very useful running backs in Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright but they are both quite small and tricky, in other words a little bit “samey”. Last year we were very poor in short yardage situations, so a larger downhill runner is exactly what we need. Justin Williams 6-0 and 205 pounds apparently has these skills.


WIDE RECEIVER
A big part of the Heupel strategy is to throw deep and to the side line and therefore needs, not only speed in his WR but also jumping ability. This is something we have had now for a number of years with North, Callaway, Jennings, Palmer and Tillman to name just five. Ladies and Gentlemen let me introduce you to Kaleb Webb who is 6-3 and 185 pounds, he is a state 4x100 metre State Champion and can leap like a salmon.


WIDE RECEIVER
Hopefully Cedric Tillman will, as predicted, return and with Jalin Hyatt, Jimmy Calloway and Walter Merrill developing, but you can always do with an electric Receiver, with the ability to stop on a "dime" and with speed to burn. Remember you can always coach route running and build body mass but speed is there or its not and apparently Marquarius “Squirrel” White has an abundance of it. He also has the best nickname since Alton “Pig” Howard so how can you not wish him well.


OFFENSIVE LINE
With Wright, Carvin, Cooper Mays, Spraggins and possibly Cade Mays returning we are probably looking for projects to develop but Addison Nichols is that good that he may become a starter as a Freshman, so another plus from Wednesday.


DEFENSIVE LINE
We are so lucky to have Rodney Garner and he has already coached the line to keep the opponents to under 4 yards a run. However, we did not get much penetration from the Defensive Tackles. Now Tyre West is 6-3 and 280 pounds (not that Im say he is just as good as him but he is the exact weight of Aaron Donald and Donald is the ultimate disruptor against larger Offensive Linemen). West is widely regarded as a bull rush beast, so whilst we already have Thomas, Simmons and Terry Tyre will be a different weapon for Coach Garner to scheme with.


EDGE RUSHER
Next season I expect Byron Young will gain nationwide exposure and we also have Tyler Baron and Roman Harrison, but James Pearce could be a breakout Freshman candidate. He is 6-5 and 220 pounds he has long arms and a very flexible bend, he may only be a situational rusher but think how many 3rd and longs we gave up last year and “getting off the edge” will help in this regard.


SEE YOU LATER WALTER NOLEN
It was a shame that we lost out on Nolen and we will never really know why he chose College Station. For him to say that he wanted to come to Tennessee and we also offered the best NIL package yet he chose aTm (that’s is also the name for a cash point in England) is just not credible. Anyway, remember Cade Mays four years ago going to Jawgia only for him to find the “grass wasn’t greener on the other side” and return home, so I would not be surprised to see him in Orange before he is finished with College Football.

Albert Einstein, I have finally listened to you and have judged the new signees on their skill set in relation to our particular needs rather than the number of stars 247 Sports award them and using this method I think we had a great day on Wednesday.

Finally, we wish you all a Merry Christmas next weekend and then we can look forward to Purdue.

View attachment 421724

I always enjoy your comments and observations


GO VOLS
Click to expand...
Thanks for the post. Had to put my dog down this week and he was like family. Crappy weather keeping me at home where it's quiet. I appreciate the material. You always have good stuff.
 
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