Recruiting Forum Football Talk IX

[MarcoVol]

A 7-5 season is not an improvement. And we can recruit great all we want, but if we aren’t developing any of those recruits and they bolt for the transfer portal after one year, that’s not sustainable. I do believe Heupel can get us where we need and want to be, but only if he has the right people around him. Right now it’s clearly evident that after five years, he doesn’t. So if he’s unwilling to change that, then we’re heading into more mediocrity, which is unacceptable.

We’re 6-3. Where are you getting 7-5?

Nobody knows how the final 3 games play out.

 

[Devo182]

Very entertaining game, but another weird, hard to explain result.

Another 14 pt swing backbreaker...then the opposing K nails 3 51-55 yd FGs. Hilarious how the football gods are shunning us.

Alas, 3 big things left to play for. 1) finally get a win in the swamp. UF is very beatable. 2) Ruin Vandy's season inside of Neyland. 3) another 10-win season.

 

[Fun coupon VOL]

It’s an expectation problem? There are two universities south of us where one has been a perennial power with a handful of championships for 20 years and the other has been cruising now for almost 10 years.

What is the difference?

 

[VolsAgainstTheWorld15]

I get Bud’s point. Most did view this as a rebuild season. Whether or not we meet the 8-4/9-3 expectations most had after everything we lost and how many young players we are playing, there have been some very disturbing coaching issues pop off the page this season that can’t go unaddressed going forward.

All that to say, most reasonable people will (perhaps reluctantly in some cases) accept 8-4 this season given how the offseason unfolded. I thought 8-4 was the most likely result coming into the season and still see that as our end result. That’s acceptable for this season. Better will be and should be expected going forward, though.

Heupel can’t take this same coaching staff or his same portal philosophy into 2026 if we expect to be able to take a step forward against what looks to be a more daunting schedule when we will be breaking in a new quarterback. Some tough conversations need to be had with most of the defensive staff. A serious re-evaluation of how we use the transfer portal and the positions we prioritize as well as the volume of guys we pursue in the portal is needed.

 

[Enki_Amenra]

We’re 6-3. Where are you getting 7-5?

Nobody knows how the final 3 games play out.

Diving head first in the deep and with no water in the pool.

 

[JCVol00]

What really damned us last night was the last td drive we had. Down 9, 3:00 left snd only 2 timeouts left, we HAD to have scored a td before the 2 minute timeout and we didnt execute with urgency that drive. That’s on Heup and joey

 

[RandomUTfan]

This cracked me up.

 

[MarcoVol]

Diving head first in the deep and with no water in the pool.

 

[Devo182]

On the upside, we fly flags for at least another 12 months

 

[mr.checkerboards]

"At Tennessee you're judged on your record in 3 games UGA, Bama, Florida"

What's our record there this year?

 

[Heupel's Offseason Beard]

i am not trying to place blame on our fans thats absurd but god it got so quiet throughout so much of the broadcast it was stunning. OU '15 feels lightyears away from this

I don't agree with this. I was all the way up in EE, and we were loud on every defensive snap. We didn't sit the whole game. We caused false starts, a delay of game and Oklahoma had to use multiple timeouts because of communication problems. The crowd absolutely did their job

 

[SmyrnaATLVolisback]

Let me help you, since maths seems to be stickler for you. . .

The Vols all-time record is 67%. Heupel at Tennessee is 72.5%, with this year potentially being another 10 win season.

Why in the world would look at hundred years? The world changes man lol

I own an accounting firm and another business. I know numbers way too well.

If you are top three in spending on football in the SEC and top fifteen in the country, should that make it acceptable for an eight win regular season? I would say it wouldn’t based on the numbers.

If you were to purchase a business and you paid for the second best option out of 16, would you accept it performing at the middle tier level? No, you should expect to stay at the top and make slight changes to be the top.

I flip businesses and own an accounting firm. I guess I am different in results and success. I expect big returns for my money.

I pray we get to 9-3 and ten with a bowl.

 

[Sandman Vol]

hire and fire everybody!

They are a train wreck lol. 3 points against uk at home.

 

[RandomUTfan]

This whole ESPN/YTTV carriage dispute really irks me. If you are a YTTV customer and you:

Subscribe to ESPN Unlimited- Disney wins
Switch to HULU w/LiveTV - Disney wins
Switch to Fubo - Disney wins
Complain to YouTube TV leading them to accede to Disney's demands - Disney wins and you lose, because Google will raise YOUR price for YTTV to account for the increase they are now paying Disney.

What is nuts, is there's not a scenario where we, the customer, wins in this.

 

[Smokey123]

It'd be nice to have a kicker who can hit 37 yarders. . . that's not asking much from a player dedicated to doing 1 thing.

Kickers suck, they miss. You won’t find one that doesn’t. Carlson who is one of the best SEC kickers of the last decade missed 4 FG’s inside 30 yards

 

[JT3]

My opinion from last nights game:
1. no one needs to be fired bc of this…. we can’t react so dramatically.
2. This issues that plagued us were prevalent during his UCF days and I am not sure it will get better
3. Any time a coach is forced to fire/ hire new coaches then it rarely is a net positive.
4. It is his team and he is responsible for all of it. If he can’t fix the issues then it will be time to move on.
5. I absolutely hate the new scared Josh. We need to be the bad boys of football and not this scared to lose nonsense.
6. Go Vols…. Beat Florida!!!

This is the biggest issue for me. Ever since that Bama game in 2023 when we went for it on 4th down twice on our side of the 50 and didnt get them (horrible playcalls both times too), he has coached scared. First two years he was ultra aggressive and I personally could live with the results if we lose playing to win. This playing not to lose approach sucks. We were able to get away with it in 2024 bc our Defense was elite. You would think he would go back to it with much better offense (especially through the air) and limited defense.

 

[RandomUTfan]

They are a train wreck lol. 3 points against uk at home.

It is the worst possible cycle for Auburn to make a coaching hire. They aren't even the premier program in their own state in a state that isn't as wealthy as a lot of others. If it was an attractive job, they wouldn't have gotten down to Hugh on their list the last time they had an opening.

I know we just lost and a lot of folks are in their feels, but we're relatively fortunate. Just look at the rest of the SEC.

 

[Sandman Vol]

I don't agree with this. I was all the way up in EE, and we were loud on every defensive snap. We didn't sit the whole game. We caused false starts, a delay of game and Oklahoma had to use multiple timeouts because of communication problems. The crowd absolutely did their job

I appreciate your section for doing their job. I was in lower bowl and it was a materially different experience.

They didn’t use their timeouts because of comm problems. I don’t think their false starts were crowd induced.

Our fans can and should be much better.

 

[Lloyd_Christmas]

This board is full of stupid takes right now. There are absolutely some legitimate gripes. On field discipline issues? Totally agree. Defensive coordinator could be better? Totally agree. Heupel needs to improve his end of half and end of game time management? Totally agree. This team is falling backwards and Heupel isn't the guy? Don't agree at all.

Some of you really need to put this season into proper context. We've seen a much more effective offense from last season and two losses that easily could have or should have been wins and it's causing us to lose sight of reality. Our starting QB arrived in the summer. We've got FOUR new starters on the o-line. Our only returning WR with any real production from 2024 is Brazzell and nobody expected a break out season from him. What Heupel and the staff have been able to get out of the offense has been outstanding. I haven't been a fan of some coaching decisions in key situations, but that doesn't outweigh how impressive the offense has been with all these new pieces.

For the defense...you lost three really productive key players at DT, a first round DE, and you've lost both starting CBs to injury. Add in your top LB being hurt lately. I do agree with many that Banks isn't capable of fielding a consistently good defense...so I'm not making a bunch of excuses for him. Our defense has been bad and has regressed in a lot of ways as the season has gone on. However, we've had some extenuating circumstances that are hard to overcome.

My only real gripe at this point with Heupel is that his teams are undisciplined and that has gotten us beat with the tighter margins in the SEC. Being aggressive and explosive on offense is no longer enough to cover up for undisciplined play.

The margins are tight. On the plus side, that means we're as close to beating UGA as we've been in years. On the negative side, anyone in the SEC can beat you. We've got to quit helping the other teams. A smart and disciplined team beats UGA, takes Alabama to the end of the game with a chance to win it, and beats Oklahoma. That is problem #1. I think Heupel has always felt like the scheme would make up for those mistakes and that playing fast naturally results in more mistakes so he's accepted it. The game and the competition has changed. I think this is the last hurdle to bringing Tennessee back to a championship caliber program.

 

[GVol1966]

What was the score when TX beat Miss St?

What was the score when A&M beat ARK?

What was the score when Ole Miss beat ARK?

Scores of games don’t matter.

I’m certainly not assuming we’ll beat FL and Vandy but we also haven’t lost those games yet. And *if* we win them and go 9-3, that’s a pretty dang successful “down” season.

Scores don’t matter. Lol ok.
I get what you’re saying but they do when they are a reflection of how you play.
You can play well, so can the other team and have a close score.
You can also play down to your opponent and they play good and have a close score.

A&M is in the top 5 , Ole Miss yeah, Texas , they been like US so yeah not any one thing whether it’s scores or record can determine if it’s a “successful season “.

Texas has a really good chance of finishing 9-3. I guess they’ll be really happy for having a pretty dang successful down season too. Nah I doubt it, they will probably look back and remember a lot of times they played well below their potential, even in several games they won.

 

[Sandman Vol]

It is the worst possible cycle for Auburn to make a coaching hire. They aren't even the premier program in their own state in a state that isn't as wealthy as a lot of others. If it was an attractive job, they wouldn't have gotten down to Hugh on their list the last time they had an opening.

I know we just lost and a lot of folks are in their feels, but we're relatively fortunate. Just look at the rest of the SEC.

Yeah that was a comment about Auburn, not us. Not gonna compare them to us either, unless it’s which coach of ours from our 15 years of irrelevance are they on right now.

 

[UpstateVol613]

I get that Auburn doesn’t want to compete with the better jobs that are open but surely you have to fire Freeze.

 

[SmyrnaATLVolisback]

Boo Carter should have never been allowed back on this team. I think him being a cancer has really hurt our defense too. I would love for Heupel to kick him off today and go ahead and make some changes. Send a message that lack of effort and accountability is not accepted anymore. We are here to win and players will give their all. I think his attitude and effort has really rubbed some players the wrong way.

And this is from a boo fan. Not this year and he needs to be gone.

 

[Heupel's Offseason Beard]

Amazing at some of these comments about a team that possibly goes 9-3 in regular season after losing starting QB in before Spring... I can only imagine the great threads when the teams were a 5-7 or 6-6 team for many years... Good grief ...

Not to mention losing 9 starters on offense including the SEC player of the year, as well as a first round edge rusher, a 2nd round DT, our only true 1-tech DT, third team all-sec CB, the best CB in the country, and the heart of our defense playing with double turf toe for most of the season. This was always going to be an ugly season.

Heupel has proven he can field a top 10 defense and a top 10 offense (#1 in the country in 2022), I just wish he could put it all together someday.

Oh and get Max Gilbert into meditation or a Xanax prescription.

 

[engineerVOL]

Their kicker walks out there with fire in his eyes.
Our guy has the eyes of a scolded puppy.

Tennessee has had stone-cold killers at kicker, this guy ain’t it. Portal him.