Recruiting Forum Football Talk IX

#75,201
#75,201
SmyrnaATLVolisback said:
Heupel and UT need to go the OU route. They had a bad year, cleaned up some staff on the offensive side, and spent big in the portal. They would not stand for being mediocre. And I don’t think Venebles is a good coach, but they have a loaded roster.

I’m just not sure Heupel is made of the same material and as cut throat. We should have upgraded our roster a lot more and our coaches were lazy in the portal. You always upgrade where you can even if that means recruiting over a decent player.

We need him to take a step and make major changes to his staff and roster. If he does, he can win big here and even next year. If he doesn’t, we’re looking at another 8-9 win season next year again.

Ball is in his court.
Click to expand...

OU went 6-7. Easy to look at that and say let’s change all the things.

Our *bad* year is currently 8-4.
 
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#75,212
#75,212
Heup needs guys who keep him sharp. I don’t think he has that right now.

It’s probably a very comfortable, laid-back atmosphere at the football complex. Great if your job mostly just requires showing up and going through the motions, but CFB is incredibly cutthroat and you have to be moving forward every year. Instead, the Vols are regressing across the board. The culture isn't where it needs to be.
 
#75,213
#75,213
Jackcrevol said:
was he terrible when he got a new deal in 2024? just looking at it from other side
Click to expand...
I mean I feel like our defensive calls were just as bad last year, it’s just our DL and McCoy were good enough to mask it.

Simmons and Thomas last year were great vs the run, Pearce was twitchy enough to get pressure. This year our DTs were useless vs the run and we dont have an edge guy to get pressure fast enough
 
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#75,219
#75,219
Day after thoughts.... (half of which I'll likely get roasted for but whatever)

  • Obese people shouldn't be allowed in the stadium. Not hefty. Not overweight. Obese people. The bleacher style seats are already crowded. I got to enjoy last nights game with two morbidly obese dudes to my right. I basically had to stand up the entire game because if I wanted to sit down, dudes fat cells were spilling onto me like thanksgiving gravy. Dude to my immediate right wasn't even in any Vols gear, and never cheered. Just ate pretzels and popcorn and sat there being fat.
  • I think I posted this after the Oklahoma game but the signs were right there in our face all year long that we just weren't a good team this year. Outside of the Georgia game and the first half vs Florida, we never really looked good. Teams like UAB moved the ball way better than they should have against us. NMS was a bore. Arkansas and Miss State are cheeks, but both took us to the wire. Kensucky of all teams scored 30+ on us. And the New Mexico game was like watching drunk people play Jenga.
  • I hate, hate, hate how three players this year were vocal and public before our games, disrespecting us, as we just proved them right.
  • To kind of soften the blow last night, yeah yeah yeah we should never lose to Vandy, but consider that that team had, I want to say one podcast said, 26 graduate students. Those were grown men. Meanwhile, our roster is literally 49% freshman and 16% sophomores. If you were at the stadium and you saw the seniors being called out - first off it was a very short ceremony, only 12 guys some of which weren't contributors. Brian Grant. Montrell Bandy. Jourdan Thomas. William Wright. We are a very young team that went against a well coached team full of grown men in the 20's. It showed.
  • I know I was posting incessantly all week about the line, as I tend to track that stuff during game week if I something looks fishy. Hopefully some understand why now. That line action was suspect all week. Then myself and @OGbabyaviVol in back to back posts pointed out how there was a massive wager placed on Vandy less than an hour before kick off. The money percentage was 85% on Tennessee, then around 245pm it shifted to 56% towards Vandy.

    Hence my comments that the fix was in. Which is to say, someone knew that Vandy was going to be getting a favorable whistle all night. Now, I was at the stadium so I didn't to see all the television replays, but right from the jump the calls were suspect. Brazell got mugged first play of the game with two refs staring at it. Neither threw a flag. There were numerous blatant holds on Vandy throughout the night, no flags. There was a lot of post play flaggable extracurricular activities by dirty vandy players - never a flag. And any time the refs got a 50/50 situation, on a questionable or close call, it went Vandys way.

    Sports are able to be rigged. There have been a lot of documented instances of point shaving, players wagering, corrupt refs etc in sports. That is what I'm saying. I'm not saying there is this grand conspiracy by Sanky or the SEC to screw Tennessee (although it wouldn't surprise me if it came out that the sec wanted as many 10-2 teams for playoff consideration as possible). What I am saying as that sports are corrupt, refs can be bought, and someone somehow knew to put a ridiculous amount of money on Vandy last night just before kickoff. Argue with me until you're blue in the face, but I will die on that hill. Money rules all.
  • I am on board the Tim Banks has to go bandwagon. Nothing more needs to be said.
  • This'll be a popular opinion I'm sure, but AP has speculated that Rodney Garner might be Auburn bound after this year, depending on who they hire as a coach. I don't think that would be that big of a loss. Listen, RG is a legend. And I know a good evaluator and a good recruiter (although I think his best recruiting days are behind him). But our DL is not elite. It has never been elite under him. I mean, last year there was talk of us having the best DL in football - and we were damned good, until we played a very good team like UGA or Ohio State who mauled us in the trenches. We've seen time and time again our DL get pushed all over the place. Im not just talking about last night because I fully understand Vandy was holding a lot, but against Miss State and other much lesser opponents, our DL never made a significant impact in games. We had something like 26 sacks going into the Alabama game, and how many have we had since? Am I wishing RG would leave? No. But I definitely don't think it would be that big of a deal if he did. Most DL recruits mention coach chop more than RG.
  • I'm fading on Coach Heupel. On the one hand this feels like crazy talk because I'm pissed off and disappointed after watching a 8-4 season, when not that long ago I went into every season HOPING we could get to at least 8 wins. I don't want this to be like how, when Fulmer left I was actually excited. I'm wary of always being careful what you wish for. Which is to say I'm not wishing Heupel leaves. But I am saying he leaves a lot to be desired. Our offense, even with all our new wrinkles this year, is easily defensed. Crash down on the mesh point and you cause havoc more than half the time. The rush to the line just so the RB can run into the ass of the guard is beyond predictable. We don't run tempo anymore, or at least not near as much. And worst of all, he's too stubborn to make changes to his coaching staff. Which brings my next point -
  • Our OL coach is useless. It's documented he's not a good recruiter and has no personality. I fully attribute our recruiting successes to NIL and other coaches, plus it not being hard to recruit to Tennessee. Our OL is not good. He doesn't develop people. Everyone wants to point to Darnell Wright, but who else has really grown under his watch.
  • I think the only way we see any coaching changes this off season is if Danny White presses the issue, which I think is a real possibility. By virtue of having as young of a team as we have, plus the situation we went into the season with with our cornerback depth issues and question mark at QB, you can almost consider it a monumental achievement that we salvaged 8 wins out of this season. At the same time, in year five, the ceiling has to be higher at a place like Tennessee. You can't sell 8-4 while at the same time pushing for talent fees and everything else. Changes need to be made. I could see DW having some hard conversations with Heupel.
  • I cheered the loudest when Andre Turrentine was announced during senior day - but thats only because he's leaving. In state kid, transferred here from OSU, and to his credit gave his all for Tennessee. It probably isn't his fault that his all just wasn't very good. At all. In fact, in the five years this staff has been here, no one has played the safety position well. I might sound foolish saying that considering McCoullough is getting plenty of reps with the Rams now.... but we all know what he was here. Which begs the question: what is going on with (a) our recruitment of safeties and (b) our development of safeties? I mean, Farooq is still a young player and he certainly flashed some this year.... he also flashed in negative ways this year. The middle of our defense has been a liability for years. Why is that?
  • Speaking of the middle of our defense... is William Inge another example of an elite recruiter but mediocre coach? Has any of our linebackers, save for some big hits by Perlotte, and a few plays here and there by AC (who i know is hampered by injuries) impressed anyone this year? I suppose its too early to tell as Inges linebackers are literally true freshman this year. I know he has an incredibly impressive group of linebackers coming in this cycle as well. But I'll definitely be keeping an eye on their development going forward.
  • There is talk of Joey possibly coming back next year. I mean, I guess. This might be crazy talk but I'd be fine going into next year with new blood at the position. Don't get me wrong - I love the player, his mom is awesome, he gave us some incredible moments and memories this year, and there is a part of me that wonders how he'd do with a full offseason under his belt. But there is another part of me that thinks that, ultimately, he isn't an NFL caliber QB. I think Faizon and McIntyre have higher ceilings. And I think in order to be an elite team, you have to have an elite, NFL caliber QB. Consider this years roster being almost 50% freshman. Start McIntyre next year, let him get a year of starts under his belt. Let the chips fall where they may. Then in 2027 all of our mostly blue chip freshman today will be third year players.

    I don't remember the exact circumstances around it, but years ago Bill Parcells made a roster decision where he either cut or traded decent starter and went with a less experienced guy with more upside. When asked about it, he praised the player but basically suggested he was a progress stopper. As in, in order for the younger guy with more upside to progress, he was going to have to play, and he wasn't going to be able to do that as long as the older guy was there. I would hate to refer to Joey as a progress stopper because that is incredibly disrespectful, but .....

    And as an added bonus, if JA can't come back, that means Pavia can't either. Although I would like another shot at that punk.
  • I wouldn't be surprised at all, or bothered at all, if Peyton Lewis went to the portal. He is big and fast but he has not demonstrated to me the vision or instincts of an SEC back. I could see him heading to Virginia Tech with Franklin, which is a lot closer to home for him.
  • I have a lot on my mind, and I doubt anyone is still reading this, but if you are, thanks for letting me vent. This is therapy for me.
  • At the end of the day, Vandy is still Vandy. Vandy will stay Vandy. They caught lightening in a bottle this year, and I don't even care that they're landing the 20 year old five star freshman QB. Next year will be a complete reset on their roster. And as much as I hate Pavia, credit given where it's due. The kid is a freakishly good college QB. He has that intangible - call it moxie, swag, whatever, that just makes him elite. If Joe Milton had an ounce of whatever that intangible is, he'd be unstoppable. It's a rare trait and Vandy benefitted from having a 32 year old QB who had it, with a roster full of grown men. They're not going to be able to sustain that going into next year. And if their offensive coordinator lands a head coaching job somewhere.... well, that isn't good for Clark Lea. Last night suuuuuuuuucked. Being at the stadium suuuuuuuuuuucked. It was their night. At the end of the day, this will be their one win and they can gloat over it the next 12 months, but we'll probably go on to win the next 10 in the series.
 
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#75,220
#75,220
eVOLve said:
We have more than defensive woes. Our offense gets stagnant at bad times and it’s been a common problem with Huep teams. Seems like when the opposing D figures out the game plan, we fail to adjust.

D obviously needs an overhaul and this needs to happen this year or Huep is out the door next year.
Click to expand...

Yet his offenses are still more productive than almost any other offense in the country.

No offense has nonstop success every drive of the game.
 
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#75,221
#75,221
JCVol00 said:
I mean I feel like our defensive calls were just as bad last year, it’s just our DL and McCoy were good enough to mask it.

Simmons and Thomas last year were great vs the run, Pearce was twitchy enough to get pressure. This year our DTs were useless vs the run and we dont have an edge guy to get pressure fast enough
Click to expand...
agreed. sooooo, about that
 
#75,222
#75,222
SmyrnaATLVolisback said:
Heupel and UT need to go the OU route. They had a bad year, cleaned up some staff on the offensive side, and spent big in the portal. They would not stand for being mediocre. And I don’t think Venebles is a good coach, but they have a loaded roster.

I’m just not sure Heupel is made of the same material and as cut throat. We should have upgraded our roster a lot more and our coaches were lazy in the portal. You always upgrade where you can even if that means recruiting over a decent player.

We need him to take a step and make major changes to his staff and roster. If he does, he can win big here and even next year. If he doesn’t, we’re looking at another 8-9 win season next year again.

Ball is in his court.
Click to expand...
If we repeat next yr like this one and only beat teams with a losing record we’ll be 6-6. 8-4 if we over achieve +2 gms. 9-3 MAYBE gets you in in the SEC next yr+. Unless there are MAJOR changes (staff overhaul on Def/ST/S&C, retain top roster talent, portal additions) I don’t see us beating 2-3 teams with a winning record while breaking in a new QB. There’s a new excuse every yr for why the yr didn’t pan out and a new QB will be it for next yr.

I think 8-4 is our ceiling next yr. Realistically we’ll finish 6-6 or 7-5. The changes or lack thereof this offseason I think will start to dictate if Heupel is here beyond 2029-2030. The SEC is only gonna get harder and I don’t really believe Heupel has what it takes to be a HC and bump us up another level to great/elite. Hope he proves me very wrong this offseason and makes MAJOR changes to his staff and approach in the portal but only time will tell.
 
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