'15 GA WR Preston Williams (UT Signee 2/4/15)

[SeanJean]

It's definitely too early to judge CZA, because last year was without a doubt a freakish plague of injuries to that receiving corps. Every single one of those guys, except Pig, had a pretty serious injury limiting them. They dropped like flies week after week.

Now I'm in agreement that I was very disappointed in what I saw from the Spring game from the WRs, and losing Pearson only makes that worse. I continue to be disappointed in Malone. I still have seen nothing suggesting he is anywhere near a 5 star recruit, but I'm patiently waiting. Pig looked alright, but the rest of the guys were getting pushed around and dropping balls left and right.

I hope they look better when Croom and North get back, because I know North is a beast when healthy, but I still think they need the big play threat, which is what Pearson brought to the table last year. It's going to be a big loss. Still plenty of weapons on that offense though.

 

[GBO Vols]

4. By all accounts, especially Jayson Swain, the WRs were very disappointing throughout the Spring. If you listen to his show, he was constantly verbalizing his disappointment and frustration with how they were catching the ball most of the Spring. He was also less than impressed with their O&W game overall performance. Did you see the 1 on 1 competition vs the DBs?? The WRs didn't win a single rep....something like 0-8...eh, that's not good.

5. Haven't said Azzani is a "bad coach", but I will say I don't think he's shown that he's a "good coach" at all. Pig has improved, but North regressed imo last year. Honestly, what did Croom do? Nice TD catch vs Georgia, nice catch and run vs Kentucky.... what else? I recall everybody ripping him after the Oklahoma game. Pearson was having a bad Spring before his suspension, Malone by all accounts isn't showing much improvement at all, Wharton and Jenkins transferred, Johnson caught about 10 balls last year....what improvement?

As far as the OL, yeah, they were epicly bad last year....maybe our supremely talented group could've helped them and the QB out more by getting off coverage and getting much better separation than they did.

5. Gillespie didn't have a deep RB rotation of supremely talented athletes running all over the place like Azzani had. He had 1 outstanding freshman still learning and adjusting to the college game and a slow footed senior who won't get a sniff from the NFL. Azzani had/has at least 3, maybe 4 NFL prospects he's working with.

Bottom line, we just disagree. You think Azzani is a fine coach dealing with a rash of injuries who's made the best of his situation.....I don't.

I agree with all of this. We have a really talented wide receiver group on paper, but not a single one of them has come close to reaching that potential. By all accounts this was a horrible offseason for the wide receiver group as well. CZA has undeniably been an invaluable recruiter, but I am still hoping he proves me wrong as a coach.

 

[KBVol]

I'm not a big CZA fan myself but to say that North regressed is a little disingenuous. North made some big catches, especially in the redzone before he got hurt and he was never healthy enough to really contribute after that. I don't think he regressed as much as he didn't really progress all that much (he was making those catches in his freshman season too) and I think a lot of that falls on CZA.

Not being disingenuous at all. We were all expecting North to explode this year with a full offseason and 2nd year in the system. Instead we got 8 fewer catches and 176 fewer yards as a sophomore. Seems like the virtual definition of regression since his production was worse.

And no offense, but what big catches, in the redzone or otherwise? I can think of only 1 big relevant redzone catch ... his single TD catch (vs Georgia) against any team not named Arky State or UTC.

 

[AV_12]

Lol North regressed, or was hurt? How do we know that Von was having a bad spring..? Seems like one of those guys that needs extra motivation and thats what butch was doing by calling him out. I've been as hard on Croom as anyone on here, but he certainly looked better. That was obvious.. Smith looked like a breakout player befor he went down, and how can you say that about Malone as well? Flawed argument, especially at this point when your best QB didn't get to have all of the weapons at once.. relax

 

[SeanJean]

Not being disingenuous at all. We were all expecting North to explode this year with a full offseason and 2nd year in the system. Instead we got 8 fewer catches and 176 fewer yards as a sophomore. Seems like the virtual definition of regression since his production was worse.

And no offense, but what big catches, in the redzone or otherwise? I can think of only 1 big relevant redzone catch ... his single TD catch (vs Georgia) against any team not named Arky State or UTC.

Dude, he was hurt. He didn't play in the last 4 games.

 

[AV_12]

Dude, he was hurt. He didn't play in the last 4 games.

And was very much limited throughout the year

 

[Aesius]

North's season essentially ended during the UTC game. He wasn't even close to being the same after that.

Also, it's unreasonable to expect him to put up numbers against OU and UF. Their pass rushes wiped away his ability to make catches downfield, which is what he does best.

 

[SeanJean]

North's season essentially ended during the UTC game. He wasn't even close to being the same after that.

Bingo.

 

[VOLFan65]

It's hard to get better numbers when your QB is getting hammered every play. It starts up front. There were 3 NFL players on the o-line when he was a freshman. This year, When Dobbs came in late in the year, he was hurt. If we improve up front you will see more numbers for him.
Better oline=more time to throw=less amount of 2 second screens=more downfield throws=more production for North.

 

[CWGvol]

Not being disingenuous at all. We were all expecting North to explode this year with a full offseason and 2nd year in the system. Instead we got 8 fewer catches and 176 fewer yards as a sophomore. Seems like the virtual definition of regression since his production was worse.

And no offense, but what big catches, in the redzone or otherwise? I can think of only 1 big relevant redzone catch ... his single TD catch (vs Georgia) against any team not named Arky State or UTC.

Your still forgetting North was hurt most of the year not a few games at the end of the season. He was hurt from UTC on..... Crazy amount of WR injuries overall too, add that to horrible OL play and you see the real cause of the bad passing game last year. All you have to do is see what coach Z did with North his freshman year, Smith last year, and Crooms improvements.

 

[CWGvol]

It's hard to get better numbers when your QB is getting hammered every play. It starts up front. There were 3 NFL players on the o-line when he was a freshman. This year, When Dobbs came in late in the year, he was hurt. If we improve up front you will see more numbers for him.
Better oline=more time to throw=less amount of 2 second screens=more downfield throws=more production for North.

So true! Look how much better it was for North with a good OL.... That was the biggest overall problem. Then add in the injuries and it clear to see what caused the inconsistency.

 

[KBVol]

Lol North regressed, or was hurt? How do we know that Von was having a bad spring..? Seems like one of those guys that needs extra motivation and thats what butch was doing by calling him out. I've been as hard on Croom as anyone on here, but he certainly looked better. That was obvious.. Smith looked like a breakout player befor he went down, and how can you say that about Malone as well? Flawed argument, especially at this point when your best QB didn't get to have all of the weapons at once.. relax

North was hurt late in the season, game 8 vs Bama iirc. If we assume this, through 8 games, he had 30 catches for 320 yds....3.75 catches for 40 yds per game... those numbers are a drop off from his freshman year...regression.

We know that Von was having a bad Spring because Butch commented that Von wasn't showing the performance and consistency both on the field and in the classroom that was expected of him. Additionally, Jayson Swain, who regularly attended Spring practice, said on his show that Von was having a poor or disappointing Spring.

Croom showed some improvement last year, but he plays with neither the consistency nor the physicality that he needs to given the incredible physical mismatch he represents every time he steps on the field. Smith did look better than the worst collegiate WR I'd ever seen when he was a freshman. He was certainly showing signs he was gonna be better...although I don't know that I'd call 10 catches for 135 yds and a TD through 3 games "breakout".

As far as Malone, he was a 5star 6'3 WR with elite speed who caught 23 balls and 1td in 13 games. Additionally, Jayson Swain, after attending most every spring practice recently said on his show, and I quote, "Josh Malone is not ready to play big-time college football...period" because of his attitude, poor effort and poor practice habits...some of that is on Josh, but that's also a direct reflection of his coach IMHO.

Flawed argument my ass. This is an immensely talented WR group. Azzani has done a great job doing his part in getting these guys on campus. I just don't see that he's getting near the potential and performance he should be getting out of them. Jmo.

 

[KBVol]

Your still forgetting North was hurt most of the year not a few games at the end of the season. He was hurt from UTC on..... Crazy amount of WR injuries overall too, add that to horrible OL play and you see the real cause of the bad passing game last year. All you have to do is see what coach Z did with North his freshman year, Smith last year, and Crooms improvements.

I think North was actually hurt in the second half of the Bama game. But, let's say he was hurt vs UTC. How did he fare in SEC games prior to UTC?....

3 catches, 15 yds vs Georgia
4 catches, 26 yds vs Florida

If we assume that he was injured in the 2nd half vs Bama, then we add these performances....

1 catch, 24 yds vs OleMiss
4 catches, 56 yds vs Alabama

He played 2 more SEC games vs SCar and Kentucky but didn't have a catch due to an injury which ultimately led to season-ending surgery.

Btw, I'm not arguing all this about North to takes shots at or disparage him. I'm doing this to illustrate, IMHO, that he is an immensely talented physicak freak with great hands....who is not being effectively coached by Azzani to help him reach his full potential.

 

[walkenvol]

It was widely known North was attempting to work through nagging injuries and they finally shut it down after the Alabama game. Doesn't necessarily disprove your position of him not playing up to his tremendous talent level, but it does have to be factored into the equation.

Von was obviously out boozing it up late at night during spring....loss of focus and poor decision making. May be gone? Either way, can't blame that on the position coach as they're not babysitters.

I think we're all anxious for Croom to play up to his obvious talet. He's making progress but has also stayed constantly nicked up?

In my eyes, Smith's light came on last season pre-injury. If he returns healthy and continues forward from the previous level I believe we will all be pleased.

Malone's attitude has remained in question since his arrival as an EE. He has the tools. The staff has lead him to the watering hole, now its time for him to drink.

 

[DaddyChad]

I think some players have improved and I think the injury excuse is fine but watching the UF game it just concerns me at how much we were physically owned by their DBs. Again I think CZA is a good coach but I don't think he is great. I'm glad we kept him and kept continuity intact but I'm not as sold on him as some yet and it's more about what I see out of our WRs than the stat line. JMHO.

 

[SeanJean]

I blame most of the Florida game on our OL and our ridiculously vanilla and conservative playcalling. That game was the Bajakian special.

Most of these WR arguments from last year are silly. They were all hurt. You can't judge guys who are hurt and ultimately missed lots of time from injury. The only guy you can really judge is Pig, and he had a great year. Throw in our brutal OL (i mean the worst I've ever watched) and the attack our QBs were under from the second the ball was snapped each down, and you've got some problems in the downfield passing game.

Just crunching numbers is taking things out of context and isn't realistic. Our WRs definitely still have some work to do, but if they're healthy, I'm not too worried (except for Malone).

 

[KBVol]

It was widely known North was attempting to work through nagging injuries and they finally shut it down after the Alabama game. Doesn't necessarily disprove your position of him not playing up to his tremendous talent level, but it does have to be factored into the equation.

Von was obviously out boozing it up late at night during spring....loss of focus and poor decision making. May be gone? Either way, can't blame that on the position coach as they're not babysitters.

I think we're all anxious for Croom to play up to his obvious talet. He's making progress but has also stayed constantly nicked up?

In my eyes, Smith's light came on last season pre-injury. If he returns healthy and continues forward from the previous level I believe we will all be pleased.

Malone's attitude has remained in question since his arrival as an EE. He has the tools. The staff has lead him to the watering hole, now its time for him to drink.

Can't disagree really with any of this, I think you've made good observations. The only question that has to be answered at the end of the day though is how well are they performing as a whole? Are they consistently good? Can they get off press man coverage? Can they find the holes in zone coverage? Can they beat coverage deep? Are they reliable in the redzone/endzone? Are they turning in consistent outstanding performances to match their outstanding talent? Are they difference makers and, as our most talented group, are they the reason more often than not that we put up great offensive performances? I think the answer to all those questions more often than not is no.

Finally, what has me a little extra passionate about this issue are the reports coming out of spring practice that the WRs were performing poorly and not showing great focus....and imo, injuries or not, that's ultimatelt on Azzani, especially in year 3.

 

[TriedAndTrueVOL]

North was hurt late in the season, game 8 vs Bama iirc. If we assume this, through 8 games, he had 30 catches for 320 yds....3.75 catches for 40 yds per game... those numbers are a drop off from his freshman year...regression.

We know that Von was having a bad Spring because Butch commented that Von wasn't showing the performance and consistency both on the field and in the classroom that was expected of him. Additionally, Jayson Swain, who regularly attended Spring practice, said on his show that Von was having a poor or disappointing Spring.

Croom showed some improvement last year, but he plays with neither the consistency nor the physicality that he needs to given the incredible physical mismatch he represents every time he steps on the field. Smith did look better than the worst collegiate WR I'd ever seen when he was a freshman. He was certainly showing signs he was gonna be better...although I don't know that I'd call 10 catches for 135 yds and a TD through 3 games "breakout".

As far as Malone, he was a 5star 6'3 WR with elite speed who caught 23 balls and 1td in 13 games. Additionally, Jayson Swain, after attending most every spring practice recently said on his show, and I quote, "Josh Malone is not ready to play big-time college football...period" because of his attitude, poor effort and poor practice habits...some of that is on Josh, but that's also a direct reflection of his coach IMHO.

Flawed argument my ass. This is an immensely talented WR group. Azzani has done a great job doing his part in getting these guys on campus. I just don't see that he's getting near the potential and performance he should be getting out of them. Jmo.

North had nagging injuries all year. He was being trotted out as a decoy much of the time...and was basically done after the UTC game. Smdh. Pretty silly to talk about him regressing while playing hurt all season long. Jmo

 

[TriedAndTrueVOL]

I blame most of the Florida game on our OL and our ridiculously vanilla and conservative playcalling. That game was the Bajakian special.

Most of these WR arguments from last year are silly. They were all hurt. You can't judge guys who are hurt and ultimately missed lots of time from injury. The only guy you can really judge is Pig, and he had a great year. Throw in our brutal OL (i mean the worst I've ever watched) and the attack our QBs were under from the second the ball was snapped each down, and you've got some problems in the downfield passing game.

Just crunching numbers is taking things out of context and isn't realistic. Our WRs definitely still have some work to do, but if they're healthy, I'm not too worried (except for Malone).

Agree with all of this. If Malone can start producing, most of my worries will be gone. We need him to step up.

 

[Go Fight Win]

Coach Z is one of the hottest young names in college football and a very good coach

 

[OrangeHammer]

Coach Z is one of the hottest young names in college football and a very good coach

whoa, some on here believe he may be a "pedestrian" coach.. tifwiw.

 

[CWGvol]

I think North was actually hurt in the second half of the Bama game. But, let's say he was hurt vs UTC. How did he fare in SEC games prior to UTC?....

3 catches, 15 yds vs Georgia
4 catches, 26 yds vs Florida

If we assume that he was injured in the 2nd half vs Bama, then we add these performances....

1 catch, 24 yds vs OleMiss
4 catches, 56 yds vs Alabama

He played 2 more SEC games vs SCar and Kentucky but didn't have a catch due to an injury which ultimately led to season-ending surgery.

Btw, I'm not arguing all this about North to takes shots at or disparage him. I'm doing this to illustrate, IMHO, that he is an immensely talented physicak freak with great hands....who is not being effectively coached by Azzani to help him reach his full potential.

No offensive line what so ever during those games. Wrong QB for the system got worse as time went. Add the injuries and that's your answer.

 

[CWGvol]

I blame most of the Florida game on our OL and our ridiculously vanilla and conservative playcalling. That game was the Bajakian special.

Most of these WR arguments from last year are silly. They were all hurt. You can't judge guys who are hurt and ultimately missed lots of time from injury. The only guy you can really judge is Pig, and he had a great year. Throw in our brutal OL (i mean the worst I've ever watched) and the attack our QBs were under from the second the ball was snapped each down, and you've got some problems in the downfield passing game.

Just crunching numbers is taking things out of context and isn't realistic. Our WRs definitely still have some work to do, but if they're healthy, I'm not too worried (except for Malone).

Well said... Reads like poetry I tell you... So simple too

 

[TriedAndTrueVOL]

Coach Z is one of the hottest young names in college football and a very good coach

This. I don't get all the ridiculous hate. Coach Z is a good one and I hope he's in Knoxville for a while.

 

[KBVol]

North had nagging injuries all year. He was being trotted out as a decoy much of the time...and was basically done after the UTC game. Smdh. Pretty silly to talk about him regressing while playing hurt all season long. Jmo

Hurt all year long? Link? Quotes? Hurt gm 8 vs Bama to the point that they trotted him out there as a decoy vs SCar and Ky ....I buy that. All year long? No.

And again, my point in bringing up his and the other WRs' performances/stats is NOT to bang on or criticize THEM. It's to empirically and statistically define the idea that I personally don't believe that Azzani has been effective in getting them to play with the right technique, attitude and physicality necessary to get them to play at a high level commensurate with their considerable collective talent.