2026 Board - Heading into February

#51
#51
just for some reference. Our average talent has gone from a player that would have been ranked #633, to #400.

to put some more reference to it. Our lowest rated guy in the '25 class, is higher ranked than the AVERAGE of our class when Heupel started.

don't let people lie to you and say we aren't improving and gaining ground.

and the '26 class is continuing the trend of being better than the last.
moar
 
#52
#52
it doesn't seem like Heupel is planning to stop.

for some more reference our average in the '25 class would have been ranked#266. so its not like he is improving slowly.

we may not get to the Top anytime soon, but I am not convinced its actually necessary since we are already beating the most talented roster.

sure moar better is moar better, but acting like we are going back to Pruitt levels of football just because we aren't bringing in 25 5*s each class is just reactionary bs.
 
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#53
#53
it doesn't seem like Heupel is planning to stop.

for some more reference our average in the '25 class would have been ranked#266. so its not like he is improving slowly.

we may not get to the Top anytime soon, but I am not convinced its actually necessary since we are already beating the most talented roster.

sure moar better is moar better, but acting like we are going back to Pruitt levels of football just because we aren't bringing in 25 5*s each class is just reactionary bs.
MOAR
 
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#55
#55
Have a sneaky suspicion we won’t hit on any of them and we take Ward from instate.
Actually really interested how Ward does as a senior. Only played playoffs last year after transferring to Nashville Christian with Curtis but he did what you would expect someone at his size and athleticism to do against the smallest private schools lol
 
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#56
#56
Actually really interested how Ward does as a senior. Only played playoffs last year after transferring to Nashville Christian with Curtis but he did what you would expect someone at his size and athleticism to do against the smallest private schools lol
Random question, how many edges are we taking?

Seems like we lead for Jones, Groves, Wyatt etc lol
 
#57
#57
Random question, how many edges are we taking?

Seems like we lead for Jones, Groves, Wyatt etc lol
Jones is seen as a SDE. But since we didn’t take a true Edge in 2025, I think we’d take up to 3 if they’re the right guys. Say, Wyatt, Groves, and Dunham.
 
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#58
#58
Jones is seen as a SDE. But since we didn’t take a true Edge in 2025, I think we’d take up to 3 if they’re the right guys. Say, Wyatt, Groves, and Dunham.
I think that's right on the number. Think Groves is a near lock at this point, and I think we're the leader (though still a ways to go with Dunham). From there I think it would be only an(other) elite guy like Elee or Carter or maybe Griffin-Haynes.

IMO Wyatt will end up on Defense but I don't know if he'll get big enough to be a true Edge. LB seems like the ideal fit for a guy who's likely to be 6'4, 225-230.
 
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#59
#59
I think that's right on the number. Think Groves is a near lock at this point, and I think we're the leader (though still a ways to go with Dunham). From there I think it would be only an(other) elite guy like Elee or Carter or maybe Griffin-Haynes.

IMO Wyatt will end up on Defense but I don't know if he'll get big enough to be a true Edge. LB seems like the ideal fit for a guy who's likely to be 6'4, 225-230.
Would like to see us capitalize on these junior days more. I think its one of our biggest best and brightest recruiting tools.
 
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#60
#60
I think that's right on the number. Think Groves is a near lock at this point, and I think we're the leader (though still a ways to go with Dunham). From there I think it would be only an(other) elite guy like Elee or Carter or maybe Griffin-Haynes.

IMO Wyatt will end up on Defense but I don't know if he'll get big enough to be a true Edge. LB seems like the ideal fit for a guy who's likely to be 6'4, 225-230.

Cocks are the leader for Dunham
 
#61
#61
This morning

Rodney Dunham is one of the most coveted defensive ends in the South. The four-star recruit from Charlotte (N.C.) Myers Park has been a regular visitor in Knoxville and Columbia throughout the fall and returned to both Tennessee and South Carolina in the past two weekends.

Our intel points to the Gamecocks being in the driver's seat with the blue-chipper – and it'll be hard to beat Shane Beamer's program in this one.



I think Carolina offered him in both baseball and football. Not sure if we have or not.
 
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#63
#63
you just said a Top 5-10 team. not a top 5-10 talented roster. those are two completely different issues. I care more about being a Top 5-10 team than I do about having a Top 5-10 roster according to some numbers.

if you want to focus on those numbers, I see improvement in those numbers you posted. especially if you look into the talent they represent our averages have increased quiet noticeably. so acting like we have been standing still while other teams continue to pass us is just wrong.

according to 247 composite
Bama is still the top on Average and overall composite talent. 93.79 and 1,018.28
we are 17th. with an average of 89.54 and total score of 858.67
difference of 4.25 and 159.61

obviously we don't need to be more talented than Bama to beat them.

Heupels first year in 2021:
Bama 94.18, and 1,001.89
UT 88.05, and 780.20
difference of 6.13 and 221.69

we have cut into their talent lead by a pretty noticeable amount. but yall want to act like the difference not being 0 means we aren't getting better.
We’ve beat Bama on the field 2 out of the last 3 years. That’s where it counts! GBO
 
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#64
#64
This morning

Rodney Dunham is one of the most coveted defensive ends in the South. The four-star recruit from Charlotte (N.C.) Myers Park has been a regular visitor in Knoxville and Columbia throughout the fall and returned to both Tennessee and South Carolina in the past two weekends.

Our intel points to the Gamecocks being in the driver's seat with the blue-chipper – and it'll be hard to beat Shane Beamer's program in this one.



I think Carolina offered him in both baseball and football. Not sure if we have or not.
Where is that from?
 
#69
#69
All of a sudden feels like air got sucked out of the 2026 class room. Need some momentum here after the OL de commitment , news on Matthews, and Dunham. (as reported by Trippie, that i'm skeptical of).
 
#70
#70
All of a sudden feels like air got sucked out of the 2026 class room. Need some momentum here after the OL de commitment , news on Matthews, and Dunham. (as reported by Trippie, that i'm skeptical of).

Osenda, Leo Delaney and Breck Kolojay at OL

Groves and Wyatt at Edge.

It will be okay if we end up losing out on Dunham.
 
#74
#74
Well, I am not trying to be negative. But, the teams recruiting between 11-20 are definitely going to benefit from the portal more than the top 10. The top 10, espeically top 5, will lose more to portal when they have too many 4-5 stars on their roster. Probably about half of a star studded roster is going to see the field enough to get noticed. Studs don't want to sit on the sidelines watching others getting bigger NILs and better chances of nice NFL contracts and signing bonuses. If I were Heupel, I would rather have a team that gets less portals and keeps more than half of all the 4 and 5 star talent that my staff and I recruited just for the schemes my OC and DC have in place!!!

Think about it! Lots of guys that transfer once are going to transfer again because they don't have the skills, work ethic, good attitude, and mental drive to beat out other guys on a roster. So, it is likely they may not help your team either. I would rather have the studs that allow you to mold them and will work hard to beat out another player on my roster!
The top high school recruiting schools can easily patch a kid in from the portal to fill a hole or two.
The teams recruiting down @ 11-20 are not going to have a better roster than the teams recruiting up in the top 7. That's not logical in any way.

Just like Ohio State. They recruit HS really well. Then they added a top flight running back and safety to fill their roster out.
The natty followed. Pretty simple. You can't trick your way to the top, or sneak your way there. You have to really be that good, from the ground up. Starting with high school recruiting.
Generally speaking, anything that helps an average team will help a great team more.
 
#75
#75
Well, I am not trying to be negative. But, the teams recruiting between 11-20 are definitely going to benefit from the portal more than the top 10. The top 10, espeically top 5, will lose more to portal when they have too many 4-5 stars on their roster. Probably about half of a star studded roster is going to see the field enough to get noticed. Studs don't want to sit on the sidelines watching others getting bigger NILs and better chances of nice NFL contracts and signing bonuses. If I were Heupel, I would rather have a team that gets less portals and keeps more than half of all the 4 and 5 star talent that my staff and I recruited just for the schemes my OC and DC have in place!!!

Think about it! Lots of guys that transfer once are going to transfer again because they don't have the skills, work ethic, good attitude, and mental drive to beat out other guys on a roster. So, it is likely they may not help your team either. I would rather have the studs that allow you to mold them and will work hard to beat out another player on my roster!
The top 5% are impact players, D1. Rest are late bloomers, needing coaching, reps, etc. We seem to have a lot of those, meanwhile Georgia, Alabama, etc rinse, repeat.
 

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