I am a lawyer, 56 years old, and have seen the good and the bad for UT football. I can assure 3 things about the next year of UT football. I hope the young guys on the board read the first comment over and over....
1: 18 and 19 year old kids are not supposed to be stars. Too many posters are writing off people like Neal, Hughes, Rogers, etc... because they didn't change the world in their first 2 seasons. Well, let me remind you of a few more who didn't light the world on fire: Travis Henry (4 Total Yards as Freshman), Robert Meachem, Dante Stallworth, John Henderson, Albert Haynesworth, Jason Witten, etc... I could go way back but these are just a couple recent vols who took a year or two to develop. Heck, remember a guy named David Pollack for UGA... Didn't even step on the field until his second year.
2: Taureen Poole will be the starting running back and that's a good thing. This guy ran for 5 yds a carry and 1000 yards behind an anemic passing attack and the worst oline in 2 decades. There is reason why players wanted him to start over Bryce Brown and there is no way in HELL Marlin Lane will even push him. Neal has some ability and could be a player at some point, but don't expect too much this year. Also keep in mind that Poole was injured for a couple of games.
3: Concerning impending sanctions: Dooley is god-sent. I can assure you lawyers and those who work for the NCAA are human. Dooley is already recognized as a class act and his image will undoubtably help our cause (not that I think football punishments will be severe in any regard).
1: 18 and 19 year old kids are not supposed to be stars. Too many posters are writing off people like Neal, Hughes, Rogers, etc... because they didn't change the world in their first 2 seasons. Well, let me remind you of a few more who didn't light the world on fire: Travis Henry (4 Total Yards as Freshman), Robert Meachem, Dante Stallworth, John Henderson, Albert Haynesworth, Jason Witten, etc... I could go way back but these are just a couple recent vols who took a year or two to develop. Heck, remember a guy named David Pollack for UGA... Didn't even step on the field until his second year.
2: Taureen Poole will be the starting running back and that's a good thing. This guy ran for 5 yds a carry and 1000 yards behind an anemic passing attack and the worst oline in 2 decades. There is reason why players wanted him to start over Bryce Brown and there is no way in HELL Marlin Lane will even push him. Neal has some ability and could be a player at some point, but don't expect too much this year. Also keep in mind that Poole was injured for a couple of games.
3: Concerning impending sanctions: Dooley is god-sent. I can assure you lawyers and those who work for the NCAA are human. Dooley is already recognized as a class act and his image will undoubtably help our cause (not that I think football punishments will be severe in any regard).
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