Answers I seek on Saturday

#52
#52
I don't think I am delusional enough to think we are gonna learn a great deal about the 2025 Vols on Saturday.

CUse and their fans are probably gonna be fired up at the beginning. We need to put them in their place and shut them up quickly. Come out aggressive and throwing the ball down the field.

Pretty vanilla playbook but get a few things on film to make Georgia think a bit and go on a wild goose chase planning for

Demoralize them a bit and coast without anybody getting hurt or tweaking an existing injury.

Week 2 will be the same but a bit more relaxed.

If we struggle much in either game I am going to be concerned.

Season really starts in Game 3 vs Georgia. We give them our level best and make a game out of it and we may be in business. Those trips to Florida and Bama are a tall hurdle to climb though.
 
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#53
#53
I don't think I am delusional enough to think we are gonna learn a great deal about the 2025 Vols on Saturday.

CUse and their fans are probably gonna be fired up at the beginning. We need to put them in their place and shut them up quickly. Come out aggressive and throwing the ball down the field.

Pretty vanilla playbook but get a few things on film to make Georgia think a bit and go on a wild goose chase planning for

Demoralize them a bit and coast without anybody getting hurt or tweaking an existing injury.

Week 2 will be the same but a bit more relaxed.

If we struggle much in either game I am going to be concerned.

Season really starts in Game 3 vs Georgia. We give them our level best and make a game out of it and we may be in business. Those trips to Florida and Bama are a tall hurdle to climb though.
This ⬆️
 
#56
#56
I don't think I am delusional enough to think we are gonna learn a great deal about the 2025 Vols on Saturday.

CUse and their fans are probably gonna be fired up at the beginning. We need to put them in their place and shut them up quickly. Come out aggressive and throwing the ball down the field.

Pretty vanilla playbook but get a few things on film to make Georgia think a bit and go on a wild goose chase planning for

Demoralize them a bit and coast without anybody getting hurt or tweaking an existing injury.

Week 2 will be the same but a bit more relaxed.

If we struggle much in either game I am going to be concerned.

Season really starts in Game 3 vs Georgia. We give them our level best and make a game out of it and we may be in business. Those trips to Florida and Bama are a tall hurdle to climb though.
Having the mentality that the season really starts on Game 3 is a nice way to get upset. I really hope the Tennessee staff is thinking the same as you!
 
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#57
#57
I agree with this 100%.

I would say Boo plays very little against Syracuse, if at all. I think he might play a little nickel, might return a punt, but I'd be surprised to see him at safety unless the game is out of hand late or due to injury. If Heup (or any coach really) is explicitly asked if a guy will play and the response is "he'll be available," the evasiveness means he won't play much, if at all.
If his punishment really was in house, I dont see why you hurt the team by not playing him. He might not start but he'll likely play a lot of snaps and wouldn’t be surprised to see him in all 3 phases.
 
#58
#58
I'd agree that Davis is potentially a better receiver than Kitselman, but from a game production standpoint it hasn't happened yet. If Kitselman is getting more time because he's a better blocker then by all means it is the right decision. He's plenty capable enough as a receiver where you wouldn't want to sacrifice run blocking and pass protection just to get the more athletic Davis on the field. I keep reading that Brame is the one with elite receiving skills as a TE. Hopefully we go with 2 TEs a lot this season.
potentially is probably the right word. good job
 
#60
#60
Not sure what you mean, this is probably the deepest team CJH has had, he said so himself. The WRs are young and unproven but healthy for the most part.

And OP asked about Kitselman...


I mean that our 4th WR is probably a true freshman. (An injury to a guy like Mathews would put us in a tough spot).

An injury at QB also likely puts a true freshman on the field
 
#61
#61
Sheesh y'all really hate this kid
No, it’s not that anyone hates Boo Carter. It is his actions and attitude this off season that has ruined his rep with a lot of people right now. He was very narcissistic and cavalier with his actions staying away from critical practices so he could “ hang with his boys” at home. This is to be expected with NIL. Mature people struggle with handling a sudden influx of wealth. Teenagers notoriously fail miserably when it happens, especially if there youth was a little rough. He has several things to prove to his coach and his teammates. They will probably have a say in how much he plays. One can only hope he learns from this and grows into the superstar he can be.
 
#64
#64
Sheesh y'all really hate this kid
Hard to imagine anyone hating this kid. Even though he did do some crazy stuff to his teammates. And the post you referenced was basically saying that he wishes the kid wears himself play 600 snaps a game and is too tired to get into any mayhem or mischief all week long so he's available for the next game.
 
#65
#65
Having the mentality that the season really starts on Game 3 is a nice way to get upset. I really hope the Tennessee staff is thinking the same as you!

Lol.
You're about 4 seasons late for that nonsense my friend

Our wilderness years have been over for a while.

Now if this game was in 2018 or so, yeah we would be primed for what would have been viewed as an upset but to Vols fans would have been just another crap season with a crap coach.

Enjoy the game.

BTW-any ladies of Syracuse threads on your boards you could point us to? We seem to be missing that this week somehow ........VN tradition and all.
 
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#66
#66
Syracuse is starting a 17-year-old (get ready to hear that 50x on the broadcast) reclassified true freshman at one of their corner spots. I imagine we'll lean heavily on the running game, but I'll be disappointed if we don't take a few shots downfield to test him. I'd love to see us do that a few times, especially if we can get into some second and short situations.
If Brazzell or MM can’t cook up this kid, and give him a proper welcome to CFB, then we have a big problem on our hands. He should be easy money.
 
#67
#67
Most of those questions are the kind asked every year.

The key one is can Aguilar hit open receivers including a few deep shots. The success of the run game last year was a testimony to just how good the OL and RBs were. Nico really didn't hit enough deep shots or find open guys regularly enough to pull D's out of the box.
Sadly true about Nico, so many missed Tds.
Hopefully JA will be more successful.
 
#70
#70

How Much 12 Personnel Will Tennessee Run?​

Tennessee leaned on 12 personnel often last season, playing two tight ends and two receivers instead of three receivers and one tight end. How much will Tennessee do that to start this season?

Does Tennessee’s Offense Look Different?​

This point flows right out of that one. We’ve seen Tennessee’s quarterbacks work on bootleg throws, seemingly out of the pistol this offseason. We’ve seen the Vols’ receivers work with tighter splits and we’ve seen more shallow crossing routes. Those are all things we haven’t seen much of in Josh Heupel’s first four seasons as head coach.

How Does The Running Back Rotation Shake Out?​

If there’s any position on the roster that I’m not sure who will play the most snaps, it’s at running back. Any given day, I can convince myself that DeSean Bishop, Peyton Lewis or Star Thomas will be Tennessee’s top rusher this season.

Who Are Tennessee’s Backup Defensive Tackles?​

Defensively, the one area where Tennessee’s depth is shaky is at defensive tackle. Daevin Hobbs missing the start of the season due to an injury exposes that even more.

Jaxson Moi and Bryson Eason will be Tennessee’s first two defensive tackles on the field. But who replaces them when they need a breather? Freshmen Ethan Utley and Isaiah Campbell have positioned themselves well, but will Tennessee trust them enough to lean on them heavily?

Will Tennessee’s Defensive Line Overwhelm Syracuse’s Front?​

A season ago, Tennessee dominated NC State in week two because the Wolfpack just couldn’t block Tennessee up front. That trend continued for much of the year when Tennessee’s defensive line dominated foes like Oklahoma, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. Does Tennessee to have a top 10 defense again this season?
 
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#71
#71
I'm thinking totally opposite of many of you.

I think we let loose on offense Saturday. I think we set our hair on fire and score 50-65 points. Like 2021 and 2022 come back alive. Like a touchdown within a minute each time we get the ball. Over and over again.

That offense is still in our playbook, we've just needed players who could execute it, and an offensive coordinator confident enough to let rip. Something clicked for Joey Halzle this off-season. Josh Heupel saw it, and told the young fella to set it loose this year.

Anyway, that's the answer I seek this weekend. I think we're there. We'll see in two days.

I'm kinda excited.

Go Vols!
 
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#73
#73
I don't think we will learn much of anything until week 3. I'm thinking Saturday will be mostly conservative "ground and pound" while resting the weary. Just my opinion.

GBO

Agreed. First game with a new QB and a young offense. I think it will be an old school football game provided that the defense does well and doesn’t force us to make big plays from behind.
 
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#74
#74
Hobbs and McCoy will hopefully play and play well vs. UGA. We need all available hands on deck and still a lot of luck to break the UGA streak.
 
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