AP Preseason Poll: Good Guys #24

#76
#76
volbound1700 said:
People were saying the same thing coming into 2024 about our RB room. No one thought Sampson would break out like he did. DeSean Bishop, Peyton Lewis, and Star Thomas have all showed potential. I wouldn't be surprised if one of them could step up.

Our passing game wasn't that great in 2024 and I honestly don't see it being that much different this year. There is a chance it could be better though (can't be much worse).

I am not necessarily high on Tennessee but I think you guys are too much down on them. Heupel has been building talent across the board. If you look at the recruiting rankings of a lot of the starters and even some of the backups, we should be very competitive.

I have Tennessee at 9-3. If we lose a 4th game, I would lean more towards it being Kentucky (Heupel's baffling road loss bug) or Syracuse over Oklahoma. I have that much confidence we can win in Knoxville and with Heupel's ability to coach against Oklahoma.
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We have only lost to GA at home, but we very easily could have lost to Fla and Ala at home last year. We really should have lost to Fla, we can thank Lagway for the bad turnover in the red zone. Not saying we lose at home this year, but to think we're unbeatable at home is not the best way to look at.
 
#77
#77
volbound1700 said:
You say that but you are already crowning unknown players at Oklahoma. How can you assume OU will have one of the best SEC offenses? You said they had a great WR room, based on what?
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If you knew anything about football you would know who Mateer was. The fact we're having this conversation tells me all I need to know. OU had several 4* Transfer Portal additions, they have high 4* WR recruits all over the place. They had great WR's last year, they just lost their top 5. We can revisit this in October, but I can assure you that you'll be wrong.
 
#78
#78
volbound1700 said:
He was a 5 star when we picked him up. Not sure why he was dropped... even the article points out that it was a controversial drop in rating. I stand by my comment that we have a 5* freshmen in our QB room.
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Whatever you say,Kevin! Obviously facts and numbers stump you, but that's ok! You do you! Hell, I wanna say my wife is still a 10 like she was in her 20's, but I'd be lying!
 
#79
#79
volbound1700 said:
I don't understand the negativity about our QB situation when we have a solid 4* and a 5* QB as well as a decent transfer option. On paper, we should have a solid QB option from that 3. Our WR core concerns me more than QB situation.

In fact, Tennessee's QB room is probably on par (paper-wise) with any program. It is the one area where we probably do match Alabama and Georgia on talent.
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George isn't playing this season, so scratch that 5 star. Merklinger was always going to be a develop guy and from the sounds of it, he is still developing in camp this fall. Aguilar isn't a top half of the SEC QB, talent wise and news from fall camp hasn't been great so far on him. I think your expectations are out of whack.
 
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#80
#80
jasonvol18 said:
If you knew anything about football you would know who Mateer was. The fact we're having this conversation tells me all I need to know. OU had several 4* Transfer Portal additions, they have high 4* WR recruits all over the place. They had great WR's last year, they just lost their top 5. We can revisit this in October, but I can assure you that you'll be wrong.
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They also have a Backup QB that has started and won on the road in the SEC.
 
#82
#82
volgr said:
George isn't playing this season, so scratch that 5 star. Merklinger was always going to be a develop guy and from the sounds of it, he is still developing in camp this fall. Aguilar isn't a top half of the SEC QB, talent wise and news from fall camp hasn't been great so far on him. I think your expectations are out of whack.
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You can't reason with this dude. And trust me, I would love nothing more than to be wrong about OU. We've already gotta worry about Ala,Fla and GA, don't wanna add OU to that. But they won't be a 6-7 team again unless they have the same injury problems they had last season. Which as we all know, is definitely possible.
 
#84
#84
jasonvol18 said:
If you knew anything about football you would know who Mateer was. The fact we're having this conversation tells me all I need to know. OU had several 4* Transfer Portal additions, they have high 4* WR recruits all over the place. They had great WR's last year, they just lost their top 5. We can revisit this in October, but I can assure you that you'll be wrong.
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Sure, whatever you say Negative Nancy. I am not some idiot who doesn't know CFB. You call us out for unknowns but don't acknowledge jack about OU's unknowns. Heupel's offense has always been run first. I am not projecting Tennessee going 10-2 or anything (I have them at 9-3) but I don't think we are going to stink it up either. Too much talent and I trust the coaching system.
 
#85
#85
volbound1700 said:
People were saying the same thing coming into 2024 about our RB room. No one thought Sampson would break out like he did. DeSean Bishop, Peyton Lewis, and Star Thomas have all showed potential. I wouldn't be surprised if one of them could step up.

Our passing game wasn't that great in 2024 and I honestly don't see it being that much different this year. There is a chance it could be better though (can't be much worse).

I am not necessarily high on Tennessee but I think you guys are too much down on them. Heupel has been building talent across the board. If you look at the recruiting rankings of a lot of the starters and even some of the backups, we should be very competitive.

I have Tennessee at 9-3. If we lose a 4th game, I would lean more towards it being Kentucky (Heupel's baffling road loss bug) or Syracuse over Oklahoma. I have that much confidence we can win in Knoxville and with Heupel's ability to coach against Oklahoma.
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I have 9-3 also but I don't have a ton of confidence in that call.

We could lose to OU or possibly KY. I think OU is far more likely despite being at Neyland. They got embarrassed all season last year and threw money at the program like only oil schools can throw money and it may work for them. I think Stoops is coaching for his job this year and will have KY ready. I still think we win but they will be ready for a job saving upset for their coach.

If we lose to Syracuse, it's going to be a very very very long season.

I'd love to be more positive but there's a question mark by almost every room for the offense. I'm not betting on our passing game to pull us like Sampson did last year with the run, so we'll know pretty early if we can run. If we can't, buckle up.
 
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#86
#86
chuckiepoo said:
Those personnel losses are presumably addressed in the ESPN FPI index, where the Vols rank tenth. Part of the issue is many writers are moving away from analytic models that were considered generally unbiased. Now, that there has been a realignment of broadcast contracts that perception has changed.
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FPI had the 2020 Vols 13th or something like that at this juncture. Last year it had 4 loss Bama as a top 4 team and a Virginia Tech team with a losing record ranked way above a 10 win Syracuse team that beat Virginia Tech. Not in the preseason, at the end of the year. The FPI is no better than anyone’s opinion and in some cases is way worse.
 
#87
#87
SayUWantAreVOLution said:
I have 9-3 also but I don't have a ton of confidence in that call.

We could lose to OU or possibly KY. I think OU is far more likely despite being at Neyland. They got embarrassed all season last year and threw money at the program like only oil schools can throw money and it may work for them. I think Stoops is coaching for his job this year and will have KY ready. I still think we win but they will be ready for a job saving upset for their coach.

If we lose to Syracuse, it's going to be a very very very long season.

I'd love to be more positive but there's a question mark by almost every room for the offense. I'm not betting on our passing game to pull us like Sampson did last year with the run, so we'll know pretty early if we can run. If we can't, buckle up.
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While I love Sampson, I see Tennessee's running game being solid again this year. I think we will be a clone of 2024 again but won't win as many games. WR core, Pass Blocking, and Secondary will decide our season.

Aguilar will likely start in my opinion and will play about on par with what we got from Nico last year which will be mediocre. Nico's struggles weren't all on Nico but also on WR play and O-line play.
 
#88
#88
volbound1700 said:
Sure, whatever you say Negative Nancy. I am not some idiot who doesn't know CFB. You call us out for unknowns but don't acknowledge jack about OU's unknowns. Heupel's offense has always been run first. I am not projecting Tennessee going 10-2 or anything (I have them at 9-3) but I don't think we are going to stink it up either. Too much talent and I trust the coaching system.
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Who said we would stink it up? I have us at 9-3 or 8-4, depending on if Heupel has his usual road game loss to a bad team. I don't know $hit about OU's OL, LB or Secondary. But QB and WR is not one of their unknowns. Like I said Karen, we can revisit this in October. I'll be the 1st Mfkr to admit I was wrong and hope to hell I am. I'm already counting Ala,Fla and GA as losses until we can prove we can beat GA anywhere and win in Tuscaloosa or Gainesville. OU is the 4th game that concerns me because of their QB,WR and RB experience. But NEVER did I say we would lose to them
 
#89
#89
SayUWantAreVOLution said:
I have 9-3 also but I don't have a ton of confidence in that call.

We could lose to OU or possibly KY. I think OU is far more likely despite being at Neyland. They got embarrassed all season last year and threw money at the program like only oil schools can throw money and it may work for them. I think Stoops is coaching for his job this year and will have KY ready. I still think we win but they will be ready for a job saving upset for their coach.

If we lose to Syracuse, it's going to be a very very very long season.

I'd love to be more positive but there's a question mark by almost every room for the offense. I'm not betting on our passing game to pull us like Sampson did last year with the run, so we'll know pretty early if we can run. If we can't, buckle up.
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This! OU is one of the 4 teams that scare me. They paid a lot of money for their OC and offensive upgrade. Will they gel? Who knows, but the talent is there. I just hope we don't lose that road game that CJH finds a way to lose every year.
 
#91
#91
volbound1700 said:
While I love Sampson, I see Tennessee's running game being solid again this year. I think we will be a clone of 2024 again but won't win as many games. WR core, Pass Blocking, and Secondary will decide our season.

Aguilar will likely start in my opinion and will play about on par with what we got from Nico last year which will be mediocre. Nico's struggles weren't all on Nico but also on WR play and O-line play.
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Agree. I'm not certain Aguilar starts beyond Syracuse. If he's a turnover machine (and I don't buy the line that Heupel's offense doesn't lend itself to interceptions,) he can't go against GA. I hope he isn't but he's never seen SEC level secondaries and he threw a ton of INTs to SunBelt level secondaries. SunBelt level defenses are not SEC level and that's being very polite.

There's a lot of unknowns.

If the O Line isn't ready to protect, our new QB is going to be pressured a lot.

If our O Line is good, can we count on a new QB to make the reads? Can we count on our WRs?

If not, can we count on the RB room to save our bacon again? Will the SEC defenses be ready for us to run more this year?
 
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#92
#92
jasonvol18 said:
Who said we would stink it up? I have us at 9-3 or 8-4, depending on if Heupel has his usual road game loss to a bad team. I don't know $hit about OU's OL, LB or Secondary. But QB and WR is not one of their unknowns. Like I said Karen, we can revisit this in October. I'll be the 1st Mfkr to admit I was wrong and hope to hell I am. I'm already counting Ala,Fla and GA as losses until we can prove we can beat GA anywhere and win in Tuscaloosa or Gainesville. OU is the 4th game that concerns me because of their QB,WR and RB experience. But NEVER did I say we would lose to them
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Not sold on OU. The O-line is a huge question mark. Mateer didn't exactly light the world on fire last year either. He played in a soft league and got handled by the only playoff caliber team they faced. Ended on three straight losses, including to Wyoming.

I think they will be better this year, but if our defense maintains the momentum from last year than they will have a hard time on the road against us.
 
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#94
#94
volgr said:
George isn't playing this season, so scratch that 5 star. Merklinger was always going to be a develop guy and from the sounds of it, he is still developing in camp this fall. Aguilar isn't a top half of the SEC QB, talent wise and news from fall camp hasn't been great so far on him. I think your expectations are out of whack.
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What news? The 5 minutes of routes on air the media gets to see?
 
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#95
#95
SayUWantAreVOLution said:
Agree. I'm not certain Aguilar starts beyond Syracuse. If he's a turnover machine (and I don't buy the line that Heupel's offense doesn't lend itself to interceptions,) he can't go against GA. I hope he isn't but he's never seen SEC level secondaries and he threw a ton of INTs to SunBelt level secondaries. SunBelt level defenses are not SEC level and that's being very polite.

There's a lot of unknowns.

If the O Line isn't ready to protect, our new QB is going to be pressured a lot.

If our O Line is good, can we count on a new QB to make the reads? Can we count on our WRs?

If not, can we count on the RB room to save our bacon again? Will the SEC defenses be ready for us to run more this year?
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I agree with some of the criticism of Aguilar, but out of the 3 contenders he is the only one who has seen real game speed. Criticizing him for facing Sun Belt teams when Merk and GMac have barely any game experience at all is not fair.
 
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#96
#96
volgr said:
George isn't playing this season, so scratch that 5 star. Merklinger was always going to be a develop guy and from the sounds of it, he is still developing in camp this fall. Aguilar isn't a top half of the SEC QB, talent wise and news from fall camp hasn't been great so far on him. I think your expectations are out of whack.
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Luckily for us the last guy wasn't in the top half either, so maybe we have a repeat 10-2 year?
 
#100
#100
Nico ee-ah-MAH-LAY-ah-va said:
I agree with some of the criticism of Aguilar, but out of the 3 contenders he is the only one who has seen real game speed. Criticizing him for facing Sun Belt teams when Merk and GMac have barely any game experience at all is not fair.
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I've said NONE of them have much SEC experience. None of them and that's definitely a question and it's very fair to compare the competition Joey A has seen and his interceptions against that competition vs the competition he will see this year.

I'm not trying to be unfair at all to him. His record is what it is and it's against the level of competition that it was against. He clearly can rack up a lot of yards but that's only proven against mostly SunBelt secondaries.

I agree about his experience as a starter and with many more games and that PROBABLY gives him the edge for starting vs Syracuse. His performance in that game will be key in seeing whether he's ready to take a step, maybe 2 steps, up.
 
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