Bad look but makes me optimistic about the future!

[rdk4121]

Do you remember that freezing cold game (Mizzou or Kensucky) that Butch wouldn't let players wear sleeves...Butch was a real class act I tell ya

That was Missouri, and we won. I remember the players embracing that and butch said at the time he wanted to preach toughness. That was 2015, which was arguably the toughest team we have had this decade. All went downhill from there.

 

[VolFanStukinTX]

Yep. That was Butch. In fact, I'm noticing more and more "Butch-isms" under Huepel. The black stripes on the helmets, Huepel constantly referring to himself as the "caretaker" of the football program, a preference for lighter, faster O-linemen, and now this. I fully realize that Coach Huepel is NOT Butch Jones but I do find it interesting that they do some of the same things.

Unless I am mistaken; the black stripes I have seen on the helmets in practice are a part of the protective padding that they wear to help with concussions. Can anyone else confirm?

About what Butch used them for; I kind of liked them "earning" their Orange stripe as well as "earning" the right to wear the Orange jersey!

I was as frustrated as I am sure all of us were with his in game decisions sometimes; I can't speak to his character but from what I saw he is a great motivator of young men.

Butch is gone and rightfully so but coming from someone who has been a diehard Vols fan since the early eighties and who used to let the outcome of a game effect my whole weekend; his teams gave me something to be excited about that I hadn't felt since the late 80's through the 90's and the early 2000's rubbing the Cotton Bowl win over the Aggies in the face of the 80% A&M graduates at work was priceless. They started ribbing me as soon as the game was announced; it was sweet staying after the game celebrating with the team while the Corps stood there!

The glimpse of hope seeing a young team full of guys playing for their home school in Norman live, the LSU loss, the near victory I saw live over the Sooners in Neyland, and of course the OT win at Georgia. I will never forget those moments in the many that I have experienced.

 

[gobravesvols16]

It’s things like this that make you realize just how incompetent Pruitt and co. were. Worse than Dooley and that is saying something

 

[butchna]

Remember how Kiffin had them run to each side of the field during quarter change? Remember them jumping up and down? It’s on!!

Thought that was Butch? Don’t remember it with Kiffin.

 

[GrizzlyVol]

Yep. That was Butch. In fact, I'm noticing more and more "Butch-isms" under Huepel. The black stripes on the helmets, Huepel constantly referring to himself as the "caretaker" of the football program, a preference for lighter, faster O-linemen, and now this. I fully realize that Coach Huepel is NOT Butch Jones but I do find it interesting that they do some of the same things.

It's a new age my friend, recruiting and coaching has changed alot since my day act more like friends, I really like CJH and I do believe he'll do very well here, but yeah I caught on to the similarities very quickly

 

[temptn]

Thank goodness.

 

[TJVol95]

That was Butch Jones

Kiffin had our team fired up! They would hustle to the opposite side, cheer, shake the bus before the Vol walk.

 

[tennesseeduke]

I'm hoping we return to the days when TN showed up and the opponent knew they were going to get hit in the mouth.

Yep when the opposition saw the Vols during pregame warmups and knew an ass whipping was coming! When the game meant I can be mad & kick the crap out of the other team because practice was miserable!

 

[Majors]

Coach is preaching “standard” and doing the little things right is big. His definition of hustle might be different than the old standard

 

[lifeisdeep]

Butch wasn't terrible coach overall. He was just a terrible person.

He was a horrifically incompetent coach. I’ll never forget hearing on Nashville talk radio about him giving upperclassmen the option of choosing what days they practiced. It doesn’t get any more incompetent than that.

 

[tomq_123]

Kiffin had our team fired up! They would hustle to the opposite side, cheer, shake the bus before the Vol walk.

All those USC posters around the athletic center were very inspiring. The love affair with a coach who bolted in the middle of the night after one season is sickening. I’m pretty happy with Heupel so far, but just win.

 

[DERELICK_MY_VOLS]

I could careless what Alabama suck fest SEC Network or woke ass ESPN says about Heupel. If he gets this offense humming 35+ points a game and this team competing with pure fight for 60 full minutes…he can say whatever the Hell he wants.

 

[BoroVol93]

CJH has a much more genuine feel to him like butch tried but he naturally didn’t have it… heup has led teams to high success as a player and coach he understands it better a much better game manager and understanding of who he is than Butch… he has some sayings but I guarantee won’t be no Turn over trash can and champions of life… Butch just screamed used car salesman vibes… heup has a quiet confidence about him self and is much more proven prior to taking the head coaching job than Butch was… and heup wants more agile lineman but not really light linemen just look at the ones he signed only one could be considered “lighter” and he is 6”8… he may have some similarities to Butch but he is not nearly as “cringey”

 

[Vol865]

Yep. That was Butch. In fact, I'm noticing more and more "Butch-isms" under Huepel. The black stripes on the helmets, Huepel constantly referring to himself as the "caretaker" of the football program, a preference for lighter, faster O-linemen, and now this. I fully realize that Coach Huepel is NOT Butch Jones but I do find it interesting that they do some of the same things.

Thank God the scheme isn't the same.

 

[Jhilly05]

I'm hoping we return to the days when TN showed up and the opponent knew they were going to get hit in the mouth.

Those days were small pockets of heaven in my life!!

 

[BruisedOrange]

I was watching the SEC Network last night; I have admittedly been avoiding it but they were doing the camp updates. When they got to the good guys; first thing we see is that the boys had to go back to their practice stations and run to the end of practice meeting with Coach Heupel. I don't know if it was for dramatic effect or what but it was made to look like he sent them back not just once but twice. ...

Haven't seen it, but from your description, it sounds like someone with filmmaking sensibilities opened the segment with the perfect, encapsulating, visual metaphor for Tennessee this year:

1) We're starting over, yet again;​

2) The new coach IS the story,​

3) and he will have them playing fast.​

At this point, that's about all that anybody objectively knows about the Vols this year.

If anyone sees that again on SEC Network, note who they credit as the editor or producer of that segment, and please post their name here. They might be a name to watch for in the future, if they produce sports news segments with that kind of awareness.

 

[LordBolton]

I'm hoping we return to the days when TN showed up and the opponent knew they were going to get hit in the mouth.

Never, they would get a pre-game targeting penalty for that now.

 

[VB_Vol]

Never, they would get a pre-game targeting penalty for that now.

How right you are.

 

[tribe80]

I was watching the SEC Network last night; I have admittedly been avoiding it but they were doing the camp updates. When they got to the good guys; first thing we see is that the boys had to go back to their practice stations and run to the end of practice meeting with Coach Heupel. I don't know if it was for dramatic effect or what but it was made to look like he sent them back not just once but twice.

The way it was portrayed made me upset but after I put my pride aside; I looked at the other side of the coin. I think this speaks to the previous staff's lack of discipline and how Heupel and crew are setting a tone. One of the things that he said was that they were "going to do what we say we are going to do; we are going to go fast".

I love how he is holding the guys accountable with these little things; they all add up to a standard which is much needed. We all have opinions about Butch but one of the little things he did that I recall made me think much the same about him was the "no hands on the hips" rule that he had.

I am encouraged by what I see and hope that if nothing else; we have some pride and establish a standard of toughness and discipline.

It's the little things that matter..

 

[ZombVol]

Remember how Kiffin had them run to each side of the field during quarter change? Remember them jumping up and down? It’s on!!

I remember Kiffin making everyone on the team hold the football all day during school. And other players would come by during the day and try to Knock it out. Thought that was pretty cool.

 

[VolsnRavens]

It’s things like this that make you realize just how incompetent Pruitt and co. were. Worse than Dooley and that is saying something

Pretty bad when our last coach was so bad I almost forgot Derek Dooley was also our coach.

Dear Eight Pound, Six Ounce, Newborn Infant Jesus, don't even know a word yet, just a little infant, so cuddly, but still omnipotent, please let us start that climb to back to glory this year.

 

[MiramarVol]

He's instilling His Discipline, and they are expected to comply His Way. Takes a while to get bought to a new way. Especially when you haven't humbled yourself to the standard, it makes you question why. Take Basic Training in the Army for an example. The Drills get you into a mindset that whatever they say, you do. No questions asked. You mess up, you are corrected. Same with the way CJH had them doing on the ESPN clip.

 

[LAVol1]

Butch wasn't terrible coach overall. He was just a terrible person.

I respectfully disagree. There are some terrible people that are/were really good coaches: Saban, Freeze, Sarkesian, Kiffen, Briles, Petrino, Switzer, Bryant, Hayes, just to name a few. Butch could not run a program or coach. He recruited his butt off his first couple of years then destroyed team moral when they realized he didn't have a clue. After DeBord, Dobbs and Barnett left, the team just rolled over due to lack of leadership. I've never seen a more sorry effort by a Vol team than against UGA the last year of Butch's reign--total ineptitude in every facet of the game.

 

[loosecannon]

Yep. That was Butch. In fact, I'm noticing more and more "Butch-isms" under Huepel. The black stripes on the helmets, Huepel constantly referring to himself as the "caretaker" of the football program, a preference for lighter, faster O-linemen, and now this. I fully realize that Coach Huepel is NOT Butch Jones but I do find it interesting that they do some of the same things.

A lot of Butch's issues are that he was an ass and nobody wanted to work or play for him. His lighter linemen are still huge. He wants SEC linemen not the MAC linemen of Butch's day, but just not sloppy and in shape. We had a lot of guys under CJP that looked sloppy.

 

[Carp]

I respectfully disagree. There are some terrible people that are/were really good coaches: Saban, Freeze, Sarkesian, Kiffen, Briles, Petrino, Switzer, Bryant, Hayes, just to name a few. Butch could not run a program or coach. He recruited his butt off his first couple of years then destroyed team moral when they realized he didn't have a clue. After DeBord, Dobbs and Barnett left, the team just rolled over due to lack of leadership. I've never seen a more sorry effort by a Vol team than against UGA the last year of Butch's reign--total ineptitude in every facet of the game.

I wasn't implying Butch was a good coach either. There's quite a bit of a gap between "good" and "terrible.".

I'd say Butch was a mediocre coach overall.