Butch's 2017 Class Looking Even Worse Now

[tnutater]

Wait a minute, I thought Tennessee had the same level of talent as Florida.

Only delusional orange goggled star-gazing fanatics think that.
Very few, if any of our players would start for the Gators.
The Gators have 1 loss and are still in the hunt for the playoffs.
The Vols have 2 wins and are praying for a third against the Vandy girls team.
You are what your record says you are.
Not all Vol fans are insane Mr. Gator.

 

[EZE]

He's gonna tell you they're doing just great.

It’s funny how he’s focused on Butch...because Butch hasn’t been the coach for THREE years. It’s Pruitt’s own damn fault if he hasn’t upgraded the roster with his own recruits.

And nowhere is more telling than the most important position on the field.

I don’t care what Butch’s Ghost says otherwise.

 

[EZE]

Wait a minute, I thought Tennessee had the same level of talent as Florida.

It isn’t that far off. I think you would agree with that.

 

[BeardedVol]

It’s funny how he’s focused on Butch...because Butch hasn’t been the coach for THREE years. It’s Pruitt’s own damn fault if he hasn’t upgraded the roster with his own recruits.

And nowhere is more telling than the most important position on the field.

I don’t care what Butch’s Ghost says otherwise.

Why would you want to talk about the 67 recruits that Pruitt brought into the program from 2018-2020, when you can go back and dissect Butch's last class in 2017?

 

[EZE]

Why would you want to talk about the 67 recruits that Pruitt brought into the program from 2018-2020, when you can go back and dissect Butch's last class in 2017?

Bwahahaha!!

 

[EZE]

Jeremy Pruitt is the worst HFC over the past twelve years folks. I don’t care how you dissect it, he is in way over his head and doesn’t have a clue as to how to run any college football program...much less an SEC football program.

He couldn’t succeed as a HFC in NAIA (if that is still such a thing).

 

[tastycar]

Jeremy Pruitt is the worst HFC over the past twelve years folks. I don’t care how you dissect it, he is in way over his head and doesn’t have a clue as to how to run any college football program...much less an SEC football program.

He couldn’t succeed as a HFC in NAIA (if that is still such a thing).

You aren't a real fan.
You have no football acumen.
You are a troll.
You're a miserable person.

I'm trying to remember the coach apologist list of insults but these are the only ones I can recall at the moment.

 

[EZE]

You aren't a real fan.
You have no football acumen.
You are a troll.
You're a miserable person.

I'm trying to remember the coach apologist list of insults but these are the only ones I can recall at the moment.

Badges of honor, my friend.

We are the realists. Pruitt sucks!

 

[greenbacknative]

Bout 40% of the senior class is in that lower group. That's telling.

 

[EZE]

Bout 40% of the senior class is in that lower group. That's telling.

Only if you ignore Pruitt’s classes.

 

[landscapingvol]

When are we going to stop blaming Butch?

He can't help himself. Trey Smith is the best offensive lineman on the team and Deandre Johnson is the only member of the front seven that delivers constant pressure on the qb. Josh Palmer isn't the greatest wide receiver on Earth but he is consistent and Shamburger performed very well in the nickel. Brent Cimaglia has been a very solid place kicker. By my calculations that is 10-12 solid contributors/starters. How many of Pruitt's recruits have lived up to their potential or exceeded it thus far? Thompson? Gray? I understand you want to deflect any blame away from Pruitt for some strange reason but Jones produced twice the talent CJP has thus far. Outside of Thompson, which of Pruitt's players have a great chance at being drafted? Henry T. is great against the run but can't cover anyone coming out of the backfield which will be a major deterrent in the NFL. Wright and Morris have the potential but have been inconsistent at best up until this point. Let's look at Pruitt's 2018 class shall we:
Thompson, Taylor, Brooks, Johnson, Carvin, Anderson, Garland, and Flowers are the only solid contributors but let us not forget the hidden gems of the class who are no longer on the team or are massive busts: Peterson, Gooden, Shrout, Antonutti, Lawless, George (possibly the worst db I have ever seen play), Davis, Lane, and Warren. Then, there is another group of major disappointments who have not lived up to their potential: Banks, Allen, Emerson (injuries). You can criticize Jones about his mediocre performances as a coach but he recruited some of the best talent to come out of Tennessee in a long time: Malone, Dobbs, Kamara (underutilized no doubt), Jennings, Barnett, Sutton, Maybin, Gaulden, and Taylor.

 

[TJVol95]

The kicker is not in the same anything as Smith. Knock him down a notch!

 

[Tnman1]

I remember being really excited when several of those guys signed under Butch. I really thought it was happening. Then reality set in. Man I'm an idiot. But then we got Pruitt and everything is okay now so I feel less dumb.

 

[VOLnVANDYland]

The kicker is not in the same anything as Smith. Knock him down a notch!

Thank you! He’s been awful this year.

 

[89 VOLS grad]

Wait a minute, I thought Tennessee had the same level of talent as Florida.

We are close for the classes of 18-20. Just because Pruitt is a moron who continues to trot out JG, keep Friend, and keep Weinke doesn't mean UT isn't very close in talent for classes of 2018-2020. With a great OL coach, great QB coach and developer (like Mullen), and a SEC CALIBER QB, UT competes with FL this season and has a good chance to win at home. Why don't you go spend your time in a UF forum and get out of here. No one cares what you think!!! You are probably a Vol fan that is a secret administrator to get clicks on Volnation anyway!!!

 

[goldvol]

Tim Jordan needs to be moved from "transferred" to "dismissed". Not sure why you have him as a transfer

 

[DaUndergroundMan]

Tim Jordan needs to be moved from "transferred" to "dismissed". Not sure why you have him as a transfer

There were several curiosities in the OP.

Shamberger? He's been a player. I thought DG had better knowledge of our team. The McBride thing was odd jab as well. Perhaps a strange psychosis is induced by carrying water for JG for 4.5 years.

Eventually you look down at the dusty, dry pail, and say, "Well, this isn't working, what now?"

 

[Johnny Majors' Ghost]

Yeah, but his 2016 class didn't pan out too well either. Most of the top rated guys did reasonably well (Callaway, Warrior, Kongbo, Bituli, Osborne), but it's mostly busts and career backups after that. Which is particularly disappointing because it was a small class of 22, so should've been higher quality.

Weirdly, Butch's 2018 class looked better, but I think part of that is the underrated influence of Mike Canales. Canales was Butch's only good offensive staff hire that year. He's the guy that went after Penix and he was totally right on him.

The other thing that's obvious to me now is that Mike Bajakian was the real reason for Butch's offensive success. He's doing great this year at Northwestern.

Butch would've been better off letting Canales coordinate the offense that season. At least he had history doing it. Promoting a career long position coach put one of the final nails in Jones' coffin.

 

[VolsSince78]

He can't help himself. Trey Smith is the best offensive lineman on the team and Deandre Johnson is the only member of the front seven that delivers constant pressure on the qb. Josh Palmer isn't the greatest wide receiver on Earth but he is consistent and Shamburger performed very well in the nickel. Brent Cimaglia has been a very solid place kicker. By my calculations that is 10-12 solid contributors/starters. How many of Pruitt's recruits have lived up to their potential or exceeded it thus far? Thompson? Gray? I understand you want to deflect any blame away from Pruitt for some strange reason but Jones produced twice the talent CJP has thus far. Outside of Thompson, which of Pruitt's players have a great chance at being drafted? Henry T. is great against the run but can't cover anyone coming out of the backfield which will be a major deterrent in the NFL. Wright and Morris have the potential but have been inconsistent at best up until this point. Let's look at Pruitt's 2018 class shall we:
Thompson, Taylor, Brooks, Johnson, Carvin, Anderson, Garland, and Flowers are the only solid contributors but let us not forget the hidden gems of the class who are no longer on the team or are massive busts: Peterson, Gooden, Shrout, Antonutti, Lawless, George (possibly the worst db I have ever seen play), Davis, Lane, and Warren. Then, there is another group of major disappointments who have not lived up to their potential: Banks, Allen, Emerson (injuries). You can criticize Jones about his mediocre performances as a coach but he recruited some of the best talent to come out of Tennessee in a long time: Malone, Dobbs, Kamara (underutilized no doubt), Jennings, Barnett, Sutton, Maybin, Gaulden, and Taylor.

About that 2018 class.. the players you listed as solid players were recruited by Pruitt (except Brooks) to UT in a month. And nearly half the guys you listed as busts committed to Butch before he was canned. Pruitt honored their commitments.

So, I think Pruitt did OK in salvaging a class in 2018 with limited time. To be fair, he could have had more recruiting time if he didn’t stay at Bama for their ‘17-‘18 playoff games...

 

[hUTch2002]

This is the class he signed once the jury came back on his coaching ability. He got 5 new assistants, a new Strength coach, and promoted the TE coach to OC.

Then you got the combination Butch/Pruitt class where we let Penix and Martinez walk so we could bring in Shrout and Chryst.

Pruitt is living in the past thinking his old school style of a great D with a strong running game and game manager drop back QB will win but in today’s world that’s not going to work. He passed on 2 mobile QBs to bring in 1 questionable drop back QB and 1 game manager/mediocre drop back QB (Chryst). That formula did work at Bama for a while when they had way better talent than everyone else and their QBs were at least solid and could win a game if needed. But then even Saban realized the time of D wins championships was over. Pruitt needs to wake up or he will be left behind.

 

[jwilliams]

It’s funny how he’s focused on Butch...because Butch hasn’t been the coach for THREE years. It’s Pruitt’s own damn fault if he hasn’t upgraded the roster with his own recruits.

And nowhere is more telling than the most important position on the field.

I don’t care what Butch’s Ghost says otherwise.

Pruitt is the first coach to have the 25 counter limit.

Pruitt is the only coach to not be given an off-season just before his 3rd year.

This means Pruitt's first full class are sophomores, and have had 1 off-season. His latest class are freshmen and have had 0 off-seasons.

It's all good if you're hating on Pruitt, but you don't seem to be considering all the facts.

 

[jwilliams]

Pruitt is living in the past thinking his old school style of a great D with a strong running game and game manager drop back QB will win but in today’s world that’s not going to work. He passed on 2 mobile QBs to bring in 1 questionable drop back QB and 1 game manager/mediocre drop back QB (Chryst). That formula did work at Bama for a while when they had way better talent than everyone else and their QBs were at least solid and could win a game if needed. But then even Saban realized the time of D wins championships was over. Pruitt needs to wake up or he will be left behind.

This is incorrect, unless you think Pruitt is just lying in his PC's. He's said many many times he wants an explosive offense, and that you have to score points in modern college football. He went to a run-heavy offense after JG turned the ball over umpteen million times against UGA/Kentucky. Why JG is still in the game is beyond me, but I firmly believe that's the reason for our vanilla offense lately.

Also, I know mobile QB's are the sexy thing lately, but pocket passers are not antiquated. There are plenty of great passers putting up big numbers in the NFL and college.

 

[hUTch2002]

This is incorrect, unless you think Pruitt is just lying in his PC's. He's said many many times he wants an explosive offense, and that you have to score points in modern college football. He went to a run-heavy offense after JG turned the ball over umpteen million times against UGA/Kentucky. Why JG is still in the game is beyond me, but I firmly believe that's the reason for our vanilla offense lately.

Also, I know mobile QB's are the sexy thing lately, but pocket passers are not antiquated. There are plenty of great passers putting up big numbers in the NFL and college.

I don’t disagree about pocket passers but the ones that really shine are few and far between. Penix actually looks like the best of both worlds. How they couldn’t see that is beyond me. Pruitt says one thing but his decisions say another.

 

['Boro-vol]

When are we going to stop blaming Butch?

I stopped when Toehead took the job. Butch's failures were his, the current ones belong to the current guy.

 

[VaBornVol]

The 2018 class must be most of the players on the field because the 17 class had very few contributors, and per the apologists, Pruitt doesn’t have his recruits in place yet.