Character vs. Talent

Which is the most important trait for a player to possess: character or talent?

  • Total voters
    0
  • Poll closed .
#79
#79
IMHO, Dooley is looking for guys who have good character and grades, fit his system, and have very good talent regardless of whether the recruiting svcs like them or not.

His fortunes rise and fall on that philosophy working.
 
#80
#80
I think all of this really depends on what is meant by "character'

Does 'Character' mean academics first , good citizen ship , and being an 18 year old that makes all the right decisions all the time ? If so we are set to become the next Airforce ...but since we play in the SEC our success is likely to resemble Vandy.

Does 'character' mean finding the best character guys out of a the upper tier athletes that UT has a shot at recruiting ? Weeding out the bad apples and finding those that have a chance of being worked with .

The trend that I have noticed ...the teams that recruit the best win or compete for championships ( UF , Bama, Texas , USC ...)

You can believe in the 'star' system or you can just look at the other schools that are offering a kid . Too many guys that are being recruited by Northwestern , Virginia , Miss st ...well you will become mentioned with those teams. Get kids that have standing offers from the aforementioned championship teams ...well you may be mentioned with them.
 
#82
#82
It's not a black and white argument. TN's commitments do have talent, but they also have character. You guys make it sound like we're recruiting paraplegics that volunteer for Loaves and Fishes. We will get some Da'rick Rogers and Justin Hunter's in this class too. Chill.
 
#83
#83
You need to merge your replies together and you can end this thread. Dooley is looking for talent that can compete and excel in the SEC, not just as a football player but as student athletes. The latest addition to the recruiting class is a perfect example, Tom Smith. You might remember his uncle Sammy Smith, FSU and Dolphins before jail. Kid plays and excels at the highest level of football in Florida 6-A and he IS a blue chipper with SEC caliber skills, and has a 3.65 GPA. He IS SEC material and a perfect fit for Dooley and Chaneys system. I trust Dooley's judgement when it comes to football talent and this signing proves he is more knowledgable than people give him credit for. By the way next week Tom Smith will be offered by FSU, not too shabby.
 
#84
#84
g8terh8ter_eric said:
Taking guys who aren't going to leave and who will buy into what Dooley is selling is KEY at this point. We can't afford to have more players leaving, so we have to find guys who are going to stay and aren't too risky on character.
Click to expand...

How did that work for Bill Battle?
 
#87
#87
Getting players who will buy into the system is key when rebuilding, which is exactly what we are doing. It makes things much more difficult for a new coach having to deal with all the "me" type guys, a group of kids who trust a coach and he knows he can trust make the transition much easier.

Will this translate the way he hopes it will over the next couple of years? We will see, only time will tell.
 
#88
#88
There is no doubt that on any given afternoon a team of 2 and 3 star players of high character with the proper motivation and a good, intelligent gameplan can defeat a team of 4 and 5 star players. Thats been proven time and again (Utah over Bama, Wake Forest's few 9-3 type years, Navy's recent success just to name a few) However in a 12 game season, especially in the SEC, you'll never have enough wins tallied at the end to compete for a NC with that type of team.

That being said, I don't think thats what he's trying to build. He wants a good mix of both. And the assumption that all 4 and 5 star guys are self centered thugs any more than 3 star guys are is a complete fallacy. For every Nukeese (thug) or Kelly Washington (Me First) type there is a Tebow (high morals), Al Wilson (team first) or Eric Berry (whole package) type out there amongst the 5 stars. The key is to get the high character AND high talent guys. There are plenty out there, we just haven't done a good job of landing those guys in the last 7 or 8 years or so. Thats what DD is trying to do. Only time will tell...
 
Last edited:
#89
#89
jspvol76 said:
I posed this question in the Hopkins thread, but he had to shut it down for the night, so I figured I would ask the Nation.

Can a team of character guys win a national championship?
Click to expand...



The USMC and USAF manage to pull off this stunt. I mean the team that kicks butt on the battle fields and in the skies when politicians get the heck out of the way and let them do their jobs. they're champs. So if they can so can the UT.

There have been teams supposedly low on talent but long on character who have pulled it off. Recall the team with those deaf boys at that DC college I posted a link to a while back.
 
#90
#90
You are a 5 star (or highly rated 4 star) recruit and your best friend is NOT coming to UT (I mean I'll take them however I can get them :) ) ........

You just watched a coach leave a program and that same program has not been where it is capable of for about 5 years now ........ You have seen them have a losing record 2 times in the last five years and a 7-6 record last year ..... No matter who the coach is or isn't, you have seen that logo plastered on the news for attempted armed robbery and "Hostessgate" ..... And most importantly, if you read that schools message boards and listen to their fans talk about their new coach so just imagine if you have a bad game

Tell me why your are considering that program 8 months before NLI Day under a first year coach that you have not seen what product he is capable of putting on the field????

IT TAKES TIME PEOPLE!!!!!

If you can't wait you are just going to be more disappointed these first couple of years. Take a look at the class Saban "saved" in his first year on the job in '07 and ask him how good UL-Monroe was that year and losing the Iron Bowl!!!!

P.S. Don't know if it is known but I just read it for the first time but they are unveiling a statue of Saban at the entrance of the stadium during week prior to the 2010 season opener. I mean I know winning the national championship in your third year is impressive but is it a little soon maybe??? And it is going to be the fifth statue of a coach!!!!

He is setting a foundation for the class. Look at every recruiting class for every school!!!!! There are these not highly rated players in the class every time!!!!!!!!! We just happen to be picking them up first and everyone seems to be deucing a brick because of it
 
Last edited:
#91
#91
WoodsmanVol said:
The USMC and USAF manage to pull off this stunt. I mean the team that kicks butt on the battle fields and in the skies when politicians get the heck out of the way and let them do their jobs. they're champs. So if they can so can the UT.

There have been teams supposedly low on talent but long on character who have pulled it off. Recall the team with those deaf boys at that DC college I posted a link to a while back.
Click to expand...
Yeah, look at all the football national titles Army, Navy, and Air Force have racked up the last 50 years.
 
#97
#97
Knox9552 said:
Why are the two seperate...? Have there never been talented sports figures who happen to be genuinely good role models?
Click to expand...

+1000. I don't understand this notion that all of these high character guys can't play football. What good is a 5 star guy that gets kicked off the team because he can't stay out of trouble. Guy on Tony B yesterday said the difference in 3 star and 5 star is fraction of seconds in 40's and a couple of inches in height or a few extra pounds. Another coach was quoted as saying that if Nick Reveiz was 2 inches taller he would have 40 scholarship offers. Instead he was rated where he was. I think the kid has turned out to be a good football player. Lets all just relax on these questions and let dooley do his thing.
 
#98
#98
hatvol96 said:
That'll come in real handy during those halftime Scholar's Bowl competitions.
Click to expand...

Last I checked, there wasn't a 100k seat stadium built around the library.

I understand the desire to recruit athletes who excel in both the classroom and on the field, but its foolish to think (or suggest that others should agree with such naive nonsense) that Dooley will (or should) be judged by the graduation rate and GPA of those student-athletes whom he signs.

He's being paid and is expected to win football games. Period.

If he wins with less-than-scholarly players, no one will be too concerned, if at all. Conversely, if he fails to win with a roster full of Eagle Scouts and Rhodes Scholars, he's going to get rung up, and ran out.

Believing otherwise smarts of someone attempting to preemptively rationalize and justify their own (secret) fears that he will be unable to consistently land that high-caliber talent which we so desperately need.

Its like me saying that my "decision" to forego an opportunity to become intimately familiar with Jenna Jamison resulted from my dissatisfaction with her below-average SAT scores.
Posted via VolNation Mobile
 
Last edited:
#99
#99
BigPapaVol said:
I gathered, I just don't like that we can be used interchangeably with Vandy.
Click to expand...
Vanderbilt is the one who should be embarrassed by that, not West Point. The fact a team playing in the SEC is not appreciably better than an institution primarily focused on producing future military officers should be troubling to the folks at Peabody.
 
New Posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

Advertisement



Back
Top