CJH’s Blind loyalty/pure stubbornness is starting to concern me.

[AthensVol2007]

I feel you here bud. I hate every single overthrown wide open WR, dropped pass, scrambling QB on 3rd down and 14 running for a 1st down.....all that stuff still actually makes my stomach feel sick bud and I am a 46yo lifelong VOL with grown kids. Thats ball though....and we simply aren't THERE yet guys. We aren't realistically supposed to or expected to be yet, though either. We simply do not have even 4 consecutive whole recruiting classes....much less having 4 of them on campus that are gonna always be able to compete for 60 minutes against UGA and Bama teams which have a 4 year recruiting class average ranking of between 1 and 3 for Petes sake. Seriously. Check out this screenshot from Larry's post below for what these 2 programs have on campus now. It is insane. We dont even have a 4 year class talent level to compete with the stinking Gators. Their average class ranking is higher, AND they didn't have 35 kids including most of their highest rated skill players and linemen jump ship and leave during a coaching change in the last 4 years. They didnt have a full on "Cornbread Exodus" like we had nor the NCAA scandal and penalties.

Quite a few folks remarked last season that with Hooker putting up the best season by a UT passer in history and having Hyatt/Tillman as the best 2 WR combo in all college football SO very early in CJH tenure that we got a little spoiled by the meteoric rise of our beloved Vols team, and there would be some unrealistic expectations to probably result from us being so very dominant at times last season so fast .. I really do get where a lot of the negative comments come from right now man. I just see them as a temporary growing pain on the road to dominance again. Not as evidence that a so far great head coach is gonna fail or that we suck. Like many folks I believe we are about to win like the 90s again and make the playoffs as many seasons as we don't....with a chance then to bring Championships back to The Hill. Go VOLS.

Has Mizzou recruited better than us? It’s a Resounding no. Yet they ran us out of the stadium and took this UGA team to the wire on the road. I didn’t expect to win today and willingly drove 9 hrs round trip in a day for it; I expected not to lose by 30 at home in year 3.

 

[Tin Man]

Could it be lack of depth and injuries impacted coaching staff decisions about sticking with Joe Milton and scheming to account for this?

Alex Golesh is not easy to replace. Could it be that Hazle was the best option for 2023 at the time that decision had to be made?

Could it be that Martinez was the best available hire that could be made at the time?

Keep in mind that the candidates have to want to work at Tennessee and embrace CJH’s culture and vision…

Yes, I wanted better results from our 2023 Volunteers, but I am not eager to second guess and dismiss the efforts made nor the continuing progress building this program.

My memory isn’t short. Tennessee football is lightyears beyond the morass of Dooley/Jones/Pruitt. I’m hopeful for the future with UT’s AD and CJH.

 

[Volfan8282]

My observation…we have some really dumb @$$ fans.

Newsflash…we aren’t on Georgia’s level yet. And before you b!tch and moan that this is “Year 3” … it is doubtful that any team in the country is on their level right now.

We were outclassed today. No change at QB or different play calls was going to change it.

The only hope is that the recruiting slowly starts catching up. Which ain’t going to be easy because, another newsflash, Georgia’s recruiting is lights-out right now, too.

We’ve been owned in all 4 losses this year, including to a Florida team that won’t go to a bowl. Going 8-4 isn’t the problem for most fans. But, when you look completely outclassed in each loss and have scored a combined 9 points in the second halves of those 4 losses, it tends to get people a little peeved. It’s simply inexcusable.

 

[JMSqb11]

Exactly.

The vast, overwhelming majority of Vol fans are VERY thankful to have him as a coach because we are rational and sane. What he and his handpicked staff have done since CJH arrived on campus is nothing short of amazing. The question to those with their crazy panic from me is always "Who would do better than he has these couple years at UT?" Have never once gotten an answer thats plausible. Its just crying at the moon from the naysayers.

The future at UT and Neyland is so bright folks need their eyes checked if they can't see it. The 23 and 24 classes are loaded and we are off to a good start with recruits in the 25 cycle as well. We are in great shape to make runs at the 12 team playoff on a yearly basis in this new NIL atmosphere. Can't beat that. It's great to be a Tennessee VOL.

Correct. I’m a realist but I’m also not going to think Heupel is without criticism. I’m not sure if it’s his youth and immaturity (45 years old) as a big time program head coach, but there are some slightly concerning things happening.

I think these are more growing pains than anything if I had to put a thumb on it.

I do think off-season staff changes will give us a glimpse on his maturation. Banks has technically improved our defense each year here stat wise but it is apparent there are some actual coaching issues. I also do think there are some clear upgrades out there in Mason and Arnett alone.

Heupel is going to get 5 years minimum sole because of winning a likely 27 games in 3 seasons run in his second and third seasons.

This is a big deal in my mind because 5 years means 5 recruiting classes aka there isn’t one player tied to the Pruitt years and we should be close to being done with the recruiting scholarship sanctions.

My personal top priority for the offseason is the secondary overall - recruiting, portal, coaches. They all need to be overhauled.

 

[Vol524]

Certainly NO reason to not play Nico to finish out the UGA game. Get him some real experience to set up for next year. Joe is NOT leading a comeback.

Had he played last night he would not have been able to play against Vandy. If he did he would lose his Redshirt year. Nico needs more meat on his bones. If I was CJH I would start Nico against Vandy. He would still be able to Redshirt and play in the bowl game. JMHO

 

[EZE]

No sir

So what do you propose? Other than just whining and moaning about it?

 

[JMSqb11]

Also poor coaching hires and stubborn loyalty. And, Golesh and Cutcliffe were likely the real drivers of excellence for each.

While I think Milton got all the chances he deserved, I can’t help but think of what losing Hyatt, Bru, Tillman + Golesh did to compound the issues with Milton.

He didn’t need to be Hooker, he just need to be a game manager.

 

[marcusluvsvols]

While I think Milton got all the chances he deserved, I can’t help but think of what losing Hyatt, Bru, Tillman + Golesh did to compound the issues with Milton.

He didn’t need to be Hooker, he just need to be a game manager.

Also think losing Bru for the year was the last coffin nail for Joe. Our passing game right now is Squirrel White and nothing else. I made a comment last night that Pope might not be developing our WR like he should be because Webb, Nimrod nor Leacock which are all solid to high 4* WR are ready to contribute really at all right now....but honestly even the unstoppable Hyatt wasnt dependable or explosive until his 3rd season at UT and he has world class 5TDs humiliating Bama level speed and route running....WR are rarely able to make a real impact in the SEC until they are upperclassmen unless they are top50 players 5* guys like Matthews. Heres hoping Matthews can come in next season and grab a starting role immediately....but its very rare to do so even at his caliber of recruit playing against the UGAs and Bamas that are starting 5* corners that have been on campus several years and honed their respective skills.

Our entire passing offense right now is an amazing 160lb kid with world class speed, great hands, and no fear. Love Squirrel man, he is ridiculous honestly. Sure Joe misses open guys because he has a cannon with zero touch.
..
But he has very little to work with. Even Warren and Castles cannot contribute much, and TE is by FAR the sneakiest position in football. Played against them thru HS....they block, block ,block 8 times in a row and lull you to sleep on defense...then pretend to block for half a second and are WIDE open down a seam or in the flat. Yet those 2 get open and contribute almost never as well. We need probably 2 veteran Olinemen, a couple WR and a DB or 2 from the portal this offseason. Hope we can pull that off.....

 

[AthensVol2007]

Had he played last night he would not have been able to play against Vandy. If he did he would lose his Redshirt year. Nico needs more meat on his bones. If I was CJH I would start Nico against Vandy. He would still be able to Redshirt and play in the bowl game. JMHO

Who cares if he loses his RS year!? You think Nico is going to be on this team for 5 years?! If he is, then he wasn’t nearly as good as advertised and/or progresses slowly over his career. Now if Nico does get hurt in the future, you’re applying and hoping he receives a medical RS cause you used the normal one for no reason.

 

[volmanNC]

While I think Milton got all the chances he deserved, I can’t help but think of what losing Hyatt, Bru, Tillman + Golesh did to compound the issues with Milton.

He didn’t need to be Hooker, he just need to be a game manager.

Milton is NOT a good consistent college QB, period. End of story! Maybe some pro team will put him on the roster to throw hail-marry passes at end of each half if required.

 

[jeff1vol]

What do we have to gain by putting Nico in now? We are going to lose. If he's as good as advertised he won't need a lot of reps. Why risk a serious injury and then we're looking for a QB in the portal next year. Not to mention this is the best defense in the country.

Experience is what he has to gain. Valuable experience against the best talent he will see in his career at UT.

 

[TheGoodStuff]

It’s just baffling at this point. There’s ZERO benefit of not playing Nico. Wasting snaps. Middle finger to fans

Two Starting receivers out/injured
Who’s Nico gonna throw to? Thats even open?
Save his Redshirt.

The BENEFIT of not playing Nico is to protect him. There is no upside until he has better targets. We will win the rest of the games this year with Milton so no upside to playing Nico.

Edit: he’ll probably play Nico against Vandy and in the bowl for experience

 

[jeff1vol]

As of last week, our defense was RANKED 21ST nationally in yards and points against.


This with a starting QB with an IQ of room temperature who routinely goes 3andOut over and over and over.....causing the defense to be on the field for the entire game, every game.

The passing defense looks terrible the last 2 weeks without our BEST corner in Hadden and 1 of our 2 starting safeties. It was terrible all season last year. If you wanna call for Martinez to be fired....a GREAT statistical case with sound logic and evidence can be made for that. No doubt about that.

Banks has made lemonade out of grapefruits who are in some cases not even SEC caliber athletes since he has been here. Wish yall would look up facts before starting baseless threads slandering our coaches. Nobody else could have come into this dumpster fire of a roster in a couple seasons and done any better than him...this passing offense is absolutely pathetic though. Wanna talk about why only 160lb Squirrel can even catch a pass this season? Where the Hell are Webb, Nimrod who just dropped another TD...and Leacock,???

They cant get open against literally ANY defense we play. Wanna talk about the WR coach Pope??? Solid case there too for a coach to be on the hotseat at the very least.

Youre trashing Banks though. Lmao. Cheers bro.

We built that ranking by playing nobodies, cmon. People need to use there eyes. When we played the better teams and even some that suck (see UF), we got hammered. In other words, SCREW worthless stats.

 

[Majors]

I believe you're a bit delusional with the highlighted portion.

Our WR's are average at best. Our O-line is not good. Our defensive backs are even worse.

A "simple QB change" isn't fixing these issues.

Honest assessment. As much as I like the WR potential outside of Bru, we don’t have a starter for Bama or UGA. Same could be said for the OL…It’s Cooper and backups being starters.

 

[Vol524]

Who cares if he loses his RS year!? You think Nico is going to be on this team for 5 years?! If he is, then he wasn’t nearly as good as advertised and/or progresses slowly over his career. Now if Nico does get hurt in the future, you’re applying and hoping he receives a medical RS cause you used the normal one for no reason.

I have no idea what Nico plans on doing in the future. I haven't talked with him. But, I am sure CJH has talked to him and his family in depth about what the future plans are. If I read your post correctly. You admitted burning his Redshirt this year would be for no reason? I have no doubt if Nico lives up to just 1/2 the hype and what I have seen of his high school and 7 on 7 play he should he will be unreal at UT in the near future.

 

[Skye41]

You forgot to take your testosterone today.

He signed up to play football. Let’s see what he has!

 

[AthensVol2007]

I have no idea what Nico plans on doing in the future. I haven't talked with him. But, I am sure CJH has talked to him and his family in depth about what the future plans are. If I read your post correctly. You admitted burning his Redshirt this year would be for no reason? I have no doubt if Nico lives up to just 1/2 the hype and what I have seen of his high school and 7 on 7 play he should he will be unreal at UT in the near future.

No, keeping a RS on him is for no reason, on the slim hopes that he needs 4 more years. If he’s only here 4 years total, what does it matter if he’s a RS Jr when he leaves instead of a true Sr?

 

[THEONLYTENISEE]

Oops. I just read that today Heupel hinted that one reason Nico might not be playing is that Heupel doesn’t want to burn his redshirt. Nico has played in three games.

FWIW.

Which coaches on staff would you like to see upgraded?

 

[hUTch2002]

He has a blind spot with Joe.

He started him over Hooker. And won’t pull him even with him impersonating JG.

Except the fact that he didn’t put Milton back in over Hooker once Milton healed blows a huge hole in your blind spot theory, I agree with your theory.

 

[AthensVol2007]

I have no idea what Nico plans on doing in the future. I haven't talked with him. But, I am sure CJH has talked to him and his family in depth about what the future plans are. If I read your post correctly. You admitted burning his Redshirt this year would be for no reason? I have no doubt if Nico lives up to just 1/2 the hype and what I have seen of his high school and 7 on 7 play he should he will be unreal at UT in the near future.

No, keeping a RS on him in the slim chance that he needs more than 4 years, is what’s pointless. If he’s only here 4 years total, what does it matter if he’s a RS Jr when he leaves instead of a true Sr?

 

[livefaith]

I’ve praised this coach since year 1 and think he has overachieved given the situation he walked into. And By no means am I calling for his head or anything but I’m starting to get a bad feeling in the gut. There’s no reason to keep trotting out Joe and there’s no reason Banks should still be employed. There’s no reason Wille should be employed. I’m afraid Josh is just a blindly loyal person and can’t make the hard decisions that’s needed to win in this business. This year coulda been another great year with a simple QB change maybe, maybe not. But you never tested those waters to find out. I’m afraid next year we will light it up with Nico just for a Tim Banks defense to blow a couple games for us.

Before you freak on him. Consider this. CJH may be crazy like a fox.
He watches this QB room for hour after hour after hour in practice and probably has a grasp on the pecking order. Especially being a top CFB player himself. My thought is that CJH knows what he has. More importantly he knows that no scenario was getting him to the playoffs this season. So, what if he plays Nico and good fortune lands and he goes 6-9 and hits on a TD or 2. Then he creates for himself a massive QB controversy because the fanbase has now seen the backup look like a Heisman winner to their untrained eyes. Then you create a massive negative situation and ultimately don't get any extra wins out of the season. Lose lose.
Look, we have glaring weaknesses at OL, WR, LB, DB. Trotting out a skinny freshmen is probably not going to help AND could devastate development.
We are NOT at the talent level with Bama and UGA right now. 8-4/9-3 was the sane observers predictions for the year. With all the injuries, we're where I would expect. Just need to take down Vandy and finish this year in sunshine.

 

[Stoerner Fumbles]

Milton could of ran it but throw it away

Me do sorry again, Peepaw.

 

[rickyyrs]

I am wandering if JH is just recruiting certain players. If you want a great O-line and D-line in the SEC you have to recruit kids with an attitude. With the transfer portal and NIL deals Tennessee should be able to get a elite O-line and D-line. Some of the smaller colleges have better WRs and DBs than Tennessee does. That should not happen.

 

[Orangeslice13]

I really need to start saving these posts.

 

[Illinoisvolfan2]

What are the odds Joe starts against Vandy?? 100-1??