Clemson proves Tennessee football isn't dead

#101
#101
cgrish said:
To me it did. Clemson last 5 year recruiting class ranking 11th in nation. Ut right behind them at 12th. If Clemson can beat bama the number 1 in recruiting rankings so can Ut with the right coach. Bama had better player rankings but Clemson beat them easily.
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Lol
 
#102
#102
Rudy123 said:
So, Clemson out recruits us, right? How many of the players on their roster are players that we really recruited? Not players that we looked at and had a little interest in, but really recruited?
How many players on our team were recruited by Clemson and chose us???
Head to head recruiting for players. Yes, the two receivers from the Knoxville & Oak Ridge area come to mind but does that happen often?
What about the tall receiver from Clemson who chose Clemson over Bama and he was from Phenix City Alabama? Did Clemson out recruit Bama on that instance?
So, Clemson is out recruiting other schools and not just ours???
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A lot of angst here about not landing Lawrence, Higgins, and Rodgers. The impression that I get is the only one we truly had a shot at and probably should have landed is Higgins. Higgins went to high school in Knoxville and was actually verbally committed at one point. He's one we definitely let slip away.

There's a difference between visiting Tennessee as a 8th grader and taking unofficial visits as a sophomore/junior in high school and actually thinking about where you are going to sign as a highly-touted high school senior. I think that Lawrence liked Tennessee, had soft spot for/was sentimental about Tennessee, but I don't think he ever actually seriously considered signing here. We just have to get better as a program to sign recruits like him.
 
#103
#103
05_never_again said:
A lot of angst here about not landing Lawrence, Higgins, and Rodgers. The impression that I get is the only one we truly had a shot at and probably should have landed is Higgins. Higgins went to high school in Knoxville and was actually verbally committed at one point. He's one we definitely let slip away.

There's a difference between visiting Tennessee as a 8th grader and taking unofficial visits as a sophomore/junior in high school and actually thinking about where you are going to sign as a highly-touted high school senior. I think that Lawrence liked Tennessee, had soft spot for/was sentimental about Tennessee, but I don't think he ever actually seriously considered signing here. We just have to get better as a program to sign recruits like him.
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If UT didn't have a clown as HC, then it's reasonable to assume we would have got them all.

The program is in better long term shape than people realize. Yes, things are bleak now but my god our program has resources to turn things around rapidly. For all the talk about recruiting territory and the fierce competition. Considering our on field performance, UT wins and has won way more of these battles than they should. What will happen when things on the field start to turn around?

The other thing about recruiting territory is that the population in our footprint has exploded so there is more talent than ever before closer to Knoxville.

I have no doubt that UT will be a top 5 program and win a national title. It's just a matter of time.
 
#104
#104
Hyperion said:
If UT didn't have a clown as HC, then it's reasonable to assume we would have got them all.

The program is in better long term shape than people realize. Yes, things are bleak now but my god our program has resources to turn things around rapidly. For all the talk about recruiting territory and the fierce competition. Considering our on field performance, UT wins and has won way more of these battles than they should. What will happen when things on the field start to turn around?

The other thing about recruiting territory is that the population in our footprint has exploded so there is more talent than ever before closer to Knoxville.

I have no doubt that UT will be a top 5 program and win a national title. It's just a matter of time.
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I agree that our recruiting over the last few years has punched above its weight relative to how we have been playing. The 2019 class certainly is punching above its weight.

Even though recruiting territory is better than it used to be because of Nashville and middle Tennessee, it still isn't as fertile as Metro Atlanta and South Florida. Schools located in closer proximity to those areas are always going to have an advantage over Tennessee. The thing that we need is for Pruitt to get some traction on the field then start landing top 5-10 classes consistently.

It sounds crazy to say now, but Butch was very close to doing that. The 2015 and 2016 seasons should have been 10-2 (perhaps even 11-2) with SEC East titles. Butch also pulled 2 good recruiting classes those years too. Butch could/should have been able to fill the SEC East vacuum. He whiffed, so Georgia filled it instead. I think that leaves us looking to 2020 for the next time we could go to a good bowl game, and probably 5 years before we can talk about winning the division.
 
#105
#105
JohnD13 said:
Lol
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What's so funny? Seriously. I don't know yet if Pruitt is that coach, but all it would take is it being him and we're already on the way there.

So, "believe it when I see it" understandable, "Lol" not so much.
 
#106
#106
05_never_again said:
I agree that our recruiting over the last few years has punched above its weight relative to how we have been playing. The 2019 class certainly is punching above its weight.

Even though recruiting territory is better than it used to be because of Nashville and middle Tennessee, it still isn't as fertile as Metro Atlanta and South Florida. Schools located in closer proximity to those areas are always going to have an advantage over Tennessee. The thing that we need is for Pruitt to get some traction on the field then start landing top 5-10 classes consistently.

It sounds crazy to say now, but Butch was very close to doing that. The 2015 and 2016 seasons should have been 10-2 (perhaps even 11-2) with SEC East titles. Butch also pulled 2 good recruiting classes those years too. Butch could/should have been able to fill the SEC East vacuum. He whiffed, so Georgia filled it instead. I think that leaves us looking to 2020 for the next time we could go to a good bowl game, and probably 5 years before we can talk about winning the division.
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I'm not referring to just Nashville/MidTn but our entire recruiting territory. Greater Atlanta, has so much talent that if Georgia pulls half of the elite players, they did great. A lot of that talent will leave the state. The competition is fierce but UT is better positioned than about anyone else except maybe Auburn. There is talent in North Carolina and once again UT is better positioned to get this talent than anyone else in the SEC. Same for Virginia. UT has strong national appeal even with having been down.

The idea that UT suffers in recruiting base/potential is just laughable. Maybe ten schools at most in CFB have a better natural footprint than we do.
 
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#107
#107
Hyperion said:
I'm not referring to just Nashville/MidTn but our entire recruiting territory. Greater Atlanta, has so much talent that if Georgia pulls half of the elite players, they did great. A lot of that talent will leave the state. The competition is fierce but UT is better positioned than about anyone else except maybe Auburn. There is talent in North Carolina and once again UT is better positioned to get this talent than anyone else in the SEC. Same for Virginia. UT has strong national appeal even with having been down.

The idea that UT suffers in recruiting base/potential is just laughable. Maybe ten schools at most in CFB have a better natural footprint than we do.
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Some of that Atlanta talent leaves the state, because you're right, there is so much of it, but a lot of it also ends up going to Clemson, Florida, Auburn, Alabama, etc. We are positioned well in NC, but so is Clemson. Virginia, yes, but you're starting to get out of Tennessee's footprint at that point and given we've been totally irrelevant for over a decade I wonder the standing of our "brand" there. Historically Fulmer got players from there but that was a while ago.
 
#108
#108
I think the big story with Clemson's rise is patience and staying committed to the staff . When you look at Dabo's tenure , you can see the progress , the stumbles , and the 'hump' and now they are over the hump .

I think our fan base should measure incremental progress with our record and recruiting and not freak out at every stumble . There is a lot of progress to be made between where we are and 15-0 . It may come suddenly , probably incrementally . If there is no progress , that is when the freak out should occur
 
#111
#111
Clemson had a history of winning. Not as big as Tennessee's but not many do have a history like the Vols, but still there's some aw shucks false humility going on there. Clemson had a very good run in the 80's winning a NC and in the early 90's when they usually won the ACC before FSU joined. More importantly, for present purposes they dominate their state in recruiting, which was enabled by UT's fall. We used to pilfer the Carolinas of talent. You can also throw a rock from Clemson's campus into the State of Georgia which has always been full of talent but that fertility is only growing with current demographics. Combine that with the general crapfest that is their conference, and Dabo's modesty is annoying. Clemson is well set up to succeed now and have been for decades.
 
#114
#114
VFL 24/7 said:
Also, this optimism is coming from someone that was 2 years old when Tennessee won in 1998. I have never seen what most of you have witnessed Tennessee be capable of. I just understand that College Football works in cycles.
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That's what Minnesota and Suwanee keep saying.
 
#115
#115
VFL 24/7 said:
No my logic is that if a program like Clemson can rise to this level, there is 0 reason our program with all of the resources can't as well in the future.
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Amen. Same with Nebraska, UCLA, Arkansas, Miami, VT and and and and ...

This does go to show that facilities, population, and funds are not the ONLY factor in success tho. This has been done by the right person / people. I know I chuckled a little when CU took the interim tag off a rookie assistant after firing a big name. Fulmer was rumored there and I thought they prob blew at least a chance at a decent coach. About 5-6 years in I was chomping some serious crow.
 
#116
#116
VFL 24/7 said:
The reason those players aren't Vols is because of Butch Jones.
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Well, I guess he'll have to do for now ...
at-the-cross-2-scapegoat.jpg
 
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#118
#118
ru4real-really? said:
I hear you. Few do! It's time for it to stop!
Time to move his office out of the football facility into administration building and get his fat ass off the stage.
Enough is enough for gods sake!
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You two need to get a room..........neither of these men are going anywhere........so, it would a lot more convenient for you two to just move your support to another school.
 
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#119
#119
UTK said:
Another major problem is...as long as Clemson is elite that will make it hard for UT. Clemson burned Bama with players that should of easily been Vols. But we did win our latest big time recruiting battle vs Clemson so letā€™s Pruitt can keep doing that.
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In the world as it should be, those young men were wearing the right color of orange and UT is a national champion again.

The time line weā€™re in now sucks. But at least Bama lost,
 
#121
#121
Tennesssee can't even hire an offensive coordinator, muchless compete with the best, we're a long way away
 
#123
#123
Hyperion said:
I'm not referring to just Nashville/MidTn but our entire recruiting territory. Greater Atlanta, has so much talent that if Georgia pulls half of the elite players, they did great. A lot of that talent will leave the state. The competition is fierce but UT is better positioned than about anyone else except maybe Auburn. There is talent in North Carolina and once again UT is better positioned to get this talent than anyone else in the SEC. Same for Virginia. UT has strong national appeal even with having been down.

The idea that UT suffers in recruiting base/potential is just laughable. Maybe ten schools at most in CFB have a better natural footprint than we do.
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You are one of the few that understands and has mentioned that second to the state of Georgia, North Carolina is a must have recruiting state for us to win. Just based on size of population we need to make sure we hit that state hard as well.
 
#124
#124
VFL 24/7 said:
Also, this optimism is coming from someone that was 2 years old when Tennessee won in 1998. I have never seen what most of you have witnessed Tennessee be capable of. I just understand that College Football works in cycles.
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I sure wish the cycle would hurry up...
 
#125
#125
Everyone associated with UT Athletics wants every team to be championship material! To insinuate anything less is idiotic. Dabo is a smart, sincere coach who has built an outstanding program and has the respect of his team and the fan base. That didnā€™t happen overnight and we can get a similar outcome with Pruitt if given time.

GO VOLS!!!
 
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