I didn't imply it had anything to do with the staff. I simply said it's not as normal to lose FR to attrition as so many say it is. Folks say this happens everywhere and Bama and Saban is often the example used. A majority of the players that Saban "cuts loose" are upperclassmen that have never seen the field and he realizes after 3 years aren't going to see the field. They're deadweight. True FR aren't deadweight, yet.
Oh, I agree. But I also think UT is in an abnormal position, so one should not expect utter normality. A few abnormalities we are seeing.
(a) Not all schools are in the rebuilding phases we are in.
(b) When rebuilding, not all schools hit the ground running with so many highly rated recruits, and can build such intense competition within the first couple of classes.
(c) It's abnormal to take such large recruiting classes.
Personally, I think we found ourselves in the position of having a large class, with a lot of talent, all of which was hoping for early playing time. Naturally, everyone can't be a starter, and if you have a lot of guys that are used to being the star, a certain percentage will not know how to deal with being beat out.
Then, you add in an all-star recruiting class coming in this year, and guys seeing even more competition... You have 5-6 guys who decide to look elsewhere for easier playing time.
Like I said, I'd rather have this problem than the Kiffin or Dooly-era problems. Kiffin had attrition to jail time. Dooley had mediocre talent that never got any better because there was no one to compete for playing time.
You guys can wring your hands all you want. UT is in better shape now than we were two years ago. We'll be in better shape next year than now. Go ahead and find things to obsess about. You just look kind of ridiculous doing it.