Dee Beckwith status?

[Birdie]

‘I don’t think I would trade rosters with UK yet. If we don’t recruit better next year, I may be with you.

1 game, happens. They've gotten big, veteran guys everywhere. We wish we had that kind of depth.

 

[rusty11]

Everyone wonders how Kentucky can have a better program than us now. Stoops is in his 9th year and they have built their team on the LOS. They can develop guys under the same staff for 2-3 years before playing.

Well, UTC had them..lol...Not sure how good they are this year.

 

[rusty11]

Because we haven’t had a QB. The impact of that position is immeasurable

Yes, Remember Joe Burrow? LSU had all the pieces, but the man who takes the snaps has to execute. Too many high school classifications to tell who is good enough to play well in college. Back in the days of 3 classifications, you knew that the AAA playoff teams were the only place to look for top talent.

 

[lifeisdeep]

It

The real Q is. How does TN recruit top 15-20 annually yet never have any talent at all? Interesting how Arkansas and Ole Miss, who have not recruited to the same level as TN seem to be more talented. Interesting how that always happens with TN.

It’s called worthless boosters who keep hiring bargain bin coaches.

 

[livefaith]

In a 50 point win you would think he would have. This staff may be the worst from the past decade and a half.

May be the best in program history too. Just not enough data to actually make a rational evaluation right now.

 

[rboat31]

Post game tweet

Don't blame him at all

 

[rocytop2624]

You must not have been paying attention to Pruitt’s staff then. That was a bad staff.

Yea what a bad take he had.

 

[wmcovol]

Well, UTC had them..lol...Not sure how good they are this year.

Kentucky did something last week no team in the SEC history has ever done.... they got really fired up to play Missouri. Missouri killed their ass last year & Ky wanted to return the favor. Ky was flat as hell vs Chattanooga.

 

[unfrozencvmanvol]

Sounds like another graduate of the Brian Maurer School of Social Media Passive Aggression.

 

[HoopCreekVol]

Somewhere along the route, these guys are having discipline issues, performance issues or a combination of both. Just like employers, no one sits their best talent on the bench if they can produce or bring in money. It's easier to take the word or tweet of someone who rushes to put their point of view online. The coaches typically will keep quiet or provide some type of PC answer so as to not get in trouble later on.

Malcontents who are quick to run to the media are never going to be given PT or second chances. Yep, run to the portal. These guys are not the last players on earth. There are smarter, quicker and more disciplined players. We have to make sure our product is a better fit and they are a good fit.

CH knows more about these guys than what I do so I will take his judgment and those of his coaches.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

See my thread that you have to hire the RIGHT coach. Giving these last 3 guys 10 years wouldn’t have changed much.

Stoops is in the right spot. He actually only had a 49-50 record after 8 years. That’s fine for up there, and now he has a run first system to recruit linemen for. And he’s developing a lot of solid defenders for the NFL. They don’t need freshmen to play, and that negates whatever recruiting advantage we have.

Agreed. But how do you know who the RIGHT coach is? Think about it. Stoops had never been a HC before the 2013 season. I mean Butch Jones had a much better resume than Stoops. And I would be willing to bet most would say Stoops is the better coach.

So the big question is how does know who the RIGHT coach is? It seems to me that hiring a head coach is like playing the lottery. You really have no clue.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Because most of the 4-5 * players we recruit aren’t really desired by the top schools in the SEC or have baggage. It’s extremely rare now for UT to win a recruiting battle head to head against UGA, Bama, or UF for a player they really wanted that doesn’t have ties to UT. On top of that, coaching staff’s don’t stay long enough to develop what we have or they transfer

So the 4-5* guys we recruit have offers from the big time programs but they aren’t desired by them? Please offer your proof.

 

[Jackcrevol]

Fulmer, Dooley, & Botch
's last stands were a clinic in misguided hiring.

 

[Flipdaddy]

The real Q is. How does TN recruit top 15-20 annually yet never have any talent at all? Interesting how Arkansas and Ole Miss, who have not recruited to the same level as TN seem to be more talented. Interesting how that always happens with TN.

A freaking men!!!!

 

[OHvol40]

The real Q is. How does TN recruit top 15-20 annually yet never have any talent at all? Interesting how Arkansas and Ole Miss, who have not recruited to the same level as TN seem to be more talented. Interesting how that always happens with TN.

The transfer portal is the new/better version of HS recruiting. A program can turn around in a hurry if they do well with transfers. If I’m CJH, that’s where I’m devoting a huge % of my recruiting energy.

 

[LucidZ]

Pretty vague tweet.

 

[unfrozencvmanvol]

Lets look at the roster.

2017 class, these guys would all be eligible as covid seniors or rs juniors. Class ranking was 17th nationally, 7 of 27 remain with Theo Jackson being the only notable contributor.

2018 class 22 signees, 8 are gone, including 4 of the 8 highest rated recruits.

2019 class 22 signees, plus 4 transfers. 13 of the 22 signees are gone and 3 of the 4 transfers. 5 of the top 6 recruits based on hs ranking are gone.

2020 class 23 signees and 4 transfers. 3 of the 23 are gone and 2 of the 4 transfers.

2021 we had 17 signees and 10 transfers because of the massive losses from the roster. We already lost the most important player in the class due to idiocy in Salter.

So the "talent" here in large part isn't here. You remove the people from those classes that are gone and they tumble into the mid 40s to mid 50s or lower in the 17, 18, and 19 classes. The 2017 and 2019 class with it's losses probably goes into the 60s or 70s.

I agree with what I think is your overall sentiment, i.e., that CJH is being judged unfairly, but we are still 19th on the team talent composite, which takes into account all the attrition you cite. The difference is our talent has not been developed as good as other programs for over a decade, under multiple staffs. I don't know whether Heupel is the guy or not but I do know Heupel can't fix everything to most of our fans' satisfaction in a year or two, indeed the constant turnover of staffs and philosophies have been a big part of the problem.

The other big part of the problem is that the SEC is extremely talented. When we finish with a Top 15 to 20 class, that is usually good for between 6th and 8th in the SEC in any given year. If you are No. 10 nationally in recruiting one year, you've usually still got a minimum of 3-4 conference teams ahead of you. We play those teams. Hell, usually the SEC has 11-12 teams among the nation's most talented 30. Think about it, should a team whose raw talent is 19th, whose seniors are on their 3rd coach and 3rd philosophy really be favored against a team that's 26th that's had the same coach and been in the same system for 5+ years? I say that's unlikely. The more stable 26th team beats the 19th, 9 times out of 10 I think. Especially if the stable program is at home. That's where we are and no amount of wishing is going to result in a quick fix that will erase the effects of the last 10-15 years.

Heupel needs 5 years here, at least, to get this thing tangibly moving in the right direction. Short of some sort of major off the field scandal or a Chad Morris type record, think something like 5-19 over two seasons, Heupel needs to be here for 5 years without question and without being on the hot seat. If we put him on the hot seat for less than that we only compound our problem and lengthen our sojourn through CFB purgatory.

2021 College Football Team Talent Composite

 

[rusty11]

Agreed. But how do you know who the RIGHT coach is? Think about it. Stoops had never been a HC before the 2013 season. I mean Butch Jones had a much better resume than Stoops. And I would be willing to bet most would say Stoops is the better coach.

So the big question is how does know who the RIGHT coach is? It seems to me that hiring a head coach is like playing the lottery. You really have no clue.

He's the right coach for a basketball school. When they rarely beat us even when we suck, they don't fire him. Us on the other hand fire anybody who doesn't win the SEC in their 3rd year.

 

[Vols4life]

Maybe the tweet is about him switching positions.....so he can get on the field

 

[Orangeslice13]

Maybe the tweet is about him switching positions.....so he can get on the field

That’d be cool

 

[Birdie]

The transfer portal is the new/better version of HS recruiting. A program can turn around in a hurry if they do well with transfers. If I’m CJH, that’s where I’m devoting a huge % of my recruiting energy.

Let's hope we can make it work

 

[JohnnyJava]

Arik Gilbert might have helped inflate Harrison’s rankings. We have seen Harrison play 2-3 games worth of snaps over the past two years and he has not shown that he is the answer to our QB needs. Dee has been evaluated about in the same slot on the depth chart by consecutive starts. I’m not sure why so many UT fans are taking shots at Heupel for correctly evaluating the talent he has to work with. What should he do, start Dee over Small and Evans? Have them hit the portal instead so that a player who hasn’t earned the start gets it? So far, I have seen nothing to suggest that this staff is not making correct talent evaluations.

 

[kcvols1]

I don’t need any evidence. The burden of proof lies with you my friend, not me. You questioned my post first. However, I do watch and keep up with other college football programs, and most of the time their blue chips are at least contributing in some way…yet not at Tennessee???

You posted first with your premise that we’re squandering blue chip talent because of our program culture. I’m just wondering whether it has any basis.

Usually the filing party (i.e. the one trying to make a point) has the burden of proof.

Your proof seems to be that we have eight kids who were highly rated who don’t play, but other (indeed “most”) schools do play their players with similar ratings.

Principally, because individual football players are humans, and not fungible, I don’t see how your evidence necessarily indicates a culture issue, let alone an inability of the current staff to develop talent eight months into the job.

As much ball as you watch, I’d wager that the UT staff watches more, and probably with more focus.

Further, they seem to be doing a good job of getting the guys who want to be here to buy in and fight. That’s more than I can say for most UT teams in the last 15 seasons. I hope that continues after next Saturday in Gainesville.

 

[lexkyvol]

Moot point....Playing mop up football is always garbage game time. Fumbles are huge by a QB you DONT do it !!! Crucial INTS. Is exactly who I knew Hooker was before he threw it. Same with Milton not being a accurate passer. I agree the offensive line play is not good. But putting the ball on the ground is just as bad play as not protecting. Crucial timing with an INT. Is also !!!

1-0 as a starter is hooker. u can talk about fumbles and one int, but talk about all the points he's put on the board leading the offense. Bailey had similar talent last year so we've seen that movie. he also had fumbles and int's. the reason he doesnt this year is because he started off 3rd best in the qb room. i think he plays at UT if he is patient, but he's nowhere near hooker

 

[lexkyvol]

I’m a Bailey guy, but not because I am certain that he is the answer. I’m a Bailey guy because I am certain that the other two aren’t.

im certain that Hooker is putting us in the endzone at a very high rate. if defense plays better we are 3-0 easily!