Dooley to build the character of his players...

#1
PineyBluff Vol

PineyBluff Vol

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#1
Just read where there will be a guidance counselor type person on the staff. I think this is a good idea and applaud Derek for bring this with him. It has to be tough for a young man to come into a new setting with so many temptations around him. Thanks for looking after these young men and much success.
 
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#3
#3
Character is key! With good character, UT will be able to better match up with Bama and Florida players, who don't have much character!
 
#5
#5
idea! This will be a great selling point to recruits with grandmothers who are on the edge.:dance2:
GO VOLS!
 
#6
#6
Its good to see that coach is worried about the type of men that come out of the university not just how they do while their on the football field.
 
#8
#8
character wins championships?
i always thought it was something else. don't get me wrong its good that dooley will less likely to get us into Nukie-type situation. but i don't think its going to have a big impact on out W-L numbers, which is all and will be what ppl use to grade dooley on.
 
#9
#9
Another reason to have a program like this is to retain good players. Look how many very good players we have lost in the past few years because of outside problems. It is one thing to recruit the stars, but we haven't retained them very well. Maybe Coach Pearl can latch onto this also.
 
#11
#11
Florida had one of the most high character players that has ever come through the college ranks the past 4 years. Worked out pretty well for them I would say.
 
#12
#12
g8terh8ter_eric said:
Florida had one of the most high character players that has ever come through the college ranks the past 4 years. Worked out pretty well for them I would say.
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"just because you are a character, doesn't mean you have character."

-The Wolf
 
#14
#14
Good Character people want to listen and learn and get better...Guys who dont have good Character dont work hard in the weight room or during the film sessions...They think they know it all and dont need to listen to a coach...

Look at Eric Berry for example...hands down one of the best D-backs to play for Tennessee and one of the best Character guys we had. Wes Brown, Nick Reviez, Chris Walker...Those are good character guys who work hard both on and off the field...That is who you build your program around.

I 100% agree with Dooley in getting better Character guys to represent this team. I am just as tired as anyone of opening up the paper or turning on ESPN and seeing UT's name plastered across the screen for something that makes us look bad...

I want guys who want to come play here and understand that this is a blessing to play for a program this full of tradition and support.

Go Vols...
 
#16
#16
dogsipod said:
character wins championships?
i always thought it was something else. don't get me wrong its good that dooley will less likely to get us into Nukie-type situation. but i don't think its going to have a big impact on out W-L numbers, which is all and will be what ppl use to grade dooley on.
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I don't know if good character tranlates into more wins, but the evidence says that bad character can destroy a program. Look at us in the early 2000s. Flying high and on top of the world. BUT, Fulmer allowed some bad attitudes to infiltrate the program (e.g., Kelley Washington), and the slide began.

Now, compare that to the types of players that led us to the top in the 90s (e.g., Peyton, Al Wilson, et al.), and note the contrast.

Good character equals good work habits and smart players. Bad character equals laziness, stupid penalties, etc. Good character also equals a team we can be proud of. I'll take it.
 
#17
#17
I don't wanna be a sourpuss or anything, because I want to the Vols to win and win with the right kind of guys, but dominant teams are traditionally character-challenged. When were the Vols the best?...The late 90's through 2001. How many of those guys have done jailtime? Stallworth, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry, Dwayne Goodrich, Leonard Little, etc. Same with USC and Miami. They were best when their players were moral pieces of crap.

I for one hope that Dooley has the magic touch and can win with guys that I'd be proud to call friends (like Berry, Bobby Maze, Peyton Manning kind of guys). If he can't, I'd rather be good with great men on the team, than dominant with future felons.
 
#19
#19
Who's going to be more willing to lay it all on the line in the 4th? A high character guy or a non character guy? I like to look at Eric Berry and Tim Tebow as the examples and how they rally the team in the 4th. Imagine if we had a team full character guys like them, our players would give it their all on every single play.
 
#20
#20
dlw4n said:
I don't wanna be a sourpuss or anything, because I want to the Vols to win and win with the right kind of guys, but dominant teams are traditionally character-challenged. When were the Vols the best?...The late 90's through 2001. How many of those guys have done jailtime? Stallworth, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry, Dwayne Goodrich, Leonard Little, etc. Same with USC and Miami. They were best when their players were moral pieces of crap.

I for one hope that Dooley has the magic touch and can win with guys that I'd be proud to call friends (like Berry, Bobby Maze, Peyton Manning kind of guys). If he can't, I'd rather be good with great men on the team, than dominant with future felons.
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I agree. Also if you look at it, Pat Summit's had alot of success in building high-character teams and they manage to win championships. I for one welcome the change to the football program. It's depressing to find out week in and week out about the schenanigans that happens off the field that prevents players from playing. Think about how much of a difference the team had last year without JJ. It was completely different because of the off the field antics. Moral Character and Winning can and should go hand in hand at UT!

GBO
 
#21
#21
EZE said:
I don't know if good character tranlates into more wins, but the evidence says that bad character can destroy a program. Look at us in the early 2000s. Flying high and on top of the world. BUT, Fulmer allowed some bad attitudes to infiltrate the program (e.g., Kelley Washington), and the slide began.

Now, compare that to the types of players that led us to the top in the 90s (e.g., Peyton, Al Wilson, et al.), and note the contrast.

Good character equals good work habits and smart players. Bad character equals laziness, stupid penalties, etc. Good character also equals a team we can be proud of. I'll take it.
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well...Kelly was the future and his play at UT and then lack thereof kind of did predict the future of our program for the next 10 years when you look at our record.
 
#22
#22
dlw4n said:
I don't wanna be a sourpuss or anything, because I want to the Vols to win and win with the right kind of guys, but dominant teams are traditionally character-challenged.
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I think dominant teams are character challenged because they're dominant. The players that are talented tend to get a little full of themselves. The idea isn't to find/recruit guys who have character but to help the guys you do recruit and sign build character. I like the plan and it seems to fall into the 'can't hurt' category. Unless he refuses to recruit players b/c of their character, but I don't think he's saying that.
 
#23
#23
Not sayin I dont want these kids to become good men but character does not win in sports, its just applauded. Urban Meyer and his players have zero character and they have two NC in four years, just sayin. I dont want a team full of trouble makers but I do wanna win and in the SEC that takes size and speed not character!!!!!
 
#24
#24
Coach Dooley brought up some very good points in his last speech. Tennessee had a top 3 recruiting class a few years ago, only 53% of those players are still on the team. These are players that should be our starters this year and aren't there anymore. This is the point where character matters. He also brought up the point that young people make stupid decisions (Mike Edwards, Nu'Keese Richardson)...heck we all did when were were 18, 19, 20. Building character will help these players become better at making the right decisions, and ultimitely will make the Vols a better football program.
 
#25
#25
dogsipod said:
character wins championships?
i always thought it was something else. don't get me wrong its good that dooley will less likely to get us into Nukie-type situation. but i don't think its going to have a big impact on out W-L numbers, which is all and will be what ppl use to grade dooley on.
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I disagree but for pragmatic reasons. Fulmer's history after the NC was that he landed alot of blue chip players who had character issues. LaMarcus Coker being a prime example.

Building character may marginally help a player on the field but that isn't the big dividend. The big pay off is keeping guys on the field that might have gotten in trouble otherwise. It also helps with program image... it is a proactive way of dealing with the kind of discipline issues that haunted Fulmer two years ago about this time. Those image problems are a recruiting liability UT doesn't need.

So basically, if this hire can keep some guys out of trouble then it will help with recruiting and retention... both areas of need for UT to make any kind of move in the SEC.
 
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