encouraging piece on Dontavius Blair

[sjt18]

That loud swoosh you are hearing is VN sighing with relief. He needs to be an important piece of the OL next season. Interested to see him in the O&W game.

Apparently some think they are more qualified to judge the progress and ability of an offensive tackle than Barnett is.

I personally take some comfort in knowing that the SEC's best pass rusher (vs the SEC) is getting a fight from Blair. On that note, think about how much Maggitt and Barnett can teach Blair and Richmond about blocking an elite SEC DE.

 

[sjt18]

Ideal situation would be for these guys to form a solid Offensive Line for 2015:

LT: Blair
LG: Jackson
C: Crowder
RG: Robertson
RT: Kendrick
Rotation/backup: Sanders, Kerbyson, Wiesman and Raulerson
Redshirt like they need for SEC Play: J. Jones, Richmond, Coleman Thomas, Hall, and Boulware.

2016:
LT Richmond/Blair
LG:: Wiesman/Sanders
C: Coleman Thomas/Hall
RG: Robertson/Boulware
RT: J. Jones/Kendrick
Redshirt: 2016 Recruits

IIRC, the coaches said that Kerbyson was their best interior OL. If he doesn't play RT then Robertson is the odd man out.

 

[sjt18]

Coleman Thomas, I hope, will never have to play RT again while at UT. He is going to be the next great center and that's where he will be next season. He may even beat out Crowder.:lolabove:

I doubt very, very seriously that CT beats out Crowder. It might even be a good opportunity to preserve eligibility for him with a RS. If he plays RT then it will be because he's become a better RT than Robertson is an OG. Kerbyson can play either.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

I wish you are correct, however I believe Blair was brought in because Tennessees other option at LT last season was a 5th year walk-on. However when Blair got into the weight room and his lifts were so bad in the bench press, squat, and dead lift the coaches were probably like o shet!
They had no choice but to redshirt because his strength and stamina were so bad.

Blair is 6'8" with extremely long arms. The fact his bench numbers were bad should not surprise anyone. Also just because he lacked strength last year doesn't mean he can't be a great LT this year.

Its easy to add on muscle and gain strength. Its not easy to find a 6'8" guy with long arms that can move like Blair.

 

[JohnMcA60]

Lets hope he has improved and is ready to contribute.

 

[orange parmejohn]

This is a pretty fun discussion to follow.

 

[sjt18]

Richmond just honestly reminds me of Ju'Wuan James. He's an instant starter.

I believe he's the only one of the incoming Fr OL's with a real shot to start or play. However Blair has talent. He needed development. If Blair wins the position then the logical thing to do barring a season ending injury to Blair is to RS Richmond.

And Kerbyson needs to move inside. I think he'll provide quality depth at either OG spots. I still don't think he usurps either Jackson or Robertson but if he does, I agree with you and think it's Jackson.

If I said Jackson I didn't mean to. Robertson is the one I think could play behind him or else RS. It might even be a good thing for Robertson to take a good year of extra S&C.

Kendrick is good depth but I'm still thinking there is a reason he never saw the field for any meaningful stretches of time. Until he does, I'll just think he's depth.

Someone before suggested it was discipline issues rather than play. He's still just a RS Soph so according to Jones' model... he's just now coming into his own as a player. In my amateur opinion, he was by far the most athletic of anyone who played at either OT spot last year.

OL and QB will be very interesting races this Spring.

Back up QB? I don't think that race starts in earnest until Jones gets to town. Again just an amateurs view of video... but he looked like the most talented and most polished of the three QB signees and especially as a passer. Playing in a very similar system against very good competition in Cali should help him too.

 

[orangebloodgmc]

Lets hope he has improved and is ready to contribute.

Sounds like he has, and is. :good!:

 

[sjt18]

FWIW, Sanders and Wiesman are really just reaching the point in their career when Jones says he expects guys to start producing. Someone could emerge to challenge at one of the OT spots or to push Kerbyson out to RT.

 

[turambar85]

Believe it or not... that was Jones' plan when he decided to RS Blair. Blair likely starts if Fulmer is in charge and develops OJT. Jones OTOH takes a longer view of players. He's done it other times as well... investing a year where he could expect a contribution for a year when he can hope for a great contribution.

Maggitt is a good case study. His knee was healed and he could have played in '13... OR he could RS, fully heal his knee, and work on conditioning then come back for two great years.

I love this strategy. People always say that you never tank a season, but put so bluntly it blurs together very different strategies and is uninteresting.

If Blair could have given us .5 extra wins last year, but could give us .75-1 extra win in 2017, and an extra win this year simply leads to a slightly better mediocre bowl, whereas an extra win in 2017 leads to a possible playoff berth, then you absolutely made that decision.

Butch is the steward of the program, and the role of a steward is not to think of one year, or one harvest, but to do the best that they can for the entirety of their term.

 

[vick3333]

Get realistic! Richmond is 3 years and gone (probably in the NFL Draft 1st Round)....he is not going to be red shirted......he will be starting at OT in the first game!

McKenzie is the same...these are premium players and all world athletes...Mckenzie will also be starting in week one at DT! When you put all the bias and politics aside...Mckenzie is the best recruit in the country...by far!!!

Butch didn't chase Richmond everyday for nine months to red shirt him!!!

 

[orangebloodgmc]

Get realistic! Richmond is 3 years and gone (probably in the NFL Draft 1st Round)....he is not going to be red shirted......he will be starting at OT in the first game!

McKenzie is the same...these are premium players and all world athletes...Mckenzie will also be starting in week one at DT! When you put all the bias and politics aside...Mckenzie is the best recruit in the country...by far!!!

Butch didn't chase Richmond everyday for nine months to red shirt him!!!

Maybe true, maybe not true. It's up to those freshmen to make it happen.

If they come in hungry and focused, then your prediction is probably spot on.

In the less likely scenario that they come in not in the best of shape, then, it may not happen in this accelerated time frame, but later on down the road.

Even talented freshmen are only ... freshmen, with maturity and wisdom somewhere out there in the future.

 

[UTVOLS1614]

hear are my thoughts n the offensive line and how it plays out

2015:
LT- Blair- JR
LG-Jackson- SR
C-crowder- sr
RG- Roberston- SO
RT- Kerbyson- SR

-richmond next tackle in on either side
-weisman backup guard spots
-coleman backup center possible RS
-jack jones rest of freshman RS

2016:

LT- Richmond- Soph
LG- weisman- SR
C- CT- RS soph/ JR
RG- Robertson- JR
RT- Blair- SR

2017:

Lt- Richmond- JR
Lg-boulware- RS So
C- thomas- SR
rg- Roberston- SR
rt- jack jones- RS so

- guys like sanders/ kendrick etc i think will give us solid depth but dont see them being full time starters for us

 

[livefaith]

From "scout team" to 1st string tackle in SEC- I think not. Richmond will beat him out. Time to quit wishing on Blair.

When coaches are going for a redshirt, where do you think that he would be practicing? I would want him on the scout team going up against 1st and 2nd string SEC defenders every week. "Scout Team" is not a "level" somewhere below 4th string. Remember when UGA wanted to redshirt a true freshman named Knoshawn Moreno? They placed him on the scout team and let him go against the 1sr team D every week during the season.

I'm glad had to deal with Barnett and Hendrix all fall.

 

[sjt18]

Get realistic! Richmond is 3 years and gone (probably in the NFL Draft 1st Round)....he is not going to be red shirted......he will be starting at OT in the first game!

Tiny may have been a better HS prospect. He RS'd his first year. To start on the OL as a Fr in the SEC, a player has to be one of the elite of the elite OR their team has a need that can't be filled by a talented, experienced, developed player.

McKenzie is the same...these are premium players and all world athletes...Mckenzie will also be starting in week one at DT! When you put all the bias and politics aside...Mckenzie is the best recruit in the country...by far!!!

All "premium" players do not start as Fr. McKenzie of all of them stands a real good chance of being good enough to earn a spot in the two deep in spite of competing with good players. Richmond's opportunity is due to the position being an unresolved problem. Any of the newcomers at CB have a shot due to minor depth issues there.

Butch didn't chase Richmond everyday for nine months to red shirt him!!!

So you don't chase talented players unless it is your intent to play them as Fr and perhaps over guys who at that point are better players?

Blair was thought of as a "premium" athlete last year. Everyone was chasing him. Jones decides to RS him and all of a sudden many of you conclude that he wasn't a "premium" athlete after all. The fact is that even "premium" athletes need development to become good players.

Stone, Fulton, and James all started as Fr out of necessity. That was the reality of the OL that Fulmer left behind. Eventually, they all became rookie starters in the NFL. But they struggled early because they flat out weren't strong enough or developed enough to handle SEC DL's.


But.... this same thing happens every single year here. Someone like you gets all jacked up over a highly ranked player who you are sure will be a "starter from Day 1". Then... he doesn't but rather needs time to develop. So then he's written off and the next Johnny Come Lately is the next "hot" thing... until suddenly that written off but talented player becomes a starter. On a NORMAL roster... MOST players (even the highly ranked ones) need a year or two to develop before being ready to compete in the SEC. A few years back Bama signed the #1 class and slated every one of them to RS. I think they may have ended up playing one or two... but the goal was to RS them all.

 

[livefaith]

hear are my thoughts n the offensive line and how it plays out

2015:
LT- Blair- JR
LG-Jackson- SR
C-crowder- sr
RG- Roberston- SO
RT- Kerbyson- SR

-richmond next tackle in on either side
-weisman backup guard spots
-coleman backup center possible RS
-jack jones rest of freshman RS

2016:

LT- Richmond- Soph
LG- weisman- SR
C- CT- RS soph/ JR
RG- Robertson- JR
RT- Blair- SR

2017:

Lt- Richmond- JR
Lg-boulware- RS So
C- thomas- SR
rg- Roberston- SR
rt- jack jones- RS so

- guys like sanders/ kendrick etc i think will give us solid depth but dont see them being full time starters for us

I hope our other lineman progress enough to give DR a redshirt year. Have my doubts.

What @ that giant RS FR who was injured in the car wreck?

 

[sjt18]

I love this strategy. People always say that you never tank a season, but put so bluntly it blurs together very different strategies and is uninteresting.

If Blair could have given us .5 extra wins last year, but could give us .75-1 extra win in 2017, and an extra win this year simply leads to a slightly better mediocre bowl, whereas an extra win in 2017 leads to a possible playoff berth, then you absolutely made that decision.

Butch is the steward of the program, and the role of a steward is not to think of one year, or one harvest, but to do the best that they can for the entirety of their term.

True. And we're also witnessing a transition (hopefully) to how an elite roster is managed. UT has been forced going all the way back to Fulmer's attrition and recruiting decline to play guys before they were ready. A normal "state" (at least by what Jones suggests by actions) would have mostly 3rd, 4th, and 5th year guys playing on the OL. Anyone younger would have to really just be an incredibly elite player. That doesn't mean he has in mind to sign 2*. He's seems to be headed toward a roster management scheme where most players RS and almost all OL's do. Then they play as back ups and ST's... then they get their shot to start.

Elite rosters do not require coaches to desperately search for Fr to contribute. They field line ups loaded with talented, mature, developed, and experienced players.

 

[UTVOLS1614]

I hope our other lineman progress enough to give DR a redshirt year. Have my doubts.

What @ that giant RS FR who was injured in the car wreck?

I wouldnt be shocked to see him moved to DT. I dont see him winning a job over any of those guys

 

[a vol n tears]

From "scout team" to 1st string tackle in SEC- I think not. Richmond will beat him out. Time to quit wishing on Blair.

Red shirt = scout team. Think Dobbs went from scout team to starter?

 

[sjt18]

I wouldnt be shocked to see him moved to DT. I dont see him winning a job over any of those guys

Supposedly his opportunity for biggest impact is on the OL. I read an article discussing him not long ago. It suggested he was a good athlete even at 340+. I think it suggested that he might even have the quickness to play RT. That would be pretty amazing.

 

[UTVOLS1614]

Supposedly his opportunity for biggest impact is on the OL. I read an article discussing him not long ago. It suggested he was a good athlete even at 340+. I think it suggested that he might even have the quickness to play RT. That would be pretty amazing.

i hope there right. just dont see to many 340 plus Offensive tackles

 

[sjt18]

i hope there right. just dont see to many 340 plus Offensive tackles

Yeah. I was surprised by that too. If he can do it though... he's a game changer.

 

[MAJOR_ORANGE]

One thing I think we can all agree on is that the Offensive line will not be a glaring weakness on this team. I truly expect to actually push some defenses around and Hurd, Kamara to have some lanes to run through. This season is going to be a big leap forward.GBO

 

[sjt18]

One thing I think we can all agree on is that the Offensive line will not be a glaring weakness on this team. I truly expect to actually push some defenses around and Hurd, Kamara to have some lanes to run through. This season is going to be a big leap forward.GBO

It shouldn't be. If it is then there's a big problem 3 years into Jones' tenure.

 

[photovol]

Sounds as if Blair must get much stronger quickly if he is to challenge for a starting position.
Blair, exceeding expectations, could be a huge bonus for the beleaguered Oline.