Has Josh Heupel proven his worth?

[germantown902]

This fan base and administration will run him off before he has a chance to prove himself. Our roster is full of upperclassmen. The defense is going to be particularly thin so we may take a step back next season which fans will see as regression instead of lack of experienced talent.

 

[Cartervol]

He's a pretty good coach I think. Got to have players though. That might be the tough part.. We're competing against a lot of good teams for the same guys. I think he's helped himself though with what we've witnessed so far this season..I think kids will want to come play for him. It's not a boring brand of football like Beldar played. Plus he's not a azzhole, has to help some..

 

[JRich]

I think he is the best we have had since Fulmer. We’ll see if he can keep up. Waiting to see how and who he recruits. Also, that run game is still suspect to me. Running it up the guards @$$ out of shotgun on every 3rd or 4th and 2 just ain’t impressive.

 

[VolFanNC09]

Respectfully disagree. In this case, our admin has knee capped Heupels first recruiting class. This, IMO, warrants a year zero designation if there ever was one. I also think you need to allow a coach to completely flip his roster. In my mind, the grade comes when his first recruiting class(next years) graduates. That's when you've had time to get your kids in, have them in the system and in your S&C program. We're so weak on the lines that it's going to take great recruiting and at least a couple of years growing/developing those linemen to really be fair in assessing what Heupel's program can and might be.

My point is really year 3 we should know whether or not he is a bust. I am not expecting us to win the SEC in year 3, but I expect we will start seeing what this team will look like longer term and we shouldn't be hoping for 6 win seasons then. 8-9 wins in year 3 should be the floor. I don't think he had to flip the roster completely, there are some pieces, I think we are just super thin and it will take 2 more recruiting classes and transfers to get us to have the depth needed to compete for full season.

 

[VolFanNC09]

LOL, how does he have two full recruiting classes? If recruiting starts Junior year or before, amd he came in one ass end of relationships Beldar harvested trying to determinr who is a take or a fit. Then how does that equate to a lost recruiting class? It wasnt his.

This class is his but he is under NCAA or self imposed constraints. Not really a great barometer.

I am saying that 2022 and 2023 with transfers and recruiting that we shouldn't have the depth issues we have now. If we do, then it should be an warning sign.

My expectation is by year 3 we won't be hoping for 6 wins and at the same time I don't expect us to win the SEC. Something in between....like 8-9 wins including bowl as an expectation. I do agree it will take 4-5 years to get the talent level up to the top 5 in the SEC.

 

[Jackcrevol]

I am saying that 2022 and 2023 with transfers and recruiting that we shouldn't have the depth issues we have now. If we do, then it should be an warning sign.

My expectation is by year 3 we won't be hoping for 6 wins and at the same time I don't expect us to win the SEC. Something in between....like 8-9 wins including bowl as an expectation. I do agree it will take 4-5 years to get the talent level up to the top 5 in the SEC.

We had 3 wins last year with arguably better talent. Everyone sees how much better coached we are, at every single position, save the penalties.

We will win some ballgames. 6 this year. 7-8 next. Recruit your faces off.

 

[Flipdaddy]

So far yes, he is beating the teams he’s supposed to beat and that’s what you want in year one. We haven’t went into the 4th quarter with a chance against Alabama since the Butch almost luck game and 2009. If Chumlee can get some players, Tennessee will be legit again. I think this guy is a really good football coach.

 

[OrangeTsar]

I remain cautiously optimistic

 

[BoroVol93]

Did Botch Jones prove his worth in 2016 when he went 9-4? Did Conehead prove his worth in 2019 when he went 8-5? What is it with fanatics that always like to declare the latest coach the answer after a only a small taste of success? Time will tell ... be patient and hope for the best.

I understand this mentality but even at those coaches best it looks so much better and well coached give this staff 2016 roster and they go Much better than 9-4… I’m cautious but like I’ve said I’ve listened to this staff and what they are preaching and building will be sustainable success.

 

[Redleg68]

Do you feel Coach Heupel has proven he can field a winning team? He came into a dumpster fire of a program with more than 30 players, many key athletes, leaving for other schools. In my opinion he has taken 71 scholarship players and has fielded a very competitive team in a short period of time. It will be a breadth of fresh air to see his future teams bringing Tennessee football back to the Tennessee of old! I'm excited.

To me he has checked every box but recruiting. IF he can check that box, then we are definitely on the way.

 

[BlinghamptonVol]

Someone educate me here on shortage of players . I know we do not have all scholarship slots filled and something like 70 of 85. Can we not just fill spots with some transfers and not hurt is against the number of kids we can sign and catch-up a bit ?

Yeah, we are definitely low on scholarship players. This isn’t as big a deal generally during games right now because typically 70+ players don’t play in a game. In fact, the SEC limits road teams in SEC play to 70 players. So, at bama last night, we had the same number of scholarship players available as any team going to Tuscaloosa.

Now, specifically per a position, we might be at a severe disadvantage if we only have a limited number of scholarship players at that position. I don’t have the position breakdowns, but I would say Oline is a disadvantage and the secondary as well.

Where the numbers are a big deal right now is in practice. Do we have enough qbs, wrs, cbs, to give everybody solid reps? Who is on our scout team as we prepare each week? You’d love to have your freshmen 4 stars that aren’t ready to play on Saturdays, fill up the scout team with athletic and talented guys to help our starters get a real feel for the upcoming opponent. My guess is our scout team is mostly walk-ons. This also hurts because if you have a scout team full of freshmen scholarship players, they are getting reps and the staff is able to develop them. Also, they are getting practice going up against SEC starters that will help them grow. We don’t have that right now. Our freshmen are 3rd string and how much time can Heup and the coaches dedicate to developing the 3rd stringer when we have a week to prepare for bama or uga. Maybe they get some extra reps during the bye week.

As far as making up the missing scholarship slots, it’s probably a 2-3 year process. There are limits to how many players you can sign a year. With adding transfers, the ncaa recently approved you can add as many transfers in that you have transfer out that year and go above the recruiting cap. I’m not sure if guys that left last summer or late spring can be counted for this upcoming cycle. If so, that will help.

My expectation is that 2022 we will have 77-79 scholarship players, and 2023 we can be back to 85. Of note, every program has a guy that transfers out after Spring, or a guy flips on signing day and you don’t have a replacement ready, so generally 83 or 84 is about as full as most teams get. In those cases, a walk on or two gets a one year scholarship. I’m sure someone on staff is exploring all the numbers to get as many guys in this cycle to help this team succeed.

 

[Rocky Top Raby]

No.