How Do You Explain Such Improvement in Just Two Years?

MiramarVol is absolutely right. BUY IN!!! Big time. Plus the staff is excellent at teaching. Each and every player has improved in strength, fundamentals, and tactical awareness. The staff has also installed schemes that fit the players on the roster, ie putting players in positions to succeed.

Also notice that CJH and the staff don't ever criticize the players. The message is always "there are things we need to improve on and we're working to get better". I'm sure we all remember how Pruitt and the previous head coaches would single out players for their errors and lack of success. Blame game. And there was no surprise that the players had no buy in.

Coach Heupel is an amazing breath of fresh air. The program needed it, the players needed it, and we needed it.
I’d say they definitely criticized them, just not publicly. Kind of funny since Barnes is so loved and often publicly criticizes his players.
 
Eye test. Past bama teams don’t win last second games against a meh Texas and a bad bad A&M. Worse than vandy A&M. Also, a “top 25” UK lost to vandy. The only reason that UK team was ranked so late in the year is because they were in the SEC and had “good” losses.So yeah, conference is overall down. This LSau team shouldn’t be west champions. It’s an average team at best.
I’ll bump this because vandy is about to get their second sec win. But don’t let me harp on the fact that the sec just isn’t near as good this year.
 
Coaching and an ELITE offensive scheme. Plus, Heupel created a fun and connected culture where players want to come and then play for each other.
 
I think the X’s and O’s are a tad bit more important than the Jimmies and Joes. Which is why we are competing with teams with better recruiting averages
Until you face a team full of "Joes"... Like the Bulldogs of Georgia. Outscheming a bigger and stronger team usually does not happen. Certainly didn't this year in Athens.

We are hammering the bad teams right now. When we start slapping around the real teams, then we've made it all the way back.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Clayton
Until you face a team full of "Joes"... Like the Bulldogs of Georgia. Outscheming a bigger and stronger team usually does not happen. Certainly didn't this year in Athens.

We are hammering the bad teams right now. When we start slapping around the real teams, then we've made it all the way back.


Are LSU and Alabama bad teams?
 
  • Like
Reactions: TheGoodStuff
Until you face a team full of "Joes"... Like the Bulldogs of Georgia. Outscheming a bigger and stronger team usually does not happen. Certainly didn't this year in Athens.

We are hammering the bad teams right now. When we start slapping around the real teams, then we've made it all the way back.
Very honest and insightful comment. It’s absolutely true Sec is down this year
 
Are LSU and Alabama bad teams?
They are this year. They are not the LSU and Alabama of years past and everyone knows that. They are down this year along with Florida and Kentucky and auburn and etc…UT is better this year but definitely capitalizing on the others being down and playing most their 3 of their 4 biggest rivals at home this year. It’s been a good perfect storm for Tennessee. UGA was thought to be down but they aren’t and it showed
 
Until you face a team full of "Joes"... Like the Bulldogs of Georgia. Outscheming a bigger and stronger team usually does not happen. Certainly didn't this year in Athens.

We are hammering the bad teams right now. When we start slapping around the real teams, then we've made it all the way back.

And uhh GA’s championship coaching staff…

Of course the players matter. We’ve got some great ones but not a whole team of them yet… My point is clear and valid to the OP’s question. “We are swinging well above our weight class because our coaches.”
 
We were 3-7 before Heupel was hired and we lost 25 or so players to transfers, some of them starters. I don't remember how Heupel's first recruiting classes were ranked but don't remember them being real high. We did get a great QB transfer in Hooker plus some others.

So is this success due to getting Hooker plus a few talented receivers plus a coach with a system/scheme that fit perfectly?

And, what will we look like with Hooker gone next year? If we are good next year then more credit to the coaching staff.
Simple, great coaching!
 
Buy in....

Can't remember if it was a Hooker interview, but one of the current players who was also here for Pruitt talked about how players showed up when practice started and left the second practice ended.

Now, they're in the training center all the time working out, lifting, bonding, etc. Heup created an entirely new culture in a shockingly short amount of time, which says a lot about him as a person, the kind of coaches he hired AND how hungry these players have been for leadership and team bonding.

Since fish rot from the head down, Pruitt was a rotten fish head.
 
If we lose the chance to win the national championship, it is mostly on the offense, our defense has never meant to be the strong part of our team, our offense was supposed to carry us to the promise land, I think our defense has been just fine, performing at the level it has been expected, you have no reason to crap on our defense. Our offense needs to play to its potential , if they do, we will be celebrating soon.
I wasn't crapping on the defense, but I am now.
 
Independent of the UT result all those teams are really bad or in bama and maybe lsu’s case just meh. A weak SEC has lifted all those teams records. There is no reason that lsu team and that ole miss team should have their respective records ole miss likely loses the egg bowl. And bama could have many more losses. Credit for winning but I think there are only 2 teams that are truly good. Depending on schedule a few of those teams may have the same record in the ACC. Lsu on the road vs Clemson and FSU and unc probably loses 2 of those.
I’ll bump this one too.
 
With a Texas loss to Baylor today bama will end the regular season with no wins against ranked teams this year.
 
We need more talent. Schemes offensively are great but we need 5 star talent on offense and defense. Good coaches figure out schemes. Get great talent everything else falls into place.
 
Second year coaching & SYSTEM
Doing the training & film study
Hooker second year in system
Offensive line second year and experience
Hyatt / P. Fant / Bru / Ramel / The Squirrel
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
 
Hell, we tried every other coach over the past decade! After enough wrongs, you'll eventually get it right!!!
 
Some is luck, some is scheme, some is having a competent HC. That said, I expect us to stumble some next season before really setting the world on fire in 2024. Nico in year 2, all of this staffs recruits stepping up. Big things on the horizon.
 

VN Store



Back
Top