I don't know about these freshmen

#53
#53
AlsaceFreak said:
My $$$ is on Radarious Jackson. Trust me that he got the kid out of him in high school. Go to Memphis and take one drive to Sheffield High School and then you will realize what we have in him. That kid is still only 17 years old. His catch in the Orange and White game was phenomenal. What impresses me more are his 13 interceptions in his Junior and Senior years of High School. That dude is coming down with the ball when thrown his way.
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My absolute favorite play in football. McCoy's interception against bama is #1.
 
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#54
#54
LegionnaireOfTheMiserable said:
What is negative about saying freshmen typically can’t be counted on as big contributors if your goal is to win? It is a pretty well established fact.

It’s just funny that in your world, all the freshmen are going to be great, we are gonna shock the world! Then when the season doesn’t go well, all the sudden it’s “well we played a lot of freshmen. How could you expect anything more out of them?!?”
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Where did I say all the freshman are going to be great? That's your assumption. And it's ridiculous.
 
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#55
#55
LegionnaireOfTheMiserable said:
I wouldn’t count on any freshman but Sanders. And even with him, I’d remember what Darnell Wright looked like as a freshman. He eventually became everything you’d want from a 5 star tackle, but he was not particularly good as a freshman.
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We've had a few freshmen OL who have been studs in their rookie season
 
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#60
#60
OrangeBeachVol said:
If you read Fingers practice reports T. Smith getting a lot of good vibes from coaches in practice at receiver.
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Since his time at Westlake High School in Atlanta, Smith has changed as a player, as well. The primary category has been his speed.

“Really my speed,” Smith said on where he’s improved the most. “Having guys in the strength and conditioning, having them previously be track guys, getting my core right. Getting my stride length right. They’ve really worked on me with that, even over time. Just my speed, I can definitely see a tremendous change with my speed so far.”
www.rockytopinsider.com

How Tennessee Football Freshman Wide Receiver Travis Smith Jr. Ended Up Wearing No. 1 | Rocky Top Insider

Travis Smith Jr. details his decision to wear No. 1 as a true freshman with Tennessee football after a strong spring camp.
www.rockytopinsider.com www.rockytopinsider.com
 
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#61
#61
There were several true freshmen who were impact players last year - both Alabama and Auburn had freshmen WRs who came out huge so I don’t doubt Travis Smith (or the other freshman WR) couldn’t do the same for us this year…Campbell will have the luxury of having fresh legs when he play as we are again deep on the defensive front. I expect him to make some big plays but there’s a lot of talent in front of him, too.

Sanders on the OL is the most interesting to me. The extra COVID year, NIL, and the transfer portal worked together to keep more upperclassmen (and graduates!) on the roster and gave us a very veteran OL the last two years. It was hard for some of younger guys to get on the field. But we’re going to to be starting several young guys on the OL this year and Sanders may be the most talented of the young guys…I’m hoping he’s ready because it would be huge not just for this year but for the next several seasons if he and Satterwhite are starters and young guys like Warren, Umarov, Anderson, Heard (Jeremias) and Perry are in the rotation. I would love to return to the days of the TVA upfront and just physically dominate opponents.

​

 
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#62
#62
LegionnaireOfTheMiserable said:
What is negative about saying freshmen typically can’t be counted on as big contributors if your goal is to win? It is a pretty well established fact.

It’s just funny that in your world, all the freshmen are going to be great, we are gonna shock the world! Then when the season doesn’t go well, all the sudden it’s “well we played a lot of freshmen. How could you expect anything more out of them?!?”
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Many of the "typicals" of college football in the past do not necessarily apply in today's changing landscape. 🤔
 
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#64
#64
orangebloodgmc said:
Many of the "typicals" of college football in the past do not necessarily apply in today's changing landscape. 🤔
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Today’s changing landscape makes it less likely for freshmen to contribute because teams can take transfers to fill spots. That’s why we didn’t have a Heupel high school recruit start on the OL for the first four years. We had the worst portal haul among P4 conferences though, so we will be relying on freshmen more than most.
 
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#66
#66
LegionnaireOfTheMiserable said:
I wouldn’t count on any freshman but Sanders. And even with him, I’d remember what Darnell Wright looked like as a freshman. He eventually became everything you’d want from a 5 star tackle, but he was not particularly good as a freshman.
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Seemed like Wright didnt reach his potential until we got Heupel
 
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#67
#67
Timothy Merritt looks like a player. He's flashed in the few clips we've seen thus far in camp. I could see him playing early this year as Jermod recovers from the ACL.
 
#70
#70
LegionnaireOfTheMiserable said:
We are going to have to rely on freshmen more than most because we had the worst portal haul of any P4 team. But it isn’t likely to bode well for this year. Could potentially help down the road though.
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Definitely possible, but you never know. Kids these days are more ready than they've ever been. This is going to become the norm for everyone. When upperclassmen don't start, they transfer. Unfortunately it's the day and era we live in. Depth will be issues, Fr will be relied on more than ever. Hopefully our guys are ready. The thing that helps us this year is our schedule is pretty manageable. Not one of our toughest schedules, just like last year. I do wish we were more aggressive in the portal and hopefully that changes move forward.
 
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#71
#71
Sarms58 said:
There were several true freshmen who were impact players last year - both Alabama and Auburn had freshmen WRs who came out huge so I don’t doubt Travis Smith (or the other freshman WR) couldn’t do the same for us this year…Campbell will have the luxury of having fresh legs when he play as we are again deep on the defensive front. I expect him to make some big plays but there’s a lot of talent in front of him, too.

Sanders on the OL is the most interesting to me. The extra COVID year, NIL, and the transfer portal worked together to keep more upperclassmen (and graduates!) on the roster and gave us a very veteran OL the last two years. It was hard for some of younger guys to get on the field. But we’re going to to be starting several young guys on the OL this year and Sanders may be the most talented of the young guys…I’m hoping he’s ready because it would be huge not just for this year but for the next several seasons if he and Satterwhite are starters and young guys like Warren, Umarov, Anderson, Heard (Jeremias) and Perry are in the rotation. I would love to return to the days of the TVA upfront and just physically dominate opponents.

​

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Throw in Jeremiah Smith from Ohio St. He is/was an absolute beast and was a True FR. Bryant Wesco from Clemson had a nice FR season. TRFR Jordan Seaton at Colorado was one of the best OL in the country, as was Aidan Banfield,another FR OL from N.Carol.OL Anthonie Knap,OL Cash Cleveland, Edge Rusher Colin Sumimmins(Texas), Jayden Jackson DT( Oklahoma), Edge Dylan Stewart (S.Carol), LB Sammy Brown,( Clemson..A player we all wanted to bad..CB Leonard Moore( ND), CB Eli Bowen(Oklahoma),CB Jay Crawford (Auburn,), Safety( KJ Bolden( GA), Safety Kaleb Harris ( Auburn),RB Isaac Brown ( Louisville. Just a few True FR that started and played well. There's tons more, but picked out a lot of players from SEC Teams.
 
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#73
#73
It still amazes me how prepared kids are now at 19. It seems like at the high school level and even younger now kids are just immersed in a sport and play year round. I think that is why it is rare to see a multi sport talent like Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders anymore. These 19 year olds hit the ground ready now.
 
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