In Kiff we trust!...??

[GmanTN]

I heard it just a touch different than you did. What I heard Kiffin say was that spring ball would be very important for the returning players, because the freshmen would get the "first look" in the fall. I agree that Kiffin is focused on "his" players, but I have a hard time with the "leftover stiffs" remark. I think there is a lot of untapped, undeveloped talent on the current roster. If I'm wrong, the next two seasons are going to be tough.

Go Vols.

The statement sends 2 messages, I think CLK made that statement to send a message to the returning players of: You better get in shape, practice hard and do things right or you will be riding the pine. And to the recruits if you can out play the returning players then you can start.

 

[GreyWolf1129]

The statement sends 2 messages, I think CLK made that statement to send a message to the returning players of: You better get in shape, practice hard and do things right or you will be riding the pine. And to the recruits if you can out play the returning players then you can start.

Agreed.

Go Vols.

 

[Vercingetorix]

I heard it just a touch different than you did. What I heard Kiffin say was that spring ball would be very important for the returning players, because the freshmen would get the "first look" in the fall. I agree that Kiffin is focused on "his" players, but I have a hard time with the "leftover stiffs" remark. I think there is a lot of untapped, undeveloped talent on the current roster. If I'm wrong, the next two seasons are going to be tough.

Go Vols.

I hope you're right. I've just seen us get pushed around on both lines way too much in recent years to think that we have much talent in the trenches, and other than maybe three guys, I don't see our playmakers as being particularly spectacular either. I think we have decent but not great talent on the roster. If the goal were to go 7-5 or 8-4, then we'd probably be in good shape.

 

[GreyWolf1129]

I hope you're right. I've just seen us get pushed around on both lines way too much in recent years to think that we have much talent in the trenches, and other than maybe three guys, I don't see our playmakers as being particularly spectacular either. I think we have decent but not great talent on the roster. If the goal were to go 7-5 or 8-4, then we'd probably be in good shape.

Yep, I agree with your post, and I hope I'm right too. The staff has a lot of work to do, especially on both lines, where it all starts. I expect improvement. The question is, how much?

Playmakers. We could have a few surprises. EB is a given. Denarious Moore is a burner, if we can figure out how to use him. I think (hope) we'll see a handful of players "emerge" under this staff. And a handful might just be enough to make us competitive in '09.

"Decent talent" will have to do for now, because that's all we have. But if this staff can win with decent talent, then the future is bright indeed.

I have great hopes for this staff, and the team they will build. I think it will be at least two, and more likely three seasons before we get a true measure of what this regime can do. I'm not interested in what UF or Bama did in two years. Meyer inherited a loaded roster, and landed a QB who was perfect for his system. Bama was 7-6 in Year 1, had a meteoric rise in Year 2, and then got exposed by Utah. "Battleships" take a couple of years to build. Let's take our time, do it right, and start with a good foundation. It's worth the wait.

Go Vols.

 

[posivol]

If you're Kiffin and you already know that all your effort over the next year or two is going to be bent towards finding, bringing in, and grooming a typical Matt Leinart-type QB -- a big, drop-back guy who guns the ball downfield -- then there's no sense bringing Boyd on campus in the first place. It's a waste of a scholarship; it's a waste of two years of Boyd's life. Plus it's just begging for a nice little QB controversy two years down the road. Yes he could help us this fall, but in the long-term, it's better (and more honorable) to be upfront with Boyd about it to begin with. I know the recruiting nerds don't like it, but this is after all a guy's career that we're talking about.

Kiffin made it pretty clear in his initial press conference that he considers the actual players already on the roster to be largely irrelevant to the program that he's planning to build at UT. It's hardly surprising that he'd be so aggressively indifferent to some of the previous staff's incoming recruits.

true------but compare him to vince young and the titans,first year mvp just missed the playoffs.2nd year 10-6 made the playoffs (fans stoked) 3rd year lost his job and team improved to 13-3 w/ backup.

did he hurt the team or help?

i personally didnt think he would ever be a pro q.b and feel the same about boyd. but at that point and time,if your a athlete (a true athlete) youll find a way on the field.we recruited jason witten as a defensive end and converted him to tight end.he very well may go the hof if he stays healthy.any things possible if given the chance............................

 

[GreyWolf1129]

true------but compare him to vince young and the titans,first year mvp just missed the playoffs.2nd year 10-6 made the playoffs (fans stoked) 3rd year lost his job and team improved to 13-3 w/ backup.

did he hurt the team or help?

i personally didnt think he would ever be a pro q.b and feel the same about boyd. but at that point and time,if your a athlete (a true athlete) youll find a way on the field.we recruited jason witten as a defensive end and converted him to tight end.he very well may go the hof if he stays healthy.any things possible if given the chance............................

A good post, posi, and insightful to boot. If I may...

If the Titans had it to do over again, knowing what they know now...would they still draft Vince Young? There's a lot to be said for "fore-sightedness", and not many have it. Kiffin might, or might not have it. Time will tell. College and pro football are two different worlds. Tim Tebow will prove that in a couple of years.

From what we know about Lane Kiffin, he can evaluate, recruit, and coach top-notch college talent. His accomplishments at USC bear that fact out. Forget the NFL, for now, and focus on what he CAN do. And that's what UT hired him to do.

Like you said..."anything's possible if given the chance."

Give Kiffin his chance.

Go Vols.

 

[Vercingetorix]

true------but compare him to vince young and the titans,first year mvp just missed the playoffs.2nd year 10-6 made the playoffs (fans stoked) 3rd year lost his job and team improved to 13-3 w/ backup.

did he hurt the team or help?

i personally didnt think he would ever be a pro q.b and feel the same about boyd. but at that point and time,if your a athlete (a true athlete) youll find a way on the field.we recruited jason witten as a defensive end and converted him to tight end.he very well may go the hof if he stays healthy.any things possible if given the chance............................

Well yeah, the easy thing for Kiffin to have done would be to keep Boyd with the idea that you can always move him somewhere else. A lot of coaches would have done just that. Moving guys around is fine, obviously, but I just think you have to give recruits as honest an assessment as possible of where they're likely to play when they come in. Especially highly rated quarterbacks.

Maybe Kiffin's evaluation of Boyd is wrong; maybe the offensive system that Boyd doesn't fit is going to turn out to be crap anyway. But from what's come out in public, it seems pretty clear that, in this one case at least, Kiffin did the honorable thing rather than the easy thing.

(Now as far as this kid who was supposedly told to take a hike the week before signing day, I dunno. I hope there's more to the story than what came out, because it looked bad.)

 

[JohnLange]

...and then he woke up from his deep sleep and realized he was 3rd on the depth chart at UT

I was referring to his days in high school.

 

[posivol]

A good post, posi, and insightful to boot. If I may...

If the Titans had it to do over again, knowing what they know now...would they still draft Vince Young? There's a lot to be said for "fore-sightedness", and not many have it. Kiffin might, or might not have it. Time will tell. College and pro football are two different worlds. Tim Tebow will prove that in a couple of years.

From what we know about Lane Kiffin, he can evaluate, recruit, and coach top-notch college talent. His accomplishments at USC bear that fact out. Forget the NFL, for now, and focus on what he CAN do. And that's what UT hired him to do.

Like you said..."anything's possible if given the chance."

Give Kiffin his chance.

Go Vols.

thanks and i really do hope he does well.we deserve it