Magic8Vol
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- Jan 13, 2012
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Ok so I am NOT claiming insider status or searching for E cred whatever the he// that is good for. I am going to try to reveal a conversation I had today without implying anything or giving up the person in question. 1 because he is nice & 2 it was a causal conversation that I would like to continue to have in the future even though I am being kinda of a douche for coming on here and sharing without making it public who I was talking to.
He is a current staff member & is a prominent person on the staff not a secondary person. He comes in every few months & if I see him we usually chat TN & NFL.
The good. He said the QBs looked really good & will be better than people think. QD has an excellent knowledge of the offense & throws a great deep ball.
The off season has been very good & the team is focused and feeling confident this year.
The 17 & 18 classes are full of really good players. High character, driven players that will be very good for the future.
The ok. While the off season work outs have been successful, they haven't made the gains that they had hoped to at this point. They are far ahead of this same point from last year. He feels that the staff is a big upgrade but are still learning to work together.
What I took as negative.
He said Butch works his ass off & loves it here but has to put up with a lot of behind the scenes issues with the administration & boosters. I got feeling he was referring to the politics of the administration. He said they slow play the athletic department with issues that need to be fixed to help the program. I mentioned how Saban has the backing of the school, boosters, police, etc. He said it is night and day between how UT does things & how Bama does. He compared it to the NFL. If u need something to help the team or raises for assistants its done immediately. Same at Bama. He said they have been slowed played by the politics of UT for even the basic needs of the program. I could tell it was frustrating and something he didn't expect b4 he came here. The example he used was that apparently the Olympic athletic work out facility is being remodeled & they are having to share work out facilities with football which has slowed the teams progress. He didn't say it but it felt like football wasn't being given the priority it should be & he was troubled by that. It made me feel like he was having concerns about staying here in the future because of the politics of UT but he never said that. He said the all of the "Hotseat" talk has been very hard for Butch to overcome w recruits & coaches. At least one of the new coaches will not move his family here until after the season because of the uncertainty the spouse has because of all of the hotseat talk. It was really sad thinking about the sacrifice they are making to be here. I told him I have been around for a long time & seen the ups & downs & I believe we have turned the corner. He said Butch really is a good coach & can get it done here. People dont understand the uphill battle Butch has had to deal with. I told him I just hope we dont suffer the injuries this year like last year especially w the blocking schemes GT uses. He smiled real big & said the players are stronger and better prepared this year which will help w the injuries & then he grinned real big & said in a very matter of fact way, "we're ready for their blocking & we are going to kick their ass!" Which he followed with a fist bump. He wasn't saying it bragging, he was confident.
I just thought it was interesting hearing some of the background things they have to deal with & wanted to share. He said Curry is finding his way with the administration but believes he can help cut through the red tape moving forward.
He is a current staff member & is a prominent person on the staff not a secondary person. He comes in every few months & if I see him we usually chat TN & NFL.
The good. He said the QBs looked really good & will be better than people think. QD has an excellent knowledge of the offense & throws a great deep ball.
The off season has been very good & the team is focused and feeling confident this year.
The 17 & 18 classes are full of really good players. High character, driven players that will be very good for the future.
The ok. While the off season work outs have been successful, they haven't made the gains that they had hoped to at this point. They are far ahead of this same point from last year. He feels that the staff is a big upgrade but are still learning to work together.
What I took as negative.
He said Butch works his ass off & loves it here but has to put up with a lot of behind the scenes issues with the administration & boosters. I got feeling he was referring to the politics of the administration. He said they slow play the athletic department with issues that need to be fixed to help the program. I mentioned how Saban has the backing of the school, boosters, police, etc. He said it is night and day between how UT does things & how Bama does. He compared it to the NFL. If u need something to help the team or raises for assistants its done immediately. Same at Bama. He said they have been slowed played by the politics of UT for even the basic needs of the program. I could tell it was frustrating and something he didn't expect b4 he came here. The example he used was that apparently the Olympic athletic work out facility is being remodeled & they are having to share work out facilities with football which has slowed the teams progress. He didn't say it but it felt like football wasn't being given the priority it should be & he was troubled by that. It made me feel like he was having concerns about staying here in the future because of the politics of UT but he never said that. He said the all of the "Hotseat" talk has been very hard for Butch to overcome w recruits & coaches. At least one of the new coaches will not move his family here until after the season because of the uncertainty the spouse has because of all of the hotseat talk. It was really sad thinking about the sacrifice they are making to be here. I told him I have been around for a long time & seen the ups & downs & I believe we have turned the corner. He said Butch really is a good coach & can get it done here. People dont understand the uphill battle Butch has had to deal with. I told him I just hope we dont suffer the injuries this year like last year especially w the blocking schemes GT uses. He smiled real big & said the players are stronger and better prepared this year which will help w the injuries & then he grinned real big & said in a very matter of fact way, "we're ready for their blocking & we are going to kick their ass!" Which he followed with a fist bump. He wasn't saying it bragging, he was confident.
I just thought it was interesting hearing some of the background things they have to deal with & wanted to share. He said Curry is finding his way with the administration but believes he can help cut through the red tape moving forward.