Kahlil declares for draft

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Has there ever been a team go 0-8 in their conference but still have 3 players leave early for the draft? That sounds crazy.

When will you guys realize that the problem was Butch Jones and not the players? I would have thought Alvin's success in the NFL would let you know we have some darn good football players on this team.

John Kelly, Rashaan Gaulden, and Kahlil McKenzie will all be really good NFL players. Their talent level was not the reason we lost so many games. It was because of poor coaching.

 

[DaddyChad]

Not that I saw. And I watched the defensive line frequently.

KMac always stood his ground against the run. And on passing downs got some decent pass rush up the middle on bull rushes.

KMac will be drafted higher than you guys think.

Higher than we think? I'm curious what round you have these guys in? Gaulden, McKenzie and Kelly?

I'll be shocked if McKenzie gets drafted before the fifth round honestly. And I agree that stats are overplayed on a NT but honestly he hasn't been that strong at the point of attack. His resume just doesn't seem to be one that will stand out to most teams IMO.

 

[Rudy123]

John Kelly, Trevor Daniels & Mc make an NFL team. Not sure about Gaulden....

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Solid NFL starter? He wasn’t a solid SEC starter.

You don't know football.

Kahlil would have started for every team in the SEC other than Alabama. And that's only because Da'Ron Payne is a stud.

Kahlil is a really good 1-tecnique. You guys simply don't appreciate his skill set. And you didn't watch him closely.

 

[butchna]

You don't know football.

Kahlil would have started for every team in the SEC other than Alabama. And that's only because Da'Ron Payne is a stud.

Kahlil is a really good 1-tecnique. You guys simply don't appreciate his skill set. And you didn't watch him closely.

Neither did you. Unless you have some access to coaches game film...and you don’t, YouTube b****.

 

[LittleCat]

You all are crazy. D4H is right. McKenzie doesn't get the stats or the flashy highlights, but he's been extremely solid when he's on the field. His ability to stuff the run was elite in the college ranks, even on a terrible defense. Before he suffered that torn pectoral, he was as good as anyone in the nation in the middle of that line.

 

[BowlBrother85]

My unskilled observation is that McCullers was drafted and he was not even close to the college player that McKenzie was. Pretty good chance that he gets drafted.
Kinda like almost ANY college 7 footer will make an NBA team. Just based on their size...

Probably right. I will say that I don't remember DT Tony McDaniel doing much at Tennessee other than beating up some guy during an intramural basketball game. McDaniel has had a long NFL career though and won a Super Bowl with Seattle and is now with the Saints. They showed him quite a bit during the game today. McKenzie probably will be drafted late and have a very good chance to make a roster.

That won't change the fact that his career at Tennessee was very disappointing following his high school reputation and the way he looked at "The Opening" in July of 2014 where he announced his commitment.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Poe was awful in collage . Had three sacks total . Only reason he got drafted so high was he absolutely crushed the combine

When will you guys learn that sacks are the not the way to judge 1-techniques?

Kahlil's job is to take up blockers, plug holes, and on 3rd down get pressure up the middle collapsing the pocket so that the edge rushers can get sacks.

Dontari Poe was not awful in college because he got 3 sacks. His job was not to get sacks. His job was to take on double teams, plug holes, and collapse the pocket so the edge rushers could get sacks.

 

[LittleCat]

When will you guys learn that sacks are the not the way to judge 1-techniques?

Kahlil's job is to take up blockers, plug holes, and on 3rd down get pressure up the middle collapsing the pocket so that the edge rushers can get sacks.

Dontari Poe was not awful in college because he got 3 sacks. His job was not to get sacks. His job was to take on double teams, plug holes, and collapse the pocket so the edge rushers could get sacks.

This.

 

[Remy]

Supposedly KMac graded out very well in most games for the Vols last year. Frankly as a fan, I didn't see it, were he all that his individual stats would have been better. I'm a big fan of the Big Tuna and his career by way of an acquaintance that played for him while he coached at Vandy. The guy said he literally intimidated everyone on Steve Sloan's staff there, players, coachs, cheerleaders, whatever, just a tough tough mean guy. If your numbers are who you really are, KMac has not been very productive during his time on The Hill. Was it due to himself or poor development by staff I have know way of knowing, but the big guy at UGA is well thought of because his numbers say he should be, KMac is not highly regarded after 3 years of college football because his numbers say he should not be.

 

[LittleCat]

Tennessee junior di kahlil mckenzie suffered a season-ending injury just six games into the 2016 season, limiting him to just 152 defensive snaps. In that span, he earned the no. 2 ranked overall grade (78.6) among returning power 5 interior defenders with less than 200 defensive snaps.

Mckenzie also ranked no. 2 against the run among that same group of interior defenders, posting an 80. 4 run defense grade.

Though his pass-rush repertoire is limited, mckenzie picked up a bull rush pressure once every 18.7 rushes, which ranked no. 1 in the draft class. He also ranked no. 1 in pass-rush productivity from a two-point stance at 26.8.

- pff

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Lol at anyone that tries to argue with D4H. You must watch a lot of tape. You keep saying you honed in on kmac this year, however, you're also able to provide confident analysis and predictions on everyone else. Do you have a job? Go to school? Or, just watch "tape" 24/7?

There's this thing called the DVR. You can rewind it and see the play over again focusing on certain players. I don't know about you, but I don't care too much for commercials during games so I rewind the game and look at different players and see how they are performing. When it came to the defense, I liked to look at the defensive line and see if guys were doing their jobs.

All season I saw KMac doing his job and playing really well. He would always stand his ground in the run game. He took on double teams constantly freeing up the linebackers. And I was PLEASANTLY SURPRISED by how effective he was on 3rd down as a pass rusher. He may not have gotten much in the way of sack production but I saw him get constant pressure up the middle on bull rushes that forced the QB out of the pocket.

There is a reason Kahlil declared. His tape is good. You guys just didn't watch him closely enough to notice it.

 

[butchna]

Supposedly KMac graded out very well in most games for the Vols last year. Frankly as a fan, I didn't see it, were he all that his individual stats would have been better. I'm a big fan of the Big Tuna and his career by way of an acquaintance that played for him while he coached at Vandy. The guy said he literally intimidated everyone on Steve Sloan's staff there, players, coachs, cheerleaders, whatever, just a tough tough mean guy. If your numbers are who you really are, KMac has not been very productive during his time on The Hill. Was it due to himself or poor development by staff I have know way of knowing, but the big guy at UGA is well thought of because his numbers say he should be, KMac is not highly regarded after 3 years of college football because his numbers say he should not be.

He was never a 4-3 DT. As a 3-4 NT he fit the job duties. Occupy blockers and push the middle. One year would have improved his scouting report. Now he needs an impressive Combine and Pro Day.

 

[UpstateVol613]

You don't know football.

Kahlil would have started for every team in the SEC other than Alabama. And that's only because Da'Ron Payne is a stud.

Kahlil is a really good 1-tecnique. You guys simply don't appreciate his skill set. And you didn't watch him closely.

I don’t know football?

Pretty sure you said you aren’t that impressed with Trevor Lawrence. I believe he is the highest rated QB they have had since they started these services. So you are saying you know more than Tom Luginbil and the rest of these guys that get paid to do this for a living? Also didn’t you guarantee Dobbs would get drafted before Deshaun Watson? Your track record speaks for itself.

 

[JFBanicki]

36 tackles and 1 sack for his career.... he'll need Dad's help to get drafted.

Gruden with his UT ties and his daddy being the gm, I see the raiders taking him in the 3-4 round

 

[butchna]

There's this thing called the DVR. You can rewind it and see the play over again focusing on certain players. I don't know about you, but I don't care too much for commercials during games so I rewind the game and look at different players and see how they are performing. When it came to the defense, I liked to look at the defensive line and see if guys were doing their jobs.

All season I saw KMac doing his job and playing really well. He would always stand his ground in the run game. He took on double teams constantly freeing up the linebackers. And I was PLEASANTLY SURPRISED by how effective he was on 3rd down as a pass rusher. He may not have gotten much in the way of sack production but I saw him get constant pressure up the middle on bull rushes that forced the QB out of the pocket.

There is a reason Kahlil declared. His tape is good. You guys just didn't watch him closely enough to notice it.

And when the camera pans away, your special DVR stays focused on one player. :thumbsup:

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

I literally think D4H is Butch Jones.

You must not know me.

I've been calling for Butch Jones to fired since his debacles in 2015 against Florida and Oklahoma. I've also said for the last 3 years he's the only reason this team isn't holding up 2 national championship trophies already.

We were the most talented team in college football in 2015 and 2016. Any competent coach would have won 2 national titles. Butch Jones only ended up winning 9 games each year. Once all the players from the 2015 and 2016 teams end up in the NFL, the rest of you will realize just how bad he was.

Butch Jones won 9 games in back to back years with a team filled with stud NFL players.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

I literally LOL'd when I read the thread title.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

As much as it pains me I have to agree with D4H... Kahlil will crush the combine and go 2nd/3rd round. Prototype nose tackle and the league loves the 3-4. These guys eat up space and blockers not many stats go along with that. We could have really used him next year, biggest lose of anyone leaving early this year.

I agree. KMac is made for the 3-4 defense. He's the ideal nose tackle. A lot like Javon Hargrave for the Pittsburgh Steelers. On the right team, Kahlil could be a starter as a rookie. He's that good.

I hope he crushes the combine and gets drafted in Day 2. It'll be fun to see all the people in this thread ripping him for being a bust at Tennessee having to eat their words when he gets drafted higher than they could have imagined.

 

[I_Bleed_Orange77]

How often did you focus on the defensive line?

Most fans just watch where the ball is going. And since Kahlil isn't a 3-techinque DT that penetrates and gets sacks/TFLs, most of you probably thought he was being ineffective.

I focused on the defensive line a lot and watched Kahlil in particular. He was generally very good. He always stood his ground even against double teams. He also did a good job getting pressure on the QB up the middle when he faced just one blocker. He showed much better endurance this year given how many snaps he played.

Kahlil is a lot better than you guys think. You guys just focused on the ball when watching the games. And you guys focus on the stats after the game whether its individual or team. So you saw KMac not get many sacks or TFLs and you saw that our rush defense was ineffective so you assumed KMac wasn't doing his job.

Most of the anti-Kahlil people in this thread probably rarely focused on him during games and have probably never looked at tape focused on him. They are merely speculating as to his effectiveness because they didn't notice him making big plays during games. And to most fans, lack of noticeable plays or box score stats = not being good. When it couldn't be further from the truth for a 1-technique DT like Kahlil.

Dude, you really are the dumbest person on this site. Post video of him dominating the line of scrimmage, I dare you. Dude was a bust for a 5 star.

 

[99gator]

You all are crazy. D4H is right. McKenzie doesn't get the stats or the flashy highlights, but he's been extremely solid when he's on the field. His ability to stuff the run was elite in the college ranks, even on a terrible defense. Before he suffered that torn pectoral, he was as good as anyone in the nation in the middle of that line.

As I said earlier, for sake of argument, if KMac was getting it done, the rest of the front 7 is the most useless in all of college football.

It is nearly impossible to play horrible run defense with a nose tackle that causes offenses problems. And that’s what we are talking about here.....horrible run defense.

It simply doesn’t happen.

The first thing that damn near every defense that has ever existed does when they can’t stop the run is address the defensive tackle/nose guard position.

That’s the very first thing.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Higher than we think? I'm curious what round you have these guys in? Gaulden, McKenzie and Kelly?

I'll be shocked if McKenzie gets drafted before the fifth round honestly. And I agree that stats are overplayed on a NT but honestly he hasn't been that strong at the point of attack. His resume just doesn't seem to be one that will stand out to most teams IMO.

John Kelly = 1st round talent
Rashaan Gaulden = 1st round talent
Kahlil McKenzie = 2nd round talent

And on my scale, a player with 1st round talent is a pro-bowl caliber player while a player with 2nd round talent is a surefire starter. I think John Kelly is a pro-bowl caliber RB similar to Ray Rice. I think Rashaan Gaulden can one of the best nickel corners in the NFL. His skill set at that position is ELITE. And I think Kahlil McKenzie can be a solid starter in the NFL as a 0-technique in the 3-4 defense similar to the Steelers' Javon Hargrave. All 3 will be really good NFL players.

In addition to those 3, I think Trevor Daniel and Evan Berry are good enough to warrant late round consideration. They are both elite special teams prospects. Evan Berry can be the best kick returner in the NFL. And Trevor Daniel can be a starting punter. Ethan Wolf is a solid NFL tight end and Kendal Vickers is a solid NFL defensive tackle. In total, I think 7-8 Vols rookies make NFL rosters in 2018. Gaulden, Kelly, and McKenzie are locks. Daniel and Berry are also close to locks. I would think Wolf and Vickers have shown enough to warrant consideration in the draft. And I wouldn't be surprised if Justin Martin and/or Emmanuel Moseley caught on with a team. They are both more talented than most of ya'll gave them credit for.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

You all are crazy. D4H is right. McKenzie doesn't get the stats or the flashy highlights, but he's been extremely solid when he's on the field. His ability to stuff the run was elite in the college ranks, even on a terrible defense. Before he suffered that torn pectoral, he was as good as anyone in the nation in the middle of that line.

Shhh....stop letting them know this.

They're providing me with a lot of good bumping material in about a year from now after Kahlil has had a good rookie season.

Its funny how little football knowledge so many posters on here have. Its like they only watch the ball during games. And unless a DT gets sacks or TFLs, he sucks to them. I actually was very down on Kahlil before the 2016 season. I made a thread calling him a bust because he wasn't listed as a starter going into his sophomore year and was ripped for it. So I'm the last guy to just defend Kahlil for no reason.

I changed my view on Kahlil after watching him closely in his sophomore year when he took a big jump forward. And then this year, he improved even more. If he was not effective, I would be ripping him. But he's been good every time I've focused on him the last 2 years.

 

[Orangeredblooded]

This one is a surprise...to me

Being who he is and who his father is, Ive heard that (don't know personally, just what I've read), that he didn't have the same intensity as his father and what he showed his first year, that maybe he wasn't going to fit with new staff, we all know that he won't be high on draft, just a way to go out while saving face. Sorry for kid, not going to be drafted very high at all.

 

[PA Vol]

Maybe he's not interested in being a NT in a 3-4?