LB Aaron Willis Enters Transfer Portal

[EricberryFAN]

Man...

 

[Ashevillevol]

Have any of you ever heard of him? How many guys like this do we have?

 

[Gandalf]

Making room.

Well, good luck to you Aaron, wherever you go (as long as its not in the SEC).

 

[CAVPUT]

Have any of you ever heard of him? How many guys like this do we have?

He's a bit of a surprise. Seem to remember he was a high 3 or 4 star type. Thought he'd be a 2-3 year starter at UT. My guess is that he simply didn't show enough at this level to factor into the plans so he's looking for a place to get on the field sooner rather than later. Hope this signals we have answers at LB coming via the portal or some of our recruits are just better players.

 

[VolInDayton]

Had high hopes for him, but I'm not surprised. We are pretty thin at LB and I never saw his name being mentioned in practice reports.

 

[butchna]

Have any of you ever heard of him? How many guys like this do we have?

Top get in his class…after the embers cooled.

 

[chattavol420]

This is an unbelievable mistake by our staff, make no bones about it. This kid is an absolute beast and in limited time on the field has proven his recruiting ranking to be justified IMO. He has sat behind the most incompetent and cowardly linebacker I’ve ever seen put on a Tennessee. Willis recognizes as much and wants to play. Amd he should be playing on this defense.

 

[RiseToTheTop]

This is an unbelievable mistake by our staff, make no bones about it. This kid is an absolute beast and in limited time on the field has proven his recruiting ranking to be justified IMO. He has sat behind the most incompetent and cowardly linebacker I’ve ever seen put on a Tennessee. Willis recognizes as much and wants to play. Amd he should be playing on this defense.

if he couldnt play better than Beasley thats pretty telling, no?

 

[butchna]

Think Eli Herring was a factor in this decision. Big surprise how well he’s adjusted and emerged in that pecking order. Will most likely be starting by mid-season at the latest. Landing his brother was a nice bonus but it’s showing that he was a great get in his own right.

 

[VolInDayton]

This is an unbelievable mistake by our staff, make no bones about it. This kid is an absolute beast and in limited time on the field has proven his recruiting ranking to be justified IMO. He has sat behind the most incompetent and cowardly linebacker I’ve ever seen put on a Tennessee. Willis recognizes as much and wants to play. Amd he should be playing on this defense.

He recorded .5 tackles as a freshman and it came against South Alabama. I don't know how you have seen enough to considered this a mistake by our staff.

 

[Vol in Buckeye Land]

This is an unbelievable mistake by our staff, make no bones about it. This kid is an absolute beast and in limited time on the field has proven his recruiting ranking to be justified IMO. He has sat behind the most incompetent and cowardly linebacker I’ve ever seen put on a Tennessee. Willis recognizes as much and wants to play. Amd he should be playing on this defense.

And he just happens to be your nephew, right?

 

[Voltime123]

This is an unbelievable mistake by our staff, make no bones about it. This kid is an absolute beast and in limited time on the field has proven his recruiting ranking to be justified IMO. He has sat behind the most incompetent and cowardly linebacker I’ve ever seen put on a Tennessee. Willis recognizes as much and wants to play. Amd he should be playing on this defense.

If only the coaches could have watched him in practice to make this same determination

 

[HalfullVol]

Had high hopes for him, but I'm not surprised. We are pretty thin at LB and I never saw his name being mentioned in practice reports.

There are (14) LB's on the roster.

Cream rises to the top.

 

[HalfullVol]

This is an unbelievable mistake by our staff, make no bones about it. This kid is an absolute beast and in limited time on the field has proven his recruiting ranking to be justified IMO. He has sat behind the most incompetent and cowardly linebacker I’ve ever seen put on a Tennessee. Willis recognizes as much and wants to play. Amd he should be playing on this defense.

;-/

Excellent special teams player.

 

[LittleVol]

Not surprising.
Had good high school tape and played on a loaded high school team.
Always thought he lacked athletic ability for such a small guy.

Got in trouble early and worked his way back to the team. Still...he just wasn't that good.

Good luck kid.

 

[knox-townVOL]

This is an unbelievable mistake by our staff, make no bones about it. This kid is an absolute beast and in limited time on the field has proven his recruiting ranking to be justified IMO. He has sat behind the most incompetent and cowardly linebacker I’ve ever seen put on a Tennessee. Willis recognizes as much and wants to play. Amd he should be playing on this defense.

We have a cowardly and incompetent linebacker?

 

[chattavol420]

If only the coaches could have watched him in practice to make this same determination

Oh you mean like they did with the competition between hooker and Milton? That practice right? Or a different practice? You can say fans are total idiots and have no insight if you want to but all that matters is what happens out on the field. And our defensive coordinator should’ve looked at how poor our play at middle linebacker was and made a change. The obvious change would’ve been a given Willis some actual playing time to assess the difference between the two. But because of seniority, understanding terminologies, and who knows what else… The job was given to Aaron Beasley and no matter how incompetent he was on Saturday it remained his job. It is a flawed by the staff.
And the comparison between Milton and Hooker is incredibly relevant here because that is very much the same. Milton won the job based on what happened in closed limited contact practices and no matter how incompetent he was they didn’t give anyone else game reps. That was bizarre. Because Milton had proven nothing in game action. The only reason hooker ultimately got on the field is because Milton was injured. The staff hast to do a better job of identifying players that are not competing well in game action and giving others an opportunity… Regardless of what their first impressions and practice were of a player

 

[turnuptheVOLtage]

Thought he’d be a beast here

 

[VOLINVONORE]

This is an unbelievable mistake by our staff, make no bones about it. This kid is an absolute beast and in limited time on the field has proven his recruiting ranking to be justified IMO. He has sat behind the most incompetent and cowardly linebacker I’ve ever seen put on a Tennessee. Willis recognizes as much and wants to play. Amd he should be playing on this defense.

Thank you coach. I am sure you have closely observed each and every practice this young man have had at Tennessee. If you have not had that opportunity to observe his practices, I suggest you may not know very much about his skill level or his attitude during practices. My bet is we will likely not miss his not playing.

 

[butchna]

We have a cowardly and incompetent linebacker?

Must be talking about Banks. Oh wait, Beasley hurt a kitty. 😴

 

[butchna]

Oh you mean like they did with the competition between hooker and Milton? That practice right? Or a different practice? You can say fans are total idiots and have no insight if you want to but all that matters is what happens out on the field. And our defensive coordinator should’ve looked at how poor our play at middle linebacker was and made a change. The obvious change would’ve been a given Willis some actual playing time to assess the difference between the two. But because of seniority, understanding terminologies, and who knows what else… The job was given to Aaron Beasley and no matter how incompetent he was on Saturday it remained his job. It is a flawed by the staff.
And the comparison between Milton and Hooker is incredibly relevant here because that is very much the same. Milton won the job based on what happened in closed limited contact practices and no matter how incompetent he was they didn’t give anyone else game reps. That was bizarre. Because Milton had proven nothing in game action. The only reason hooker ultimately got on the field is because Milton was injured. The staff hast to do a better job of identifying players that are not competing well in game action and giving others an opportunity… Regardless of what their first impressions and practice were of a player

Fire Heup Hire this goober. 😴

 

[Jax_Vol]

Best of work Aaron!! Thank you for your contributions!

 

[Hacksaw]

Sorry it didn't work out for him here, but wish him luck.

 

[Jax_Vol]

Must be talking about Banks. Oh wait, Beasley hurt a kitty. 😴

Can't be talking about Banks. Every time a guy runs out of bounds, JB drills them. Very consistent!

 

[rdk4121]

Was hoping he could produce, but from the spring practice reports, he seemed to be running with the walk ons. Good luck to him.