Let the preseason hype begin

#4
#4
Crazier things have happened. Being a Vol, it just makes it so hard to believe.

But surely we're due at some point...
 
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#7
#7
One glaring item not mentioned in the article, though stating that offense now rules the game, we need to vastly improve on defense - not scheme but with players. Our guys were worn out in the 3rd quarter and the only way to overcome this is to have more able bodies on the bench, through both recruiting and development.

I do agree that our offense will put up points and eat up yards . . . at break-neck speed!

GBO
 
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#8
#8
Our offense is gonna be really really good now our defense??? They gotta improve substantially for us to have a chance to win the East. Hooker and Tillman will put up monster numbers this season
 
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#9
#9
OldLofter said:
I think we have one more year of struggle before we see things start to slowly improve. We were in a bad place. Stay the course. CJH will get us there. Just MHO.
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Well we already improved leaps and bounds from 2020 to 2021.

No doubt we will continue to be good. Who knows about elite.
 
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#13
#13
LETTERMAN88 said:
Until we have a great DL with a good group of #2's and decent #3's in rotation we will struggle.
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We are missing some pieces defensively. Another edge guy that can compliment Byron Young, who I think will become a star this year. A couple of DL to take that next step and be disrupters...Omari Thomas showed glimpses. Talent infusion and depth at the LB...outside of Jeremy Banks. This will help our DB’s as much as anything, which isn’t very talented, imo.
 
#14
#14
OldLofter said:
I think we have one more year of struggle before we see things start to slowly improve. We were in a bad place. Stay the course. CJH will get us there. Just MHO.
Click to expand...
Great coaches, coach great. They do it when they're in a "bad place". They do it when they're in a better place. They do it when they're in a great place.

Heupel did a good job last fall. Two or 3 games slipped away that should have been wins. He "coached great" for most of the season. The question is whether he can keep doing it.

I won't be surprised if there's another year of "struggle" depending on how you define it. Would 7-9 wins be a "struggle"? But the "slowly improve" part is myth. From the time they're hired, coaches are on the clock. They have to prove they can coach players up and succeed "more than expected". If that doesn't happen then they don't get the players needed to compete at the top... and NEVER get them once recruits recognize them as 2nd tier or worse.

Can you name more than a couple of coaches at current power 5 schools that didn't win at least 9 games in their first 3 seasons who then went on to win championships at that school? You may find some that are like UK... they improve slowly over time to 2nd tier (also ran). But UK isn't a championship caliber team and no one seriously thinks they're going to be. They would be the anomaly if they did.

In short, Heupel really needs to get over the hump with the close games. They need to monkey stomp Pitt. They need to win all the "should wins"- UK, USCe, Vandy, and Mizzou. That gets UT to 8 wins which would be widely seen as continued improvement. You could probably sell recruits on it. Then there appears to be a real opportunity with UF and LSU this year. UT seems to find a way to choke vs UF so we'll all remain cautious until that monkey is off the Vols' backs. LSU is somewhat of an enigma with Kelly. He will likely get more out of the talent than O.

UT has a legit shot at being a 10 win team this year. If he misses windows like this then he's nothing but another rendition of Butch Jones.
 
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#17
#17
Not going to participate in the hype (no pun intended). But I am in an optimistic State of mind. But until we win a game against one of the big three, I will not ignite the afterburners quite just yet.
 
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#18
#18
I see anywhere from 7-5 (if we don't get some help at WR and LB) to 9-3 if things go our way and we get some portal players that matter and Hooker can stay healthy.
 
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#20
#20
"Tennessee, after a regular season of quick growth and after 15 critical bowl practices, rolled out an offense that scored 45 points and had 666 yards (378 passing) in a 48-45 loss." -- Catch that?- LOSS. While I loved watching us score last year & I am a CJH fan too, the defense has got to perform better. A shoot-out like the bowl game usually means that the last team with the ball wins. --And that's exactly what happened. I feel like - if the D improves, so will the W's......
 
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#21
#21
One thing that I really like about Heupel is that we win the games we should win, and we don't make it close. Missouri, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, and the non power 5 non conference games were all blowouts. Then he goes into Lexington and beats probably the most talented Kentucky team they've ever had.

Now he'll need to improve on that. Florida, LSU, Pittsburgh and Kentucky are all very winnable games. I feel like we should go at worst 2-2 in those games, but 3-1 would be a huge step forward. Then just win the other games you should win and you are 8-4 or 9-3.
 
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#22
#22
#23
#23
OldLofter said:
I think we have one more year of struggle before we see things start to slowly improve. We were in a bad place. Stay the course. CJH will get us there. Just MHO.
Click to expand...
Could see that. Unfortunately, with HH returning, this may be our best offense before 2024/2025 (would expect a dip next year while transitioning to a new QB), but defense is definitely a work in progress. Then again, what if we're like Ole Miss? 10 wins is possible. And what IF we pull a 2019 LSU? Their defense was meh. But offense was insane...could we pull that? Very small odds, but that's better than we've had in a very long time.

2024/2025...develop Nico or Vizzina or Jackson...recruit our way up on defense. The sky is the ceiling.
 
#24
#24
EverythingOrange said:
"Tennessee, after a regular season of quick growth and after 15 critical bowl practices, rolled out an offense that scored 45 points and had 666 yards (378 passing) in a 48-45 loss." -- Catch that?- LOSS. While I loved watching us score last year & I am a CJH fan too, the defense has got to perform better. A shoot-out like the bowl game usually means that the last team with the ball wins. --And that's exactly what happened. I feel like - if the D improves, so will the W's......
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Jesus...it's his first year and we lost EVERYTHING on defense lol.

You don't judge Year 1s on shortcomings...you see where you can progress whatsoever. And we nearly doubled our offensive scoring haha. That's HUGE. We were also 3 AWFUL calls from 10 wins. Give this staff year 4-5 on defense...the offense will still be there and then some.

LOVE our chances to hop over the fence in the near future. IF we can leverage that to even better recruiting...we can rise to the cream of the crop.
 
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#25
#25
Our ceiling for the next 2 yrs is 2nd in East. This won't change until we start recruiting closer to Georgia level.
 
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