Middle tier

[CMcEver]

I think Heupel is a good coach, and will make games closer than the talent level. I think we can close the gap sooner if he is that coach. Saban is both a recruiter and a good coach, but Kirby gets outcoached against teams he can't outright outman.

 

[VFLCodyGBO]

Tennessee has a 5-7 year timeframe realistically to get where those teams are. We will have some good seasons prior to that, but 5-7 years to find that kind of consistency. Rome wasn’t built overnight.

 

[sjt18]

After watching Georgia and Bama go at it and the amount of talent on both of those teams it’s abundantly clear we are a middle tier SEC team and will be one for the foreseeable future. We aren’t even close to being on those team’s level. 8-4 and 7-5 seasons will be the benchmark and scrapping it out with Mizzou, Kentucky and South Carolina.

Stop saying "we" with that attitude.

UT has the resources and opportunity through the portal and recruiting to rise over the next 3 years and compete.

If Heupel is still "scrapping it out" with MU, UK, and USCe in 3 years or really even 2 then he is very likely NOT the right guy.

Last... Heupel had UT competitive with both of those teams for a half.... with a short roster with lots of talent gaps. It is WAY premature to make the prediction you made.

 

[sjt18]

Tennessee has a 5-7 year timeframe realistically to get where those teams are. We will have some good seasons prior to that, but 5-7 years to find that kind of consistency. Rome wasn’t built overnight.

That's not true if Heupel is the right guy. That's especially not true with the opportunity for reshaping a roster the portal offers.

 

[RockyTop140]

Buddy, we all know hey have crazy amounts of talent right now. The hope is that we are able to do well with the players we have, convince high rated guys that what we have going on here is worth being apart of, and then begin to recruit higher rated guys. Then we’re talking

 

[DrTNT]

Glad players & coaches don’t share in you mentality. Did you notice that in every game we played this year, whoever we were playing knew they were in a game for 4 quarters? Or were you too busy wallowing in hopeless negativity? We haven’t seen that type of fight out of a team in a long time.

 

[VolunteerHillbilly]

Not sure what games some people were watching. UGA and UF were up 17 on Vols going into the 4Q, Bama was up 14. Those were not 4-quarter battles.

 

[OneManGang]

After watching Georgia and Bama go at it and the amount of talent on both of those teams it’s abundantly clear we are a middle tier SEC team and will be one for the foreseeable future. We aren’t even close to being on those team’s level. 8-4 and 7-5 seasons will be the benchmark and scrapping it out with Mizzou, Kentucky and South Carolina.

Not.

 

[VolunteerHillbilly]

If the Vols can solidify the 2-3 spot in the East over the next couple of seasons, they should be in a good spot to compete for the East by Hoop’s fourth season. If we’re not close by then, it’ll be because of recruiting and it will be time to move on. There is a reason that Hoop’s contract was structured to make it very costly for UTK to fire him before he gets four seasons.

 

[guido4198]

I suppose estimates about "where we are now", and wild guesses about how many years to be competitive with Bama are fun for some people to exchange but have no meaning. Coach Heupel and the team he inherited/recruited through the portal just brought Tennessee Football back from the brink.....IN ONE SEASON. How's about we respect that accomplishment and accept it as an indicator of what Coach is capable of and LET THE MAN DO HIS JOB.
I'm excited for the future of Big Orange Football for the first time in years...You should be too.
GBO...!!!

 

[orangemadam]

Tennessee has a 5-7 year timeframe realistically to get where those teams are. We will have some good seasons prior to that, but 5-7 years to find that kind of consistency. Rome wasn’t built overnight.

Haven't we been saying that for 10 years?

Won't happen only through the portal. Gotta recruit 4 year players at a high level. Hasn't happened in 10 years.

 

[Zues1]

After watching Georgia and Bama go at it and the amount of talent on both of those teams it’s abundantly clear we are a middle tier SEC team and will be one for the foreseeable future. We aren’t even close to being on those team’s level. 8-4 and 7-5 seasons will be the benchmark and scrapping it out with Mizzou, Kentucky and South Carolina.

Dang, I hadn't even noticed.

 

[VolunteerHillbilly]

I suppose estimates about "where we are now", and wild guesses about how many years to be competitive with Bama are fun for some people to exchange but have no meaning. Coach Heupel and the team he inherited/recruited through the portal just brought Tennessee Football back from the brink.....IN ONE SEASON. How's about we respect that accomplishment and accept it as an indicator of what Coach is capable of and LET THE MAN DO HIS JOB.
I'm excited for the future of Big Orange Football for the first time in years...You should be too.
GBO...!!!

Back from the brink seems like quite an overstatement. I think you’re confusing a bounce back with a turnaround. We’re back where Pruitt had us at the end of 2019 season. You want to see a turnaround, look at Baylor, 2-7 in 2020 and just won their conference. Wake was 4-5 last year and just played for a conference title. Michigan was 2-4 and is in the playoff as a conference champion. Northern Illinois just won the MAC after being 0-6 last season. Utah State won the Mountain West after being 1-5 last year. Those are turnarounds.

 

[American_PitVol]

After watching Georgia and Bama go at it and the amount of talent on both of those teams it’s abundantly clear we are a middle tier SEC team and will be one for the foreseeable future. We aren’t even close to being on those team’s level. 8-4 and 7-5 seasons will be the benchmark and scrapping it out with Mizzou, Kentucky and South Carolina.

After reading this post, it’s abundantly clear that you are a lower tier Vol Fan and should, for the foreseeable future, STFU. That attitude don’t go around here, Savvy?

 

[VeeOhElEsYes]

To go from bottom tier to upper middle tier in one season is great. A lot of moving parts in the league could get TN in that lower upper tier(9 win area) next season. Recruiting will pick up from there and we are right up there in it. Go Vols.

 

[wmcovol]

Middle tier SEC team competitive & probably should have beat ACC champion.

 

[ftsandersvol]

It's obvious we have a coaching staff now that can develop talent (let's just hope we can keep them). We just need a couple of good recruiting classes, and we have a shot at competing for SEC Championship titles again.

 

[Wrangler95]

After losing 30 to 40 players including some of the best on the team, having a coaching change, new offense and defense, we are lucky we are not dead last. I want to be top tier also, but reality is reality. I think this team overachieved given the circumstances at the beginning of the year. Don't be a pollyanna. Face reality for what it is.

I agree!

 

[WoodsmanVol]

Hear Ye, All You Doubters,

Bama is slipping. This season, they had to dredge the bottom of the well to get a sip of adrenalin to pull off wins. That well is nearly running dry despite last night's victory. A bad, and I mean bad Florida team made them wet their pants. Ole Mississippi lost primarily due to the Kif's stubborn gambling on 4th down. He forgot the basic rule of gambling. The longer you hang around the gaming table, the more likely the house wins all the money you put on the table. Texas A&M won despite the officiating efforts at rescuing the red algae bloom. A Florida-level bad LSU team had Bam-Bam looking for Charmin Ultra Strong but having to do with Angel Soft instead. Auburn does often play the crimson creeps tough, but probably used the rope-a-dope tactic once too often that time around. Bama is slipping, Saban knows it. Don't be surprised that, should his boys win the NCS this time around, he calls it quits. Go out in a blaze of glory while the going is good. He might hang around one more season, depends on what the team looks like once he sees who leaves for the pros, who transfers, and what's coming in. I dare say, how Tennessee fares in these areas will be a factor too. He knows Tebow was right when he said that Tennessee is a sleeping giant. We made him sweat for a while with an utterly depleted defense. Like King Belshazzar, Saban sees the writing on the wall.

 

[Orange_Crush]

After watching Georgia and Bama go at it and the amount of talent on both of those teams it’s abundantly clear we are a middle tier SEC team and will be one for the foreseeable future. We aren’t even close to being on those team’s level. 8-4 and 7-5 seasons will be the benchmark and scrapping it out with Mizzou, Kentucky and South Carolina.

Thanks, Jimmy.

 

[Orange_Crush]

Freak, can you start a separate forum for fans that either haven't come to the realization of where our program is, or are in the process of realization and processing?

 

[Cpatter4]

We can play with anyone in the country right now, but for a limited amount of quarters. When we get the talent, watch out!

Tennessee is one of the best teams in the country….for the first half. I believe we have the coaching. We just need more talent and depth to get us through the second half.

 

[JonGrudensAgent]

I suppose estimates about "where we are now", and wild guesses about how many years to be competitive with Bama are fun for some people to exchange but have no meaning. Coach Heupel and the team he inherited/recruited through the portal just brought Tennessee Football back from the brink.....IN ONE SEASON. How's about we respect that accomplishment and accept it as an indicator of what Coach is capable of and LET THE MAN DO HIS JOB.
I'm excited for the future of Big Orange Football for the first time in years...You should be too.
GBO...!!!

How is discussing the team and program on a message board impeding Heupel from DOING HIS JOB?

 

[overseasorange2]

After watching Georgia and Bama go at it and the amount of talent on both of those teams it’s abundantly clear we are a middle tier SEC team and will be one for the foreseeable future. We aren’t even close to being on those team’s level. 8-4 and 7-5 seasons will be the benchmark and scrapping it out with Mizzou, Kentucky and South Carolina.

We had the most losses in the transfer portal of any team in the country, including some key starters. This is Heupel's first year here, and we have one of the tougher schedules in the country. Yet, we lost only to UGA (12-1), Bama (12-1), Ole Miss (10-2), Pitt (11-2) and of course the lowly Gators. Only the latter was an embarrassment. The rest of the teams will end up in the top 10 or 15. We gave Bama and UGA a better game than most. And Pitt and Ole Miss could have gone either way. How could a Vol not be encouraged for the future?

 

[HuntlandVolinColo]

We had the most losses in the transfer portal of any team in the country, including some key starters. This is Heupel's first year here, and we have one of the tougher schedules in the country. Yet, we lost only to UGA (12-1), Bama (12-1), Ole Miss (10-2), Pitt (11-2) and of course the lowly Gators. Only the latter was an embarrassment. The rest of the teams will end up in the top 10 or 15. We gave Bama and UGA a better game than most. And Pitt and Ole Miss could have gone either way. How could a Vol not be encouraged for the future?

We supplied 13 starters to other teams and still finished 7-5 against 5th toughest schedule. With the distraction of ncaa investigation and completely new coaching staff and AD turnover. We did ok.