'26 MS WR Tristen Keys (lsu commit)

[NighthawkVol]

I was at the Pitt game, as many of us were, and the moment that Hooker came in, the entire offensive unit lit up. Not just better QB play. The entire team responded and played with much more confidence. I don’t know how well that translated on television. In the stadium, it was almost palpable.

One of the announcers on TV in that Pitt game said that Josh Heupel was giving us a play calling clinic, but Milton couldn’t hit anyone. It was so frustrating because the plays were there to be had. Easily.

 

[Dadof2Vols]

All those words and you completely ignore the difference in our offense under Golesh when Milton was QB (and also for a game vs. Florida while Hooker was QB, before he got his feet under him). Which means you failed to reply to my post because that was the point.

The fact of inept offense under Golesh in early 2021 with Milton at is a very inconvenient fact for your argument. Why was Golesh’s offense so pedestrian against Bowling Green and Florida? Why was the passing game so inept against Pitt until Milton got hurt and Hooker provided a spark? If the OC is the problem (not the QB) in 23 and 24, why wasn’t the OC the problem in early 2021 until Hooker got rolling?

The variable is not the OC. The variable is the QB.

Yes, the play calling is different…because the QB is different/inferior. Another variable is that defenses have adjusted after 2022. Halzle has had to deal with that, Golesh didn’t. But they weren’t adjusting to either of those guys. They were adjusting to Josh Heupel’s offense.

I agree with you mostly but the truth is to make any offense work it is probably somewhere like 65% QB and 35% OC when just considering those 2 and ignoring the production of OL, WR and others

 

[swchandler1988]

How about this Tristen Keys fella

 

[NighthawkVol]

I agree with you mostly but the truth is to make any offense work it is probably somewhere like 65% QB and 35% OC when just considering those 2 and ignoring the production of OL, WR and others

That’s fair.

But our OC is our head coach. Our offensive scheme hasn’t changed. If we’re pointing out when our offense has looked different, we can’t ignore that it looked inept for games while Golesh was here too…when Milton was the QB and vs. Florida before Hooker got going.

The line between this offense looking good vs. looking bad has clearly been drawn by QB play, not who is the “named” OC.

 

[LowKey]

That’s fair.

But our OC is our head coach. Our offensive scheme hasn’t changed. If we’re pointing out when our offense has looked different, we can’t ignore that it looked inept for games while Golesh was here too…when Milton was the QB and vs. Florida before Hooker got going.

The line between this offense looking good vs. looking bad has clearly been drawn by QB play, not who is the “named” OC.

 

[orangemadam]

May be a while before Keys finishes his leveraging ploy

 

[Outofmyvolcanmind]

If Tristen Keys was our offensive coordinator for the 2025 season, what would our PPG be?

 

[Mountvol]

If Tristen Keys was our offensive coordinator for the 2025 season, what would our PPG be?

 

[Jackcrevol]

View attachment 759621

Orange.

 

[therickbol]

May be a while before Keys finishes his leveraging ploy

Every legitimate source says there is very little chance he signs with LSU. But..... the trusted source orangemadam knows the real undercover secret deets. Lock up this thread.

 

[Jackcrevol]

View attachment 759664

Every legitimate source says there is very little chance he signs with LSU. But..... the trusted source orangemadam knows the real undercover secret deets. Lock up this thread.

Was running through percentages and doing calculations for them.

Male Cheerleaders - 50%
Best team ever in history - 50%

 

[Volman678]

If Tristen Keys was our offensive coordinator for the 2025 season, what would our PPG be?

I'd take Keys over Halzle

 

[Newman]

We expect the playmaker out of Hattiesburg (Miss.) to take visits in the fall and we view the Vols as LSU’s top competition heading into the season.” “The dialogue remains strong with the staff in Knoxville.” - Chad Simmons

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

I'd take Keys over Halzle

So Keys has been the OC of a top 20 offense in all of college football?

 

[Ned Ray McWorkher]

The line between this offense looking good vs. looking bad has clearly been drawn by QB play, not who is the “named” OC.

When another qb looks as good as HH did in '22, then you'll be proven exactly right. Until then, it can be argued that you're wrong. Even if you aren't.

 

[NighthawkVol]

When another qb looks as good as HH did in '22, then you'll be proven exactly right. Until then, it can be argued that you're wrong. Even if you aren't.

True.

Hooker was pretty good in 2021 too…but only starting with the Missouri game.

 

[DaddyChad]

More I hear the more I think he’s going to go into or possibly through the season before deciding. If Pope has a good year and WRs produce I really think we get him. If we struggle again this year idk.

 

[kemotoe]

If Tristen Keys was our offensive coordinator for the 2025 season, what would our PPG be?

 

[BelievetheHeup2022]

One of the announcers on TV in that Pitt game said that Josh Heupel was giving us a play calling clinic, but Milton couldn’t hit anyone. It was so frustrating because the plays were there to be had. Easily.

I was at that game and watched it back the next day. I counted 4 deep balls that could have went for TDs that day and Milton hit 0 of them. Very frustrating to watch.

 

[Jackcrevol]

One of the announcers on TV in that Pitt game said that Josh Heupel was giving us a play calling clinic, but Milton couldn’t hit anyone. It was so frustrating because the plays were there to be had. Easily.

crazy he and nico could make ridiculous throws on the run... but standing back and launching deep, nunca.

 

[VawlIn]

They’re not going to say he’s regressed when he’s been doing all things they tell him to do.

It’s not meaningless. That’s the culmination of the spring work. It’s not everything, but it matters in developing each player. And Merk was deer in the headlights while the GMAC was pretty assertive against a lesser defense. But GMAC also would have had the ones on offense had he been in Merks place.

Aguilar is pretty much a finished product that is OPEN to more coaching but he’s accustomed IN GAME to slinging it and giving his receivers a chance. So Aguilar won’t be as effected as Merklinger is by the over coaching and rambling of Halzle.

2023-2024 has all been Halzle and I’m not going to ignore the facts that this offense has taken a few steps back.

Watching him flap his gums at Joey in that silly ass drill where the 3 analysts run in front of the QB for 2x as long as a QB will ever have in the pocket in the SEC kills me. Whatever he’s trying to teach right there will never be used in a game and only teaches bad habits. I’m sure we’ve done it every year, but Hooker already had a college foundation built by playing at Va Tech. If they were making off platform throws after the first hip flip it would make sense, but you have 1 chance to reset in the pocket in the SEC and after that the ball needs to get out or the QB does

 

[VawlIn]

Was Halzle the OC in 2021 when the offense was terrible against Ball State and Pitt and Florida? Then they made Golesh OC before the Missouri game and it got going, right?

The variable when the offense is great vs. average isn’t Golesh vs. Halzle. It’s Hendon Hooker being the QB vs. Milton/Nico being the QB.

Joe Milton was terrible under Golesh when he played in 2021. That was the year he acquired the nickname Overthrow Joe. He was still pretty terrible (under Golesh) when he started against Vanderbilt in 2022.

There’s also the fact that this is Heupel’s offense, not his OC’s.

This just isn’t true. The Joe Milton in the 2022 Orange Bowl was a night and day difference from the one we got in 2023, and it’s because Golesh was still on staff for that game. Also the offense wasn’t bad at all against Ball State and Pitt. Joe just couldn’t hit his deep balls and wasn’t a decisive enough runner, the latter was something that was never fixed while he did improve some on deep balls.

While this is Heupel’s offense and he called plays exclusively in year 1 even Jayson Swain said that Golesh called plays in the 22 season. Whether that means Golesh called the entire game, called it from the box after Heupel puts together the first 12-15 (that’s what Halzle did in 23, and I know that from someone that signaled plays in and this makes the most sense when you look at our early drives against Florida and Bama in 23 then look how we played the rest of the game) or whether Heup would call one and Golesh had the next one ready to be called by the time the ball was spotted. Which is also a possibility because ESPN or CBS said one game “the offense has operated so well this year because Heupel and Golesh are so in tune with eachother with what they want to call”. Heup definitely wasn’t calling full games in 22 though and it’s pretty obvious our playcalling has been missing something since Golesh left, reports are the passing game looks different though

 

[HoleInTheRoof]

Pay sites have been milking the “may decommit from lsu with Texas am and Tennessee being the main competition” updates on this kid for weeks on end.

 

[NighthawkVol]

This just isn’t true. The Joe Milton in the 2022 Orange Bowl was a night and day difference from the one we got in 2023, and it’s because Golesh was still on staff for that game. Also the offense wasn’t bad at all against Ball State and Pitt. Joe just couldn’t hit his deep balls and wasn’t a decisive enough runner, the latter was something that was never fixed while he did improve some on deep balls.

While this is Heupel’s offense and he called plays exclusively in year 1 even Jayson Swain said that Golesh called plays in the 22 season. Whether that means Golesh called the entire game, called it from the box after Heupel puts together the first 12-15 (that’s what Halzle did in 23, and I know that from someone that signaled plays in and this makes the most sense when you look at our early drives against Florida and Bama in 23 then look how we played the rest of the game) or whether Heup would call one and Golesh had the next one ready to be called by the time the ball was spotted. Which is also a possibility because ESPN or CBS said one game “the offense has operated so well this year because Heupel and Golesh are so in tune with eachother with what they want to call”. Heup definitely wasn’t calling full games in 22 though and it’s pretty obvious our playcalling has been missing something since Golesh left, reports are the passing game looks different though

So he was good for one game under Golesh, but bad in 3 others and that torpedoes the notion that the variable is the QB? He still wasn’t Hooker in the Orange Bowl. Go back and watch. He hit his deep throws, but there were a lot of empty drives and a lot of poor reads/progressions. He was basically the QB we saw in 2023 but with better WRs.

“Also the offense wasn’t bad at all against Ball State and Pitt. Joe just couldn’t hit his deep balls and wasn’t a decisive enough runner”

Joe was 11-23 against Bowling Green, a MAC defense, for 139 yards. Yeah, he couldn’t hit deep balls. So is that an excuse? Was it an excuse in 2023? If he wasn’t “bad” in those two games, then he wasn’t “bad” in 2023 and this whole conversation is moot. But you can’t apply different standards for what is good or bad to suit your position.

He was most certainly bad in those games. As he was against Vanderbilt in 2022 (with Golesh), which I notice you ignore. He was a below 50% passer vs. Bowling Green, Pitt, and Vanderbilt 2022. If those aren’t “bad,” then how was he “bad” in 2023 under Halzle when he completed nearly 65%?

Pretending that the offense under Golesh wasn’t drastically better with Hooker at QB than with Milton at QB is revisionism.

 

[CAVPUT]

Everytime I see this thread bumped, I keep opening it expecting to see (Tennessee Commit) next to this cats name only to be disappointed....again.