Nyles Gaddy Article

#51
#51
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#52
#52


Sub required but I’ll highlight two main quotes that really caught my eye.




This was when asked about leadership


Very revealing. Makes a lot of sense in light of how this team is playing. Still, IMO, it comes down to one thing....coaching. This team is a reflection of it's head coach. What shocks me is that Pruitt has seen Bama. He knows Saban will not suffer anyone, no matter the "star" rating, who will not buy into the program/system he has in place. He'll send that individual packing and play someone who is buying in even if it's a lesser talent. Granted, the backups at bama are usually just as good as the guy in front of them, but my point remains...it's the culture. Pruitt needed to reestablish said culture from the jump. It had to be the top priority especially after Butch. If there are upperclass players who are pursuing their own agenda, send 'em packing and play the next guy who is buying in. If Pruitt had done that and remained consistent, we still might not be winning, but I have no doubt the play and energy on the field would be much better. Pruitt could have honestly and in so many words, let the fans know this is the process of changing things and we'd have accepted that. Instead, he's trying to cover these issues and he's losing/lost some of his team. Looks just like the Butch/Dooley years when players(not all) had checked out on the season yet they continued to trot those same players out every saturday afternoon.

Pruitt had his chance. He faced the test and apparently, he failed. Once respect is lost, it's rarely regained. No one to blame but himself. And if UT stays with him or brings in another project, they've got no one to blame when fans give 'em the double barrelled middle finger when they come around asking for donations and selling tickets. You get tired of paying for filet and getting day old/moldy bread. I quit attending during the Dooley mess and haven't been back since. Hire Freeze and my arse is back in the Terrace every Saturday.

Thank gawd the game this week is cancelled. Hope they cancel the rest of the games, too. No sense in bringing anymore shame to the program by letting people see this pathetic product Pruitt has given us.
 
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#56
#56
Eric Gray, Josh Palmer, Jalyn Hyatt. We’ve got some play makers, but when you hand the ball of 75% of the time it doesn’t lead to a lot of big plays.
Eric Gray, Josh Palmer, Jalyn Hyatt. We’ve got some play makers, but when you hand the ball of 75% of the time it doesn’t lead to a lot of big plays.

Hyatt will be a playmaker in the future and could be very good. The other two guys you mentioned are average at best. Palmer has a hard time getting separation and Gray only gets the yards the OL gets him. Even in the open field, he gets tackled every time. But, those three are UT's best play makers right now.

The only way a program like UT gets out of these doldrums is to sign a real playmaker at QB. He has to be able to create yards with his feet and arm. Dobbs made his team better like that, in the 70s, the Vols offensive talent was way down but Holloway made that team competitive. You have to have a special athlete at QB until you can recruit comparable talent with the top teams in the SEC. That guy is not on the roster. Hopefully, it's the guy from Texas who remains committed to UT.
 
#57
#57
An effective, winning organizational culture is among the most difficult things to build. It is also very easy to destroy. Starting with Mike Hamilton, we have had some absolutely terrible leadership and decision-making at the top of the Athletic Department.

I still say that John Currie was the most ridiculous clown to ever work as as AD in the history of collegiate sports. That game (I think it was against Missouri) when Butch lost his last game as HC was so telling . . . Currie posing for the cameras on the sidelines with that "mean mug" face, trying to (in his mind) give the appearance of a fiercely-focused and displeased leader taking account of the situation. It was so obviously him out there playing theater when we needed a leader that it made me cringe. Of course, he was posturing weeks after the decision to fire Jones should have already been made. Currie wasn't the cause, but he certainly was (for me, at least) the embodiment of all the issues that have built-up for nearly two decades.

I have no idea what's going on in the locker room. I really thought that Jeremy Pruitt was the right guy - and maybe he'll prove to be yet - but my belief is used up. I'm a Volunteer until I die, but I have lost my confidence that any of this is getting straightened out any time soon.
 
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#58
#58
Sounds a lot like this
'The culture is a disaster:' Jones, Vols trending the wrong way

“Certain guys had more of a voice than they deserve,” a source close to the team said. “Certain guys would become team captains even though they didn’t earn it. When that happens, it dissolves trust the rest of the team has in you.”

Such an excuse. These kids need to lead themselves. They are playing at the University of Tennessee. They are being given a full ride with a shot at making millions with at the least a fall back on a huge network and college education. They earned it to get where they are. Now they need to put their big boy pants on and stop preparing and playing like a bunch of sissies.
 
#59
#59
Such an excuse. These kids need to lead themselves. They are playing at the University of Tennessee. They are being given a full ride with a shot at making millions with at the least a fall back on a huge network and college education. They earned it to get where they are. Now they need to put their big boy pants on and stop preparing and playing like a bunch of sissies.
So you don't think the coaches have any bearing on the success or the failure of the program? It's all on the players?
 
#60
#60
Such an excuse. These kids need to lead themselves. They are playing at the University of Tennessee. They are being given a full ride with a shot at making millions with at the least a fall back on a huge network and college education. They earned it to get where they are. Now they need to put their big boy pants on and stop preparing and playing like a bunch of sissies.
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN APART OF A TEAM????
 
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#61
#61
Reading this brings me back to the fact that after halftime we come out with very little to no fire. 24 to zip.
 
#62
#62
Was this kid related to "Big Daddy Gaddy" who was a Nashville Kat Arena player and I think played for the titans for a minute who was a suspect in the McNair "murder".
 
#63
#63
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN APART OF A TEAM????
I HAVE. SOCCER. PLAYED FOR STATE CHAMP AND WITH SOME OF THE BEST IN KNOX. BASKETBALL, PLAYED FOR NATIONALS. PLAYED ON ALL STARS IN BASEBALL MOST OF MY YOUNGER LIFE. I BOXED IN COLLEGE AND MY TEAM ONE THE TOURNEY AND I WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP... I DESTROYED PEOPLE. I ALSO PLAYED GOLF, TENNIS AND VOLLEYBALL. I KNOW WHAT IT TAKES TO WIN AND IT IS EVERY INDIVIDUAL PUSHING THEMSELVES.
 
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#64
#64
So you don't think the coaches have any bearing on the success or the failure of the program? It's all on the players?

Yes, definitely... but my comment is about this attitude ...

“Certain guys had more of a voice than they deserve,”

These kids need to find their inner drive... that is an all star, pro mentality. Sure, it helps to have an Al Wilson, but if these kids are worrying about who gets to have a voice, they are thinking about the wrong things.
 
#65
#65
Yes, definitely... but my comment is about this attitude ...

“Certain guys had more of a voice than they deserve,”

These kids need to find their inner drive... that is an all star, pro mentality. Sure, it helps to have an Al Wilson, but if these kids are worrying about who gets to have a voice, they are thinking about the wrong things.
Players know who the leaders are and when the coaches suppress the leaders to put in leaders the players know are fake then that doesn't work.
 
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#66
#66
Players know who the leaders are and when the coaches suppress the leaders to put in leaders the players know are fake then that doesn't work.

I have played a lot of sports. Depends on the players. It can’t HELP, but my opinion if that is what players are pointing fingers at then we have a bigger issue. Other players can override the voice of appointees if they want a leadership role.
 
#67
#67
I wish young Mr. Gaddy well in his new stop.

He's a walk-on who had dreams of starting at a D 1 school and his dream didn't materialize.

I would think it's not hard to see what's going on here. This could be an interview from any walk-on from any major program in America. They have dreams shattered and they seek someone to blame besides their own lack of talent.

My son-in-law walked on at Tennessee in the 90s. Fortunately he had a better grasp of his talent and the situation. He seemed to really enjoy the experience.
 
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#68
#68
I wish young Mr. Gaddy well in his new stop.

He's a walk-on who had dreams of starting at a D 1 school and his dream didn't materialize.

I would think it's not hard to see what's going on here. This could be an interview from any walk-on from any major program in America. They have dreams shattered and they seek someone to blame besides their own lack of talent.

My son-in-law walked on at Tennessee in the 90s. Fortunately he had a better grasp of his talent and the situation. He seemed to really enjoy the experience.
So you have to be a starter to know what's going on in the program? Give me a damn break, this guy knew what he was walking on. You're discounting what he's saying because he's a walk-on. Wait until you see who transfers before the end of the year, maybe you'll see things in a different light
 
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#71
#71
I know y’all don’t want to hear this.... but the leadership aspect still falls back on Butch. It means the seniors aren’t stepping up and pressuring the newcomers like Jennings did last year.

JG, Palmer, Chandler, Trey Smith, etc, should be the players holding everyone accountable and they’re not. These are all still Butch’s guys.
I haven’t bailed on this coaching staff like many of the hyper sensitive fans here have. They’ve had highs and lows, we will see how it shakes out for them... BUT to excuse the seniors on this team as “Butch players” in terms of leadership is asinine. If you want to claim they aren’t talented enough, ok, that is Butch’s fault. If you want to claim they aren’t leaders, that’s the fault of the staff that has been here for 3 years.
 
#74
#74
I wish young Mr. Gaddy well in his new stop.

He's a walk-on who had dreams of starting at a D 1 school and his dream didn't materialize.

I would think it's not hard to see what's going on here. This could be an interview from any walk-on from any major program in America. They have dreams shattered and they seek someone to blame besides their own lack of talent.

My son-in-law walked on at Tennessee in the 90s. Fortunately he had a better grasp of his talent and the situation. He seemed to really enjoy the experience.
THAT KID IS GOING TO BE JUST FINE LOL. HE JUST GOT A FULL RIDE TO A DIV 1 AA AND HAD 3 OTHERS 2 DIV 1 SCHOOLS. SO BEFORE YOU QUESTION HIS SKILL OR TALENT DO A LITTLE DIGGING
 
#75
#75
Watch U of M football tonight against Wisconsin, exact same situation as Tennessee. You can be great at 21 positions and suck at QB and you cannot win. No chance.

We are not great everywhere but I suspect the ineptitude at the QB has created division on the team. Pruitt could lose the next 4 games by 100 each and will keep his job. No clue why he is not using this time to Prep Harrison Bailey.

If Harrison Bailey does not start a game this year and develop soon he could be in trouble.. Salter looks good and has not yet been poised by Chaney

I am rambling....
 

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