One Year Ago Today (Welcome To Rocky Top Josh Heupel!)
- Thread starter mad4vols
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Full disclosure, my apathy towards the program peaked that day. I will have to say, he has started to win me over. Let's get the NCAA crap in the rearview and prove your worth on the recruiting trail in 23 & 24. 8-9 wins should be the expectation this year with Hooker returning. Could get 10 if we get some breaks.
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I have learned to believe in him and his ability to instill a mindset in a team of young men of TEAM and a belief in themselve that they can defeat anyone and a real plan that can do it. And he and his staff coach them up to the best of the team's ability to execute said plan. We haven't seen that in over a decade.
It is about time.
I am still looking for more in recruiting and roster building.
It is about time.
I am still looking for more in recruiting and roster building.
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I had no other choice but to be happy with it like I have said in a few other post I have waited 30+ years to see Tennessee have a high powered offense like that and well needless to say I was not disappointed at all. Beyond what the offense did I truly believe CJH has laid a MODERN foundation that will finally pay off in the end this time.
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I am completely excited about the future! I know its best to temper expectations but,Vol football is actually FUN to watch again!! Heck even in the losses,as much as it sucked...it was still enjoyable football. It seemed like we always have a chance under Heupel,not already defeated in the 1st quarter like the previous coaches. It seems he genuinlely wants to coach here and i never once saw any players quit during the game,that is an absolute reflection of the coach
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It felt like a gut punch coming off the 3-7 season, but he proved a lot of us wrong. There was a huge improvement, but there’s still a lot that needs to be improved. I have my doubts still, but hopefully he can prove those wrong again. An 8 or 9 win season and beat Florida should be the natural progression for success next year.
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mad4vols and Sammy Joe
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I was semi-optimistic since we hired a guy known for explosive offenses and coming off the Pruitt experiment I just wanted to see an exciting team again. Heupel gave us just that. I think last year’s team outscored the 2020 team halfway through the season lol
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Rickyvol77 and mad4vols
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I think that AD Danny White was totally shell shocked that he couldn't generate any serious interest in our HC position even though he was allowed to offer serious $$$ for the HC and all his assistants.
I also think we got lucky that AD White was able to convince our new HC to take on the monumental task of a total rebuild after 32 players ran away and our player roster was so badly depleted.
I think most of us realistically expected only 4 or 5 Wins last season and to make it to a Bowl game would be way over performing for the roster we were left with.
Because it took so long for the UT Admin to get rid of Pruitt and to negotiate a payout to get Fulmer to leave and then to hire a search firm to finally get AD White hired and looking for a new HC I think we all knew that the deck was badly stacked against our new HC as far as recruiting was concerned because he still had to hire all his coaching assistants and support people.
Despite having to do all of that I was pleasantly surprised that we cane away with a much better recruiting class than I dreamed was possible and we could still add a surprise or 2.
We're lucky here on VN that we have several people that do lots of serious research and know what they're talking about most of the time.
I watched these forums closely as CJH hired each new coach and after he was done it seemed that even tough he got such a late start he managed to convince some really good teachers of football to come coach in K town so I became slightly optimistic.
We all know for a FACT that we were robbed out of a TD against Old Piss and again in the Music City Bowl so that certainly should have been 2 more WINS for our Vols and CJH in his 1st season.
No coach really knows how a player will perform until you can evaluate them in real game because they can be great in practice situations bur fall very short in real games and we know that JG was 1 of those types..
Now we all know and believe that if Mr. Hooker had been our starting QB from game 1 we probably would have also gotten the WIN against Pitt and that would have been the 3rd extra WIN for our Vols and HCJH.
We all saw with our own eyes over this past year our players and Team get better and better weak by weak and we also saw tat HCJH never threw any players under the bus or make excuses or whine.
He and his staff just went back to work trying to help our players get better and make fewer mistakes.
Here we are 1 year later and I feel much better about where our Vols program is headed and I believe that we've finally found the right guy to get us back to the top where we all know we belong!
CJH and his staff simply did a outstanding job in year 1 despite everything being so badly stacked against them.
The future is bright for our footVOL Team especially after we finally get the ignorant NCAA off our back and behind us.
VFL,,,GBO!!!
I also think we got lucky that AD White was able to convince our new HC to take on the monumental task of a total rebuild after 32 players ran away and our player roster was so badly depleted.
I think most of us realistically expected only 4 or 5 Wins last season and to make it to a Bowl game would be way over performing for the roster we were left with.
Because it took so long for the UT Admin to get rid of Pruitt and to negotiate a payout to get Fulmer to leave and then to hire a search firm to finally get AD White hired and looking for a new HC I think we all knew that the deck was badly stacked against our new HC as far as recruiting was concerned because he still had to hire all his coaching assistants and support people.
Despite having to do all of that I was pleasantly surprised that we cane away with a much better recruiting class than I dreamed was possible and we could still add a surprise or 2.
We're lucky here on VN that we have several people that do lots of serious research and know what they're talking about most of the time.
I watched these forums closely as CJH hired each new coach and after he was done it seemed that even tough he got such a late start he managed to convince some really good teachers of football to come coach in K town so I became slightly optimistic.
We all know for a FACT that we were robbed out of a TD against Old Piss and again in the Music City Bowl so that certainly should have been 2 more WINS for our Vols and CJH in his 1st season.
No coach really knows how a player will perform until you can evaluate them in real game because they can be great in practice situations bur fall very short in real games and we know that JG was 1 of those types..
Now we all know and believe that if Mr. Hooker had been our starting QB from game 1 we probably would have also gotten the WIN against Pitt and that would have been the 3rd extra WIN for our Vols and HCJH.
We all saw with our own eyes over this past year our players and Team get better and better weak by weak and we also saw tat HCJH never threw any players under the bus or make excuses or whine.
He and his staff just went back to work trying to help our players get better and make fewer mistakes.
Here we are 1 year later and I feel much better about where our Vols program is headed and I believe that we've finally found the right guy to get us back to the top where we all know we belong!
CJH and his staff simply did a outstanding job in year 1 despite everything being so badly stacked against them.
The future is bright for our footVOL Team especially after we finally get the ignorant NCAA off our back and behind us.
VFL,,,GBO!!!
I ain’t gonna lie. It was a very low tide. As low as it has been in 50 years. I thought it was a settle hire and the best we could hope for was 4 wins with all players leaving. I had no thoughts we could route some low tier teams and be competitive with some mid-upper tier teams? Do we have enough guys left to remain competitive next year and get over the hump to be a place players want to play for? Idk but we have a shot at getting back into the upper tier!
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MemphisVol77 and mad4vols
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I liked it when it was announced. My Kentucky fan son in law went on about how it was a bad hire. Then we beat Kentucky!
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MemphisVol77 and mad4vols
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Kind of the same honestly. I felt then, and still do today, that many of the issues this program is facing go beyond just the head coach. Until THOSE issues get solved, it doesn't matter who is wearing the headset on the sideline. I like CJH. I think he's a solid coach. I think he's an honest and moral man. I think he's a great offensive mind. Do I think that's going to be enough to get us back to competing for SEC championships? No, I really don't. I'm not sure if he's a dynamic enough recruiter to get us the talent we need to compete on BOTH sides of the ball. So I say all that to say, I'm still firmly in the "wait and see" camp. I have no expectations anymore. The last 13 years has done that to me.
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Dooley - dumpster fire - recruiting ZERO olinemen in an entire class is just a level of recruiting stupidity and incompetence I can't wrap my head around. Also, his recruiting pitch to local talent was the worst I have ever seen. As a UT fan it was embarrassing to watch those guys come in and "try" to recruit. How he signed ANYBODY is amazing to me.
Butch - dumpster juice - he gets a slight bump up from dumpster fire simply because he had a boatload of legacies fall in his lap and he managed not to screw it up and get most of them signed. Another star chaser and not a talent evaluator.
Gump - dumpster fire trying to be put out with dumpster juice - His alienation of high school coaches due to his arrogance puts him at the bottom of this list....and that is a level of bottom I didn't think was achievable.
Butch - dumpster juice - he gets a slight bump up from dumpster fire simply because he had a boatload of legacies fall in his lap and he managed not to screw it up and get most of them signed. Another star chaser and not a talent evaluator.
Gump - dumpster fire trying to be put out with dumpster juice - His alienation of high school coaches due to his arrogance puts him at the bottom of this list....and that is a level of bottom I didn't think was achievable.
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Since I've been following the Vols, which would be the Majors era, here's how I would rank the previous coaches in terms of recruiting...
1. Fulmer
2. Majors
3. Jones
4. Dooley
5. Pruitt
6. Kiffin (only because we didn't have much of a sample size to go on).
I cannot really rank Heupel just yet for the same reason. We don't have a large enough sample size just yet. I'm not saying CJH can't recruit at a high enough level. I'm just saying we don't know at this point. We have to get past the NCAA cloud once and for all and we have got to get our NIL affairs in order before we can get a clearer picture.
1. Fulmer
2. Majors
3. Jones
4. Dooley
5. Pruitt
6. Kiffin (only because we didn't have much of a sample size to go on).
I cannot really rank Heupel just yet for the same reason. We don't have a large enough sample size just yet. I'm not saying CJH can't recruit at a high enough level. I'm just saying we don't know at this point. We have to get past the NCAA cloud once and for all and we have got to get our NIL affairs in order before we can get a clearer picture.
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MemphisVol77 and mad4vols
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A year ago, I was sensible enough to realize we werent gonna get a huge name. I felt Heupel was safe, and would bring some stability, but wondered in my mind if his UCF offense would work in the SEC.
Today, I am very happy with the hire. I truly expected a horrible year with such little depth and the remains of a team that didnt perform well under Pruitt. I'm impressed with the overall staff, and the way they literally overhauled the offense. I think Heupel is as genuine as they come and is genuinely happy to be here.
I do think recruiting will be better as the NCAA and NIL situations become clearer. I think our class this year was as good as we could have hoped for, and there are some absolute studs in there (Dylan Sampson and James Pearce and Squirrel White, to name a few). The defense needs depth, and time to form some. I do think that we will hit the portal harder with defensive players as more players leave both our squads and others. I feel like offense is set for a while.
Overall, I think we did about as well as we could have, and I think Heupel is a few defensive players away from something special here.
Today, I am very happy with the hire. I truly expected a horrible year with such little depth and the remains of a team that didnt perform well under Pruitt. I'm impressed with the overall staff, and the way they literally overhauled the offense. I think Heupel is as genuine as they come and is genuinely happy to be here.
I do think recruiting will be better as the NCAA and NIL situations become clearer. I think our class this year was as good as we could have hoped for, and there are some absolute studs in there (Dylan Sampson and James Pearce and Squirrel White, to name a few). The defense needs depth, and time to form some. I do think that we will hit the portal harder with defensive players as more players leave both our squads and others. I feel like offense is set for a while.
Overall, I think we did about as well as we could have, and I think Heupel is a few defensive players away from something special here.
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