Player’s careers ruined by coaches

#52
#52
adam.vol said:
That’s really the only reason I wish we had kept Kiffin. What he accomplished with Crompton for one season should have enabled future QB’s to help us to compete for a SEC championship at least once or twice between Dooley, Jones, and Pruitt.

Bray and Kiffin or Dobbs and Kiffin would have been much better years.
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I don't think he asked to stay that night and got turned down.
 
#54
#54
LegionnaireOfTheMiserable said:
Joey Matthews is the worst QB to ever start a game at Tennessee in at least the past 60 years. It’s hard to even have a serious conversation if you are going to imply that he is a victim of bad coaching.
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My vote for worst QB start in the last 60 years would be Nathan Peterman at Florida. It still makes me shiver when I close my eyes and think about that first half.
 
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#55
#55
#1fulmerite said:
The thread on Randall Cobb got me to thinking Hurd and others spoken of who may have had success elsewhere on the field or at other programs. Obviously, we and they will never know for sure but, who are some of our former players you think coaches did wrong?

I still say had Butch put in the I formation, we would have never lost Hurd and, he would have accomplished more.

What about AJ Suggs, Brandon Stewart, Joey Matthews?

Anyone think C. J. Leak and Brent Schaffer got square deals or the players CLK ran off?

Of course, going back to Cobb, position changes worked out for some such as Jason Witten, Dale Carter and, for a short time, James Banks. But, who are some players negatively impacted by coaching decisions?
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We had 15 years of losing!!!! There were so many mistakes made by coaches and players that it leaves enough blame to go around to everyone. I loved watching Jalen Hurd play, but he was not a good reason for a coach to be held hostage. If quitting on his team was what he needed to do for his personal success, so be it. However, I don’t think he will be offered any jobs reserved for VFL’s any time soon.
 
#56
#56
GAVol said:
Simms wasn’t very good, but at least had some arm talent. I still think it’s a race Matthews and Sterling Henton as far as most limited opening day starters.

I’ll throw in the Jr version of Jonathan Crompton as honorable mention.
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Some kid from Texas started at QB vs Mizzou during the “Black out” period, maybe 2013 or something. I can remember his name but he was like 5-10 & couldn’t throw a lick.
 
#57
#57
wmcovol said:
Some kid from Texas started at QB vs Mizzou during the “Black out” period, maybe 2013 or something. I can remember his name but he was like 5-10 & couldn’t throw a lick.
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Maybe Nick Stephens? I think Will McBride was from TX also.
 
#58
#58
utvols1975 said:
My vote for worst QB start in the last 60 years would be Nathan Peterman at Florida. It still makes me shiver when I close my eyes and think about that first half.
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Statistically Peterman is the worst QB we have ever had, and the worst in the history of the NFL. He was awful but Matthews wasn’t a D1 talent.
 
#60
#60
GAVol said:
Every one of those QBs except maybe Stewart were obviously in over their head in the SEC. Stewart’s problem was he was the same age as Peyton Manning.
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People forget that fans preferred Stewart over Manning their freshman season. Stewart was viewed as being more athletic with perhaps a stronger arm. Everyone knew though that Fulmer had to invest in Manning long term. Stewart did pretty well at A&M - actually did us a favor in 98 by beating another team in contention for the BCS. Can’t remember the team. I was surprised Stewart never made it in the NFL. He was the equivalence of a 5 star HS player.
 
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#62
#62
A couple that I don't know if they have been mentioned.

1. Khalil McKenzie. As soon as he got to the NFL, they converted him to offensive line. May have been drafted higher and had longer NFL career had the coaching staff recognized that and had him play offensive line at UT instead of learning in the league.

2. Jonathan Kongbo. Seem to remember him being the top JUCO recruit, but don't remember him being developed into an impact player. Got hurt so might not be all on the coaching staff.
 
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#63
#63
sjt18 said:
Hurd was the worst example for Jones but there were a whole line of players who he mismanaged and hurt. I don't honestly think any of the QBs you listed other than maybe Stewart were star quality players. And he just happened to be in competition with the wrong guy. I don't like Kiffin or the way he left. However he has a long history of putting guys with talent in a position to succeed.

Fulmer is the hardest question to answer. In general, discipline fell off as he became complacent after the NC. When he started losing in recruiting, he chose to take more chances with guys that had elite talent but character questions.

Every coach could be blamed for hurting the career of one player or another. IMO, the only one that really had an unusual pattern of doing it was Jones.
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That’s because Coach Cut left. He was the key!
 
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#64
#64
#1fulmerite said:
I still say had Butch put in the I formation, we would have never lost Hurd and, he would have accomplished more.
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Yea, I always say Hurd was the second coming of Eddie George and it was a sin to not run him out of the I. But he’s the once who signed with Butch knowing the type of offense Butch ran so a good part of that is on him. I think his leaving had more to do with Butch just being slimy than anything else. I’m pretty Hurd got a concussion against Georgia but was back out there playing…

Anyway, I‘m sure he could have been a killer TE but I‘ve always thought he would have been even more killer on the D. He was on some special teams are could really hit!
 
#65
#65
Volizona said:
People forget that fans preferred Stewart over Manning their freshman season. Stewart was viewed as being more athletic with perhaps a stronger arm. Everyone knew though that Fulmer had to invest in Manning long term. Stewart did pretty well at A&M - actually did us a favor in 98 by beating another team in contention for the BCS. Can’t remember the team. I was surprised Stewart never made it in the NFL. He was the equivalence of a 5 star HS player.
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Beat Kansas State in Big 12 Championship game. Two of Tennessee, Kansas State and UCLA were going to get the two BCS Championship Game slots. But KSU and UCLA both lost their last game and that let Florida State back their way in. If all three had won I think computers had KSU and UCLA in and us out. But I may have just made that part up, not sure.
 
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#66
#66
Volizona said:
People forget that fans preferred Stewart over Manning their freshman season. Stewart was viewed as being more athletic with perhaps a stronger arm. Everyone knew though that Fulmer had to invest in Manning long term. Stewart did pretty well at A&M - actually did us a favor in 98 by beating another team in contention for the BCS. Can’t remember the team. I was surprised Stewart never made it in the NFL. He was the equivalence of a 5 star HS player.
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I remember that and being a Stewart fan above Peyton at that time. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad things turned out for us like they did but, I do feel bad the Stewart kid didn’t end up being more successful.

Also, it seems like Stewart reminded us of Heath Shular who had just landed in the NFL.
 
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#67
#67
ALLVOL 4LIFE said:
That’s because Coach Cut left. He was the key!
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Yep. They basically made up "mom and dad". Fulmer was mom who coddled the players, made excuses, and got them out of trouble. Cut was the dad who made them toe the line.

IIRC, Fulmer had all but one or two of his 10 win seasons with Cut.
 
#68
#68
LegionnaireOfTheMiserable said:
Joey Matthews is the worst QB to ever start a game at Tennessee in at least the past 60 years. It’s hard to even have a serious conversation if you are going to imply that he is a victim of bad coaching.
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Joey Matthews was awesome…at least in the mind of Joey Matthews. I played ball with him at the bubble once and he was definitely arrogant. Of course, I’m sure he wasn’t the only player that was. Campus sure looks a lot nicer now but I bet it was a lot more fun back then! Good times.
 
#70
#70
GVF said:
Maurer had some head case issues, but I also don't think he ever fully recovered from his concussions. Had early promise and had raw talent though. He took some pretty bad shots.
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Agreed. He was a baller, but couldn't hold up physically. I thought a healthy Maurer was a better option than JG or Shrout. In hindsight, he got clearly out talented by Milton & Hooker in 2021. Legitimate mental health issues don't excuse basic immaturity, either.

I thought he would have been better off sitting out a year & starting over at a G5 school rather than transferring down a division. I can't blame any coach for Maurer not working out, though.
 
#71
#71
zjcvols said:
I'm gonna defend Schaeffer. He was just ahead of his time. And it's quite possible he might have never been able to learn how to read defenses. But I just think if he went to a coach like Urban or Rich Rod (offensive masterminds at the time) instead of stuck in the 90's coaches like Fulmer and Orgeron, he could have been a star. That physical talent was incredible.
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Schaeffer was insanely talented and probably ahead of his time. I was down on the field holding camera cords for ESPN the first game of the season. It may have been the left handedness, but even the camera guys were thinking "Tennessee has the next Michael Vick."

I also lived in Gibbs Hall at the time and saw Brent daily. He was so hyped after that first game, but his attitude started to change. By the end of September he was rolling around with a posse on a tricked out Cavalier with spinners on it (an insanely popular and expensive ride at the time). I think he was prone to self destruction. By the time he broke his collarbone, he already had a reputation for wanting to fight people.

One night after some drinking, a bunch of us (non athletes, baseball players and a Marine home from Afghanistan and preparing to go to Iraq) went out on a balcony at Gibbs and fired a water balloon at the Cavalier as they slowly drove down Lake Loudoun with the bass pumping. Brent and his guys (who I don't believe attended UT) parked the car right in the middle of the road, came up to the third floor with aluminum bats and started knocking on doors trying to figure out where it came from. The Marine was the only person still out on the balcony. He told them he didn't see anything and that there would be a problem if they kept beating on doors. They backed down and left.
 
#72
#72
Volizona said:
People forget that fans preferred Stewart over Manning their freshman season. Stewart was viewed as being more athletic with perhaps a stronger arm. Everyone knew though that Fulmer had to invest in Manning long term. Stewart did pretty well at A&M - actually did us a favor in 98 by beating another team in contention for the BCS. Can’t remember the team. I was surprised Stewart never made it in the NFL. He was the equivalence of a 5 star HS player.
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Some fans. SOME
 
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#73
#73
zjcvols said:
Was it the Georgia game I think when they ran a bootleg to Denarius Moore and Crompton launched a 55 yarder on a dime and it was like "Oh hey! We found something he can do!" and then it was literally Hardesty for 60% of the time and a bootleg thrown in for the final half of the year lol
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To be fair, Crompton put up some damn impressive overall numbers his senior year. He almost broke 3000 yards that year if memory serves.
 
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#74
#74
perico said:
To be fair, Crompton put up some damn impressive overall numbers his senior year. He almost broke 3000 yards that year if memory serves.
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For 2009 it wasn't a disaster. 2800 yards, 58% completion percentage, 27/13 TD-INT ratio. 7.3 YPA. Finished 7th in passer rating in the SEC, 2nd in TD's, 4th in yards, 8th in YPA
 
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