TLO, I think there's a huge amount of change in our organization at the moment. It started when the investigation began, and won't finally settle down to some steady state level* until normal football traditions take over. Spring Camp will be a big part of that, fall camp even more, but when we start playing football, real games against other schools, that will shift all the energy from change toward the game. That's when the lads, and the coaches, and we fans, will stop thinking about change and start thinking about performance.
This situation with To'o To'o and Crouch, it's going to--one way or another--fit entirely in the period of change. Yes, those two lads have had questions about whether they should remain true to the Volunteers program. But they're not the only ones. Probably a high percentage of our current roster had some thoughts, some questions, and some leaned further out than others. We just didn't hear about them because they stopped one millimeter short of that portal. Or they considered change in a way that didn't involve the portal, like dropping football altogether.
We'll never know about them.
Point is, it's a period of change and we kind of have to put bookends around it. What happens in between the bookends, that's apart.
If To'o To'o, or Crouch, or any others who considered leaving instead decide to stay, and their coaches and teammates are alright with them, we ought to be alright with them as well. Because those guys all know a lot more of the specifics than we do.
I'm just going to trust the team to get it right, and support whoever's wearing orange come that first game of the 2021 season.
Go Vols!
* there's constantly change in every organization, but usually it runs at a very low simmer...that's what we're moving back toward