Recruiting Forum Football Talk XIX

Status
Not open for further replies.
#4,809
#4,809
I'm watching the 2004 Florida game. I was a junior in high school. Erik Ainge's emergence. He struggles in this one at times, but that touchdown pass to Bret Smith in the early 4th to tie the game at 21. Clutch as hell. The throw is way high where only his guy could get it. Bret Smith leaps in the air and snags it nonchalantly like a ninja and tip toes gracefully into the checkerboards. Boom.

Mind you, this happened Immediately after Florida had just ran the ball down our throats the drive before to the 3 yard line and then got stuffed on 3 straight plays. And then this Roach guy misses the kick! They could have easily gone back up 14 right then, or at the very least we should have been down 10. It was a chip shot.

Brent Schaeffer showed flashes of excellence in this game... But also had two crucial fumbles. He had us driving so well in the 3rd quarter at one point. Just a sick spin move in the open field in tons of traffic and ran like a 20 yard gain to get us in the red zone. And then got blindsided on the next play and turned it over.

Our defense is fun to watch. Unfortunately we lost Kevin Simon in the first half and you can tell they are having to adjust. Also Jesse Mahelona was clogging the middle like a damn lion in his native tundra. Kevin Burnett. Huah. He might have been my favorite player of that whole era.

It's just awesome to see a really talented and disciplined Tennessee defense. I'm reminded that it's possible. Florida is just a school with a series of highs and lows like anyone else. New people coming and going. Same as us. But lately, we've had a lot more talented people coming, they've had more talented people going. I'm feeling an end to this streak lurking on the horizon in a big way. Like honestly.... I'm not even scared of them. We are going to take over that rats nest of a stadium while we send their greasy fans scurrying home halfway through the 3rd quarter. It's going to be ugly and Dobbs will lead the band in Rocky Top while we all celebrate the win I've been waiting patiently for since that oh so glorious day in 2004 when the Vols stole one from the gators.

Go big orange forever.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
#4,810
#4,810
Florida scores again after we tie it on a 80 yard cross/dagger to the heart. But Ainge bounces right back on the next drive and converts a 4th & 6 on our own 45 with a deep ball down the field to Tony Brown for like a 27 yard gain. Then a couple plays later hits Swain crossing the middle and he breaks like 3 tackles and slams his way into the end zone. Just a beastly finish and perfect throw from Ainge. He hit him right on the money where he never had to break stride. Swain did the rest.

Then.
Wilhoit.
Missed the EP after hitting 50 in a row.

Down 1
3:25 to go
 
Last edited:
#4,811
#4,811
Verne Lindquist corrected himself. Up to that point, Wilhoit had made 47 extra points in a row and every single one of his Tennessee career.

The Vols have 1 time out remaining.
 
Last edited:
#4,812
#4,812
Stuffed their run attempt on 3rd and 3. YEEAAHH! Forced a 4th down. But the clock is running under a minute and we have no timeouts left at this point. Dallas Baker and Jonathan Wade get into a brief slap fight right in from of the ref and Florida gets called for the penalty. Stops the clock. Huge. Just a ridiculously dumb play on both sides honestly. It could have easily gone against Wade and the game would have been over. But alas! Not on this fateful day of competition. We force a punt with about 50 seconds. Not an impressive punt... Not to mention the 15 yard boost in field position. About 40 seconds to play with.

Ainge is just cool as a goose and spins away from an enormous rushing defender and zips a bullet to Chris Hannon 20 yards over the middle to get us down to their 40 yard line.

Ainge rushes up and spikes it with 29 seconds left. Next play hits Hannon again on a comeback down to the 33. Ainge spikes it again with 13 seconds. 4th down.

In comes Wilhoit. For a 50 yarder. The camera has been panning on his face just analyzing his every failure.

He walks up. Snap is good. Hold is good. The kick is just perfect. Plenty of leg. What a triumphant finish. Such a satisfying and quality moment of redemption.

Tennessee celebrates like a bunch of loonies for the next 10 minutes and gets a penalty (of course). Wilhoit has to kick off from our own 20 with 6 seconds left.

He destroys the kickoff and the Florida returner has to back pedal back to his own 5 yard line to catch it. He makes a dash to about the 18 or so and turns around and chunks a backwards pass towards one of his teammates and we just bury him from all angles. Victory is ours.

What an unlikely and heroic win.

Stressful game though.

I should probably go to bed
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 3 people
#4,814
#4,814
seaofORANGE22 said:
Stuffed their run attempt on 3rd and 3.

Forced a 4th down. The clock is running under a minute and we had no timeouts left. Dallas Baker and Jonathan Wade get into a brief slap fight right in from of the ref and Fla gets the penalty. Stops the clock. Huge. Just a ridiculously dumb play on both sides honestly. It could have easily gone against Wade and the game would have been over. But alas! Not on this fateful day of competition. We force a punt with about 50 seconds. Not to mention the 15 yard boost in field position.

Ainge is just cool as a goose and spins away from a defender and zips one to Chris Hannon 20 yards over the middle to get us down to the 40 yard line.

Ainge rushes up and spikes it with 29 seconds left. Next play hits Hannon again on a comeback down to the 33. Ainge spikes it again with 13 seconds. 4th down.

In comes Wilhoit. For a 50 yarder. Just perfect. Plenty of leg. What a kick. Such a redemptive moment.

Tennessee celebrates like a bunch of crazy people and gets a penalty (of course). Wilhoit has to kick off from our own 20 with 6 seconds left.

He destroys it and the Florida returner has to back pedal back to the 5 yard line to catch it. He makes a run for it, turns around and chunks a backwards pass towards one of his teammates and we bury him.

What an unlikely and heroic victory.

Stressful game though.

Huge win

I should probably go to bed
Click to expand...

Wilhoit was getting death threats on his phone after the miss. Then, not so much.

Must've been interesting checking his messages that evening
 
#4,819
#4,819
I may be in the minority, but by end of the year I could see Jones being an upgrade over Jackson. He may not have his size or strength yet, but he makes up for it with his tenacity.

To win those close games you have to convert the 3rd and 1 plays
 
#4,821
#4,821
Thanks for the prayers again, peeps. I can't help but be a little angry that we're back to square one, or at least we were yesterday, but Ashlee's doing well, considering.

She had a balloon inserted into her aorta, at the site of her original surgery. It had scarred over and depressed back to being just a 1.6mm opening--she nearly died on April 20th, when it was 1.5mm.

The repaired it as safely as they could, without tearing the aorta and got it within an acceptable range but she'll need this procedure again in the future, possibly within a couple of months. She's in the PCICU until her BP normalizes. Hopefully she'll recover quickly and be home within a few days but, if I learned anything, that very much depends on a number of things.

Thanks again for allowing me to vent.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 13 people
#4,822
#4,822
I have a cool story, brothers. Finishing up a motorcycle ride around Michigan with my father-in-law today. Stopped for lunch in Saugatuck. Because Butch Jones. What a beautiful town ($$$$). Seriously. Amazing lake, trees, and homes that are gorgeous. And yachts. And eye candy.

Anyway, while visiting the potty room, I saw this on the wall. Had to share. (Warning, will likely be volatiled.)
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    53.6 KB · Views: 21
  • Like
Reactions: 9 people
#4,823
#4,823
orangeblood79 said:
Thanks for the prayers again, peeps. I can't help but be a little angry that we're back to square one, or at least we were yesterday, but Ashlee's doing well, considering.

She had a balloon inserted into her aorta, at the site of her original surgery. It had scarred over and depressed back to being just a 1.6mm opening--she nearly died on April 20th, when it was 1.5mm.

The repaired it as safely as they could, without tearing the aorta and got it within an acceptable range but she'll need this procedure again in the future, possibly within a couple of months. She's in the PCICU until her BP normalizes. Hopefully she'll recover quickly and be home within a few days but, if I learned anything, that very much depends on a number of things.

Thanks again for allowing me to vent.
Click to expand...

I have been praying for your daughter and family.Sometimes life just doesn't seem fair,but remember the Good Lord has a plan for us all. He will see your daughter and you through this.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
New posts
Status
Not open for further replies.
Advertisement



Back
Top