Recruiting myth...

[cotton]

You say at least 4 of those... Go down our lineup and compare the number of future pros on this team with the number of pros on the 98 and 2001 teams.

A more relevant exercise would be to do the same analysis with the current Vols compared to Florida, LSU, or Georgia. The result will be the same, but the perspective is a bit better.

 

[hndog609]

Here's one thing I want to make clear even though I agree that having 2 bad classes out of the last 4 is going to haunt us in the near future....when I said the "recruiting myth" I meant that I think its not accurate to say the product we have on the field right now isn't talented enough to win...

Your stats are from 05-08 but honestly, other than AJ Green, Julio Jones, and a handful of others the 08 class isn't really effecting anyone yet...i.e. UT hasn't yet reaped the "benefits" of such a bad class...

With that being said if you look at 04-07(the classes that are on the field right now) we are up there with the best of them..

In that time frame UT has 2 top 5 finishes and a near top 10(11th in 04) to go with a less than spectacular but still top 25(23 in 06) finish in recruiting...

I for one am not going to buy into the cop-out that we don't have the talent....I truly believe that its there but we are not reaping the benefits of it like other top SEC schools are doing with theirs

Given the clarification of the criteria in the first paragraph I'd be inclined to agree with you for the most part. From a talent standpoint (outside of one glaring position) we have way more than enough talent to be no worse than 3-1.

However, having said that, I want to reiterate how tenuous our recruiting base has become with the changes that have occurred in the SEC. Forget Fulmer, I don't care who we have, how many recruits do you think we are going to steal from FL/AL/LSU & GA under their current regimes? And I don't mean citing the likes of Berry, I mean consistently into the forseeable future. Those schools will now, every single year, bring in top talent.

This isn't some cop-out for Fulmer, it's a reality that we need to recognize will be an issue from here on out regardless of who the coach happens to be. Our next coach, whoever or whenever, had better have some serious recruiting chops.

 

[thunder5]

Given the clarification of the criteria in the first paragraph I'd be inclined to agree with you for the most part. From a talent standpoint (outside of one glaring position) we have way more than enough talent to be no worse than 3-1.

However, having said that, I want to reiterate how tenuous our recruiting base has become with the changes that have occurred in the SEC. Forget Fulmer, I don't care who we have, how many recruits do you think we are going to steal from FL/AL/LSU & GA under their current regimes? And I don't mean citing the likes of Berry, I mean consistently into the forseeable future. Those schools will now, every single year, bring in top talent.

This isn't some cop-out for Fulmer, it's a reality that we need to recognize will be an issue from here on out regardless of who the coach happens to be. Our next coach, whoever or whenever, had better have some serious recruiting chops.

Couldn't agree more with where we are headed in recruiting...it's been a common opinion for years that Fulmer can get the talent but lacks the ability to develop it or effectively utilize it in games...now we're seeing a steady decline in his ability to get the talent...

It's sad to think that our best player most likely would be at UGA or UF or a real contender if his dad wasn't a captain here in the early 80's...

We are definitely seeing a decline in the talent level of our team but I feel like this decline has yet to really be felt...

What I mean is that if we currently are playing guys that came from a top 11 recruiting class(which most on the field for us did) and we look this bad...what's going to happen when 06 and 08 and a possible bad class this year(if recruits keep defecting) catch up to us?

If we look this bad right now when the talent is still there then we could be in for some very hard years when its inevitably not there anymore

 

[velovol]

hndog, the problem is that it doesn't work that clean cut.

Sam Bradford is probably the best QB in CFB right now as a RS Sophomore. He was a 3 star QB from OKC in HS. He never completed 60% in HS and threw alot of picks. His offers were OU, ISU, TTU, and Tex A&M.

Chase Daniel is another serious Heisman contender. He was also a 3* out of HS.

Other than the QB position, I don't think any other position has been consistently outplayed by the opposition the whole year.

Thats because he is a system QB
Bradfors is not the best qb in the country

 

[sjt18]

You say at least 4 of those... Go down our lineup and compare the number of future pros on this team with the number of pros on the 98 and 2001 teams. Please. The 2001 team had over 20 pros. We'll be lucky to have half of that on this year's team.

I really don't think you can predict that but I wouldn't be surprised if four of the current OL starters go pro along with Jones, one of the QB's, the first 5 DB's, Ayers, Martin, Walker, GWilliams, and McCoy.

That's a pretty large group that I think stand a great chance. Others with talent who haven't proven themselves yet stand a good chance as well.

 

[sjt18]

Thats because he is a system QB
Bradfors is not the best qb in the country

Huh? OU is multiple just like UT and most pro teams... that's a great system to be a "system guy" in. He has very good athleticism, a rocket arm, great vision, great decision making.

Bradford right now is THE best QB in the country. NO ONE is outplaying him... and I'm certainly not an OU fan.

 

[therickbol]

When you talk about the NFL and younger guys it is obviously a lot of speculation based on talent. Then looking at our upperclassman you have a little more to go on. The difference is that UT players from years ago didnt just make the NFL, they became very good NFL players. I think we have a number of players that will make NFL, but how many will be stars? Doesnt look like too many will.

These players I think are safe bets to be in NFL:
Arian Foster
Gerald Jones
Josh McNeil
Jacques McClendon
Anthony Parker
Dan Williams
Demonte Bolden
Rico McCoy
Eric Berry
Britton Colquitt

And, that does not count younger guys that have the 'talent' to end up in the NFL but do not have experience yet to know.

 

[cotton]

When you talk about the NFL and younger guys it is obviously a lot of speculation based on talent. Then looking at our upperclassman you have a little more to go on. The difference is that UT players from years ago didnt just make the NFL, they became very good NFL players. I think we have a number of players that will make NFL, but how many will be stars? Doesnt look like too many will.

These players I think are safe bets to be in NFL:
Arian Foster
Gerald Jones
Josh McNeil
Jacques McClendon
Anthony Parker
Dan Williams
Demonte Bolden
Rico McCoy
Eric Berry
Britton Colquitt

And, that does not count younger guys that have the 'talent' to end up in the NFL but do not have experience yet to know.

That list includes only two offensive skill players, and one of them is a questionable starter. Therein lies part of the problem.

 

[Ohio Vol]

Nebraska assembled arguably the best college football team of all time is not a talent rich state at all. When they were playing for NCs and beating the snot out of UT they were still playing 8 man highschool football in parts of the state.

Winning attracts winners. Reclamation projects are a tough sell these days. Especially for bland coaches.

Nebraska also ran an offensive system that required an entirely different type of player at every position than the non-option teams. They needed linemen that were quick at the expense of size and strength (knowing that a year or two in the S&C program would fix that anyway), they needed receivers and tight ends that could block at the expense of being able to run good routes, they needed running backs who couuld stay in lanes at the expense of speed, and they needed quarterbacks who were patient and disciplined at the expense of being able to pass.

Nebraska's most highly-touted recruits were nearly all on the defensive side of the ball, where they ran the same sort of so-called pro defense that everyone else did.

 

[Ohio Vol]

Thats because he is a system QB
Bradfors is not the best qb in the country

I think that anyone that uses the term "system QB" should be required to wear a sticker on their forehead that says "I wrongly believe I know anything about football".

 

[3L with debt]

When this thread started I was in agreement. Now... not so much.