Sam Leavitt, ASU Transfer?

#51
#51
SayUWantAreVOLution said:
In fairness to Nico, UCLA sucks. I'm not saying Nico hasn't slumped but UCLA isn't UT by any stretch.

Hooker and Milton DID benefit from Heupel's instruction. A lot. But those guys were full grown men with a lot of football under their belt when they got to Knoxville.

We're going to need to see what Heupel can do "from scratch" at some point. Historically, he can get it done but Merk seems to be headed down a level (not all on Heupel, but his recruitment to UT was on Heupel) and G-Mac may or may not ever be an SEC starter. If Faizon doesn't mature, what would you think?

Where Heupel goes in the portal this round tells us what HE thinks about G-Mac's potential to start in 2026.
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Hooker and Milton were definitely older and more physically developed when they came to Tennessee, as both had been at their previous schools for three seasons. I wouldn't necessarily say they had a lot of football under their belt though. Joe Milton had a total of 11 pass attempts through his first two seasons at Michigan and only played in 6 games his last season there. Hendon Hooker did not play at all his first year at VT but did play one full season and most of another prior to coming to UT. He had more pass attempts in 2022 than he did his entire VT career and had nearly as many in 2021 even though Joe started the first two games.
 
#52
#52
deatojl said:
Hooker and Milton were definitely older and more physically developed when they came to Tennessee, as both had been at their previous schools for three seasons. I wouldn't necessarily say they had a lot of football under their belt though. Joe Milton had a total of 11 pass attempts through his first two seasons at Michigan and only played in 6 games his last season there. Hendon Hooker did not play at all his first year at VT but did play one full season and most of another prior to coming to UT. He had more pass attempts in 2022 than he did his entire VT career and had nearly as many in 2021 even though Joe started the first two games.
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They didn't have a lot of game experience but 3 years of pretty high level team practices.

I'll agree game time matters a lot but having worked on their football understanding and fundamentals for 3 years is a big deal.

Part of what makes sense about guys sitting a year or two or redshirting is physical development but also fundamentals and getting used to college vs HS.

Milton and Hooker helped a lot in our locker room after Pruitt because they had a "this is how things are done" almost professional attitude. When Hooker surpassed Milton, Milton handled it like a pro and didn't become a cancer in the locker room.

That kind of experience matters in portal guys vs HS recruits.
 
#54
#54
SayUWantAreVOLution said:
The question is: can the newly bought experienced QB pick up the system and get the timing down with receivers quickly.

These aren't quarter panels where you just bolt one on that fits. They have to learn the system, grasp it in game situations, and execute some throws that require timing and chemistry with receivers.

Brady threw incredibly to Gronk and would've thrown well to Kelce but he and Gronk knew each other for years, knew each other's patterns, etc.

It's not just talent. It's time.
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Thats the old way of thinking, pre-NIL. It seems like it's more the number of snaps they have taken in live games than anything else. Joey, Mateer and several others seemed to thrive because they had been is so many game situations, did not panic when they feel the rush and they know how to read defenses because those are the same everywhere. There is no time in the SEC for on the job QB training. Teams can't afford to feed a freshman NIL money for 2 years and throw them into game situation whenever possible hoping they will catch on, then lose them to another team before they ever start a game. The QB experience needs to be purchased and protected by 7 or 8 huge quality offensive linemen. Spend the limited resources wisely.
 
#55
#55
VOLtaism said:
Thats the old way of thinking, pre-NIL. It seems like it's more the number of snaps they have taken in live games than anything else. Joey, Mateer and several others seemed to thrive because they had been is so many game situations, did not panic when they feel the rush and they know how to read defenses because those are the same everywhere. There is no time in the SEC for on the job QB training. Teams can't afford to feed a freshman NIL money for 2 years and throw them into game situation whenever possible hoping they will catch on, then lose them to another team before they ever start a game. The QB experience needs to be purchased and protected by 7 or 8 huge quality offensive linemen. Spend the limited resources wisely.
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It's fundamentals that matter in my mind. There's nothing like having a couple of extra years of coaches critiquing your footwork, eye work, etc. Game work matters but lots of football is being in the right place, right position to make those game plays.

If you've gotten away with crap mechanics all through HS because you're more gifted, it'll catch up to you at the next level where the talent evens out. A lot of excellence in athletics is the boring conditioning and repetition.

Pulling from the portal IS essential but you can't always count on being able to get just the right pieces, so you have to develop in house too.

Trying to outbid richer schools every year is not a workable plan IMO.
 
#57
#57
DocVol said:
Does TN pursue? Would make sense on a lot of levels….

Joey is done. Merk is going transfer. That leaves wire-thin JMac and a true freshman in Faizon.
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GMac is up to 190 pounds according to some reports and that is with less than 1 year in the program. Who knows how much weight he will put on before the start of next season? Faizon Brandon is 3 inches shorter and only 7 pounds heavier. You are not comparing GMac to Joe Milton.
 
#58
#58
With NIL, I think we may be at a point in college football where if you have three decent quarterbacks on your roster, you are fat.
 
#59
#59
Heupel's Offseason Beard said:
33 years old, but watched all of the games with both of my grandfathers. One of them went to Tennessee, the other one played high school ball with Philip Fulmer. They taught me a lot about what this team means to this state.

They also taught me about the beauty of college football compared to the NFL. These are young inexperienced football players who chose to grow as players and men at the University of Tennessee. The sport is sloppy, it's messy, and it's incredibly hard to get a bunch of teenagers to align on a common goal. So when the team/ coach is fine with doing away with talented guys who disturb the locker room like Nico and Boo, I know we're going to be just fine.
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Well said and wisdom it is at a relatively young age (at least compared to me). Growing up with both grandfathers must have been special.
 
#60
#60
GOEzEkKXsAAdnpu
 
#61
#61
McDad said:
We have developed in house.
Neither Hooker nor Milton sniff the draft without Heup. Nico was much better here than UCLA. Swaguilar has been at his best here compared to other teams.
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please stop making sense
 
#63
#63
VolRage said:
At some point the Vols have to play the high school QB’s they recruited vs recruiting over them every year using the portal. Why even bother taking high school QB’s if that the plan. I’d rather let GMac and Brandon compete and go with the winner. Recruiting a one and done QB in the portal every year doesn’t build consistency within the program and eventually, that sort of reputation will result in all top high school QB’s ignoring TN’s recruiting calls.
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I was going to respond with something similar but I couldn’t say it any better! Bravo. Why even bother recruiting this high 4-5 QBs if you are never going to use them? You recruit them to play and by their 2nd year they should be ready to go. Otherwise, they just transfer out. Pretty much all of the greatest Vol QBs have played at least two years. I think Joey is our first one hit wonder.
 
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#64
#64
Seattle Hillbilly said:
Well said and wisdom it is at a relatively young age (at least compared to me). Growing up with both grandfathers must have been special.
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It was man. My grandfather who grew up in Franklin county and played with Fulmer always called him "Flipper" because Fulmer would clap after every play no matter what. Said he did that all the way back in high school too. Btw, I like your name man. Me and the fiancé are moving to Puyallup, Washington in October next year. Maybe I'll see ya at a Seattle vols bar or something
 
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#65
#65
Heupel's Offseason Beard said:
It was man. My grandfather who grew up in Franklin county and played with Fulmer always called him "Flipper" because Fulmer would clap after every play no matter what. Said he did that all the way back in high school too. Btw, I like your name man. Me and the fiancé are moving to Puyallup, Washington in October next year. Maybe I'll see ya at a Seattle vols bar or something
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Actually I retired a number of years back and moved across state to NE Washington. Never got around to changing my username. Have a Daughter and grandkids over in that area so paths could still cross. I’ll be the old guy with white hair.
 
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#66
#66
LWSVOL said:
I think a "Big Name" QB will cost you 4 million or more. I don't know what the other two QBs get but I'm betting its at least a million each. That would be 6 million or more for the QB room. Reports I've seen have our roster this year at around 25 million, not counting revenue share. So that would be around 25% of the NIL budget depending on what that budget is.

Not that I've heard, but based on that I have a hard time seeing them making that move for a 4 million a year QB. They have too many other spots on roster that need addressing in the portal that is going to be costly, assuming they play hard in the portal.

Plus, and this is a big deal to me, they are going to spend more money retaining our WRs, OL, DL, LBs and some DBs. Staley and Matthews are going to need a big bump. I would bet anything they are hearing from other schools now.

Just my thoughts..
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Just about all the big money quarterbacks have busted. From Beck to Nico, both were highly overrated and over valued. I think contracts will become more insentive and production based with big money as we move into the future. Especially with true freshman coming in. Miami just plain overpaid in my opinion for Beck, for 4 million in college the quarterback should be performing at a high level. Not that he has to win every game but a lot higher level than Beck played this year IMHO. Teams will pay for a producer, but even big money schools can’t afford to get burned big time at quarterback giving them big paydays without any worthy return. I didn’t think he was all that when Miami signed him. And Smart didn’t blink when he left either. Stockton has been a much better field general and consistent producer than Beck ever was. Beck won’t get that good an offer in the pros and Nico sure as heck won’t. I think will learn and adjust these contracts over time. GBO
 
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#67
#67
SayUWantAreVOLution said:
They didn't have a lot of game experience but 3 years of pretty high level team practices.

I'll agree game time matters a lot but having worked on their football understanding and fundamentals for 3 years is a big deal.

Part of what makes sense about guys sitting a year or two or redshirting is physical development but also fundamentals and getting used to college vs HS.

Milton and Hooker helped a lot in our locker room after Pruitt because they had a "this is how things are done" almost professional attitude. When Hooker surpassed Milton, Milton handled it like a pro and didn't become a cancer in the locker room.

That kind of experience matters in portal guys vs HS recruits.
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I don't disagree with any of that. Simply pointing out that neither guy, particularly Milton, had a ton of on field experience when they came here.
 
#68
#68
Woodlawn VOL said:
Just about all the big money quarterbacks have busted. From Beck to Nico, both were highly overrated and over valued. I think contracts will become more insentive and production based with big money as we move into the future. Especially with true freshman coming in. Miami just plain overpaid in my opinion for Beck, for 4 million in college the quarterback should be performing at a high level. Not that he has to win every game but a lot higher level than Beck played this year IMHO. Teams will pay for a producer, but even big money schools can’t afford to get burned big time at quarterback giving them big paydays without any worthy return. I didn’t think he was all that when Miami signed him. And Smart didn’t blink when he left either. Stockton has been a much better field general and consistent producer than Beck ever was. Beck won’t get that good an offer in the pros and Nico sure as heck won’t. I think will learn and adjust these contracts over time. GBO
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agree. I think there have been more QBs portal and get money that were not as successful as what the school expected. Jackson Arnold is another one...
 
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#71
#71
DocVol said:
Does TN pursue? Would make sense on a lot of levels….

Joey is done. Merk is going transfer. That leaves wire-thin JMac and a true freshman in Faizon.
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Absolutely, in a heartbeat. But, it's not sounding like JA is for sure done. If not, I'd love to see JA in year 2 of this system. If he doesn't, Sam is absolutely my dream portal QB.
 
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#72
#72
Folks in here drooling over a QB that hasn't even declared for the portal yet...times are getting strange.
 
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