September 22, 2018

#51
#51
Some of you guys are over evaluating our talent. I don’t think you guys saw the same team I saw this year. Many of those kids looked like they didn’t belong on a D-1 field. Coaching can definitely help SOME of this, but not all. Please see Martin. A kid who obviously has no place on the field. I would see 6 wins as nearly a miracle next year. That would definitely be our ceiling. I’m all in but JP has a mountain to climb.
 
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#52
#52
bhouston79 said:
I'm not expecting him to beat Bama or Georgia next year, but we almost beat Florida with Botch Jones (spelling intetional) this year, and UF didn't exactly set the woods on fire this year either. We actually have a lot of our starters back. The game against Florida is certainly winnable, and I agree with the OP that this game will give us a good gauge of whether he is going to be successful. We could win this game and still finish 6-6, but a win against Florida tells me that he is a better HC than Mullen and good things are ahead. A loss against the Gators, and I will start having fears of here we go again.
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Right but Florida has a top class coach now as well
 
#53
#53
BigOrangeTrain said:
With this post you show that you are not really giving JP a chance. He has alreafy failed in your eyes. How sad.
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We play 3 good teams next year. 3. Him going 6-3 against the other 9 shouldn't be out of the question at all. Nor should improving to 9 wins in year two if he truly has the ability.

Year 2 is a big improvement year for the great coaches.

We return a roster full of 5 star/4 star recruits. It's not easy for me to believe that the recruiting services were just wrong about them all. They've simply not been coached at all in the last few years. If Pruitt is some wonder, he will have them playing at their best after working with them.

If he's truly the 8th choice that no one else wanted, we will see that too over the next few years.
 
#54
#54
EastTNVol6240 said:
Some of you guys are over evaluating our talent. I don’t think you guys saw the same team I saw this year. Many of those kids looked like they didn’t belong on a D-1 field. Coaching can definitely help SOME of this, but not all. Please see Martin. A kid who obviously has no place on the field. I would see 6 wins as nearly a miracle next year. That would definitely be our ceiling. I’m all in but JP has a mountain to climb.
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Our talent was just not very well coached. There’s no way in hell we whiffed on every single recruit on this team when every single one of them had offers from around the country. This team lacked leadership and a real coach. Lyle quit giving a crap and so did the players to a certain extent.
 
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#55
#55
dan4vols said:
I think the measurement used to be 5 years, 3 years is the new 5 years in the SEC. First season anything can happen, going to SEC school holding the reins. Second year the expierience comes into play with his coordinators, and by mid season year 3 you've got a good sized sample to know what you've got. I think his O coordinator and o line coach will be the key to boom or gloom.
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Maybe, but if you Gage by that, Butch is a 9 win coach, not a 4 win coach.
 
#56
#56
Florida was 4-7 this year. They were as bad as we were.

I believe we won the coaching search. Mullen is dead to me. JP brings freshness and a championship mentality. Mullen looks like someone pissed on his dogs nose all the time. Plus I don't think he's as good a coach as everyone wants him to be. He had 1 good QB for 3 yrs and it made the difference. No QB and any team will suck. Ask Steve Spurrier during his tenure at USC jr. 1 QB Connor Shaw for 3 years. The rest of the time they were an average team at best.

JP all day everyday and twice on Sunday's!

:loco:
 
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#57
#57
He needs to beat Florida next year. They were just as bad as us this year, and will also be in their 1st year with a new coach. They’re coming to Knoxville. It will most likely be a “checker neyland” game. The crowd will be going nuts for the SEC opener and for our new coach. We will have every advantage....

I know we can’t expect him to turn us into a powerhouse in year 1, but expecting a win against Florida next year is not unrealistic at all.
 
#58
#58
checkerboards09 said:
Our talent was just not very well coached. There’s no way in hell we whiffed on every single recruit on this team when every single one of them had offers from around the country. This team lacked leadership and a real coach. Lyle quit giving a crap and so did the players to a certain extent.
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Another huge aspect is the off season strength and conditioning program. Building strength and speed will cut down on injuries and we will have quite a few players that raise their level of play.
 
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#59
#59
andywilson001 said:
He needs to beat Florida next year. They were just as bad as us this year, and will also be in their 1st year with a new coach. They’re coming to Knoxville. It will most likely be a “checker neyland” game. The crowd will be going nuts for the SEC opener and for our new coach. We will have every advantage....

I know we can’t expect him to turn us into a powerhouse in year 1, but expecting a win against Florida next year is not unrealistic at all.
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My thoughts exactly.
 
#60
#60
Our roster is far from terrible. Tons of 4 star talent.Our biggest problem is QB. There's a ton of young talent on defense that didn't touch the field this season. O Line will be fine once they get healthy. RB's are A+. We're better than 8 teams on our schedule next year. Aight
 
#61
#61
Bubbs said:
Our roster is far from terrible. Tons of 4 star talent.Our biggest problem is QB. There's a ton of young talent on defense that didn't touch the field this season. O Line will be fine once they get healthy. RB's are A+. We're better than 8 teams on our schedule next year. Aight
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The problem wasn't the QB, it was trying to fit them in a system that didn't fit them.
 
#62
#62
Things in our favor:

Defense has talent and can be coached up. McKenzie, Tuttle, Bitulli, Taylor, Phillips, Kirkland, Sapp, and Warrior. Need some depth in this recruiting class, but otherwise a very nice foundation for a defensive coach to mold.

Offensively, we have some very good talent, though thin as we may be. If Kelly returns as some expect he might, we will have a really good RB group. Chandler has proven to be very effective as well. Callaway, Johnson, and Byrd all have flashed a lot of potential at different times, but WR will be a main area of focus for Pruitt and staff on the recruiting trail. Will need to find a QB among the rubble. Dormady probably has the edge in a pro-style offense. Gotta work on that footwork.


Not in our favor:

OL. Our weakest area by far is OL. Smith, Tatum, Coleman, and... gotta get some major OL help in this class and some solid depth. Getting some early enrollees would help tremendously in getting into our strength and conditioning program before next fall.

DB. Likely losing 3 starters (assuming Gaulden leaves early) and they are all corners. Also losing Shaq Wiggins who was a backup. Will be really thin here. Need some help in a major way this recruiting class.

Punter. It may seem insignificant, but Trevor Daniel was one of the best we've seen. Will be sorely missed



Conclusion:

I see us at 7-5. We have the talent on defense to be a very good unit. That should keep us in most games. Offensively, we will be a work in progress in all likelihood. Should be able to run the ball well, but will need a QB to step up and will need help along the OL. I believe talent wise, we're still better than every team we play next year other than Bama UGA, and Auburn. We'll see who coaches better in the other games.
 
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#63
#63
andywilson001 said:
He needs to beat Florida next year. They were just as bad as us this year, and will also be in their 1st year with a new coach. They’re coming to Knoxville. It will most likely be a “checker neyland” game. The crowd will be going nuts for the SEC opener and for our new coach. We will have every advantage....

I know we can’t expect him to turn us into a powerhouse in year 1, but expecting a win against Florida next year is not unrealistic at all.
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I wouldn't say "expecting." Only teams I "expect" to beat are OOC opponents from non Power 5 schools and Vandy and UK every year. Florida, as poorly as they played, still has talent and I think Mullen is a good coach with a track record of winning. It is definitely winnable and we have the early edge, but it should be a tough game nonetheless.
 
#64
#64
Carp said:
Things in our favor:

Defense has talent and can be coached up. McKenzie, Tuttle, Bitulli, Taylor, Phillips, Kirkland, Sapp, and Warrior. Need some depth in this recruiting class, but otherwise a very nice foundation for a defensive coach to mold.

Offensively, we have some very good talent, though thin as we may be. If Kelly returns as some expect he might, we will have a really good RB group. Chandler has proven to be very effective as well. Callaway, Johnson, and Byrd all have flashed a lot of potential at different times, but WR will be a main area of focus for Pruitt and staff on the recruiting trail. Will need to find a QB among the rubble. Dormady probably has the edge in a pro-style offense. Gotta work on that footwork.


Not in our favor:

OL. Our weakest area by far is OL. Smith, Tatum, Coleman, and... gotta get some major OL help in this class and some solid depth. Getting some early enrollees would help tremendously in getting into our strength and conditioning program before next fall.

DB. Likely losing 3 starters (assuming Gaulden leaves early) and they are all corners. Also losing Shaq Wiggins who was a backup. Will be really thin here. Need some help in a major way this recruiting class.

Punter. It may seem insignificant, but Trevor Daniel was one of the best we've seen. Will be sorely missed



Conclusion:

I see us at 7-5. We have the talent on defense to be a very good unit. That should keep us in most games. Offensively, we will be a work in progress in all likelihood. Should be able to run the ball well, but will need a QB to step up and will need help along the OL. I believe talent wise, we're still better than every team we play next year other than Bama UGA, and Auburn. We'll see who coaches better in the other games.
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So many good points here. I think if I were coach Pruitt, I’d be stressing about our lack of QB and OL talent. My offensive strategy would be to get the ball and milk the clock. Let my defense rest and hope they can make the breaks to put up points. I’d spend the entire offseason making sure we had the nastiest Tennessee D to ever take the field. That offense, however, looks like it’s going to be a 2 year project lol.
 
#65
#65
Gators at Vols in Neyland on 9/22/18 will likely be a night game on ESPN or ESPN2.

3:30pm that day will likely be Texas A&M (Jimbo) at Bama...

Jimbo will also host Dabo on 9/8/17...That matchup will likely be a prime ESPN Game
 
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#66
#66
I think 5-7, maybe 6-6, is realistic for next season. I really don't see us having a winning record next season after going winless in the conference. Even Dooley didn't go winless in the conference, so imo, I think this is definitely rock bottom year 0.

If we make it to a bowl game, I'll be very impressed with his first year as HC. Right now, I'll be happy if we beat Vandy, UK, and eUSC next season. Vandy has a 2 game streak against us...WTF?

Go Big Orange, Aight.
 
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#70
#70
Who are we losing that was a major factor? (Besides CBJ) We should be better by subtraction in regards to him. Now that CBJ is out of the way, this team should excel. There will be so many factors in what we consider success. I know everyone thinks that only a W is success but in reality that is not always the case. For example, we won games the past two years that were pure luck. Although we got the W, we lost more in the game than we won. I don’t see this team doing anything but improving with a staff that will coach players to be better instead of coaching a system that’s sucks....
 
#71
#71
allvol123 said:
Know what? This team has no depth.

Fans need to be logical.
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All due respect, I don't think any of us truly know what kind of depth or roster for that matter we have. We have the 12th ranked recruiting class average for the past 5 years. Butch and staff failed to develop, coach up and experiment with this roster so badly that we have no idea what and who are capable of. Take a look at this roster and you'll see a ton of talent that has either been wasted, mismanaged, underutilized, stayed injured or misplaced. I'm no sunshine pumper but the doom and gloom is laughable at times. Clemson is just one example of similarly talented teams experiencing a high level of success. Washington is an example of a much less talented roster experiencing a high level of success.

I don't expect to compete for the playoffs, the second championship or even the east. However this notion that we can't compete at a high level is simply uninformed and/or defeatist thinking. I believe we will be able to tell year one how Pruitt and staff are going to turn out. The talent is here to compete, throw in a few students freshman and a few diamonds in the rough and who knows what happens.
 
#72
#72
I don't understand how UGA is an automatic loss next year. Their team this seasom is loaded with seniors, and they've beat a bunch of terrible teams by running the ball 80% of the time. If our team was coached with any level of toughness last year that game is won by a possession either way. I expect to beat them next year! The only teams that will be a challenge are bama and auburn. The east is pathetic right now. Expect UGA to beat Oklahoma bc they don't have a defense and them expect them to get smacked by who ever they play next. They're fools gold.
 
#73
#73
vols4ever23 said:
I don't understand how UGA is an automatic loss next year. Their team this seasom is loaded with seniors, and they've beat a bunch of terrible teams by running the ball 80% of the time. If our team was coached with any level of toughness last year that game is won by a possession either way. I expect to beat them next year! The only teams that will be a challenge are bama and auburn. The east is pathetic right now. Expect UGA to beat Oklahoma bc they don't have a defense and them expect them to get smacked by who ever they play next. They're fools gold.
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Seek help from a medical professional as soon as possible.
 
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#75
#75
Septic said:
Agreed. People are going to be disappointed to find that cake doesn't taste very good when dog turds and trash are the only ingredients in the kitchen. Give them a year or two to get the horses needed to compete for the SEC.
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Nice. CJP needs to bring you in for a moto talk to our Vols.
(And, to be clear...that is sarcasm.)
 
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