The rebuild will be in 3 stages

[VolNExile]

Gosh, I hope we’d be there in 2020, but we’ll all see, I guess.

 

[FLVOL_79]

The rebuild will start with a dominant D and offensive line...which we see with this class.....and offense will be last. I'm enjoying this ride.

Hmm..thats like building a race bike and saving the seat for last..but still taking her for a spin here and there.

 

[vols 30]

UT is probably 2 years away from getting to stage one

 

[FLVOL_79]

I agree, I think 8-9 wins is very doable, CJP is a very, very smart coach, he'll have every team scouted and schemed before June, outside any injuries, this team will be ready to set the record straight with wins over Vandy, Missouri, South Carolina,........there is your 8 wins, the 9th will be MSU in Knoxville, but 10 is doable with an upset over Florida or Georgia . I am hoping to be at the MSU game with my Son-in-Law (MSU Grad).....Go Vols!

So why didnt he do that this year?

 

[VolNExile]

So why didnt he do that this year?

Guess he couldn’t be bothered. Too busy working on his golf game. Had to paint the basement. Binge-watching GOT again.

Geeze Louise.

 

[FLVOL_79]

Guess he couldn’t be bothered. Too busy working on his golf game. Had to paint the basement. Binge-watching GOT again.

Geeze Louise.

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I like CJP. But I hear all this talk about him being super smart and out scheming people and we are going to see it...soon... Just curious what people saw that I must have missed this last season that would generate such hope and optimism considering he still has mostly the same players.

 

[RowdyTop]

National championship and that’s it... mic drop...

...I don’t think I did the mic drop right...

 

[Jack Burton]

I agree, I think 8-9 wins is very doable, CJP is a very, very smart coach, he'll have every team scouted and schemed before June, outside any injuries, this team will be ready to set the record straight with wins over Vandy, Missouri, South Carolina,........there is your 8 wins, the 9th will be MSU in Knoxville, but 10 is doable with an upset over Florida or Georgia . I am hoping to be at the MSU game with my Son-in-Law (MSU Grad).....Go Vols!

That’s extremely optimistic but I hope you’re right.

 

[GBOVFL88]

While I am disappointed with the last two years, I think that we have reached rock bottom and have nowhere to go but up. Contrary to the beliefs of some, I think that the rebuild started with our team mindset and toughness in the middle of this last season. For those looking optimistically at the program (dangerous way to look at a team) there was a more aggressive mindset and it seemed that the team took ownership and formed an identity at times. There were some games when they seemed to give up, but that is the result of not yet developing a winning mentality. Our guys will develop that under CJP throughout the off-season, and hopefully with the help of an aggressive play caller as OC we will see great strides in 2019. I think we will like what we see out of the players and coaches alot next year, and unfortunately will get our hopes up and lose some heart breakers. That is a necessary evil IMO that leads to a hungry team that plays with a chip on their shoulder like they know what kind of respect they want and will show that after a couple seasons of player development and more classes like the one that was just signed and better. We will see the VOLS of old in 2020 is my estimate, and though 2019 will hold some let downs we will see the storm brewing.

 

[OrangeByBirth]

While I am disappointed with the last two years, I think that we have reached rock bottom and have nowhere to go but up...

Rock bottom was when Summer's Eve Hamilton was hired as AD. Then, just to prove the adage was wrong, the rock was drilled out to achieve a new bottom with 'bama gator Hart. A rock bottom was achieved by 2 consecutive ADs. Dooley and Botch paralleled the AD incompetence. All 4 have been flushed down the Neyland toilets.

 

[bristolbigorangef]

1. Simply get to a minimum of 6 wins a year while being competitive in most every game. This was the level Dooley had problems attaining. Jones needed the Miracle at Columbia to get there in Year 2. Many Vol fans deny this 1st level is part of the rebuild.
2. Get to 8-9 wins a year, with almost no losses to teams below us to teams in the recruiting rankings. We are competitive in all but 1-2 games a year, and beat Florida on a regular basis. We’ve only been at this level once since 2007. 2016 was a mirage where we were lucky to win 8 regular season games.
3. Get to 10+ regular season games and routinely stomp teams that have had the upper hand of late. At this level, we beat Georgia or Alabama from time to time and compete for division or conference championships.

As we climb to the next level, the level of recruits and ability to flip becomes much easier. A lot of fans are bummed we couldn’t grab someone that Bama or Georgia had committed but we are just not there yet. It’s actually a good sign we held onto our commits through ESD.

I'm so happy You and CJP meet and decided this....

 

[GBOVFL88]

Rock bottom was when Summer's Eve Hamilton was hired as AD. Then, just to prove the adage was wrong, the rock was drilled out to achieve a new bottom with 'bama gator Hart. A rock bottom was achieved by 2 consecutive ADs. Dooley and Botch paralleled the AD incompetence. All 4 have been flushed down the Neyland toilets.

Well said. I hope that you are right and that is the bottom of the barrel for our program. I don't see us returning to those depths with CPF at the helm. But with that said, what is the next step to truly overcome the recurring failures that we have been plagued by for the last 5 seasons or so?

 

[Pride85]

Good point.
But Auburn & Ky were ahead of Tn this year and we beat them
I think good coaching during a game can give you about 7 points
per game. So, if the staff can coach good, that can be make the difference in a couple of game's
Notice Pearl took Peterson's roster and won immediately. It can be done thru coaching but you can't do miracles that way and go from 5 - 7 to 14 -0 by good coaching

Good point. It is a little easier to do in basketball as you have significantly less moving parts. You can turn 10 players all operating the same offensive/defensive sets more quickly than you can 22-33 players all with individual responsibilities that have to mesh perfectly or the play won't work.

 

[BruisedOrange]

I like CJP. But I hear all this talk about him being super smart and out scheming people and we are going to see it...soon... Just curious what people saw that I must have missed this last season that would generate such hope and optimism considering he still has mostly the same players.

What I remember last season was how many times it was pointed out that we had the right play called, but we had mental breakdowns on the O-line. How many times did we hear that two guys blocked the same guy and left another free to blow up the play?

Now, if those mental errors were based on adjusting to a new system and guys playing out of position to cover for injuries, then we should see (lack of) evidence of it in the spring game.

Of course, it's also easier to make mental errors when you're going up against higher talent--bigger, faster, stronger. Each play gets to be like standing over your ball at the first tee, with too many swing-thoughts going in your head. Confidence is a wonderful head-clearer.

 

[VolForLife83]

1. Simply get to a minimum of 6 wins a year while being competitive in most every game. This was the level Dooley had problems attaining. Jones needed the Miracle at Columbia to get there in Year 2. Many Vol fans deny this 1st level is part of the rebuild.
2. Get to 8-9 wins a year, with almost no losses to teams below us to teams in the recruiting rankings. We are competitive in all but 1-2 games a year, and beat Florida on a regular basis. We’ve only been at this level once since 2007. 2016 was a mirage where we were lucky to win 8 regular season games.
3. Get to 10+ regular season games and routinely stomp teams that have had the upper hand of late. At this level, we beat Georgia or Alabama from time to time and compete for division or conference championships.

As we climb to the next level, the level of recruits and ability to flip becomes much easier. A lot of fans are bummed we couldn’t grab someone that Bama or Georgia had committed but we are just not there yet. It’s actually a good sign we held onto our commits through ESD.

O line, d line, skill players is the 3 stage

 

[chargervol]

I don’t think we have the depth and experience at OL or DL to make this happen even with this class.

Don't know if we will get there or not but I definitely believe you are correct about the experience, either way.
As others mentioned, we're addressing needs at positions like OL but while these guys may be good FOR freshmen, doesn't mean they'll be a good, true sec line yet.

There's things that could be red flags for Pruitt next year obviously but year 3 will be my biggest judgement year.

 

[LWSVOL]

1. Simply get to a minimum of 6 wins a year while being competitive in most every game. This was the level Dooley had problems attaining. Jones needed the Miracle at Columbia to get there in Year 2. Many Vol fans deny this 1st level is part of the rebuild.
2. Get to 8-9 wins a year, with almost no losses to teams below us to teams in the recruiting rankings. We are competitive in all but 1-2 games a year, and beat Florida on a regular basis. We’ve only been at this level once since 2007. 2016 was a mirage where we were lucky to win 8 regular season games.
3. Get to 10+ regular season games and routinely stomp teams that have had the upper hand of late. At this level, we beat Georgia or Alabama from time to time and compete for division or conference championships.

As we climb to the next level, the level of recruits and ability to flip becomes much easier. A lot of fans are bummed we couldn’t grab someone that Bama or Georgia had committed but we are just not there yet. It’s actually a good sign we held onto our commits through ESD.

the first move is getting the roster to the point that we can beat Kentucky, Vandy, Missouri and South Carolina consistently. That gets Tennessee into the 7-8 win range. But the roster has to be upgraded with talent and that talent has to be developed. Looking 2 years to reach that point.

Start getting 8 wins a year will allow the staff to recruit at a level to compete with the Georgia, Florida, Alabama, LSU, A&M teams. That is in a 4 year range. All dependent on this staff recruiting and then getting players developed. It takes 18-24 months for get 80% of a recruiting class developed. The other 20% should be doable in 12 months or less.

 

[08Vol]

I don’t think you have a real good grip on reality.
The last two years are arguably the worst back to back years in the long history of the program.
Suddenly, the team is supposed to leap to 8 wins when they just finished last in their division. You’re nuts. UGA, UF, Missouri, SC, UK and Vandy are all ahead of UT.

It doesn’t matter. Recruits don’t care about how bad things have been. They care about if you have turned it around. If you aren’t winning a lot of games by year 2 then in their eyes you haven’t turned it around and they will look at other programs

 

[OrangeByBirth]

Well said. I hope that you are right and that is the bottom of the barrel for our program. I don't see us returning to those depths with CPF at the helm. But with that said, what is the next step to truly overcome the recurring failures that we have been plagued by for the last 5 seasons or so?

Coaching can overcome much of it. Botch had numerous recruits that have succeeded at other schools after transferring. He and his staff could not move players forward. Time will tell but other programs have won with less talent (although the talent level is NOT where it should be).

 

[ThreatLevelOrange]

the first move is getting the roster to the point that we can beat Kentucky, Vandy, Missouri and South Carolina consistently. That gets Tennessee into the 7-8 win range. But the roster has to be upgraded with talent and that talent has to be developed. Looking 2 years to reach that point.

Start getting 8 wins a year will allow the staff to recruit at a level to compete with the Georgia, Florida, Alabama, LSU, A&M teams. That is in a 4 year range. All dependent on this staff recruiting and then getting players developed. It takes 18-24 months for get 80% of a recruiting class developed. The other 20% should be doable in 12 months or less.

I think you did a better job of saying what I was trying to. The player development is why we can’t get there immediately.

 

[HuntlandVolinColo]

I don’t think you have a real good grip on reality.
The last two years are arguably the worst back to back years in the long history of the program.
Suddenly, the team is supposed to leap to 8 wins when they just finished last in their division. You’re nuts. UGA, UF, Missouri, SC, UK and Vandy are all ahead of UT.

It's not just a more favorable schedule. Every team we play next year will have a much higher turnover of starters and two deep players than we do. Especially the teams we have a good chance to beat (KY, VY, SCAR, MissSt, Mizzou, BYU).

While 3-4 more wins may seem like a huge leap, we could have won 2 more game this season (SCAR, Vandy and perhaps a bowl win).

We are also recruiting better this year and last season than most of the teams we play next year that are not named AL or GA.

We should also get a noticeable improvement in S&C after year two of "Fitzmagic!"

 

[rocytop2624]

Right now I’ll predict 7-5 next year and in 2020 get to 9-3. Cautiously optimistic in my opinion. Maybe by 2021 we get to 10-2 we will see....

I could see 9-3 in 2019

 

[Catbone]

2021

 

[Bucket18]

I love the optimism. Those of us that have been long time fans i would bet are in the wait and see bucket. I think i will be able to decide after the Florida game.
Just give me a close game to generate some excitement. Another rout and it sets
The tone for the season.

 

[Devo182]

It doesn’t matter. Recruits don’t care about how bad things have been. They care about if you have turned it around. If you aren’t winning a lot of games by year 2 then in their eyes you haven’t turned it around and they will look at other programs

Agreed. He bluntly told recruits this year it might be a shitshow. A lot harder to say that moving forward.