Also, many of these highly touted guys want to play as a freshman and will go where the coaches will actually get them in the game as a frosh. .
the only retort i would offer to this is then why is our recruiting class this year looking so good? i understand where you are coming from and i agree that we need to get those that can make plays on the feild more often, regardless of age/experience. if they can play, they can play. but the true freshman that can honestly make a huge impact on a regular basis is few and far between. Plus, there is something to be said for redshirting, when done appropriately. it builds depth and is a good way to prepare for longer term success, but your overall point of putting the best players on the feild is completely valid. i think back to JAmal Lewis in 97. couldn't play in the FL game cause he hadn't picked up the blocking schemes yet...one week later against Ole miss we were all wondering where was this kid last week?????
Patrick, couldn't agree more. I believe Coach Cut is one of the better QB coaches in the land, but average OC. But this is what you want, good young coaches with high goals. You loose some and go out and get more young quality coaches. This program starts getting a reputation of developing coaches and you'll have your pick of talented coaches.
i think we are starting to see that right now. obviously, this thread was started about one of our coaches being sought after as a HC, and Cut had the interview the the browns. regardless of how you feel about Cutcliffe, (and i wasn't exactly a fan of his in his previous life at UT), i do think the HC experience he had at Ole Miss was valuable in developing him to be able to understand the other side of the process, not just a position coach/coordinator aspect. i think he's much better now than he was before. Also, again, how you feel about him not withstanding, his reputation has grown over the last few years as being a good offensive mind, a good OC and a well above average QB coach. his work with Ainge this past season was nothing short of impressive, considering the shape Ainge was in coming in to 06. plus it kind of validated his work with the manning brothers. so many were quick to write that off as "it was the mannings, anyone could coach them" or "archie was more responsible for that than anythng Cut did". at this point, i think the development of Ainge under Cut shed some light on how good of a qb coach he really is. this was the guy that CW wanted coaching Brady Quinn, that from a guy that coached Tom Brady to 3 Super Bowls. that's a pretty good endorsement imo.
Right now, I get the impression that the UT staff's reputation is like a union. Pass the apprenticeship program and don't fail your pee tests and you've got a job for life. Doesn't really lend itself to the dynamic that you describe, although I completely agree that UT needs to have that dynamic in place. This is a constant argument between one group of people who think that "staff stability" is the be all-end all, and another group who think that fresh perspective and new ideas are the key to continued success. I will say that even at oft cited bastions of staff stability (PSU and FSU) the "stability" really doesn't extend very far beyond the head coach position.
i would agree with this statement, there's a happy medium out there that we really haven't found yet. though i think we are actively working towards it. Staff stability does have it's advantages, we all know that from a recruiting stanpoint, that has been one of the selling points for UT. however, anything can get stale and old, and no amount of stability will entice kids that have that perception.
i think we took strides in the right direction this past off season with some of the new hires and staff shuffling we went thru.
But, just as an example, i think Bowden would have loved to have been able to keep Mark Richt as OC for the past 6 years............when you got a good one, they're that much harder to replace, regardless of blood lines......
As for Cutt and Taylor I know they can earn more money and a head coaching job somewhere but let us win one before they go. Hell, go ahead and take Pat S while your at it.
