'26 TN S Joel Wyatt (Tennessee commit)

#929
#929
lfvol said:
Saw where AL has a commitment from the top safety for 2016 and overall top10 player. I guess they don’t know safety has a low value.
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Or maybe being a top 10 player regardless of position outweighs the relative positional value, but don’t let nuance interfere with…whatever point you’re trying to make.
 
#930
#930
marcusluvsvols said:
^^^ LMAO. We have Wyatt and Combay coming as freshmen next year at Safety. Apparently none of the 6DBs in the 2025 class are gonna play this year (what happened to Merritt who flashed in camp?) We better grab 2 Safeties from the portal that can play right away or we will have a Safety problem for the SIXTH straight year. For whatever reason we have been unable to buy an SEC caliber Safety every year. Maybe we finally hit on 1 this year. Sure hope so. Its the only position that this staff hasnt done an exceptional job with.
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We let ours go to Miami… jakobe was my favorite safety last year and he would be head and shoulders better than any safety on our roster this year… he is balling at Miami and that is the only portal player I hate we lost..
 
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#931
#931
Safety definitely has value now with the newfound idea in zone defenses that they can cover the middle of the field from depth while linebackers can cover the flat or blitz, which means safeties have to do it all. This is why you are seeing more of a general safety position and not free or strong. Instead you are seeing these do it all 6'0/200 body types begin to become the most attractive at the position (Xavier Watts, Caleb Downs, KJ Bolden).

This staff definitely needs to invest more into the position than they have and that's been obvious for a while now imo, but that's not to say they have to go spend their NIL money on a top-50 overall recruit just to get this premier safety. Georgia gets it because they have the best in-state advantage in the country. Alabama gets them because elite players want to go to the biggest brand in the country from when they grew up watching cfb.

Jowell Combay has talent. Jarrell Chandler is quickly developing into a well-rounded safety prospect nearby at Halls. They need to invest into DB recruiting more in general if the 2026 class told us anything, but it doesn't have to equate to just throwing money at any safety. They should be able to sell a pretty good pitch to DBs rn with turning Hadden from juco to NFL and then potentially putting two corners in the first round this draft
 
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#938
#938
NighthawkVol said:
Guessing he’s referring to Moa.
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Yea, I mean his skills will probably translate to receiver quicker, but I remember him saying a big part of his surprise commitment was the chance to play multiple positions. a 6'2" almost 200 lb safety with great ball skills would be huge for this team if it works out that way
 
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#939
#939
Heupel's Offseason Beard said:
Yea, I mean his skills will probably translate to receiver quicker, but I remember him saying a big part of his surprise commitment was the chance to play multiple positions. a 6'2" almost 200 lb safety with great ball skills would be huge for this team if it works out that way
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I don’t know which side of the ball his skills would translate to quicker, but I know the path to playing at safety is for less resistant. At least on this roster.
 
#940
#940
MarcoVol said:
Why do we care what Bama does at the safety position?
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I was thinking we play them, no? And we don’t value safety but AL does. OHSt does. GA was 14 for 14 middle of the field. AR about 14-15. And we don’t make running game plays from safety either. So, we are completely wrong on value, too poor in NIL or incompetent in recruiting at safety.
 
#941
#941
lfvol said:
I was thinking we play them, no? And we don’t value safety but AL does. OHSt does. GA was 14 for 14 middle of the field. AR about 14-15. And we don’t make running game plays from safety either. So, we are completely wrong on value, too poor in NIL or incompetent in recruiting at safety.
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Those UGA safeties really shut us down so yeah I see why you mention them. Let’s see how Bama’s do.
 
#942
#942
lfvol said:
I was thinking we play them, no? And we don’t value safety but AL does. OHSt does. GA was 14 for 14 middle of the field. AR about 14-15. And we don’t make running game plays from safety either. So, we are completely wrong on value, too poor in NIL or incompetent in recruiting at safety.
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The problem with your “logic” is that the issue is whether Tennessee values safeties relative to other positions. The answer seems to be that, no, we don’t value it as highly as other positions…which is also the NFL model.

But pointing to a guy who is a top 10 OVERALL recruit and saying, “see, he’s committed to a top tier program!” as if that undermines that position, is wrongheaded. A top 10 overall recruit at ANY position is going to sign with a big time program because they will all offer him.

RBs aren’t as highly valued as other positions in the NFL model, either. But we still went hard after Hiter and are going hard after DGG. Because they’re elite overall prospects.

In short, you’re arguing against a position that no one is taking…that being that we don’t want a good safety if we can get him. We do. We’re just not going to value a good safety as much as a good CB or Edge or LB or DT…just as NFL teams don’t.
 
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#943
#943
Rangy Safety

I’ve been critical of Wyatt, but in these highlights at least- he displays the ability to move like we need from our safeties. He never played safety before this season but he seems to be getting better at the position.
 
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#944
#944
Hard to argue we aren't throwing resources at the S position considering we have 4 of them committed, plus potentially a 5th if Moa's defensive position is there, in
Wyatt, Combay (underrated IMO), McClain and Thompson.

Now if one wants to make the case that we'd be better off utilizing those resources of fewer but more highly rated Safeties I think that's a good argument to make. That said, in doing a quick perusal of the 247 Top 100, I see only 3 of them that we could've reasonably been expected to land but didn't:

#13 overall Bralon Womack, who despite being from MS is committed to Auburn. Especially with our success in MS this cycle feels like a guy we could've possibly landed

#30 overall Jireh Edwards, who is from St Frances in MD and is committed to Alabama. We've done well there

#39 overall Joey Obrien, who is from PA but is committed to ND. He visited a couple of times but we never got him on an OV

All that said IMO going out and getting the best S on the transfer market should be priority #1 this offseason.
 
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#946
#946
NighthawkVol said:
Guessing he’s referring to Moa.
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I always forget about him for some reason. Idk how. Dude is probably a starter at safety next season.

I’m changing my tune on Wyatt a lot.
He’s starting to look the part.
Coverage, tackling, play recognition. He’s getting his feet under him at safety. He has like 500 yards receiving and 50 + tackles. According to someone I know. MaxPreps says different but they aren’t trust worthy with stats all the time.


We need all 3 of Combay, Wyatt, and Moa. Much needed size, range and speed.
 
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#948
#948
sreveisVol said:
Hopefully Moa sees that his path to play is much quicker if he starts as a DB. WR room competition for Brazzells spot is going to be intense
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Jackson, Smith, or Keys will win that spot. Those are three VERY talented dudes and it’s great to have that kind of competition for one spot.
 
#949
#949
LittleVol said:
I always forget about him for some reason. Idk how. Dude is probably a starter at safety next season.

I’m changing my tune on Wyatt a lot.
He’s starting to look the part.
Coverage, tackling, play recognition. He’s getting his feet under him at safety. He has like 500 yards receiving and 50 + tackles. According to someone I know. MaxPreps says different but they aren’t trust worthy with stats all the time.


We need all 3 of Combay, Wyatt, and Moa. Much needed size, range and speed.
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MaxPreps is great but it’s only as accurate as the guy reporting the stats
 
#950
#950
NighthawkVol said:
The problem with your “logic” is that the issue is whether Tennessee values safeties relative to other positions. The answer seems to be that, no, we don’t value it as highly as other positions…which is also the NFL model.

But pointing to a guy who is a top 10 OVERALL recruit and saying, “see, he’s committed to a top tier program!” as if that undermines that position, is wrongheaded. A top 10 overall recruit at ANY position is going to sign with a big time program because they will all offer him.

RBs aren’t as highly valued as other positions in the NFL model, either. But we still went hard after Hiter and are going hard after DGG. Because they’re elite overall prospects.

In short, you’re arguing against a position that no one is taking…that being that we don’t want a good safety if we can get him. We do. We’re just not going to value a good safety as much as a good CB or Edge or LB or DT…just as NFL teams don’t.
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That argument has been made repeatedly. It’s the narrative they spread. They spread the same stuff about WR 3-4 years ago until it was obvious that AL followed by OHSt recruited the best WR talent and were winning national championships. Then we changed and no longer hear that nonsense. If you actually want to compete for championships, safety (and RB where we went all in on Hiter) are very important. I’m pointing out that the best teams commit sufficient NIL and/or have competent recruiters to get talent at S. Furthermore, the dollars to land an elite safety are marginal compared to a top QB or left tackle. Our best hope may be that Wyatt can stay trim enough to force his way onto the field at safety.
 
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