Todays signings confirm Josh Heupel has us pointed in the right direction

#1
UT Hill Man

UT Hill Man

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#1
After the Vanderbilt beatdown, a lot of folks were clinging to the ledge, but this 2026 recruiting class should calm a lot of nerves.

Everyone take a look at what we have—a class is headlined by high-profile, consensus five-star prospects, including quarterback Faizon Brandon and offensive lineman Gabriel Osenda. Securing "can't miss" talents at critical positions provides the immediate influx of top-tier skill needed to compete at the highest levels of the SEC and college football.

Acquiring key players like a franchise quarterback (Brandon) and his primary protector (Osenda) establishes a strong offensive core for the future. This strategy builds a sustainable foundation for head coach Josh Heupel's system and makes the program more attractive to other high-level recruits and transfers.

Beyond the top stars, the class includes a large number of commits, with over 20 players signed across various positions, including edge rushers, defensive backs, and wide receivers. This ensures a pipeline of talent and healthy competition for starting roles, guarding against unexpected transfer portal departures.

I believe this could end up being a top 5 class and that acquiring top-five talent is essential to truly compete for a national championship. This recruiting class is a crucial step in providing the roster necessary to reach that goal in the coming seasons.

Beyond this, we just need to hit the portal hard and clean up some assistant coaching issues to get back on the right track.

This is all just my opinion.
 
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#2
#2
Good early signing day, but how many of them will play or make a difference right away? Portal pickups and staff changes will help determine our 2026 outcome

how much of our budget did we spend signing high school players that could have been used in the portal? I hope Aguilar can come back, but if not, we may need to go get a qb
 
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#3
#3
Volbrando said:
Good early signing day, but how many of them will play or make a difference right away? Portal pickups and staff changes will determine our 2026 outcome

how much of our budget did we spend signing high school players that could have been used in the portal?
Click to expand...

We were 8-4 with the youngest roster in the SEC. Sure, we need portal additions at key places, but this is very talented team. The best teams recruit great HS classes and supplement the team through the portal.
 
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#4
#4
Carp said:
We were 8-4 with the youngest roster in the SEC. Sure, we need portal additions at key places, but this is very talented team. The best teams recruit great HS classes and supplement the team through the portal.
Click to expand...
Vandy just embarrassed us with portal players
HS classes are good if they are developed, play, contribute, and don't transfer... otherwise many are building new teams every year now
 
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#5
#5
Volbrando said:
Vandy just embarrassed us with portal players
HS classes are good if they are developed, play, contribute, and don't transfer... otherwise many are building new teams every year now
Click to expand...
Portal teams are 1 year rentals you can't just rebuild through the portal every single year and win consistently.
 
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#6
#6
Volbrando said:
Vandy just embarrassed us with portal players
HS classes are good if they are developed, play, contribute, and don't transfer... otherwise many are building new teams every year now
Click to expand...
Vandy had 1 successful season as the oldest team in the league with the best QB their program has ever seen in their existence. About 1/3 of their roster is graduating or heading to the draft, and that's before anyone exits for the portal. They won't win 5 games next year.

The best teams still build through HS recruits. The portal is not a long term sustainable model to maintain a top tier program.
 
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#7
#7
Volbrando said:
Good early signing day, but how many of them will play or make a difference right away? Portal pickups and staff changes will determine our 2026 outcome

how much of our budget did we spend signing high school players that could have been used in the portal?
Click to expand...
You never eat your seed corn.
It will always need to be a balancing act between recruiting and portal but you have to at least try and locate HS talent and try to build some new talent native to the program.
And especially close to home, you want to lock down talent that other schools covet.

Every HS standout that becomes a Vol Is one that doesn’t become an elephant, dawg, or gator (at least not right away)
 
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#10
#10
It's good news. No doubt. But all these transfers each year mean- whoever you get this year, doesn't mean you'll have them next year. And of course proper evaluations and development are all always in-flux. But regarding direction- JH was just blown out at home by Vandy IN HIS 5TH YEAR. He beat 1 team with a winning record this year and lost 3 games at home. You have to have your head in the sand to not see serious deficiencies, and the possibly of him being canned next year or the year after is more likely to happen than not happen.
 
#11
#11
UT Hill Man said:
After the Vanderbilt beatdown, a lot of folks were clinging to the ledge, but this 2026 recruiting class should calm a lot of nerves.

Everyone take a look at what we have—a class is headlined by high-profile, consensus five-star prospects, including quarterback Faizon Brandon and offensive lineman Gabriel Osenda. Securing "can't miss" talents at critical positions provides the immediate influx of top-tier skill needed to compete at the highest levels of the SEC and college football.

Acquiring key players like a franchise quarterback (Brandon) and his primary protector (Osenda) establishes a strong offensive core for the future. This strategy builds a sustainable foundation for head coach Josh Heupel's system and makes the program more attractive to other high-level recruits and transfers.

Beyond the top stars, the class includes a large number of commits, with over 20 players signed across various positions, including edge rushers, defensive backs, and wide receivers. This ensures a pipeline of talent and healthy competition for starting roles, guarding against unexpected transfer portal departures.

I believe this could end up being a top 5 class and that acquiring top-five talent is essential to truly compete for a national championship. This recruiting class is a crucial step in providing the roster necessary to reach that goal in the coming seasons.

Beyond this, we just need to hit the portal hard and clean up some assistant coaching issues to get back on the right track.

This is all just my opinion.
Click to expand...
I see where Legend Bay signed, I thought he was going to OSU?
 
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#12
#12
Chitlin&theDude said:
It's good news. No doubt. But all these transfers each year mean- whoever you get this year, doesn't mean you'll have them next year. And of course proper evaluations and development are all always in-flux. But regarding direction- JH was just blown out at home by Vandy IN HIS 5TH YEAR. He beat 1 team with a winning record this year and lost 3 games at home. You have to have your head in the sand to not see serious deficiencies, and the possibly of him being canned next year or the year after is more likely to happen than not happen.
Click to expand...
Heupel's buyout, it may be higher, was about $20-25M for 2026 the last time I checked.

UT coming up with that money AND significant NIL money from donors seems unlikely.
 
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#17
#17
SayUWantAreVOLution said:
Heupel's buyout, it may be higher, was about $20-25M for 2026 the last time I checked.

UT coming up with that money AND significant NIL money from donors seems unlikely.
Click to expand...
The money is there. It's always there. Look at all the buyouts these teams paid this year. LSU is just now finishing paying coach O, they owe over $50mill to Kelly and they're paying Kiffin $100mill. LSU isn't that far ahead of us, if they are at all
 
#18
#18
Volbrando said:
Vandy just embarrassed us with portal players
HS classes are good if they are developed, play, contribute, and don't transfer... otherwise many are building new teams every year now
Click to expand...
Vandy had a senior laden team. We were the youngest team in America this year. Most teams are building their teams through recruiting and developing and adding the missing pieces in the portal. You’re not going to be able to build a sound program relying exclusively on the portal. That myth is being overblown and isn’t a good recipe for long term success. GBO
 
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#19
#19
SayUWantAreVOLution said:
Heupel's buyout, it may be higher, was about $20-25M for 2026 the last time I checked.

UT coming up with that money AND significant NIL money from donors seems unlikely.
Click to expand...
Anyone even checking what Heupel‘s buyout is right now probably needs to take a deep breath and go touch grass 😉
 
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#21
#21
Chitlin&theDude said:
The money is there. It's always there. Look at all the buyouts these teams paid this year. LSU is just now finishing paying coach O, they owe over $50mill to Kelly and they're paying Kiffin $100mill. LSU isn't that far ahead of us, if they are at all
Click to expand...
Uh, if you think we can pay the kind of money LSU dropped to get Kelly out and Kiffin in, you're simply wrong.

We're not going to win a money race with several schools which is EXACTLY why we haven't gotten top 5 recruiting classes in the NIL era.
 
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