UT has 12th most talented roster in nation

[BigOrangeMojo]

IMO the red zone issues get a lot better, if not totally resolved, with better QB play. And he's recruited a kid that everybody thinks can play, so we'll see.

We had Red Zone issues last year in games against teams with more, similar, and less talent. We had issues if it was BM, JG, or JTS at QB. Leads me to think it's more than just QB play although that did handcuff us some for sure.

 

[901 Orange]

What 3* QBs have we ever had that ended up performing well beyond their star predictions?

Well we did have Riley Ferguson who was a 3 star recruit who left for memphis and threw for nearly 8000 yards, 70td's & 19 ints in 2 yrs. U right he didnt do it on the hill but i would say he outplayed his recruiting ranking.

 

[McDad]

I agree that he needs to show results this year. Tougher considering the circumstances... but life is tough.

I like Pruitt. I think he's a good coach and might be a good HC. But the standard should never change. Coaches that turn things around almost always show significant progress by year 3.

PS- IMHO, GSU and BYU had nothing to do with talent and not that much to do with game plans or overlooking the opponent. I think they were primarily the result of surprisingly poor execution by JG and a few others that were expected to lead.

I agree with you; this year is the toughest to "make your bones" as a HC. I don't expect him to beat everybody. He has to show he is fielding a team which looks like it belongs on the field with everyone.

 

[05_never_again]

We had Red Zone issues last year in games against teams with more, similar, and less talent. We had issues if it was BM, JG, or JTS at QB. Leads me to think it's more than just QB play although that did handcuff us some for sure.

Well, none of those QBs are particularly good. JG is what he is at this point. Maurer and Shrout have a big arms and the look of kids that could be good one day with more experience, but they weren't good last year.

This offense needs continued good O-line play (they really started trending in the right direction last year) and for Bailey to be a stud.

 

[05_never_again]

What 3* QBs have we ever had that ended up performing well beyond their star predictions?

Rivals had Dobbs as a 3-star.

 

[BigOrangeMojo]

Well, none of those QBs are particularly good. JG is what he is at this point. Maurer and Shrout have a big arms and the look of kids that could be good one day with more experience, but they weren't good last year.

This offense needs continued good O-line play (they really started trending in the right direction last year) and for Bailey to be a stud.

I think the OL has played far less than the sum of its parts the past 2 years and that has led to some of the RZ issues. Just not sold on Friend.

 

[VolMarine1371]

But do we have a coach?

 

[sjt18]

I agree with you; this year is the toughest to "make your bones" as a HC. I don't expect him to beat everybody. He has to show he is fielding a team which looks like it belongs on the field with everyone.

Agree. And even though I lay a lot of what happened early last year at the feet of JG and other experienced guys... that's still a potential coaching blindspot.

Pruitt believes with absolute unwavering faith that the guys who perform in practice will be the ones that perform on gameday. No doubt that is a good "rule of thumb"... except many great players turn it up on game day while some practice all Americans never seem to get their "legs" on game day. It might be a 95/5 type of "rule"... but a coach's ability to recognize that 5% of "gamers" or conversely admit that some practice warriors just can't translate it to the game is part of what separates winners and losers.

 

[05_never_again]

I think the OL has played far less than the sum of its parts the past 2 years and that has led to some of the RZ issues. Just not sold on Friend.

I think they started to come into their own last year and got much better as the season went along. Morris and Wright for example, despite being very talented, were still true freshmen. O-line is not a place where you're OK starting true freshmen, especially at tackle. They also did lots of O-line shuffling last year, particularly early in the season, which I think was a coaching mistake.

I think the O-line should actually be one of the strongest position units on the team this year, and one of the better units in the SEC.

 

[sjt18]

We had Red Zone issues last year in games against teams with more, similar, and less talent. We had issues if it was BM, JG, or JTS at QB. Leads me to think it's more than just QB play although that did handcuff us some for sure.

True in both respects. UT's OL should not be a liability this year or going forward. Jones' attempt to reinvent SEC line play... was a disaster. Pruitt, Chaney, and company are fundamentalists.

 

[GoodmanVol]

True in both respects. UT's OL should not be a liability this year or going forward. Jones' attempt to reinvent SEC line play... was a disaster. Pruitt, Chaney, and company are fundamentalists.

I wonder if it has something to do with Chaney. UGA struggled in the red zone while he was there. I remember specifically a goal line stand when they played Florida. Something like 8 plays from the 1 yard line (penalties bought them fresh downs) and they had to settle for anFG.

 

[McDad]

Agree. And even though I lay a lot of what happened early last year at the feet of JG and other experienced guys... that's still a potential coaching blindspot.

Pruitt believes with absolute unwavering faith that the guys who perform in practice will be the ones that perform on gameday. No doubt that is a good "rule of thumb"... except many great players turn it up on game day while some practice all Americans never seem to get their "legs" on game day. It might be a 95/5 type of "rule"... but a coach's ability to recognize that 5% of "gamers" or conversely admit that some practice warriors just can't translate it to the game is part of what separates winners and losers.

We've discussed JG's faults in the past. As a reminder of my opinion, he plays too much in his head and not enough on his gut. I think that's the reason he tends to throw late, not lead receivers, etc. As a branch off your practice/game day tree, I think there are players who do better coming off the bench. For whatever reason they are loose and instinctual when "thrown in" unexpectedly. I believe JG is one of those players.

If...big IF....we can put it all together and play above our talent on a consistent basis, this will be a fun season. Imagine if we handle everyone we out talent and steal one or two ( a man can dream) where we trail in talent. If so, CJP takes a big step forward and everyone knowing he is the coach we want him to be.

 

[05_never_again]

We've discussed JG's faults in the past. As a reminder of my opinion, he plays too much in his head and not enough on his gut. I think that's the reason he tends to throw late, not lead receivers, etc. As a branch off your practice/game day tree, I think there are players who do better coming off the bench. For whatever reason they are loose and instinctual when "thrown in" unexpectedly. I believe JG is one of those players.

If...big IF....we can put it all together and play above our talent on a consistent basis, this will be a fun season. Imagine if we handle everyone we out talent and steal one or two ( a man can dream) where we trail in talent. If so, CJP takes a big step forward and everyone knowing he is the coach we want him to be.

Has anybody been able to find the Barton Simmons quote/interview where he supposedly pegged JG during his recruitment? I've heard multiple people say that during JG's recruitment/high school career, Simmons claimed he was a "practice warrior" (or something to that effect) that looked awesome in practice, at camps, etc. but had trouble bringing that to the field.

The only thing I've ever found is this article (Analyst: Guarantano could be 'elite' for Vols) where he says JG could be "elite" and really talks him up.

 

[McDad]

Has anybody been able to find the Barton Simmons quote/interview where he supposedly pegged JG during his recruitment? I've heard multiple people say that during JG's recruitment/high school career, Simmons claimed he was a "practice warrior" (or something to that effect) that looked awesome in practice, at camps, etc. but had trouble bringing that to the field.

The only thing I've ever found is this article (Analyst: Guarantano could be 'elite' for Vols) where he says JG could be "elite" and really talks him up.

I am unaware of that interview. Wouldn't even know where to find it.

 

[BigOrangeMojo]

I think they started to come into their own last year and got much better as the season went along. Morris and Wright for example, despite being very talented, were still true freshmen. O-line is not a place where you're OK starting true freshmen, especially at tackle. They also did lots of O-line shuffling last year, particularly early in the season, which I think was a coaching mistake.

I think the O-line should actually be one of the strongest position units on the team this year, and one of the better units in the SEC.

We only averaged more than 4.0 YPC once in the last 7 games (Vandy). I think everyone remembers the couple of big runs against Vandy, plus the wins and assume we had good to great OL play the second half of the season. The numbers just don't support that. Our OL play the 2nd half of the season was like looking at a girl that's a 4 (out of a scale to 10). It's not great but after seeing Rosie O'Donnell for a year and a half, it looks a lot better than it actually is.

 

[chef3531]

So, by my *completely arbitrary* talent tier system, in which no team in a tier is more than 50 points below the leader of that tier, we have 5 talent tiers:

Tier A

Georgia- 1013
Bama- 1011
LSU-958

Tier B

Texas A&M- 895
Tennessee- 880
Auburn-876
Florida- 855

Tier C

South Carolina- 800
MSU-794
Arkansas-753

Tier D

Ole Miss- 745
Kentucky- 734

Tier E

Missouri- 643
Vanderbilt-627

It's also sick that 81 of Georgia's 85 recruited scholarship players, and all 85 of Bama's, are either 4 or 5 stars.

By your own metric you need to tweak your list. LSU is 55pts lower than Jawja. That's greater than 50

 

[chef3531]

It just means Mullen is getting more out of his roster than Pruitt is

It means his wife is getting more out of that roster

 

[05_never_again]

We only averaged more than 4.0 YPC once in the last 7 games (Vandy). I think everyone remembers the couple of big runs against Vandy, plus the wins and assume we had good to great OL play the second half of the season. The numbers just don't support that. Our OL play the 2nd half of the season was like looking at a girl that's a 4 (out of a scale to 10). It's not great but after seeing Rosie O'Donnell for a year and a half, it looks a lot better than it actually is.

Not good to great OL play; more like it went from not even FBS level to average/good in spots. If they take a step forward this year, they should have good to great OL play all year.

I think they rushed a little better than you give them credit for. As a team they hit 4 YPC once, but our leading rusher in a number of games had over 4 YPC. Against South Carolina Chandler had 4.9 YPC on 16 carries, Chandler had 5.3 YPC on 16 carries against UAB, Jordan had 5.3 YPC on 14 carries against Mizzou, and Gray had 6.1 YPC on 14 carries against Indiana.

 

[KBVol]

I can't imagine UF being worried about UT!

Double post

 

[PulaskiVolFan]

Rivals had Dobbs as a 3-star.

That's definitely a good one as he was great I always thought. Folks should be arrested over how poorly he was coached his 1st 2 seasons here.

 

[whodeycin85]

Has anybody been able to find the Barton Simmons quote/interview where he supposedly pegged JG during his recruitment? I've heard multiple people say that during JG's recruitment/high school career, Simmons claimed he was a "practice warrior" (or something to that effect) that looked awesome in practice, at camps, etc. but had trouble bringing that to the field.

The only thing I've ever found is this article (Analyst: Guarantano could be 'elite' for Vols) where he says JG could be "elite" and really talks him up.

The Biggest Takeaways from Tennessee's Recruits Performance at the Opening

Doesnt say that. But does highlight what everyone has been complaining about...and this was at the opening

 

[PulaskiVolFan]

Not good to great OL play; more like it went from not even FBS level to average/good in spots. If they take a step forward this year, they should have good to great OL play all year.

I think they rushed a little better than you give them credit for. As a team they hit 4 YPC once, but our leading rusher in a number of games had over 4 YPC. Against South Carolina Chandler had 4.9 YPC on 16 carries, Chandler had 5.3 YPC on 16 carries against UAB, Jordan had 5.3 YPC on 14 carries against Mizzou, and Gray had 6.1 YPC on 14 carries against Indiana.

We've stunk it up running the football, we did most of last season as well. We've been terrible at converting 3rd and short. The potential is there, if Chandler and Gray can avoid being arm tackled at the point of contact I think both can be successful. I also think we're going to be better at 3rd and short as I believe Crouch is going to continue to get carries and I believe Dee Beckwith will be hard to stop out of the wildcat, both running behind All-American Trey Smith.

 

[volroadwarrior]

The difference is 800 to 1000 points as a result of a bunch of nimrods' analyses is BS anyway.

 

[JohnnyJava]

By your own metric you need to tweak your list. LSU is 55pts lower than Jawja. That's greater than 50

Ha, what are you, one of those people who knows how to subtract and stuff? Though you are completely correct, I'm going to arbitrarily keep LSU in Tier A because they are the reigning NCAA champs. You can file an appeal with the NCAA.

 

[sjt18]

I wonder if it has something to do with Chaney. UGA struggled in the red zone while he was there. I remember specifically a goal line stand when they played Florida. Something like 8 plays from the 1 yard line (penalties bought them fresh downs) and they had to settle for anFG.

Maybe but I doubt it. He's had success in multiple places.

If he cannot improve RZ performance with this OL... then I might be more on board with you. With better QB play and the expected OL improvements, UT could go from bad... to very, very good.

That's one thing I hope UT doesn't have to "trade off". I've been critical of JG as a passer but he came into his own late in the season as a manager of the offense. That's not a minor accomplishment. It separated him from Maurer and Shrout. I hope the coaches do not have to trade less in the passing game to get the run game balance they need. Maybe JG has finally turned the corner or else Maurer/Shrout has caught up in managing the O.

I still do not think HB factors in this year in part due to management of the O. That's too much ground for him to make up.