UT is 11th

#27
#27
It's a good situation for Pruitt.

The exoectations are extremely low. But I also think he has more talent to work with than the perception from last year.

To his credit, he's yet to "lay the groundwork" for the experience /talent excuse like Butch always did this time of year.
 
#29
#29
If he can make this defense a lot better we have a shot in a lot of games were picked to lose next season. If we get Smith back we may have a much better OL than expected. Richmond, The JC guy, and the freshman could really make the difference.
 
#30
#30
05_never_again said:
Agree that there are holes on the OL, but that was an underachieving unit, not a talentless unit.

The DL was a badly, badly underachieving unit last year. There is talent there, even with the departure of McKenzie (he should've returned for his senior season), and hopefully Pruitt can get more out of it.
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Actually, with the departure of KMac, we should be more talented at DL. He just wasn’t good here.

We have proven talent at a few spots, but not nearly enough imo.....too many positions we have what all think are talented players because they were pretty highly rated, but don’t know if they can actually play here. Is it a lack of talent or just lack of player development? Or a little of both?

Honestly, I don’t really know how talented or “un-talented” our OL really is. Only Smith looked the part of a legit SEC OLineman last year...nobody else imo. I’m really hopeful that this staff can get this roster turned around and playing well. Who knows?
 
#32
#32
IMO, you have to look at the players that made up those grades. Are those players still on UT's team? If not, those numbers are meaningless.
 
#35
#35
05_never_again said:
Pruitt is inheriting a much better situation/roster than our previous two coaches inherited. This is more like a remodel than a rebuild.
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Are you kidding me? We just experienced the worst season in Tennessee history and you're calling it a remodel? Good grief our fanbase is delusional.
 
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#36
#36
Not a remodel unless you're considering moving to a spiffier cardboard box. Smart guys have pointed out the fallacy of these numbers. Many of the players who contributed to the relatively lofty numbers be long gone.
 
#38
#38
87&91ALUM said:
We have some capable and talented players and if they have stuck around to this point, they are likely to buy in. The injured are the difference between UT playing in a bowl game next winter or sitting at home. If Kirkland Jr, Tkjr, Tuttle, Smith, and the others play healthy at full speed this fall, we will win more games than 2017. My opinion.
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not to hard to improve from a 4-8 and 0-8 in Sec play season. I think we go 6-6 in Pruitt's first year and get back to a bowl game
 
#39
#39
sunnyvol79 said:
not to hard to improve from a 4-8 and 0-8 in Sec play season. I think we go 6-6 in Pruitt's first year and get back to a bowl game
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I'm assuming most people think we can flip Kentucky for a win. Next would be Vandy? Missouri will have a QB who is probably a Heisman short-lister when the season starts. Fla. is a tough sell. Tennessee is 0-Muschamp, which is an away game. Vegas has WV -9 or something currently. Lastly, don't forget that the great Saban himself lost to a cupcake team his first year in Tuscaloosa, and UT was distressingly close to that several times over the last two seasons. Maybe this would make a good poll later down the line. What are the two or three games that people think UT is most likely to pick up this year?
 
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#40
#40
CA_Vol said:
Are you kidding me? We just experienced the worst season in Tennessee history and you're calling it a remodel? Good grief our fanbase is delusional.
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OL/DL and QB voids makes the whole look worse. The question we'll all have to wait and see about is how much of it is talent void vs how much of it is lack of development. I think we're in a much better spot than when Jones took over, but then again, rest of SEC is better too. If Pruitt can show improvement in year 1 towards playing fundamentally sound football, look out in recruiting...the momentum ground swell will ramp up pretty quick.
 
#41
#41
those #'s don't mean a hill of beans.

a) a good portion of the higher rated guys that made up some of those classes are no longer on the roster.
b) those same classes that make up that ranking didn't have the depth to complete the deal in 2016, and just went 4-8.
c) general jack summed it up on the coaching front. piece of cake, indeed.

the roster needs to be changed, and that'll take a couple years.

this team isn't as bad as 4-8 suggests, but they're not going to shock the world this season either. too many issues on the LOS for this team, this year, to be that kind of team. ?'s at QB, RB, WR, LB.....depth is still an issue.

just get to a bowl game this year. show you're competitive. don't look like you're in over your head as a staff. close the 2019 recruiting class STRONG, and set up the next 2-3 years and beyond.
 
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#42
#42
CA_Vol said:
Are you kidding me? We just experienced the worst season in Tennessee history and you're calling it a remodel? Good grief our fanbase is delusional.
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If you think that 4-8 in conference play is indicative of the talent level on that team, then I'm not sure you are watching the games, following recruiting, or looking at our depth chart relative to our competition. We had the worst record in the SEC last year. Tennessee was not the least talented team in the SEC last year. Not even close. It shows you how bad of a talent developer/evaluator/game coach Butch and his staff were.

2017 Tennessee was just as or more talented than Florida (especially when they had something like 7 guys suspended), South Carolina, Kentucky, Mizzou, and Vandy last year.
 
#43
#43
Iam4utalways said:
Is there an extended list. The 4 games I count as toss ups are all tanked higher than us. If like to see how the other 8 compare. I expect CJP&S to figure out a way to win them all, but blowing leads and games is not how to keep your job at UT. Sometimes it is how and to who you lose to.

I would like to see an adjust # for attrition. That was Butch's other middle name.
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You got it!I actually do this every year. I go through each team roster as listed on 247 and subtract graduating senior and juniors who have declared for the draft. Then add in the incoming recruiting class. I'll update again at the end of fall camp. Here is how we stack up against our 2018 opponents based on average star ranking

Alabama 3.93
Georgia 3.72
Auburn 3.57
Tennessee 3.57
Florida 3.39
Kentucky 3.21
South Carolina 3.20
Missouri 3.11
West Virginia 3.05
Vandy 2.97
 
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#44
#44
Keep in mind that the above list is based on average star ranking only. It doesn't take into account injuries, player development, fit for the system, or a host of other factors.
 
#45
#45
MyBloodRunnethOrange said:
You got it!I actually do this every year. I go through each team roster as listed on 247 and subtract graduating senior and juniors who have declared for the draft. Then add in the incoming recruiting class. I'll update again at the end of fall camp. Here is how we stack up against our 2018 opponents based on average star ranking

Alabama 3.93
Georgia 3.72
Auburn 3.57
Tennessee 3.57
Florida 3.39
Kentucky 3.21
South Carolina 3.20
Missouri 3.11
West Virginia 3.05
Vandy 2.97
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Thanks for doing the legwork on this MBRO! :good!:

If we beat those bottom 6 that would be very impressive.

Florida fans would not be happy with Mullen if he takes a loss up here, for sure.
 
#46
#46
MyBloodRunnethOrange said:
You got it!I actually do this every year. I go through each team roster as listed on 247 and subtract graduating senior and juniors who have declared for the draft. Then add in the incoming recruiting class. I'll update again at the end of fall camp. Here is how we stack up against our 2018 opponents based on average star ranking

Alabama 3.93
Georgia 3.72
Auburn 3.57
Tennessee 3.57
Florida 3.39
Kentucky 3.21
South Carolina 3.20
Missouri 3.11
West Virginia 3.05
Vandy 2.97
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I asked Bob Kesling what he thought about CJP. . His reply was that CJP is a football coach.

I got all warm and fuzzy inside.

I'm curious to see how CJP does this fall.
 
#48
#48
05_never_again said:
If you think that 4-8 in conference play is indicative of the talent level on that team, then I'm not sure you are watching the games, following recruiting, or looking at our depth chart relative to our competition. We had the worst record in the SEC last year. Tennessee was not the least talented team in the SEC last year. Not even close. It shows you how bad of a talent developer/evaluator/game coach Butch and his staff were.

2017 Tennessee was just as or more talented than Florida (especially when they had something like 7 guys suspended), South Carolina, Kentucky, Mizzou, and Vandy last year.
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You are what you’re record says you are. The only way you can hide talent is if you keep them on the bench (Kamara). Barnett was successful because he’s really talented despite the lack of coaching he received. We didn’t have anybody on the d-line that wreaked havoc because nobody was talented enough. Besides Bituli and trey smith I can’t think of one player that you could say is a stud. When you take away the star rankings and just line up our position groups against the rest of the position groups in the sec, position for position we’re at the bottom.
 
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