Vols Wednesday Practice: Florida week

[44DivePlay]

I think they want to be able to move Trey inside. They want to be able to run the ball up the middle at will every play. The only way to do that is to put someone like Trey there.

You only need a serviceable left tackle to keep your quarterback clean, someone who can just get in front of and stay on a pass rusher.

This and Trey has not graded out well at LT this year so far. I think some of that is due to a new position, lack of practices before the season, and some unrecognized edge blitzes but PFF and rivals reports have him barely grading out above Richmond if not less.

He was/is an absolute beast at guard last year.

Can’t wait till we get back to the old days when highly recruited freshman or RS freshman tackles with weight play guard for a year or two then rotate out to tackle as juniors/seniors if ready and have the body type.

 

[butchna]

I think they want to be able to move Trey inside. They want to be able to run the ball up the middle at will every play. The only way to do that is to put someone like Trey there.

You only need a serviceable left tackle to keep your quarterback clean, someone who can just get in front of and stay on a pass rusher.

The only serviceable LT we have is Trey.

 

[butchna]

This and Trey has not graded out well at LT this year so far. I think some of that is due to a new position, lack of practices before the season, and some unrecognized edge blitzes but PFF and rivals reports have him barely grading out above Richmond if not less.

He was/is an absolute beast at guard last year.

Can’t wait till we get back to the old days when highly recruited freshman or RS freshman tackles with weight play guard for a year or two then rotate out to tackle as juniors/seniors if ready and have the body type.

He played LT last year...at freshman All-American level. He’s rusty from offseason inactivity...same as if he moved to OG.

 

[butchna]

This and Trey has not graded out well at LT this year so far. I think some of that is due to a new position, lack of practices before the season, and some unrecognized edge blitzes but PFF and rivals reports have him barely grading out above Richmond if not less.

He was/is an absolute beast at guard last year.

Can’t wait till we get back to the old days when highly recruited freshman or RS freshman tackles with weight play guard for a year or two then rotate out to tackle as juniors/seniors if ready and have the body type.

Alabama plays their 5 star OT’s at those spots...as true freshmen. We did the same with Mike Munoz.

 

[44DivePlay]

He played LT last year...at freshman All-American level. He’s rusty from offseason inactivity...same as if he moved to OG.

He played it some yes. Agree he is rusty and new scheme. But his grades have been more poor this year for sure.

He is our best option and doing okay. But not as good as he can be or should be yet. And if you look at objective and third party evals he is doing the same as Drew on the other side so far this season.

And I may be wrong (never played O line or football beyond middle school) but I was always under the impression that play tackle is harder than guard as far as technique and adjusting to speed rushes etc.

He is our best talent but so far he has not played well yet/consistent this year. It’s just everyone keeps say Drew is our main/worst issue. So far that’s not the case. Even our best lineman has not played that well.

That being said I would love to see a healthy Hall at RT or Hall at LT and Drew at LG to see how that went.

 

[44DivePlay]

Alabama plays their 5 star OT’s at those spots...as true freshmen. We did the same with Mike Munoz.

Yep. Remember that. Would like us to get enough depth and talent again to do that.

 

[butchna]

He played it some yes. Agree he is rusty and new scheme. But his grades have been more poor this year for sure.

He is our best option and doing okay. But not as good as he can be or should be yet. And if you look at objective and third party evals he is doing the same as Drew on the other side so far this season.

Not flaming you, but I give a crap about so called “objective” outside evals. Dude was ESPN’s number one ranked recruit. They don’t hand that ranking to any OL outside of the over glamorized weakside spot. Their experts projected him at LT UNTIL he picked UT. They would have stuck with that projection if he had gone with Saban or Urban. And I’m no OL expert and have never purported to be, but I was in Norman in 2014 and I know what bad OL (and specifically LT) play looks like. Trey couldn’t try to approach that grade.

 

[44DivePlay]

Not flaming you, but I give a crap about so called “objective” outside evals. Dude was ESPN’s number one ranked recruit. They don’t hand that ranking to any OL outside of the over glamorized weakside spot. Their experts projected him at LT UNTIL he picked UT. They would have stuck with that projection if he had gone with Saban or Urban. And I’m no OL expert and have never purported to be, but I was in Norman in 2014 and I know what bad OL (and specifically LT) play looks like. Trey couldn’t try to approach that grade.

That’s actually all very reasonable .

I wouldn’t know my a$$ from a hole in the ground truly grading OLine play. And by that I mean sometimes to me it looks like an Oline whiffed but it was actually the other guy beside him that missed an assignment.

The only thing I go off of is when people show replays and point out who missed what assignment or got blown over and 3rd party “experts.”

And from my TV I totally agree with you about the OU game.

Also I do think our Oline is slowly improving. I am just not sure Drew is the only/bulk problem. We have more work than just him.

 

[1974Vol]

Might just be an optimist, but they do look improved to me compared to last year. At least this year they can make running lanes or a passing pocket half ish amount of the time. That is 40% better than last year.

Still not where they need to be, but trending up imo.

I would agree. My patience is greater when I can see improvement even if we're not getting the outcomes we all want. Before this is interpreted as accepting mediocrity or moral victories, my idea of a great season would be beating Florida and then improving through the Georgia, Auburn, Alabama gauntlet to where they have a legit chance of winning the last five games. Winning 3 or more of those last 5 would qualify in my book as CJP getting it done.

 

[1974Vol]

2017 NCAA OFFENSIVE LINE STATS | Football Outsiders

Found this online. Confirms what we all know, in 2017 our OL ranked 99th as an aggregate grade of the measurables described in the website. No numbers published yet for 2018. Should start in a week or so. Will be interesting to see if there is improvement. BTW Florida's 2017 OL ranked 32nd. No. 1 a bit surprisingly was Louisville.

 

[MSME Vol]

If this is a for real coaching staff then no the OL will improve each game as they learn the scheme, coordination with each other, and improve their technique. If they are the same hot mess we have had for a decade then yes not only is the OL what it is but so is the entire team and let's get ready for 3-9 seasons for the duration.

Might just be an optimist, but they do look improved to me compared to last year. At least this year they can make running lanes or a passing pocket half ish amount of the time. That is 40% better than last year.

Still not where they need to be, but trending up imo.