When are we ever going to have quality depth?

[Hank Bukowski]

JH will put an end to the revolving door for HC, this alone will help with player turnover, creating the opportunity to build quality depth.

We surely hope this is the case. But it seems to me we are already building depth — maybe not “quality” depth yet — but depth nonetheless. Why? Because we are playing so many snaps on both sides of the ball. You have to rotate guys in and out when, for example, our defense plays 88 snaps in a game. I haven’t researched this but I would guess that last year’s 2s and 3s played more snaps than any of them expected. In this staff’s scheme, it seems that you must be able to depend on a deep bench. And the more snaps the bench guys get in a game, the better chance you have to develop them into quality players.

Just my theory.

 

[S.C. OrangeMan]

The problem with a class ranked in that range it means you are recruiting around 7th-9th best in your conference.

While you can blow out ACC or Big 10 schools in lesser bowl games with that talent.. you’re still going to be climbing an uphill battle to win the conference. You could win 5 games and still be as talented as a 9 win team in another conference.. but what does that get you exactly?

He gets a pass for the 2022 class though.

Blow out ACC schools?? The Pitt Panthers send their regards.

 

[CINCYVOL]

I was one of the fans who worried about the Heupel hire. Not against it but I did worry and still do. He had a demonstrated history, though rather short, of not being a killer recruitor.

Last year he pulled in a disappointing class ranked 18th by 247. 17th is not going to get the job done. It will not build the kind of depth the OP or I am looking for.

Getting a top QB like Nico won't do it. We need a bunch of players ranked like him to do it. Can Heupel accomplish this?

Something for all of us to watch. I do worry about this.

I’d say an 18th ranked class following the $hit show he was handed was a win.

 

[joevols89]

Blow out ACC schools?? The Pitt Panthers send their regards.

You missed the point.
But that’s what an elite QB will do for you.

 

[JRich]

Winning builds depth. The only teams that don't struggle with "quality" depth are OSU, Bama, and UGA and that is because they have won at least 10 games for the last gazillion years. Every team not named OSU, Bama, and UGA have depth issues at at least one position.

 

[keenobserver]

Coaching stability will help; however, I believe coaches are now rethinking how to develop signee's and keep them there. That's really the only way to get the depth I think we are looking for. It's so hard with the transfer portal and today's players need for attention and instant gratification.

With that said, CJH is doing everything he can do to promote a family atomosphere that encourages players to have fun and brand themselves. Doing this while maintaining discipline and control of the program I would imagine is an enormous challenge. I guess that's really all you can do because everyone is at the mercy of the portal and 18-21 year olds ego's.

 

[njvols]

What are the last 4 Kentucky recruiting classes?? They've been competing the last few years, sending plenty of guys to the NFL, & I don't remember them having a top 5 class. I also saw us get multiple highly ranked classes under Butch and doing absolutely nothing with it. Developing players is far more important than just a recruiting ranking. We went from guys not even knowing how to lineup correctly under Pruitt to looking like an actual football team under Coach Huep. Over the next few yrs you'll see the depth you're looking for. Its gonna come with time on task

I think KY's improvement has been seen...but also think it shows the difference of having over all improved talent w/o having a top notch QB. Granted, they've got a decent one, but playing the "limited possessions slow ball" mentality usually doesn't line up with putting enough points on the board to win vs high caliber offenses/teams...which may end up being a reason KY hits the ceiling...coaching philosophy. But, to your point, Butch signed good classes, but couldn't keep them on campus, so was always a revolving door (always youngest team in SEC). IF JH keeps recruiting and keeps players on campus, we'll stay on a path of improvement.

 

[Doberman]

I think KY's improvement has been seen...but also think it shows the difference of having over all improved talent w/o having a top notch QB. Granted, they've got a decent one, but playing the "limited possessions slow ball" mentality usually doesn't line up with putting enough points on the board to win vs high caliber offenses/teams...which may end up being a reason KY hits the ceiling...coaching philosophy. But, to your point, Butch signed good classes, but couldn't keep them on campus, so was always a revolving door (always youngest team in SEC). IF JH keeps recruiting and keeps players on campus, we'll stay on a path of improvement.

Also, KY’s schedule is always considerably easier than ours, netting them a couple extra wins now that they are a competent program.

They never really passed us by, they just stopped tripping over their own Johnson’s, and benefitted by beating the MS St’s of the world more consistently. If they played Bama every year, and a upper tier P5 out of conference game, they’d be the same ole 5-7, 6-6 program.

 

[Devo182]

I was one of the fans who worried about the Heupel hire. Not against it but I did worry and still do. He had a demonstrated history, though rather short, of not being a killer recruitor.

Last year he pulled in a disappointing class ranked 18th by 247. 17th is not going to get the job done. It will not build the kind of depth the OP or I am looking for.

Getting a top QB like Nico won't do it. We need a bunch of players ranked like him to do it. Can Heupel accomplish this?

Something for all of us to watch. I do worry about this.

Lol why? He outrecruited his comparable peers (AAC) year in and year out. Undeniably. He took a handful of P5 transfers each year and those didn't even count toward the recruiting rankings lol. He was killing it.

And surely no one expects an AAC team to recruit in top 25 terms. Cincy just went to the freakin playoffs and had the 42nd class lol.

Recruiting is relative and he killed it in comparison to his competitors.

 

[Devo182]

I’d say an 18th ranked class following the $hit show he was handed was a win.

18th is high school only to be fair.

A huge part of this year's cycle, especially with the additional 7 spots, was transfers.

Once you include transfers we are 26th, with the huge caveat that we still haven't taken most of our transfers yet. Bru McCoy alone would make us jump uo to 23rd and with a handful more of transfers likely. We could finish as high as 15th...jmo.

 

[ftsandersvol]

Me and a buddy were talking the other day about TN football and we discussed depth on both sides of the ball. We both agreed that to win big, especially in the SEC, you have to have depth. More importantly you have to have quality depth. So how long is it gonna take us to get good quality depth on both sides of the ball?

I feel like virtually every year since the Fulmer days, we go into the season with the same concerns. Well we are thin here or thin there. Or if we do have some depth, it’s not really good quality depth. I feel like the lack of quality depth is one of the biggest reasons we didn’t win 10 games last year.

 

[unfrozencvmanvol]

 

[LittleVol]

Me and a buddy were talking the other day about TN football and we discussed depth on both sides of the ball. We both agreed that to win big, especially in the SEC, you have to have depth. More importantly you have to have quality depth. So how long is it gonna take us to get good quality depth on both sides of the ball?

I feel like virtually every year since the Fulmer days, we go into the season with the same concerns. Well we are thin here or thin there. Or if we do have some depth, it’s not really good quality depth. I feel like the lack of quality depth is one of the biggest reasons we didn’t win 10 games last year.

2023.

Elite Depth in 2025

 

[Iam4utalways]

We surely hope this is the case. But it seems to me we are already building depth — maybe not “quality” depth yet — but depth nonetheless. Why? Because we are playing so many snaps on both sides of the ball. You have to rotate guys in and out when, for example, our defense plays 88 snaps in a game. I haven’t researched this but I would guess that last year’s 2s and 3s played more snaps than any of them expected. In this staff’s scheme, it seems that you must be able to depend on a deep bench. And the more snaps the bench guys get in a game, the better chance you have to develop them into quality players.

Just my theory.

Football is about expectations. Delivering expectations is the payoff of all the work the players have to do to achieve said expectations.

I expect the Vols to run the table. I also expect the players to put in the work to run the table.

It’s all about how they spend their free time. I expect their free time to revolve around football. Eat, sleep and live football.

Give All for Tennessee.

Let the chips fall. I like our chances.

 

[VOLINVONORE]

Me and a buddy were talking the other day about TN football and we discussed depth on both sides of the ball. We both agreed that to win big, especially in the SEC, you have to have depth. More importantly you have to have quality depth. So how long is it gonna take us to get good quality depth on both sides of the ball?

I feel like virtually every year since the Fulmer days, we go into the season with the same concerns. Well we are thin here or thin there. Or if we do have some depth, it’s not really good quality depth. I feel like the lack of quality depth is one of the biggest reasons we didn’t win 10 games last year.

Soon after we get quality starters. We have quality depth depth at a couple of positions, Running back, receivers, and QB when next year. It looks like we will have much better played at rush end. We are Getty better players on the DLine and maybe LB. It looks like the 2023 class 2023 could be very special. The future looks the better tha or had in the last 12 years with the defense becoming much better. I think the offense will also better and I can hardly wait for the team to hit the field the next two years and beyond. Kept it coming.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Soon after we get quality starters. We have quality depth depth at a couple of positions, Running back, receivers, and QB when next year. It looks like we will have much better played at rush end. We are Getty better players on the DLine and maybe LB. It looks like the 2023 class 2023 could be very special. The future looks the better tha or had in the last 12 years with the defense becoming much better. I think the offense will also better and I can hardly wait for the team to hit the field the next two years and beyond. Kept it coming.

I have absolute faith that this staff will get us quality depth. It just seems like we are always a few years away you know?

 

[unfrozencvmanvol]

Football is about expectations. Delivering expectations is the payoff of all the work the players have to do to achieve said expectations.

I expect the Vols to run the table. I also expect the players to put in the work to run the table.

It’s all about how they spend their free time. I expect their free time to revolve around football. Eat, sleep and live football.

Give All for Tennessee.

Let the chips fall. I like our chances.

 

[VOLINVONORE]

Winning builds depth. The only teams that don't struggle with "quality" depth are OSU, Bama, and UGA and that is because they have won at least 10 games for the last gazillion years. Every team not named OSU, Bama, and UGA have depth issues at at least one position.

Winning changes attitudes of many people at different places. It starts with University Presidents, the ADs, coaching staff players, fans, donors, community, high shoots coaches, high school players, and parents of all football players. Look at our baseball team. Study their attitude. Their attitude has them @ # 1 in the Nation It will also happen in football in the near future.

 

[BruisedOrange]

View attachment 448737

Nad-zooks! Their entrance exam for palace eunuch is robust!

 

[BruisedOrange]

An underappreciated factor in building depth is having upperclassmen who thoroughly understand their position and schemes, who are able to coach the new players.

Coaches only get a limited amount of time with players year around. When teammates can take up that role, explaining things in the dorm, between classes, or in voluntary video study... that's the great multiplier!

The less coaches have to teach during practice time, the better team you're building top-to-bottom.

 

[Orange_Crush]

Lol why? He outrecruited his comparable peers (AAC) year in and year out. Undeniably. He took a handful of P5 transfers each year and those didn't even count toward the recruiting rankings lol. He was killing it.

And surely no one expects an AAC team to recruit in top 25 terms. Cincy just went to the freakin playoffs and had the 42nd class lol.

Recruiting is relative and he killed it in comparison to his competitors.

You need to stop bringing facts. This is the VN whey.

 

[over60vol]

Me and a buddy were talking the other day about TN football and we discussed depth on both sides of the ball. We both agreed that to win big, especially in the SEC, you have to have depth. More importantly you have to have quality depth. So how long is it gonna take us to get good quality depth on both sides of the ball?

I feel like virtually every year since the Fulmer days, we go into the season with the same concerns. Well we are thin here or thin there. Or if we do have some depth, it’s not really good quality depth. I feel like the lack of quality depth is one of the biggest reasons we didn’t win 10 games last year.

Probably when we can go more than 3 years without changing coaches. This has been a revolving door for coaches here since Fulmer left. How many guys did we lose when Pruitt was fired? when you have the kind of crap going on in a program like we have since 2008 we're lucky to have enough to put out on the field. Hopefully this time around we have finally found the right guy but this will still take a couple of more years at the least to catch up with the Florida's, Georgia's and Alabama's and maybe even more than that. It's not a good situation but there is no magic pill to take to fix this, it takes time and good recruiting and then development.

 

[bpalmer28]

The quickest way to build depth is to win the games you're not supposed to.

(and I don't think I made that up. )

Underrated post. All the great coaches do it at some point. When will Heupel get his? Whenever it happens, he’ll solidify himself as a nationally recognized good coach. Recruits will follow. If it doesn’t happen, recruiting momentum will fade

 

[GetYouSomeofThat]

Outside of UGA we really didn’t look “outmatched” as much as in previous years because the offense dominated most games. Line and defensive depth are key but let’s not pretend that there are 10 SEC teams with more talent than us either

I think this is what many miss...while we arent at UGA and Bama level...we are capable of beating the rest right now. With continued good recruiting and on field success, there is zero reason we dont close the gap on those two in the next 3 years.

 

[Volunteer forever]

UT’s depth will be amazing……………



Next year