When will Tennessee be Elite again

When will Tennessee make a CFP

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#1
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#1
I was only 2 years old when Tennessee won its last championship in 98'. I have suffered my whole life with Tennessee football but I wouldn't trade it for any other team. I am curious on when does VN think Tennessee can realistically not only make it to Atlanta, but a CFP? We consistently recruit well, have elite facilities, and unrivaled fan support. All of our resources should translate into success, but with some bonehead hires the last decade it has set us back. I firmly believe Pruitt is a great coach and could potentially get us back to Fulmer days, but with all my disappointemnt over the last 2 decades I will have to wait and see. This thread is for boring quarantine debate on when or if your Vols will ever be "elite" again like Tennessee was in the good ole days.
 
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#4
#4
For the record, I voted next 3 years because I may be sipping the orange koolaid, but I like what Pruitt is doing and the players he is recruiting. If HB is the qb a lot of people think he will be, we will be in a great position to not only compete, but contend for ATL and CFP. Pruitt just signed a top 10 recruiting class after the worst start to a season I think any of us has ever seen, so if we can start putting more wins together, the recruiting will only get better. The difference between Pruitt and Butch is, yes Butch could recruit, but I believe Pruitt can also DEVELOP the players he brings in. Hope I am right.
 
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#6
#6
Also if you don't think it will be within the next 3-5 years, I am assuming you don't think Pruitt is the guy because wouldn't we move on?
 
#7
#7
To be elite I think you must establish that pattern we've had many times in our storied history and be relevant in the CFP for several years (doesn't mean you cant miss out some). And to do that you not only have to be extremely talented by you must be DEEP. Rotate in, especially across the DL, several players without much drop off during every game. And most here know we just arent at that level YET. As a relative once told me who was a long time SEC defensive coordinator..."Football boils down to two things...Creating spacing and mismatches". The obvious follow up quote..."Its a lot easier to create those when you are super talented and DEEP"!!!
 
#9
#9
Obviously, we need to get to a point where we can compete with the best teams in our conference. And we all know that we're not there yet. But even before that, Pruitt has to give us at least one season where we don't lose games to inferior teams. Our goals for next season should be a maximum of 2-3 losses (to the toughest opponents on our schedule) and ZERO losses in games where we are favored. Then I would say 3 seasons, provided our recruiting does not fall off.
 
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#10
#10
Elite is an exclusive class. That's going to take at least 5 years. It's highly unlikely we're elite after 3 years
 
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#14
#14
I always think of us as and Elite program. And nothing will ever change that. Though I understand the thrust of your question. The eternal optimist in me says three years or less.
 
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#15
#15
Jax_Vol said:
I think we win the SEC East this year. Dawgs nor Gators have quarterbacks, and the breaks go our way.

Vols and Texas A&M are the surprise teams of 2020.

We finish in Top-10 this year.
Click to expand...

seriously.gif
 
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#16
#16
Id say the next 3 years. Going to take balance on offense and defense. Consistency and keeping a coaching staff togather. Its hard when we keep losing a key member to coaching staff every other year...
 
#18
#18
On the positive side, I think we have a chance to have a very good record in 2021 (draw Ole Miss from the West) and main NC game is Pitt. I think we can have a similar record in 2022 (Do have to go to LSU but get UF and Bama at home).

On the negative side, I don't think either of those two seasons will be considered elite. I think they will fall under the good to very good category. I think we will be in contention for the SEC East one of those years; however, I think we will still be a tier or 2 away from national title relevance. Given some of the recruiting headwinds we have and results to date, I am not sure this staff can take us from mediocre/decent to elite.
 
#22
#22
Okay... who voted never?!?!

Pruitt needed 5 or 6 years from the start, so I voted 3 years. He needed/needs to flip the roster and then stack multiple classes on strong seasons... takes a while.
 
#23
#23
I wish there were an option between 5 and 10 years, would’ve voted that. But I voted 10 as I feel that’s more likely than in the next 5
 
#24
#24
I picked next 3 years. I think Pruitt (and staff) are the right combination. We are recruiting well, even better now than we have been and the facilities and fans are unrivaled (outside the SEC). In the next 3 years I expect us to win and SEC championship, if you win that then you are in line for a natty as well. that is where I expect us to be. Maybe not win that natty but be in the picture 1 out of every 4 years.

Am I unrealistic?
 
#25
#25
OTHER
we will be elite a couple of years after we have 3 or 4 years in a row of elite recruiting.
Jimmies and Joes.
Everything else we have in place.
 
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