When will Tennessee be Elite again

[unfrozencvmanvol]

Although I agree with your point we did beat South Carolina in 2013 and they finished ranked 4th in the final poll. Also, I think Auburn may have been top 10 when we beat them in 2018.

We haven't beaten a top 10 team since we hung half a hundred on the Dwags in 2006.

 

[unfrozencvmanvol]

It depends on what you call elite, but we may be closer to winning an SEC East championship than many may think. We finally have a staff that can REALLY coach them up. One example is Daniel Bituli - there was a thread on here recently that asked why he wasn't a 1st or 2nd round NFL draft pick. The answer is obvious, he just doesn't have NFL measurables. But the kid played like a 1st or 2nd round pick because he was coached up and to his credit was smart enough to listen and put it on the field on Saturday. This staff knows how to handle kids and get the most out of them, witness how they managed and coached Trey Smith and Nigel Warrior.

The Vols can win the East this year if they stay healthy and get consistent QB play. The 2020 team probably matches up as well or better than any in a decade or more on the LOS. Both the OL and DL are FINALLY SEC caliber. As many on here have noted the SEC is a LOS league. A few other things must happen too. The incoming Freshmen DBs must contribute and the LB corps must step it up with Bituli leaving; Peterson, D. Johnson, Taylor and Crouch must improve and bring it.

This will be a challenge given we won’t have a spring practice. Assuming the season is played in the order scheduled we get a chance to see where this group is at Oklahoma. We have the raw talent to leave Norman with a W. If CJP and staff can pull that one off this group will have the confidence to play and beat anyone on a given Saturday.

The OP defined elite as making the CFP when he asked the question. I think it's unlikely we'd win the East this year but certainly not impossible. Georgia has amassed absurd talent though. Their 4 classes next year were ranked 3, 1, 2 and 3 on the composite.

 

[LWSVOL]

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.

the only time Tennessee was elite was in the late 30s. Being elite is winning multiple national championships in a short time frame (multiples in time span, 5, 10, 15, 20 years). Alabama is the most recent example, sorry to say.. I'm 72 and I don't expect to see them be elite..

 

[NeverWe'llSever]

If Harrison Bailey is an All-SEC QB, 3 years.

 

[VolRoger]

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.

I voted never mainly because elite to me means you are on the level of Ohio State, Clemson, Oklahoma and that other ugly red team are at right now. Those four programs are almost always in the CFP and almost always play in their conference championship EVERY FREAKIN YEAR! Hopefully, the time will come when these four teams appear in those contests no more than the rest of the good to very good teams. Their domination has sucked the life and joy out of CF for me. If the Vols are in contention for a spot in the SECC game yearly, win one every four years, consequently play in the CFP every four years and win one every eight, then we should be very happy.

 

[Nasavol]

3 years

Its as possible to get to that level here than it is anywhere.

I guess elite means routinely competing for the SEC East, SEC Championships, Playoffs and National titles.

I'd say coming into this year we have achieved the vast majority of goals Pruitt has set out to do.

One important goal was to beat the SEC teams we have no business being below. Ms State, SC, KY, MS, and Vandy. This was the first time since 2007 that we didn't lose to one of those types of teams. Teams that historically don't match up with us and don't have the resources we do.

That was a huge accomplishment.

Just maintaining that will keep giving us top ten recruiting classes. Best any of those big 4 next year, and we will be knocking on the door.. Which we can do if we get our offense figured out.

First we have to compete for four quarters and figure out how to win those games against the elites. We were competitive for a half against UGA and FLA before our offense gave us no favors. Three and a half quarters with Bama before you know what happened.

It should be in three years. We should see ourselves in those positions to take those steps into being an elite program and whether we get there or not.

Yep, those powerhouses GSU and BYU...