You think this is the low point? Not even close...don’t read if you like positive thoughts

['Boro-vol]

But, in all seriousness, your post says exactly the way I feel. How can someone not be happy about getting rid of such an absolute cancer to the program?

Did we just become Sunshine Pumpers?

 

[Nasavol]

Tell me more about this Bowl Band

No cereal? In my best John Lennon voice

 

[VolInNorthCack]

I for one am having a hard time not being ecstatic. We have hope again. The albatross around our neck has been loosed. We no longer have to suffer under the worst leadership in program history. It's hard to think we haven't hit the floor with three wins. There really is nowhere to go but up at this point.

I guess I'm going to have to pass my Nega-Vol badge off to someone more worthy.

This x1000000

 

[CINCYVOL]

Wait for about 3-4 years from now when we have no roster.

you think Ole Miss was terrible on D because of schematics? They couldn’t recruit defensive talent from 2017 on. They literally had no LBs. Hard to recruit with bowl band and scholly reductions......and even more so when the NCAA has its eye on you.

This program is dead and it’s only going to get worse.

you might want to top off that glass of water, it’s half empty

 

[tvolsfan]

I also have no real interest in 8-4 seasons. If we have to miss a few Music City Bowls to get down to fixing the roots of the problem, I’m all for it. While the uncertainty is never fun, I hardly feel worse about the state of the program than I have any time recently.

 

[Mightyvol]

Wait for about 3-4 years from now when we have no roster.

you think Ole Miss was terrible on D because of schematics? They couldn’t recruit defensive talent from 2017 on. They literally had no LBs. Hard to recruit with bowl band and scholly reductions......and even more so when the NCAA has its eye on you.

This program is dead and it’s only going to get worse.

Step off the ledge....it will be better tomorrow! UT removed a lesion, painful but necessary. The patient will recover!

 

[alvinkamara]

I also have no real interest in 8-4 seasons. If we have to miss a few Music City Bowls to get down to fixing the roots of the problem, I’m all for it. While the uncertainty is never fun, I hardly feel worse about the state of the program than I have any time recently.

Thank you for that post, my friend.......Seasons of 7-5, 8-4 are of no interest to me. Let's fix the problem and get back
to contending for 'ships, however long it takes. These negavols make me want to puke!

 

['Boro-vol]

I also have no real interest in 8-4 seasons. If we have to miss a few Music City Bowls to get down to fixing the roots of the problem, I’m all for it.

The only thing that Music City Bowls do is give a false sense of accomplishment to some people. I'm with you...they are useless endeavors for a program like this. I can see what I need to see by the eye test during the season. There have been many programs stabilize and improve fundamentals and development, areas we are sorely lacking, during bowl bans.

My main expectations are improvement and player development. Those can be accomplished during bad times.

 

[Mightyvol]

How can it get worse than dead ???

There is a TV show about it....The Walking Dead. No, I don’t know how to apply the analogy to UT football!

 

[Brave Volunteer]

Thank you for that post, my friend.......Seasons of 7-5, 8-4 are of no interest to me. Let's fix the problem and get back
to contending for 'ships, however long it takes. These negavols make me want to puke!

While they may not interest you, they are still important "building blocks" for the rehabilitation and recovery of this program. No coach is going to come in here in year one or two and win the East. However what they MUST do first is show improvement from one season to the next and beat the teams they are supposed to beat. So while those 7-5/8-4 seasons along with minor bowl appearances may not be "sexy", they are absolutely crucial to the long-term health of the program! Bowl games mean extra practices. Bowl games mean extra revenue. Bowl games mean additional exposure. Plus bowl games show that you in most cases had a winning season. All of these things are important. If you want the problems fixed, those 7-5/8-4 seasons must occur first!

 

[tvolsfan]

The only thing that Music City Bowls do is give a false sense of accomplishment to some people. I'm with you...they are useless endeavors for a program like this. I can see what I need to see by the eye test during the season. There have been many programs stabilize and improve fundamentals and development, areas we are sorely lacking, during bowl bans.

My main expectations are improvement and player development. Those can be accomplished during bad times.

Yeah, if we go 3-9 one season and go the Music City Bowl with the same roster the next year, I understand the optimism. I was referring to the negativity concerning the upcoming season and recruiting class. It makes no sense to try to panic to salvage a year where we are already going to lose to our main rivals and not compete for anything of note.

 

['Boro-vol]

While they may not interest you, they are still important "building blocks" for the rehabilitation and recovery of this program. No coach is going to come in here in year one or two and win the East. However what they MUST do first is show improvement from one season to the next and beat the teams they are supposed to beat. So while those 7-5/8-4 seasons along with minor bowl appearances may not be "sexy", they are absolutely crucial to the long-term health of the program! Bowl games mean extra practices. Bowl games mean extra revenue. Bowl games mean additional exposure. Plus bowl games show that you in most cases had a winning season. All of these things are important. If you want the problems fixed, those 7-5/8-4 seasons must occur first!

All of this is 100% true. I believe his point was, lets not go through this exercise with the thought that when we get to that level, we have achieved what we set out to do.

My goals don't necessarily extend to Natty's...few teams ever get there. But competing for and winning the East is a noble, and achievable endeavor. Once you do that you have the ability to look further. But right now...that should be the stated goal.

 

[alvinkamara]

While they may not interest you, they are still important "building blocks" for the rehabilitation and recovery of this program. No coach is going to come in here in year one or two and win the East. However what they MUST do first is show improvement from one season to the next and beat the teams they are supposed to beat. So while those 7-5/8-4 seasons along with minor bowl appearances may not be "sexy", they are absolutely crucial to the long-term health of the program! Bowl games mean extra practices. Bowl games mean extra revenue. Bowl games mean additional exposure. Plus bowl games show that you in most cases had a winning season. All of these things are important. If you want the problems fixed, those 7-5/8-4 seasons must occur first!

Yeah, I get it.......But for many on this site 8-4 seems good enough.....not a means to an end(championship) but the end itself.......like not sucking is good enough......I know the road back to winning big is fraught with 8-4 seasons but those are not the seasons which will define us.

 

[GoVols64]

We'll probably get some scholarship reduction and a bowl ban for a year or two. Who knows, the bowl that we opted out of going to this past season due to "Covid" very well ould count as one of those.

I don't think things are as bleak as they seem. You get the right AD and the right coach in here and this can get fixed very quickly. What happened yesterday was an "enima" that this program needed. They're never pleasant but the long term benefits outweigh the short term discomfort.

I hadn’t even thought about the bowl but you raise a very interesting point. The investigation was roughly past mid-way when we “opted out” of the bowl. It would be great if the Universtiy was that forward thinking.

The fact that nothing really leaked about anything other than COVID concerns me that it was the main reason. Surely something like that leaks unless everyone but 2-3 people know the real reason. Who knows. Anything’s possible.

 

[Commish14]

 

[Brave Volunteer]

Yeah, I get it.......But for many on this site 8-4 seems good enough.....not a means to an end(championship) but the end itself.......like not sucking is good enough......I know the road back to winning big is fraught with 8-4 seasons but those are not the seasons which will define us.

Honestly, and I know many don't want to hear this, but historically we ARE an 8, 9, and sometimes 10 or more win program. We are not Alabama. Look it up. Taking away the anomalies of the wildly successful 90's and the horrible last 12 years, we probably average somewhere around 8.5-9 wins per year. We probably average an SEC championship somewhere around every 5 years. And we probably average a Natty around once every 10-15 years (or more). That's who we are as a program. We are not the perennial powerhouse that so many believe we are. I'm not saying we stop striving for that. I'm just saying history is not on our side in that regard.

 

[franklinboy]

i say put the damn program on the death penalty n get it Tf over with personally if the leadership up there is really that bad...i wished the NCAA would hammer down on the program because hell what's left to do to it that hasn't already been done the last 12 years... smh

 

[Tallman]

How can it get worse than dead ???

A repeating series of hiring bargain coaches and replacing them every three years.

 

[Sin City Vol]

Tell me more about this Bowl Band

Used to open for the Grateful Dead..huge following by Dead Heads

 

[vol4him]

Yet, Ole Miss would have pounded our eyes shut this year. Without a doubt.

I'm just thankful that you have no idea what is actually going to happen with the NCAA. Right now perception is all we are dealing with. If the recent outcomes with UNC and LSU are any indication the consequences will be far less damaging than many want to believe.

Absolutely correct. Ole Miss has 15 Level 1 violations and it got them two years of probation (limit on scholarships and bowl bans). UNC had over 100 students athletes over a 12 year period get automatic A's to help them stay eligible and basically had no penalties. From what UT has reported at this point, you have maybe 2 Level 1 violations involving Eric Gray (Somehow) and Mims (who didn't sign with us). This probably doesn't even rise to the level of a one year bowl ban, but hey, just so you know, we declined this last bowl invitation (so we can say it is a part of our self-imposed punishment). Gray sat out the last game (a one-game suspension). He might have to make it a second on the opener. Because all was self-reported and self-imposed, the NCAA may not even investigate further and accept all the punishment that UT has inflicted on themselves. Again, the one caveat here is that they aren't hiding/not telling us of much greater Level 1 violations, but why would they hold some back, when they have released the internal investigation results (improper benefits - things like paying too much for a meal, when NCAA alots $20. or getting a nicer room at a hotel, etc.) You all are thinking a bagman. If there was a bagman, why and how would we have caught that and related it to coaches breaking rules? Too many in here are running wild on what kind of violations were committed. If we had those type of violations, I'm confident that Pruitt's lawyer wouldn't be sueing UT to get his money. Just relax and enjoy the temporary hits from the media.

 

[knoxvol16]

As annoying of a post as this is, this is my fear as well.

I actually think we'll be alright in 2021, so long as the roster doesn't implode. We have a lot of talent and we grossly underperformed this season. If Steele can even semi-figure things out, we should be improved in 2021.

Beyond that, though, we're probably going to have a lost recruiting class for 2022. And it's going to be difficult to land a good coach given the circumstances.

Yeah, this is a two-step rebuild . . . again. I know a lot of VN wants to believe that UT is just one great coach away from a grand return. But I just don't see that happening; there's too much stink on the entire program at this point.

 

[ftsandersvol]

Tell me more about this Bowl Band

 

[HollowaytoSeivers]

I want to see the full list of violations, and I do think we'll get some punishment, but I tend to agree with the sentiment. Getting out in front of it is the important thing.

The reality is you don't usually get hammered for cheating. You get hammered for being arrogant and making the NCAA's life difficult.

The NCAA said a few years ago that they were going to change the way they administer sanctions and go after the guilty parties and not punish those left behind. By getting out in front and firing the guilty I think the program will be spared any harsh punishment.

If the highlighted statements are accurate (and believe me, I hope they are), then what about the defiant and arrogant attitude taken by the LSU and Kansas basketball programs? They have basically told the NCAA to shove it and the NCAA has done absolutely nothing to either program. I mean, LSU coach Will Wade is on wiretap admitting guilt, and still nothing from the NCAA.

 

[Illinoisvolfan2]

I’m afraid every decent player on the team now is going to transfer.
I feel bad for those EEs.

 

[Spawn]

Wait for about 3-4 years from now when we have no roster.

you think Ole Miss was terrible on D because of schematics? They couldn’t recruit defensive talent from 2017 on. They literally had no LBs. Hard to recruit with bowl band and scholly reductions......and even more so when the NCAA has its eye on you.

This program is dead and it’s only going to get worse.

I hear if you take Aleve or midol the pain will subside.

This was the right decision. Pruitt didn't belong and he couldn't cheat and win. He needed to be fired and so did Fulmer for giving him a raise and extension.

We will be better off for it, even if it takes times.