Highlights from Lindy’s Assessment of the 2015 Vols

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Volosaurus rex

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For those of you who enjoy perusing the preseason college football magazines, Lindy’s is now available. Here are some of the highlights from their assessment of Team 119:

National Ranking: 17th (5th among SEC schools and 2nd in the SEC East behind Georgia). “This program is building toward something very exciting, and a flying leap to the top of the SEC East isn’t at all out of the question. . . . Last year’s bowl win and 4-1 finish leads us to believe Vols can win eight or nine and contend in East. . . . [T]he earth is shifting in Knoxville and we’re not about to pretend otherwise.”

“What’s going on is a rebuilding job that is close to complete. The Vols should have one of the SEC’s top quarterbacks, a gifted 1-2 punch at running back, a talented array of receivers, two pass-rushing demons and an athletic secondary.”

“We don’t have the depth to be a championship-caliber team,” Jones said. “We’re still a couple of recruiting classes away. But it’s a compliment when your program has those expectations placed upon them because they see what’s going on here at Tennessee.”

Interestingly, they state elsewhere that “Georgia, [for once,] has the most difficult league schedule of East Division teams. The Bulldogs face Alabama (12-2) and Auburn (8-5), who combined to go 11-5 in the SEC—the best [combined] record of any opposite division opponent. Georgia also plays at Tennessee, and has the usual tilt vs. Florida in Jacksonville.”
 
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#6
#6
If you find positional unit rankings to be of interest, here are the positions at which Tennessee was ranked highest by Lindy's, both on a national level and vs. our SEC peers:

Positional Unit Rankings for the 2015 season (Nationally):

Backfield: Tennessee (7th). “QB Josh Dobbs will be a full-blown star this season. . . . Running back Alvin Kamara . . . is pegged by us as the top newcomer in the SEC.”
Receivers (includes tight ends): Tennessee (8th). “Perhaps lacking in star power, but this position group will end up being a team strength.”

Positional Unit Rankings for the 2015 season (SEC):

Quarterbacks: Tennessee, 2nd behind only Mississippi State, with Dak Prescott.
Running Backs: Tennessee, 5th behind Georgia, Arkansas, LSU and Alabama.
Receivers: Tennessee, 2nd behind only Texas A & M.
Secondary: Tennessee, 5th behind Florida, LSU, Ole Miss and Georgia.
Special Teams: Tennessee, 4th behind LSU, Texas A & M and Georgia.

Positional Unit Rankings for the 2015 Recruiting Class (Nationally):

Quarterbacks: Tennessee, 2nd behind only Florida State.
Offensive Line: Tennessee, 4th behind UCLA, LSU and Alabama.
Defensive Line: Tennessee, 1st.
 
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#7
#7
Volosaurus rex said:
If you find positional unit rankings to be of interest, here are the positions at which Tennessee was ranked highest by Lindy's, both on a national level and vs. our SEC peers:

Positional Unit Rankings for the 2015 season (Nationally):

Backfield: Tennessee (7th). “QB Josh Dobbs will be a full-blown star this season. . . . Running back Alvin Kamara . . . is pegged by us as the top newcomer in the SEC.”
Receivers (includes tight ends): Tennessee (8th). “Perhaps lacking in star power, but this position group will end up being a team strength.”

Positional Unit Rankings for the 2015 season (SEC):

Quarterbacks: Tennessee, 2nd behind only Mississippi State, with Dak Prescott.
Running Backs: Tennessee, 5th behind Georgia, Arkansas, LSU and Alabama.
Receivers: Tennessee, 2nd behind only Texas A & M.
Secondary: Tennessee, 5th behind Florida, LSU, Ole Miss and Georgia.
Special Teams: Tennessee, 4th behind LSU, Texas A & M and Georgia.

Positional Unit Rankings for the 2015 Recruiting Class (Nationally):

Quarterbacks: Tennessee, 2nd behind only Florida State.
Offensive Line: Tennessee, 4th behind UCLA, LSU and Alabama.
Defensive Line: Tennessee, 1st.
Click to expand...

I'd like to see those rankings for all position groups...not just the ones where we are at or close to the top.
 
#8
#8
Volosaurus rex said:
“We don’t have the depth to be a championship-caliber team,” Jones said.
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chatt-townVOL said:
Hmmmm..... not sure how I feel about the head coach saying that before the season even starts.
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I think he's doing two things with that litany (which he's been using every time he gets interviewed):

(1) As a head coach, he's pulling a Lou Holtz act, downplaying his own team publicly to maybe catch opponents a little off guard (you KNOW he's singing a very different tune to the team behind closed doors).

(2) As the caretaker of the Vols program, he is hedging his bets to temper fan expectations, in case of the unknown. Even head coaches can't predict with certainty when their teams are going to "break out" ... it's steady improvement, steady improvement, steady improvement, then WHAM! Breakout, and a huge year. Well, Butch can't be sure if it's 2015 or 2016 or when that we're gonna break out. So he's tempering expectations. Nothing wrong with that. But in his heart, you know he's just about bursting with excitement that this could be the year. ;)

Remember, up until about three months ago, his litany was "young" ... people called him a few times on that, so now he's going with "depth." Don't blame him at all, but still see through it. ;)
 
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#9
#9
Comments pertaining to positions of emphasis for the 2016 recruiting class (courtesy of JC Shurburtt, 247 Sports): “Butch Jones said publicly that running back was the No. 1 need for the Vols in the 2016 cycle at every post-signing day stop. Tennessee is a bit short with regards to numbers at that position and could sign two this cycle. Four-star Preston Williams was the only receiver the Vols signed in 2015, so look for Tennessee to try to land 3 or 4 true receivers this class.”
 
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#10
#10
JP_UT_O&W said:
I'd like to see those rankings for all position groups...not just the ones where we are at or close to the top.
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They have us 6th and 7th, respectively, at defensive line and linebacker, with offensive line being, predictably, the lowest ranked unit at 10th going into the season.
 
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#11
#11
Thanks for passing this along!

Bama and Arky could end up as challenging as Bama and Auburn, though. Factor in Oklahoma, and our schedule is just as tough. Once again, Mizzou has the more favorable path to the SECe.
 
#12
#12
VFL-82-JP said:
I think he's doing two things with that litany (which he's been using every time he gets interviewed):

(1) As a head coach, he's pulling a Lou Holtz act, downplaying his own team publicly to maybe catch opponents a little off guard (you KNOW he's singing a very different tune to the team behind closed doors).

(2) As the caretaker of the Vols program, he is hedging his bets to temper fan expectations, in case of the unknown. Even head coaches can't predict with certainty when their teams are going to "break out" ... it's steady improvement, steady improvement, steady improvement, then WHAM! Breakout, and a huge year. Well, Butch can't be sure if it's 2015 or 2016 or when that we're gonna break out. So he's tempering expectations. Nothing wrong with that. But in his heart, you know he's just about bursting with excitement that this could be the year. ;)

Remember, up until about three months ago, his litany was "young" ... people called him a few times on that, so now he's going with "depth." Don't blame him at all, but still see through it. ;)
Click to expand...


Correct on both counts. They specifically address the fact that Butch is "facing an expectations hurdle he didn't encounter in his first two years at Rocky Top."
 
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#13
#13
Here are three major statistical signs of improvement from 2013 to 2014, which they cite:

35 “Sack total for [Tennessee’s defense] last season, compared to just 18 for the 2013 season.”

“The run game also picked up with Dobbs at the helm, averaging 208.5 yards per game in six contests, compared to 96.4 when he didn’t play.”

Defensively, the “Vols allowed 364.6 total yards and 24.2 points per game, compared to 35.7 points and 471.3 yards two years ago.”
 
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#14
#14
LA Vol said:
Bama and Arky could end up as challenging as Bama and Auburn, though. Factor in Oklahoma, and our schedule is just as tough. Once again, Mizzou has the more favorable path to the SECe.
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Yep. Mizzou's SEC-W opponents Arkansas and Miss St, will be an easier combination than our Bama-Arky or Georgia's Bama-Auburn. In addition, their marquee out-of-conference game this year is BYU, which is a far cry from either Oklahoma (us) or Georgia Tech (Georgia). Mizzou has the easiest schedule in the SEC again this year, just looking at the pre-season rankings and FPIs of all opponents. Even Kentucky and Vandy's schedules are tougher.

I agree, our and Georgia's schedules are roughly a wash, equally difficult.


p.s. Toughest schedule in the SEC in 2015? Alabama. Depending on how the pre-season polls play out, they may face up to NINE (9) teams ranked in the Top 25. That's before they get to the post-season. By contrast, Ohio State will likely only face 2 (and only 4 in the top 50!). Florida State will also likely only face 2 Top 25 teams (6 in the Top 50). Baylor will face 2 (7 in the Top 50). Oregon will face 4 (7 in the Top 50). Put it another way: every single team in the SEC, even Mizzou, will have a harder schedule than every non-SEC team in last year's playoffs.
 
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#15
#15
Volosaurus rex said:
. . . Last year’s bowl win and 4-1 finish leads us to believe Vols can win eight or nine and contend in East. . . .
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This is just a friendly reminder that those final 4 wins were against teams that sucked, and one of them took a miracle/epic meltdown to pull off. Expectations...temper them.
 
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#16
#16
salutethehill said:
This is just a friendly reminder that those final 4 wins were against teams that sucked, and one of them took a miracle/epic meltdown to pull off. Expectations...temper them.
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It's not about the 4-1 finish, though that's what the sportswriters keep bringing up. It's about the talent and how that talent is growing up. It's about the coaching and the fire and the determination. It's about the intangibles. It's about Butch. It's about a lot of bricks having been piled on already. If you've been watching the program, you have to have seen all this. It's really hard to miss.

No more tempering expectations. The Dark Ages are over. From this point on, every year is a potential championship year for Tennessee.
 
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#19
#19
salutethehill said:
This is just a friendly reminder that those final 4 wins were against teams that sucked, and one of them took a miracle/epic meltdown to pull off. Expectations...temper them.
Click to expand...


We are all thoroughly aware of that fact. I don't consider a regular season projection of eight or nine wins for this year to be at all outrageous.
 
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#20
#20
On “Georgia, [for once,] has the most difficult league schedule of East Division teams" --

Disagree, in general.

They have Aub, we have Ark; they have GT, we have OU. The only obstacle which makes their schedule truly more difficult is -- they play Tennessee (whereas, WE practice against Maggitt, Barnett, McKenzie and Tuttle everyday, in the Summer and Fall).
 
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#21
#21
UT-Rex said:
On “Georgia, [for once,] has the most difficult league schedule of East Division teams" --

Disagree, in general.

They have Aub, we have Ark; they have GT, we have OU. The only obstacle which makes their schedule truly more difficult is -- they play Tennessee (whereas, WE practice against Maggitt, Barnett, McKenzie and Tuttle everyday, in the Summer and Fall).
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GT had a much better season than Oklahoma last year, and Auburn slaughtered Arkansas......
 
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#22
#22
Volosaurus rex said:
They have us 6th and 7th, respectively, at defensive line and linebacker, with offensive line being, predictably, the lowest ranked unit at 10th going into the season.
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I'm shocked at the lack of respect for our defensive line. We're returning one of the top pass-rushing DE tandems in college football (Barnett & Maggitt), and have added at least two blue chip studs at DT (McKenzie & Tuttle) that are already threatening experienced incumbents like Owen Williams and Danny O'Brien for playing time. Then we've got athletic freaks at DE like Chris Weatherd and Kyle Philllips coming off the bench.

There's no way there are five defensive line units better than ours in the SEC, that's just preposterous.
 
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#24
#24
UT-Rex said:
On “Georgia, [for once,] has the most difficult league schedule of East Division teams" --

Disagree, in general.

They have Aub, we have Ark; they have GT, we have OU. The only obstacle which makes their schedule truly more difficult is -- they play Tennessee (whereas, WE practice against Maggitt, Barnett, McKenzie and Tuttle everyday, in the Summer and Fall).
Click to expand...


Please note the qualifier "league schedule of East Division teams." Nonconference competition does not factor into their observation. Time will tell whether Arkansas and Auburn are truly equivalent; their conclusions are based strictly on last year's win-loss records for out-of-division foes.
 
#25
#25
salutethehill said:
This is just a friendly reminder that those final 4 wins were against teams that sucked, and one of them took a miracle/epic meltdown to pull off. Expectations...temper them.
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SCAR was a turning point, giving the team confidence and momentum. It was a different team after that. And put AJ on the field, without all those distractions, and I think we would have beaten Mizzou.

We have to beat quality teams in games that matter to take the next step, and raising expectations is the only way to do that. Sooner or later, we have to believe that our talent can win big games in the SEC. Wouldn't we rather it be sooner?
 
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