Troy Aikman Wishes He Had Come To Tennessee

[SprocketRocket]

According to an article on A to Z Sports, Aikman thinks Tennessee would have been the best fit for him. "I didn't know much about Tennessee football at that point in my life, but it would've been amazing."

It still is my friend, it still is. Go Vols.

https://atozsports.com/nashville/volunteers/nfl-hall-of-famer-tennessee-wouldve-football-college-career-vols/

 

[volsfan125]

If Aikman had come to Tennessee, does Johnny still go with SR Daryl Dickey or FR Aikman when Robinson goes down? Does Aikman beat out Francis for starting QB in 86 and 87? Does he stay or declare for the draft after the 87 season?

 

[Volfan1000]

If Aikman had come to Tennessee, does Johnny still go with SR Daryl Dickey or FR Aikman when Robinson goes down? Does Aikman beat out Francis for starting QB in 86 and 87? Does he stay or declare for the draft after the 87 season?

If Aikman had come to Tennessee, I think he would have replaced the injured Robinson.

 

[knoxvol52]

Never did understand why Troy went to Oklahoma to begin with. Best thing Troy ever done was transferring to UCLA .

Also with Troy leading my Dallas Cowboys to 3 Super Bowl victories was a beautiful thing also.

 

[SprocketRocket]

If Aikman had come to Tennessee, does Johnny still go with SR Daryl Dickey or FR Aikman when Robinson goes down? Does Aikman beat out Francis for starting QB in 86 and 87? Does he stay or declare for the draft after the 87 season?

Good question, and I think he might have gone with Aikman. He was a bona fide talent, so unless Aikman breaks his ankle or something Francis probably doesn't see the field. I'm not knocking Francis - he was great. But Aikman would have had a year more in the system and he would have been hard to beat. In 1987 I don't think juniors could declare early. That didn't happen until a couple of years after that.

 

[WillisWG]

4 days and a wake until fall practice begins, I might just make it

 

[JohnWardForever]

Shoulda woulda coulda. If Tony Robinson hadn't gone down, (another reason to hate Bama Early, Often, and Always) very possible National Champs. One loss Uf, and one tie ucla. GT would have been a blowout win --not a 6-6 tie.

 

[WillisWG]

If Aikman had come to Tennessee, does Johnny still go with SR Daryl Dickey or FR Aikman when Robinson goes down? Does Aikman beat out Francis for starting QB in 86 and 87? Does he stay or declare for the draft after the 87 season?

In 85 it's SO Aikman and Dickey is still the right call

 

[BruisedOrange]

I think we still would have stayed with Dickey, because so much of what he brought was the mental knowledge of the offense, and field awareness of what the defense was doing.

Talent throwing the ball is no replacement for experience at this level. A good pass to the wrong area hurts us more than an average pass to the right area. Maybe by the bowl game a freshman Aikman would have been ready to contribute. But I doubt coaches would have wanted to waste Aikman's redshirt year to fix something that wasn't broken.

 

[esarmstrong]

Never did understand why Troy went to Oklahoma to begin with. Best thing Troy ever done was transferring to UCLA .

Also with Troy leading my Dallas Cowboys to 3 Super Bowl victories was a beautiful thing also.

Apparently Switzer promised him that they were going to become a more pass-oriented offense.

 

[SpookyAction]

I think Dickey becoming the starter was a given regardless.
Does he beat out Francis? Probably.
Aikman would have been the catalyst for something special like Tony Dorsett was at Pitt for Coach Majors.
Aikman has given us a very interesting "What if?"
I usually dislike what if exercises, but this is one I never really considered. I'm not sure I ever knew Aiman was so high on UT as a recruit.

 

[Jax_Vol]

If "ifs" and "buts" were candy and nuts, we'd all have a merry Christmas.

 

[Okie]

Apparently Switzer promised him that they were going to become a more pass-oriented offense.

Yep, I formation and throwing a ton more. And they were becoming that, right up to the point of Aikman getting his leg broken against Miami early in the season. The next best backup was Jamelle Holieway, a wishbone QB who threw only about 200 passes across his 4 years. He was a master at the wishbone, however, and OU won the 1985 NC after the Vols spanked Jimmy Johnson's thugs from Miami in the Sugar Bowl.

OU was playing Penn State in the Orange Bowl that night. Aikman is in several shots of the sideline from NBC during the game. Every update from the stadium announcer about another Vol TD in the Sugar Bowl was met with huge cheers. Every OU fan was a Vol fan that night. We partied at our hotel in Fort Lauderdale until dawn. Great times.

And thanks Vols for giving Miami the throttling they do deserved.

 

[Okie]

Here's a great interview of Troy with Joe Buck. The 12:26 mark starts where he was recruited and his time at OU. He tells some great stories of his recruitment by Jimmy Johnson, time at OU, and how he got started at UCLA.

 

[StarRaider]

Aikman is my fav NFL broadcaster

 

[TNVOLFN]

I don’t think it’s cool that he’s spitting in the face of UCLA, which seemed to work out pretty well for him.

 

[BreatheUT]

Never did understand why Troy went to Oklahoma to begin with. Best thing Troy ever done was transferring to UCLA .

Also with Troy leading my Dallas Cowboys to 3 Super Bowl victories was a beautiful thing also.

.....and before Jerry Jones ran the on field success into the ground.

Aikman is thinking about the talent we had at receiver and the pro style offense. It's hard to believe we had that terrible season after the Sugar Bowl with the local Knoxville personality getting on top of the water tower if I remember it correctly.

 

[StarRaider]

.... It's hard to believe we had that terrible season after the Sugar Bowl with the local Knoxville personality getting on top of the water tower if I remember it correctly.

that was Duncan Stewart in 88 and he stayed on a radio station billboard in Nashville until the VOLS finally won a game (the way I remember it at least).... this all happened before Al Gore invented the internet.

the really smfh thing is that Chuck Webb redshirted in 88.

 

[wmcovol]

He has no real college to align with now. UCLA barely plays the sport & he left OU after his Soph yr. He sees what Peyton, Heath, etc have & regrets he’s missing out.

 

[volsfan125]

the really smfh thing is that Chuck Webb redshirted in 88.

and Carl Pickens

 

[n_huffhines]

Apparently Switzer promised him that they were going to become a more pass-oriented offense.

I believe he said in this same interview that he didn't really know he was any good, and wanted to stay close to home. Was planning on Okla St but got caught up on his OU visit and commtted. Once playing with division 1 athletes, he realized how good he was and Switzer let him out.

Edit: I should add, he mentioned he had the thought as he was committing to OU that if QB didn't work out, he could play safety

 

[adam.vol]

that was Duncan Stewart in 88 and he stayed on a radio station billboard in Nashville until the VOLS finally won a game (the way I remember it at least).... this all happened before Al Gore invented the internet.

the really smfh thing is that Chuck Webb redshirted in 88.

I had a scary thought just now. At some point the joke of Al Gore’s claim will be lost and future generations will celebrate him as the guy who invented the internet and who started global warming. It’s our duty to make sure our kids remember that Al Gore is a joke.

 

[Madscientistvol]

I had a scary thought just now. At some point the joke of Al Gore’s claim will be lost and future generations will celebrate him as the guy who invented the internet and who started global warming. It’s our duty to make sure our kids remember that Al Gore is a joke.

That is scary. My wife is 9 years younger than me (I’m 40 she’s 31) and she doesn’t really have memories before home computers were a thing. When you put it into that scope it gets crazy to think of.

 

[SpookyAction]

Home PC -->Internet-->Cell Phone-->Ipod-->Smart Phone
10years 3years 5-6years 3 years

Happened real quick. My years are by my own thinking of how much longer it was before I knew several people who had that product.
I bought internet in 1997. It barely worked, but I knew a lot of people who had it. A year later it worked much better and I was seeing friends and acquaintances with cell phones. Nokia, I think. I had a briefcase phone and thought I was a big deal.

 

[adam.vol]

Home PC -->Internet-->Cell Phone-->Ipod-->Smart Phone
10years 3years 5-6years 3 years

Happened real quick. My years are by my own thinking of how much longer it was before I knew several people who had that product.
I bought internet in 1997. It barely worked, but I knew a lot of people who had it. A year later it worked much better and I was seeing friends and acquaintances with cell phones. Nokia, I think. I had a briefcase phone and thought I was a big deal.

Cell phones, like the internet didn’t change everything overnight. It felt like a long process before coverage was reliable. You used to not be able to use a cell phone due to lack of reception unless you were in a busy area, which had pay phones anyway. At least you could receive calls from someone who didn’t know your whereabouts.

Internet didn’t have much value for years either. Sending a file of 1 MB took 30 minutes to hours before broadband. It seemed to happen so gradually that I honestly couldn’t tell when either became necessities.