It Just Takes Time

[VFL-82-JP]

We're getting there, slow but sure. Have some patience. Keep demanding championships, but have patience about it.

Rick Barnes has been our head basketball coach for going on ten seasons. In his third season, he started showing real progress (tied for first in conference regular season), but it wasn't until his ninth year, last year, that we outright won the conference and broke through the Sweet Sixteen into the Elite Eight. He's on the verge of national championships, after a lot of work and climbing.

Tony Vitello has been our head baseball coach for seven seasons. It wasn't until his fourth that we got to the College World Series. And it wasn't until his seventh season, last year, that we won the national crown.

Josh Heupel is in his fourth year. Four years from when we were a train wreck of a program. And he's showing the same progression as our other two major-sport men's coaches. Steady climb.

This year, we made the playoffs for the first time. We were a contender for the national championship for the first time since 1998, even if only briefly.

There's room to improve, for sure. It will come. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither were any of our athletic programs.

A bit of patience. Even better things coming.

Go Vols!

p.s. And remember, it wasn't until her fifth season that Pat Summitt won the conference, her eighth season that she got to the Final Four for the first time, and her thirteenth season that she won her first national title!

General Neyland was exceptional in that he tied for the conference title his second season, but even he didn't win his first national crown until his twelfth year.

We're all hoping Kim Caldwell is even more exceptional and can do something amazing in her first year, but generally speaking...it takes time to grow a champion.

Go Vols!

 

[unfrozencvmanvol]

I just said something similar in another thread, and I'll say it again:

1. We got beaten (yes, soundly) by a very good team with one of the top 3-4 rosters in college football in their backyard on Dec 21 no less, the sky is not falling, we met or exceeded expectations this year; yes, we'd have liked to have won, but it was always going to be an uphill battle;

2. Alot of people on this board, and especially in the RF, kid themselves about how well we recruit, we recruited better this year than we have in quite some time and we finished No. 10 on the composite, that's a good class, but Georgia, Ohio State and Bama are in the Top 3-4 every year, and while we've beat Bama twice in close games in Neyland, generally, when we play those teams, the talent disparity shows, and it did again last night. If we want to be truly elite, we need to recruit better;

3. That said, not long ago, we were 0-8 in conference play, we've come a long way in a short time. Heupel is the best coach we've had in a long time. We didn't become what we became in the 90's overnight, there were alot of years of 8-3, 9-2-1, etc. before we went 45-5 in 4 years from 1995 to 1998, we need to keep building. The future is still bright. GBO.

 

[cherokeeeVOL]

I agree with the sentiment but man that was brutal to watch and a sobering reminder of what needs to be done in recruiting to compete in games like that. With the rare exception of the 2023 class, UT routinely recruits just outside the top ten and that doesn’t seem to be good enough to get to where we all want the team to be. I think we’re Texas before they started doing whatever it is they did to secure top 5 classes multiple years in a row: A good but not great team with some potential, and a really good coaching staff that needs to do whatever it takes to improve in recruiting to reach that next level.

 

[cbrown]

The talent gap was painfully on display last night. I don’t know if we have more than three starters that could start for Ohio State. We prolly also have a few starters that couldn’t crack their two-deep. Recruiting is going to have to improve.

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

The talent gap was painfully on display last night. I don’t know if we have more than three starters that could start for Ohio State. We prolly also have a few starters that couldn’t crack their two-deep. Recruiting is going to have to improve.

A little hyperbolic but likely true.

We are a top ten team. They're a top 3 team

 

[cbrown]

A little hyperbolic but likely true.

We are a top ten team. They're a top 3 team

Maybe, but I don’t think our best player would crack their two-deep. My eyes tell me Sampson is not better than Henderson or Judkins.

 

[Hurley Mooncalf]

I heard a caller on Basilio's 5th Quarter say we looked versus OSU like Iowa did to us, slower and outmatched all over the field. 18-20 years of top 3 recruiting classes add up.

Chip Kelly was an NFL coach for a reason and he held a master class in scheming against our defensive weakness, the flanks and up the middle (linebackers and safeties).

Stack on that their team locked in and focused after an embarrassing loss at home to a hated rival, bad night for us. If OSU continues like they played us, they'll win it all.

Add to that, we had 3 walk ons playing last night because they were our best options. I tip my hat to CJH for getting this team with this personnel as far as he did this year.

 

[teeball]

I appreciate your optimism but IMO Heupel’s coaching staff is somewhat pedestrian and needs upgrades at a few positions. That coupled with our slightly above average SEC recruiting results (typically 5th or 6th) I don’t see us ever winning this conference again unless these things change. 10 wins may be the high water mark for this staff and program with 8-4 seasons the average. That said, these past few seasons sure beat the heck out of the pre-Heupel era. Now on to basketball and baseball. GBO !

 

[Cartervol]

We can sit around and say this or that about talent gap. Their also needs to be some mean instilled in this team. They were intimidated last night. OSU lining up jawing at us before the game set the tone. You have to be more thug than them and we weren't. Attitude is part of football also

I appreciate your optimism but IMO Heupel’s coaching staff is somewhat pedestrian and needs upgrades at a few positions. That coupled with our slightly above average SEC recruiting results (typically 5th or 6th) I don’t see us ever winning this conference again unless these things change. 10 wins may be the high water mark for this staff and program with 8-4 seasons the average. That said, these past few seasons sure beat the heck out of the pre-Heupel era. Now on to basketball and baseball. GBO !

Well with the expansion of the conference with OU and Texas it certainly won't be easy to be one of those 3 or 4 teams every year. Coaching and a QB makes the difference..

 

[camp_steveo]

I have spent a lot of hard earned money to get embarrassed. I ain't sure if I can keep doing it.

I know it's a process, but damn. That was a shellacking.

 

[orangerush]

LOL, four years from now it will still be we need more time, time doesn’t make a team better.

 

[MurphyVol]

It doesn't happen overnight, but you got the QB you wanted, the schedule was favorable this year and it is next year too. Saban is gone, UF has what is thought to be a sub-par coach. At some point you run out of excuses.

 

[sonofUT62]

It is a process and I have zero doubt that this game could have gone differently had he not grabbed the face mask on the sack. It started an avalanche. That being said….Heupels offense is not fooling anyone and Hazle has destroyed Nico as a passer. We look at the variety of passes that Howard completed last night and know that Nico is not where he should be after 2 full years in the program and 14 starts. He’s a tough kid and takes a lot of pride in the way he plays. Heupel needs to bring in some better coaches. If they’re his friends or were in each others weddings…..that’s fine. But Heupel will never reach the level of even Dabo if he doesn’t widen his coaching circle.

 

[volbound1700]

Most the great staffs... Mark Richt, Kirby Smart, Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, etc. Win some kind of title by their 3rd year. So no, it doesn't take time. Now Heupel and staff had recruiting sanctions so that plays a part but I don't think we can get there without major change.

 

[DooleyOrangePants]

The talent gap was painfully on display last night. I don’t know if we have more than three starters that could start for Ohio State. We prolly also have a few starters that couldn’t crack their two-deep. Recruiting is going to have to improve.

Not just recruiting, but player development too. And someone needs to get in their faces and set some expectations.

We’ve seen this crap since Heupel got here. Glimpses of good talent and great things, only to get destroyed when it really matters and on the big stage. To be clear, not wanting to run Heupel off - not at all - but he has to do some soul searching and figure out what he can do to change things up. Perhaps his unwavering loyalty to bad coaches would be a good place to start.

 

[AdoptedVOL]

“It just takes time” doesn’t help me a bit.

VOL fans have big expectations and these expectations are not being met.

NIL, Portal, big booster dollars, raised ticket prices. This entire season our VOLS were playing on borrowed time and it caught up with them last night in the form of another better team.

I love Big Orange, Smoky, Davey Crockett, Checkerboards, Neyland, and these VOLS. Every single one. But…

No excuses. Figure it out. Just win!

 

[VolunteerCeltic]

I think this coaching staff has hit its ceiling. I wonder if Heupel will make staff changes?

 

[Cartervol]

Not just recruiting, but player development too. And someone needs to get in their faces and set some expectations.

We’ve seen this crap since Heupel got here. Glimpses of good talent and great things, only to get destroyed when it really matters and on the big stage. To be clear, not wanting to run Heupel off - not at all - but he has to do some soul searching and figure out what he can do to change things up. Perhaps his unwavering loyalty to bad coaches would be a good place to start.

Maybe he is too nice. The best coaches are kind slimey.. Meyer, Saban. Kirby may be the exception but for the most part they're azzholes..

 

[cbrown]

Not just recruiting, but player development too. And someone needs to get in their faces and set some expectations.

We’ve seen this crap since Heupel got here. Glimpses of good talent and great things, only to get destroyed when it really matters and on the big stage. To be clear, not wanting to run Heupel off - not at all - but he has to do some soul searching and figure out what he can do to change things up. Perhaps his unwavering loyalty to bad coaches would be a good place to start.

I read that we haven’t had an offensive lineman recruited by this staff start a game since he’s been here. If that’s true, I can’t see how a change isn’t made. That’s an pretty clear indictment.

 

[DooleyOrangePants]

Maybe he is too nice. The best coaches are kind slimey.. Meyer, Saban. Kirby may be the exception but for the most part they're azzholes..

I don’t mind nice. But there comes a time when you have to get stern and make some examples. Last night, you had no more than a handful of Vols that got on that field that gave a crap. By the second half when things were well in hand, he should have benched every single one of the guys that had checked out and let someone else get a turn. Give up 60-70, dont care - but there were a lot of guys that didn’t deserve to be wearing orange last night.

No scheming. No adjustments. No accountability on the staff. Just the same old tired platitudes when we crap the bed.

 

[VOLtaism]

You can't make coaching comparisons in basketball and baseball to our current position in football. The talent level was very apparent last night as our team was boat-raced off the field on both sides of the ball. No, its not a number of years to get there that we must wait, that was in the past. With the NIL/transfer portal the goal posts change every year as the largest budget schools suck up all the top players. Where you thought you needed to be last year has now doubled in difficulty from a quality of player and coaching standpoint. A team can no longer finish 10th in the nation in recruiting and expect to make the playoffs because 7 of those 10 teams are in your conference. Making it more difficult is the fact that what used to be a foundation of players you know are returning for next season may all transfer out for dollars offered to them. This year teams spent 20 million next season it may be 30 million to get to the championship game. Nothing is clear except it will be more and more every year and we are way behind.

 

[orangerush]

Time is promised to no one.

 

[The Original Fade]

We're getting there, slow but sure. Have some patience. Keep demanding championships, but have patience about it.

Rick Barnes has been our head basketball coach for going on ten seasons. In his third season, he started showing real progress (tied for first in conference regular season), but it wasn't until his ninth year, last year, that we outright won the conference and broke through the Sweet Sixteen into the Elite Eight. He's on the verge of national championships, after a lot of work and climbing.

Tony Vitello has been our head baseball coach for seven seasons. It wasn't until his fourth that we got to the College World Series. And it wasn't until his seventh season, last year, that we won the national crown.

Josh Heupel is in his fourth year. Four years from when we were a train wreck of a program. And he's showing the same progression as our other two major-sport men's coaches. Steady climb.

This year, we made the playoffs for the first time. We were a contender for the national championship for the first time since 1998, even if only briefly.

There's room to improve, for sure. It will come. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither were any of our athletic programs.

A bit of patience. Even better things coming.

Go Vols!

p.s. And remember, it wasn't until her fifth season that Pat Summitt won the conference, her eighth season that she got to the Final Four for the first time, and her thirteenth season that she won her first national title!

General Neyland was exceptional in that he tied for the conference title his second season, but even he didn't win his first national crown until his twelfth year.

We're all hoping Kim Caldwell is even more exceptional and can do something amazing in her first year, but generally speaking...it takes time to grow a champion.

Go Vols!

In today’s college football it doesn’t take time so I wholeheartedly disagree. Players have zero loyalty to schools and coaches, just the almighty dollar. If there’s a talent gap between us and the team going to the championship game then get out the checkbook and start scratching checks to the best DBs, OLs, and WRs in college football. We’ll get to the next level instantly

 

[Cartervol]

I don’t mind nice. But there comes a time when you have to get stern and make some examples. Last night, you had no more than a handful of Vols that got on that field that gave a crap. By the second half when things were well in hand, he should have benched every single one of the guys that had checked out and let someone else get a turn. Give up 60-70, dont care - but there were a lot of guys that didn’t deserve to be wearing orange last night.

No scheming. No adjustments. No accountability on the staff. Just the same old tired platitudes when we crap the bed.

Talent tax incoming. People are going to love that. Funny how the Alabama AD is standing up begging for money and they still out recruit us.

 

[Orange_Vol1321]

I don’t mind nice. But there comes a time when you have to get stern and make some examples. Last night, you had no more than a handful of Vols that got on that field that gave a crap. By the second half when things were well in hand, he should have benched every single one of the guys that had checked out and let someone else get a turn. Give up 60-70, dont care - but there were a lot of guys that didn’t deserve to be wearing orange last night.

No scheming. No adjustments. No accountability on the staff. Just the same old tired platitudes when we crap the bed.

Starts with the coaches. 3 weeks to get ready for this game. Heupel go out coached.

Also can we get some CB's in here that will turn their head around to look for the ball??