Was Cooper Mays the last VFL?

#3
#3
Mays is a local guy that grew up a UT fan which is different than other signees who didn't follow UT since they were young. Would anyone else be surprised if Desean Bishop follows the same path of loyalty like Coop? Wouldn't shock me. Dylan Sampson is one of the best VFLs I have seen in years along with Cooper. The challenge for Heupel is keeping enough of our talent on the roster that remain dedicated to the program. Tall order in the NIL world but I like our chances. You find out over the course of 4 years who the real VFLs were.
 
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#4
#4
PEPPERJAX said:
Mays is a local guy that grew up a UT fan which is different than other signees who didn't follow UT since they were young. Would anyone else be surprised if Desean Bishop follows the same path of loyalty like Coop? Wouldn't shock me. Dylan Sampson is one of the best VFLs I have seen in years along with Cooper. The challenge for Heupel is keeping enough of our talent on the roster that remain dedicated to the program. Tall order in the NIL world but I like our chances. You find out over the course of 4 years who the real VFLs were.
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Sampson got paid to stay. Now idk that he ever really threatened to leave but he got a bump in pay one year.
 
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#7
#7
DaddyChad said:
Sampson got paid to stay. Now idk that he ever really threatened to leave but he got a bump in pay one year.
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If UT-baseball-team-deal is accurate, two years ago 200 TN athletes had NIL deals. Who knows how many today, but it's a safe bet most in the football and basketball programs are paid. And with TN creating a revenue sharing plan, everyone will be in the near future.

If we base VFL designation on whether they're being paid, then yes, there will be no more VFLs.
 
#12
#12
GAVol said:
If I was 20 years old, playing a sport with a short shelf life and somebody offered me a check, Iā€™d be a VFNIL too.
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It's a job, we all job hop or look for better opportunities. I'm not sure how it's a negative. Support the ones that are here.
 
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#16
#16
titansvolsfaninga said:
Next time you guys get another job offer, don't take it. Even if it's more money, just stay where you are and be "loyal". You will get a nice box of candy for being loyal.
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So it's just a job, but the NCAA says they aren't employees. It didn't use to be that way, and I think that was the whole point of the thread.
 
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#17
#17
The Vols still have Bryson Eason and Dom Bailey who I believe arrived a year ahead of Cooper Mays.

Heupel seems big on loyalty and team, etc. I appreciate that. But, in this current Free Agent market, itā€™s disappointing that sometimes the reward for trying to grow from within the team is to be chump to greasy schools/coaches like Ole Miss/Kiffin.
 
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#18
#18
Here's a scenario...I'm employed by one od the top Fortune 500 med device companies
My day to day effort feeds into the company performance. When performing well and hitting the expressed goals, my efforts are rewarded with bonuses and pay raises. I started at the company at a very good wage for my geographic location and job market. All of that has made me 'loyal' to the company to the point that if an offer comes from another company I weigh my decision while accounting for that 'loyalty'.

Other than calling it a job, how would an athlete at Tennessee be any different?

Guess what I'm saying is I don't feel pay or amount of pay is a factor to calling a player a VFL. VFL in my book is that player got rewarded for playing at UT multiple years and moved onto a higher league or graduated and started a career.
 
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#23
#23
IndianaVol said:
Here's a scenario...I'm employed by one od the top Fortune 500 med device companies
My day to day effort feeds into the company performance. When performing well and hitting the expressed goals, my efforts are rewarded with bonuses and pay raises. I started at the company at a very good wage for my geographic location and job market. All of that has made me 'loyal' to the company to the point that if an offer comes from another company I weigh my decision while accounting for that 'loyalty'.

Other than calling it a job, how would an athlete at Tennessee be any different?

Guess what I'm saying is I don't feel pay or amount of pay is a factor to calling a player a VFL. VFL in my book is that player got rewarded for playing at UT multiple years and moved onto a higher league or graduated and started a career.
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VFL definition for me is a player that gives his all for Tennessee and wants to be here. Pay or No pay.

I know the right amount of money would make a player want to be here, but how has he acted, what has he given (effort) to Tennessee, how does he speak of Tennessee when his time is up?

Thatā€™s just how I see it and how Iā€™d want to be judged if it were me.
 
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#24
#24
Boston Vol said:
Or maybe we can just do away with it altogether. The whole ā€œVFLā€ thing is one of the dumber things to come out of the football program this century, and thatā€™s saying a lot.
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I donā€™t think itā€™s dumb. Look at my name. I had it on this board long before it was used as a slogan.

Why did I choose that name you might ask? Because thatā€™s what I am and always will be. Iā€™d also be willing to to bet that some of those guys that are called VFLā€™s see it as an honor.
 
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