Tennessee Football: Vols loaded at receiver

[dcm3w]

Outside of pig croom has been our biggest playmaker at WR. He makes clutch catches and splash plays ( Georgia game, USC game tieing Td, kentucky screen play.) Croom
Deserves more credit then he gets I don't undestdand what everyone's problem
Is with him

He doesn't play up to his potential? He is massive but he doesn't use his body enough. That usually comes with time though.

 

[TGVol]

The biggest question is how will our offensive line play.

They will be better but I don't care if you put NFL line if front of Dobbs he still needs to stop staring down receivers. There is no question he will be overall effective college QB because of his IQ and athleticism, but to be truly elite his passing must improve dramatically (and our OC playcalling which was a joke under Bajakian - at least against elite SEC defenses).

 

[k-town_king]

Croom hasn't lived up to the hype or potential. He has plenty of time to make up for it though.

 

[KBVol]

They will be better but I don't care if you put NFL line if front of Dobbs he still needs to stop staring down receivers. There is no question he will be overall effective college QB because of his IQ and athleticism, but to be truly elite his passing must improve dramatically (and our OC playcalling which was a joke under Bajakian - at least against elite SEC defenses).

If he "improves dramatically" with his passing this year he'll set school records ....63% completion wasn't too bad last year, 2nd or 3rd in the SEC iirc. Already a much better passer and runner than Tee ever was for sure. Hopefully DeBord fine tunes him and begin to see our WRs get better separation down the field as well.

 

[TGVol]

If he "improves dramatically" with his passing this year he'll set school records ....63% completion wasn't too bad last year, 2nd or 3rd in the SEC iirc. Already a much better passer and runner than Tee ever was for sure. Hopefully DeBord fine tunes him and begin to see our WRs get better separation down the field as well.

% completion needs to be high vs Bama, UF, and Mizzou types of defenses. And hopefully Dobbs's benchmark to be compared with is much higher than Tee (nothing against Tee but I think we won that NC in spite of him as opposed to because of him - our defense was sick that year).

 

[utvolpj]

Loaded with potential maybe but the proven, consistent playmakers are in short supply

 

[SmokeyHound]

what about pearson

 

[KBVol]

% completion needs to be high vs Bama, UF, and Mizzou types of defenses. And hopefully Dobbs's benchmark to be compared with is much higher than Tee (nothing against Tee but I think we won that NC in spite of him as opposed to because of him - our defense was sick that year).

Josh was 19 of 32, 59% last year vs Alabama in his first action of the season, after expecting to redshirt all year...not bad

He's 50-79, 63% vs Mizzou the last 2 years, again....not bad.

We'll see about Florida this year....guessing he'll be a good bit better than Worley/Peterman were the last 2 years which was 40-73, 55% and all kinds of fail otherwise.

 

[photovol]

Have Vol receivers under achieved relative to their ratings and star power, or has the Oline debacle been the real problem?

 

[KBVol]

Have Vol receivers under achieved relative to their ratings and star power, or has the Oline debacle been the real problem?

Good bit of both IMO. Also, throw in early injuries to Smith and Pearson last year and things were compounded. Both position groups have much to prove this year.

 

[photovol]

Good bit of both IMO. Also, throw in early injuries to Smith and Pearson last year and things were compounded. Both position groups have much to prove this year.

I think your right, both have much to prove and they will get their chance again with another tough schedule ahead.

 

[Aesius]

Outside of pig croom has been our biggest playmaker at WR. He makes clutch catches and splash plays ( Georgia game, USC game tieing Td, kentucky screen play.) Croom
Deserves more credit then he gets I don't undestdand what everyone's problem
Is with him

If I'm a Kentucky fan, that screen play touchdown for Croom should be the biggest red flag for the program.

There's no way Jason Croom should comfortably be able to outrun your entire secondary.

I mean, at least Trey Burton was pretty fast for his size when he went 80 yards against us.

 

[ALLVOL24/7/365]

The biggest open questions going forward are whether coach DeBord play calling will consistently get them the ball vs top SEC defenses, and whether Dobbs will sufficiently improve in the passing game.

TG I have to say I do not care if Debo gets the ball to the receivers or not. If Debo sends them out in the Wishbone but we win then I am good. The receivers might not be, but I just want wins. So if Hurd and Kamara can tote the rock, put points on the board with the occasional pass play then I am good with that.

For the record, although I do think it will take a game or two to get back in the groove< I think Debo gets it done. Also, with first team rep's I think you will see the chemistry between the receivers and Dobbs get better. But Dobbs completion ratio was not terrible last year for having a depleted receiving corps.

 

[jimallvol]

It's going to be exciting to see who steps up and takes the leadership roll in our group of WRs. I can't wait to see Josh Smith this season.

 

[dyllisvol42]

In related news, it has recently been discovered that water is wet.

Also that billy likes to drink soda, and mrs lippy's car is green.

 

[chattavol420]

Health has been his downfall, but his lack of receptions goes on the QBs. At 6'5" they need to thrown the ball up higher, they never use his height for his advantage but I assume its because they are always rushed to pass the ball...I rooting for J Croom on his coming out party.2015

Croom has always been a fan favorite. Partly because of mz terri....partly because he is a monster playing at wr. He's certainly had some bad luck with injuries and rotating qbs...but he also hasn't played with the necessary attitude. If I remember correctly, he was out jumped by a tiny dback for an int at one point last year. He's had td passes go through his hands that ended up being an int.
As big and strong as he is...if the ball gets with 10 feet of him he should be able to high point it and come down with it. He needs to ACT like the monster he looks like. That's all that's keeping him from being great. Hopefully it'll happen this year

 

[ntxVOL]

Really hoping this group steps up and plays to their potential this year.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Dare I say, WRU?

That is a real possibility but up to this point our WR corps has been extremely unimpressive. I honestly thought they would be much better. This season may be different. Until I see differently, I will just assume they will continue to be unimpressive.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Dare I say, WRU?

That is a real possibility but up to this point our WR corps has been extremely unimpressive. I honestly thought they would be much better. This season may be different. Until I see differently, I will just assume they will continue to be unimpressive.

So at this moment, are we WRU? Sorry but not even close.

 

[butchna]

That is a real possibility but up to this point our WR corps has been extremely unimpressive. I honestly thought they would be much better. This season may be different. Until I see differently, I will just assume they will continue to be unimpressive.

So at this moment, are we WRU? Sorry but not even close.

If we're not, we're damn close! Who has the insurmountable lead...and based on what criteria?

 

[orangebloodgmc]

You mean Von Pearson?

Damn straight I meant Von Pearson. I mean, you could put all kinds of caveats and asterisks by his name, regarding the ongoing uncertainty, but to have an article about how loaded we are at receiver and not mention the guy who may be our very best one for talent/potential (I'll give a tie with North), I don't quite understand that. You could claim, well, he's not on team right now, but I believe he is suspended, not kicked off the team. :question:

 

[Remy]

% completion needs to be high vs Bama, UF, and Mizzou types of defenses. And hopefully Dobbs's benchmark to be compared with is much higher than Tee (nothing against Tee but I think we won that NC in spite of him as opposed to because of him - our defense was sick that year).

It's difficult to kick Tee when his big strength at QB was he rarely made the big mistake, turnovers were at a minimum when he was on the field. The coaching staff had the luxury of knowing they had a QB that took extremely good care of the football. Give me the guy that makes few mistakes, plays within the system and himself, wins championships than the gunslinger that tosses it all over the field has a high turnover ratio and wears not a championship ring.

 

[Remy]

Good bit of both IMO. Also, throw in early injuries to Smith and Pearson last year and things were compounded. Both position groups have much to prove this year.

Dude you are so dead on target in this thread ... FIYAH!!!

 

[P.O.T.S. VOL]

They gotta stay healty and so far under Coach A they haven't, Hopefully this year things will change

Are you saying it's Coach A's fault we had issues with the health of our receiving corp?

 

[Bms4880]

I think the biggest disappointment with our passing game in 2014 was the lack of a deep ball. I mean, what was our longest completed pass (not counting short passes that receivers turned into big gains)? If we're primarily throwing quick-outs and short passes, we're really under-utilizing this talented receiving corps.

I suppose the oline instability limited what we could do in the passing game last year, so hopefully with improved pass blocking, we'll see more long passes this year.