Heupel and the draft

#1
HooahVol

HooahVol

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#1
I think I need you guys to walk me off the ledge a little. It does not appear we will hear our beloved Tennessee mentioned tonight for round 2 and 3 of the draft. That means under Heupel we have had one first rounder (Darnell Wright), one 2nd rounder (Alontae Taylor) and a handful of 3rd rounders (Hooker, Hyatt, Tillman, Young and Jones). Is it just that he inherited a team with the cup boards empty? Does it affect recruiting if we do not put a bunch of guys in the higher draft rounds?
 
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#4
#4
HooahVol said:
I think I need you guys to walk me off the ledge a little. It does not appear we will hear our beloved Tennessee mentioned tonight for round 2 and 3 of the draft. That means under Heupel we have had one first rounder (Darnell Wright), one 2nd rounder (Alontae Taylor) and a handful of 3rd rounders (Hooker, Hyatt, Tillman, Young and Jones). Is it just that he inherited a team with the cup boards empty? Does it affect recruiting if we do not put a bunch of guys in the higher draft rounds?
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I'd say it's more of the latter than the former. He'd have many more draft picks if it weren't for the mass exodus of players post-Pruitt. We should be fine in the coming years considering the talent we have now: Pearce (should be a 1st rounder), Sampson (whose game translates very well to the NFL), McCoy (might not be a high pick, but will be drafted), Mays, Thomas, etc.
 
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#7
#7
From what I read, the Heupel "brand" is growing in recognition with NFL personnel directors and coaches, though. Repeatedly we hear (and recruits can be shown) that Tennessee players arrive ready to go, responsible, with pro-level practice habits and off-field maturity. Much of this starts with his "culture"--he doesn't bring in guys who aren't prepared (usually by family) to aspire to that level of responsibility.

My only concern (BVS induced, probably) is that teams will recognize that, but use it to under-draft Tennessee guys under the cover of "good player, not great" who they know will be contributing far beyond their "draft value" when the season starts.
 
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#12
#12
cherokeeeVOL said:
Basically an entire recruiting class was missed with the Pruitt fallout. Still kind of feeling the effects of that I believe, but there's a lot of great young talent on the team now.
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I'd say more than one class, Cherokee.

The 2021 class was cobbled together as best Heupel could through the mess of Pruitt's firing and the sanctions announcement.

But the classes prior to that also were badly affected, hollowed out by departures of most of the best talent. Think guys like To'o To'o jumping ship. There were a LOT of those defections.

So everything from '21 and back was mostly scorched earth. Some talent remained, but very anemic bits.

The '22 class was better, but all anyone knew at that point was that Heupel, while an excellent leader, had just finished with a 7-6 season in his first outing as the Vols head coach.

It wasn't until the Hooker/Hyatt show in the fall of 2022 that things caught fire. The subsequent '23 class has a lot of talent in it.

As does the '24 class.

Which means the very best first look at what Josh Heupel can do comes on the shoulders of a bunch of sophomores and freshmen, with a smattering of excellent juniors and seniors (particularly in the OL and DL) from the bad old days.

Josh Heupel's best is coming. And it starts showing off soon.

Go Vols!
 
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#14
#14
Jaylen Wright (part of CJH's first recruiting class) will be drafted tonight, more than likely in the third round. The NFL has devalued the running back position over the years. Wright should be the second running back taken. Joe Milton, Kamal Hadden and McCallan Castles should hear their names called before the end of the draft. There will be several Vols getting UDFA deals and camp invitations.

So, lets take a look at the class Heup was able to put together after the Pruitt debacle. The 2021 class was headlined by QB Kadion Salter. He liked the weed a little to much and got kicked off the team. Byron Young was part of that class and is now with the Rams. Javonta Payton is in the UFL. Hooker is with the Lions. Joe Milton and Chase McGrath hope to land an NFL roster spot. Christian Charles is the only player from that class left on the roster. Out of 27 additions through signing or transferring, that is only SIX that saw it through. Factor that with the fact we had the NCAA leading THIRTY FIVE transfers out at that time and YES, the cupboard was completely bare. What CJH did in going 7-6 in 2021 was nothing less than miraculous. The great thing is that the culture has changed and this staff has turned into a recruiting machine. Fear not, the future is bright. Go Vols!
 
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#15
#15
HooahVol said:
I think I need you guys to walk me off the ledge a little. It does not appear we will hear our beloved Tennessee mentioned tonight for round 2 and 3 of the draft. That means under Heupel we have had one first rounder (Darnell Wright), one 2nd rounder (Alontae Taylor) and a handful of 3rd rounders (Hooker, Hyatt, Tillman, Young and Jones). Is it just that he inherited a team with the cup boards empty? Does it affect recruiting if we do not put a bunch of guys in the higher draft rounds?
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no what that means is we have a COACH
 
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#16
#16
VFL-82-JP said:
I'd say more than one class, Cherokee.

The 2021 class was cobbled together as best Heupel could through the mess of Pruitt's firing and the sanctions announcement.

But the classes prior to that also were badly affected, hollowed out by departures of most of the best talent. Think guys like To'o To'o jumping ship. There were a LOT of those defections.

So everything from '21 and back was mostly scorched earth. Some talent remained, but very anemic bits.

The '22 class was better, but all anyone knew at that point was that Heupel, while an excellent leader, had just finished with a 7-6 season in his first outing as the Vols head coach.

It wasn't until the Hooker/Hyatt show in the fall of 2022 that things caught fire. The subsequent '23 class has a lot of talent in it.

As does the '24 class.

Which means the very best first look at what Josh Heupel can do comes on the shoulders of a bunch of sophomores and freshmen, with a smattering of excellent juniors and seniors (particularly in the OL and DL) from the bad old days.

Josh Heupel's best is coming. And it starts showing off soon.

Go Vols!
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Yeah, I remember seeing a graphic on screen during one of the 2021 games I believe it was, and the list of transfers filled with starters and took up the entire screen. Glad it's behind us now and we finally have a competent coach!
 
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#17
#17
Same reason 2023 team underperformed many of our expectations. This was a gap year in terms of talent. Last painful hangover from Pruitt. (I will not call him cornbread as I love cornbread and will be attending the National Cornbread Festival in South Pittsburgh this weekend)
 
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#19
#19
I think the portal has cheapened the "recruiting class of ____ year". Why get excited on National Signing day when, after the spring game, you lose a ton? Does Virginia Tech get credit or Hooker? They signed him initially. Seems like musical chairs and the coach that gets credit for a Heisman winner won't be the one that recruited him from high school, it'll be the one that landed him last from the portal.

Extrapolate that to the NFL draft.
 
#20
#20
ptcarter said:
I think the portal has cheapened the "recruiting class of ____ year". Why get excited on National Signing day when, after the spring game, you lose a ton? Does Virginia Tech get credit or Hooker? They signed him initially. Seems like musical chairs and the coach that gets credit for a Heisman winner won't be the one that recruited him from high school, it'll be the one that landed him last from the portal.

Extrapolate that to the NFL draft.
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I think the portal is akin to getting Good to Excellent Key Current Players to staying another year (i.e. Mays, Big O, Big E, Pilli, Bru, etc.) if you land a top 10-12 signing class, and can keep the before mentioned around an extra year...AND score a couple/three former 4* or even a 5* players of need out of the Portal (i.e. Heard, Staes, etc.) that have a year or 2 of experience at the collegiate level...THAT is NOW your "2024 Class".

Get ready for a GREAT Year boys!!! Do the MATH!!!

How 'BOUT Them VOLS!!!!!!
 
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#21
#21
Look at the QBs that went 1st round. No way Hooker wouldn't have been a 1st round pick without the injury. In some cases we're fighting stereotypes though due to the offense we run being so different. 15 years ago spread offenses we're considered "mickey mouse offenses", then it was RPOs, now it's stacked WRs, wide splits, and tempo. The NFL is incorporating spread, and RPOs now. Soon some of what we do will follow. People are afraid of what they don't understand.
 
#22
#22
HooahVol said:
I think I need you guys to walk me off the ledge a little. It does not appear we will hear our beloved Tennessee mentioned tonight for round 2 and 3 of the draft. That means under Heupel we have had one first rounder (Darnell Wright), one 2nd rounder (Alontae Taylor) and a handful of 3rd rounders (Hooker, Hyatt, Tillman, Young and Jones). Is it just that he inherited a team with the cup boards empty? Does it affect recruiting if we do not put a bunch of guys in the higher draft rounds?
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Speaks well of coach Heupel's record here. Has done well with less than top quality talent.
 
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