'18 GA DE Azeez Ojulari

#351
#351
Ron Swanson said:
Emerson and Gerald aren't elite? They both have elite offer lists. Emerson is on the border of being a 5 star and JUCO's haven't been ranked yet. Gerald will likely be the #1 JUCO DL in the nation once those rankings are out.

Phillips, Kongbo and Taylor weren't highly ranked players when they signed at UT? Tuttle and McKenzie? Our DL is littered with 4 and 5 stars, now they just have to play like it.
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I'm only talking about de....and yes the 18 group looks better barring emerson stays at de. Yes those three were highly ranked but that's not alot of depth. Fact is last two cycles short of kongbo have not been great at de.....thats all people are saying...
 
#352
#352
MADISONGAVOL said:
I'm only talking about de....and yes the 18 group looks better barring emerson stays at de. Yes those three were highly ranked but that's not alot of depth. Fact is last two cycles short of kongbo have not been great at de.....thats all people are saying...
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I see your point but Butler, Johnson, Thaxton might end up being very good
 
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#353
#353
MADISONGAVOL said:
I'm only talking about de....and yes the 18 group looks better barring emerson stays at de. Yes those three were highly ranked but that's not alot of depth. Fact is last two cycles short of kongbo have not been great at de.....thats all people are saying...
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No, bass was saying DE recruiting is going poorly right now for this class. I pointed out that's factually incorrect. We currently have one of the nation's best DE/DT/DL classes in the country and we're going to add 1-2 more before NSD.

And sure, it would be great to have a 3 deep of elite DL. Sign me up!
 
#354
#354
MADISONGAVOL said:
I'm only talking about de....and yes the 18 group looks better barring emerson stays at de. Yes those three were highly ranked but that's not alot of depth. Fact is last two cycles short of kongbo have not been great at de.....thats all people are saying...
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No, bass was saying DE recruiting is going poorly right now for this class. I pointed out that's factually incorrect. We currently have one of the nation's best DE/DT/DL classes in the country and we're going to add 1-2 more before NSD.

And sure, it would be great to have a 3 deep of elite DL. Sign me up!

Good thing is we have an elite DL coach, I'm confident he's going to coach em up very well.
 
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#355
#355
Ron Swanson said:
Emerson and Gerald aren't elite? They both have elite offer lists. Emerson is on the border of being a 5 star and JUCO's haven't been ranked yet. Gerald will likely be the #1 JUCO DL in the nation once those rankings are out.

Phillips, Kongbo and Taylor weren't highly ranked players when they signed at UT? Tuttle and McKenzie? Our DL is littered with 4 and 5 stars, now they just have to play like it.
Click to expand...

Last year the best DL we landed was Butler, who will be a DT. Thaxton will probably never play more than as a back up imo. Who is the elite DE that we signed last year? Johnson is probably going to be okay, but certainly wasn't elite at least in rankings and he's a wait and see. This year, yes, Emerson is elite, but again, he'll probably end up a DT and Simonton said as much last night that he sees his future being a DT. Gerald is a 3 star Juco player. Is he elite? I think he might be. But we also thought Blair was elite, clearly he wasn't. Juco players are hit or miss so we'll have to wait and see. But who is the last big time high school DE that we landed? Truth is we haven't landed a big time high school DE since Phillips unless Emerson remains at DE. Ojulari, Thomas, and Parsons are day one difference makers. We need guys like that.
 
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#356
#356
Ron Swanson said:
No, bass was saying DE recruiting is going poorly right now for this class. I pointed out that's factually incorrect. We currently have one of the nation's best DE/DT/DL classes in the country and we're going to add 1-2 more before NSD.

And sure, it would be great to have a 3 deep of elite DL. Sign me up!
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Who are the elite ends that we have committed? If Simonton is right then we only have one DE committed, Gerald, a 3 star Juco product. Again, I hope he's great, but I'd trade him for Ojulari in a heart beat.
 
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#357
#357
Bassmaster_Vol said:
Last year the best DL we landed was Butler, who will be a DT. Thaxton will probably never play more than as a back up imo. Who is the elite DE that we signed last year? Johnson is probably going to be okay, but certainly wasn't elite at least in rankings and he's a wait and see. Hopefully you're right and he'll be elite. This year, yes, Emerson is elite, but again, he'll probably end up a DT and Simonton said as much last night that he sees his future being a DT. Gerald is a 3 star Juco player. Is he elite? I think he might be. But we also thought Blair was elite, clearly he wasn't. Juco players are hit or miss so we'll have to wait and see. But who is the last big time high school DE that we landed? Truth is we haven't landed a big time high school DE since Phillips unless Emerson remains at DE. Ojulari, Thomas, and Parsons are day one difference makers. We need guys like that.
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JUCO rankings aren't out yet, Gerald will be a high 4 star very soon. But what really matters is his offer list, it's as good as it gets.

Look, bass, you want to see things with glass half empty and I choose to see them half full. That's all this is.

You're assuming guys with a 3 star rating can't be great DL, I'm more of a wait and see guy before I declare kids a bust or role players at best.

You see Blair when looking at JUCO's, I see CP.

You believe Emerson is destined for DT, I believe he's destined to be the next Barnett.

You see a DL group of average players with 3 stars or under performing 4 and 5's, who haven't done much. I see All SEC potential and elite coaching to get them there.

I'm always going to be optimistic, I always have and always will. Some get beaten down over time, which is easy to do as a Vol fan. But that's not me, I will never join the LOTM.

15-0
 
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#358
#358
Ron Swanson said:
JUCO rankings aren't out yet, Gerald will be a high 4 star very soon. But what really matters is his offer list, it's as good as it gets.

Look, bass, you want to see things with glass half empty and I choose to see them half full. That's all this is.

You're assuming guys with a 3 star rating can't be great DL, I'm more of a wait and see guy before I declare kids a bust or role players at best.

You see Blair when looking at JUCO's, I see CP.

You believe Emerson is destined for DT, I believe he's destined to be the next Barnett.

You see a DL group of average players with 3 stars or under performing 4 and 5's, who haven't done much. I see All SEC potential and elite coaching to get them there.

I'm always going to be optimistic, I always have and always will. Some get beaten down over time, which is easy to do as a Vol fan. But that's not me, I will never join the LOTM.

15-0
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Dude, I've been the most optimistic poster on this board for the past year. That's a fact. But DE is the second most important position on the field. We have to have elite players at that position if we want to win big. That's a fact. I'm just surprised that we are looking more at project players like Thaxton and Johnson at that position when we've had the best DE in the nation on our team the past 3 years.

Second, I'm not gazing at stars, I've been singing Butler's praises since he signed, but he's going to be a DT. I hope Emerson remains a DE, but I'm not sure he will. I also think we have 3 potentially elite guys at DE on our roster right now. Never said differently. I hope they live up to potential this year.
 
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#359
#359
Bassmaster_Vol said:
Dude, I've been the most optimistic poster on this board for the past year. That's a fact. But DE is the second most important position on the field. We have to have elite players at that position if we want to win big. That's a fact. I'm just surprised that we are looking more at project players like Thaxton and Johnson at that position when we've had the best DE in the nation on our team the past 3 years.

Second, I'm not gazing at stars, I've been singing Butler's praises since he signed, but he's going to be a DT. I hope Emerson remains a DE, but I'm not sure he will. I also think we have 3 potentially elite guys at DE on our roster right now. Never said differently. I hope they live up to potential this year.
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You need a fishing trip to revitalize your posi-vol vibes!
 
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#362
#362
Bassmaster_Vol said:
Dude, I've been the most optimistic poster on this board for the past year. That's a fact. But DE is the second most important position on the field. We have to have elite players at that position if we want to win big. That's a fact. I'm just surprised that we are looking more at project players like Thaxton and Johnson at that position when we've had the best DE in the nation on our team the past 3 years.

Second, I'm not gazing at stars, I've been singing Butler's praises since he signed, but he's going to be a DT. I hope Emerson remains a DE, but I'm not sure he will. I also think we have 3 potentially elite guys at DE on our roster right now. Never said differently. I hope they live up to potential this year.
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Not even close to a fact
 
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#363
#363
Probably_in_Class said:
Not even close to a fact
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#365
#365
Let's just pretend that we're recruiting DE at a high level while Ray is at Alabama and Davis will be there next year, GA landed Beal and Herring last year and will be adding Ojulari this year. But hey, nothing to worry about for the Vols at the second most important position on the field.
 
#366
#366
Bassmaster_Vol said:
Last year the best DL we landed was Butler, who will be a DT. Thaxton will probably never play more than as a back up imo. Who is the elite DE that we signed last year? Johnson is probably going to be okay, but certainly wasn't elite at least in rankings and he's a wait and see. This year, yes, Emerson is elite, but again, he'll probably end up a DT and Simonton said as much last night that he sees his future being a DT. Gerald is a 3 star Juco player. Is he elite? I think he might be. But we also thought Blair was elite, clearly he wasn't. Juco players are hit or miss so we'll have to wait and see. But who is the last big time high school DE that we landed? Truth is we haven't landed a big time high school DE since Phillips unless Emerson remains at DE. Ojulari, Thomas, and Parsons are day one difference makers. We need guys like that.
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Ah a nerdy journalist said Emerson will play DT. Guess we can set that in stone. You know all those same journalist (ones that do not and have not actually coached football) also said Barnett would end up at DT.
 
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#367
#367
Ron Swanson said:
Emerson and Gerald aren't elite? They both have elite offer lists. Emerson is on the border of being a 5 star and JUCO's haven't been ranked yet. Gerald will likely be the #1 JUCO DL in the nation once those rankings are out.

Phillips, Kongbo and Taylor weren't highly ranked players when they signed at UT? Tuttle and McKenzie? Our DL is littered with 4 and 5 stars, now they just have to play like it.
Click to expand...
I just ignore it when someone posts something so ignorant. Bama and Ohio State both wanted Emerson, no doubt nor argument that he's elite.
 
#368
#368
Don't sleep on Deandre Johnson Bass. He got a lot of praise during the spring and I think will be a good edge player for us. There is a lot of young talent behind Taylor, Kongbo, and Phillips. We need those guys to play up to their potential and the young guys can provide depth. When you bring in the DL class we have this year we will be in great shape. When our DTs are so dominant that they demand double teams it will free up the DEs to go one on one. I like were we are. I would love to have Azeez but he isn't gonna make or break our class.
 
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#370
#370
DaddyChad said:
I just ignore it when someone posts something so ignorant. Bama and Ohio State both wanted Emerson, no doubt nor argument that he's elite.
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Nobody is arguing that Emerson isn't elite. The question is whether Emerson remains at DE or does he end up at DT
 
#371
#371
Glitch said:
Don't sleep on Deandre Johnson Bass. He got a lot of praise during the spring and I think will be a good edge player for us. There is a lot of young talent behind Taylor, Kongbo, and Phillips. We need those guys to play up to their potential and the young guys can provide depth. When you bring in the DL class we have this year we will be in great shape. When our DTs are so dominant that they demand double teams it will free up the DEs to go one on one. I like were we are. I would love to have Azeez but he isn't gonna make or break our class.
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Yup. Johnson had 90 tackles and 10 sacks on the Florida 8A State Champions last fall. He was an EE, put on weight and is the #4 DE behind 3 highly recruited DE's who are now healthy and ready to shine. Doesn't sound like a project to me. Hoke must really enjoy his job.
 
#372
#372
Glitch said:
Don't sleep on Deandre Johnson Bass. He got a lot of praise during the spring and I think will be a good edge player for us. There is a lot of young talent behind Taylor, Kongbo, and Phillips. We need those guys to play up to their potential and the young guys can provide depth. When you bring in the DL class we have this year we will be in great shape. When our DTs are so dominant that they demand double teams it will free up the DEs to go one on one. I like were we are. I would love to have Azeez but he isn't gonna make or break our class.
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That's a good point Glitch. Just going to be hard not having Barnett and not seeing anybody that we're recruiting that are dominant DE's. I mean, Kongbo has the year we all think he can, he's gone. What if Phillips breaks out? He could be gone to. Without those two guys next year our de roster doesn't look great. We have to hope Johnson ends up being a good player and that Gerald comes in ready to play immediately. Who knows with a Juco player though? Maybe Emerson remains at DE. I hope he does.
 
#373
#373
Ron Swanson said:
Yup. Johnson had 90 tackles and 10 sacks on the Florida 8A State Champions last fall. He was an EE, put on weight and is the #4 DE behind 3 highly recruited DE's who are now healthy and ready to shine. Doesn't sound like a project to me. Hoke must really enjoy his job.
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I hope Johnson ends up being a good player. If he does, he will far outplay his expectations coming out of high school. Is he going to be elite though? Guess we'll see. Hope so.
 
#374
#374
Bassmaster_Vol said:
Nobody is arguing that Emerson isn't elite. The question is whether Emerson remains at DE or does he end up at DT
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I don't know but the kid wants to be a DE and my bet is that he works hard to stay there. I DO know that he looks much better on the field at a lighter weight.

If he stays at DE what do you think about our DE recruiting for this year? Seems like you're borrowing trouble by assuming he moves to DT.
 
#375
#375
Bassmaster_Vol said:
I hope Johnson ends up being a good player. If he does, he will far outplay his expectations coming out of high school. Is he going to be elite though? Guess we'll see. Hope so.
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You're acting like he was some scrub with only offers from JMU, UTC and South Dakota state. He might not have been a 5 star with a who's who offer sheet but having offers from Tennessee, Auburn, South Carolina, Miss State, Cal, NCSU and others isn't bad. Some pretty damn good coaches wanted him on their DL.
 
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