5th stripe removed this morning

[pharmDvol11]

Wish it was more of a playmaker but glad to see it's another lineman. We need that in the worst way!!!

 

[UTFanForLife]

So their player mentor isn't a coach of some capacity? Also, I'm sure if Azzani, Bajakian or Jones wanted to keep a black stripe on... they'd definitely keep the stripe on.

So do you know these guys personally? A lot of people in here seem to know exactly how these guys are in the locker room and weight room.

You might have either accidentally outed yourself as an outsider or you just outed yourself as someone who doesn't know any more than anyone else in this thread.

I'm not calling them bad, egotistical, arrogant guys. I'm just saying that media personnel that have been to practice have almost unanimously said Malone is hitting a wall and he's just not a good practice player. The depth charts released and WR groups iterate Malone is either struggling or is being motivated by the coaches. The black stripe say someone sees Malone and Pearson as not being where they want them to be.

I think the ESPN clip of Pearson's spring camp catch and Malones high profile entrance to UT have given the coaches a decent enough reason to ensure these guys don't get egos. Not that they have them. Just looks to me like the coaches are keeping them mindful that even 5* studs and ESPN highlight reel WRs need to block and run crisp routes.

Azzani made comments almost right after the Pearson catch about keeping him grounded. I can't remember exactly which day it was but it was this spring.

An outsider? What are you talking about?

I'm definitely no insider, but I've watched and listened to both these guys talk and they are both very humble guys.

As for the stripe, every Freshman/Juco has a player mentor when they get here. That person decides when they get their stripe removed. Yes, I'm sure a coach could override that decision, but I'm guessing that is not happening very often. Coach Jones wants leaders on this team, that is one way to get them to lead.

 

[TechnoVol]

DC Vol, you stated your opinion which is fine, obviously it's a message board. However, now I'm not sure what your opinion actually is based on your two comments below.

I'm not calling them bad, egotistical, arrogant guys.

Actually you did in your first post in this thread...

I also think the coaches are being hard on both Pearson and Malone to keep egos in check.

:unsure:

 

[vol-un-tear]

Nice! Surprised Kelly has his stripe. Jashon is a man!!

 

[whobethis16]

Dude hates Tennessee..

Would you like anyone that treated you like he was treated during his time here? Didn't think so.

 

[Quaint88]

Would you like anyone that treated you like he was treated during his time here? Didn't think so.

No, but I'm more of a quesadilla man.

 

[CroKev]

former wrestlers make good interior lineman. this kid is gonna be a good one. solid 305lbs and one of the strongest on the team as a true freshman. when he develops a little more and gets to about 310-315lbs he is going to be good one.

Are we talking real wrestling or "fake rasslin"? Sorry guys, I just can't let it go!

 

[Dudleys87]

I wish he could anchor the LT spot...

 

[OrangeMagic]

Context clues.

What a creative way to say you don't know.

 

[Roustabout]

Good for Jashon. When you hear "4-star" you wonder how quickly that is going to translate to the field. Great to see two Tennessee homegrown kids be legit 4-star talent and ready to contribute right off the bat. Robertson and Barnett.

Not to downplay all the work CBJs is doing, but he has been very fortuitous. when it comes to recruiting. Both Sawyers and Robertson were solid to Vandy until Franklin left. I know UT fans like to pick on him, but this guy has done more to this point than CBJ. Sorry, but to win 9 at Vandy and land some of the talent he was getting is incredible. Not saying CBJ won't be as good, but doing this at Vandy with the level of parity in the league is unreal. He is going to have Penn State in the mix soon. Now granted, CBJ still had to take advantage of that good fortune. So far, he has.

 

[butchna]

I doubt we'll be able to redshirt any O-linemen who are ready to play this season.

Maybe...just maybe...he isn't physically ready?

 

[Roustabout]

Nice! Surprised Kelly has his stripe. Jashon is a man!!

It's just how your game translates. There are so many factors that affect a player. Some of UT's best were in no position to contribute as true freshman.

The more disappointing part is the number of guys who have been on campus a while who are not advancing or even losing ground. Such as McNeil getting beat out by a freakin walk-on. This guy is a junior, was a 4-star in every rating service, Rivals top 100 player, a Parade AA, and started as a freshman and Sophomore. Now he is Mr. irrelevant. What the hell happened?

 

[zansdad]

It's just how your game translates. There are so many factors that affect a player. Some of UT's best were in no position to contribute as true freshman.

The more disappointing part is the number of guys who have been on campus a while who are not advancing or even losing ground. Such as McNeil getting beat out by a freakin walk-on. This guy is a junior, was a 4-star in every rating service, Rivals top 100 player, a Parade AA, and started as a freshman and Sophomore. Now he is Mr. irrelevant. What the hell happened?

The Swafford as a walk on thing is mis-leading. He was offered a grey shirt but chose to walk on early so he could start playing right away. So technically he was a walkon but in reality he was going to always be a scholarship player. Calling him a walk on just makes for a better story.

 

[DC Vol]

DC Vol, you stated your opinion which is fine, obviously it's a message board. However, now I'm not sure what your opinion actually is based on your two comments below.



Actually you did in your first post in this thread...




:unsure:

You know the best way to fix your house from water damage?

Don't let the pipes leak.

That's why people drip their faucets in cold snaps. Is it leaking? No, not yet. Are you doing something specifically to prevent a leak? Yep.

But if you just want to grouse over what I said and take another shot at being a low-effort pedant, well, go right on ahead.

 

[DC Vol]

What a creative way to say you don't know.

I was talking about what I said.

It's very hard to follow, I'll give you that.

 

[TechnoVol]

You know the best way to fix your house from water damage?

Don't let the pipes leak.

That's why people drip their faucets in cold snaps. Is it leaking? No, not yet. Are you doing something specifically to prevent a leak? Yep.

But if you just want to grouse over what I said and take another shot at being a low-effort pedant, well, go right on ahead.

Really still have no idea what you are trying to say... so is your opinion that Pearson and Malone have egos that need to be held in check or not?

 

[ajvol01]

The Swafford as a walk on thing is mis-leading. He was offered a grey shirt but chose to walk on early so he could start playing right away. So technically he was a walkon but in reality he was going to always be a scholarship player. Calling him a walk on just makes for a better story.

Irregardless, that doesn't change the fact that Swafford was a 2 star that no other SEC schools had offered.

Funny how Butch's 2 stars (Johnson, Swafford & Moseley) have ended up on the field in front of Dooley 3 & 4 stars.

Moseley was a 2 star when he got the offer.

 

[Roustabout]

The Swafford as a walk on thing is mis-leading. He was offered a grey shirt but chose to walk on early so he could start playing right away. So technically he was a walkon but in reality he was going to always be a scholarship player. Calling him a walk on just makes for a better story.

No, it's not missing the point. Look up the bio on the two players. No recruiting service had Swafford rated about a two star. He was brought in when UT was scraping to fill a recruiting class. In fact if UT isn't recruiting Foreman, Swafford likely never makes it here.

Let's just suppose that right now UT was recruiting two players, one with McNeil's bio and rating, and one with Swaffords; and the coaching staff elected to sign the second one. VN would have a freaking meltdown. Hey, I'm glad a walk-on can rise to the top and it's always good to find a diamond in the rough. But it is equally disappointing when a top rated recruit fails to live up to the hype. UT can ill afford to have busts on their hands (that didn't sound right) at this juncture. They need veterans to buy in, wake up, and make a difference. You can't rely on 32 freshmen if you are going to win this year.

 

[DC Vol]

Really still have no idea what you are trying to say... so is your opinion that Pearson and Malone have egos that need to be held in check or not?

I have no idea if they do.

Neither would anyone else on this forum.

Unless one of our posters is one of UT's coaching staff or a fellow teammate... none of us would have any idea if these guys are humble or egotistical.

I'm just saying what it looks like to me is watering the lawn before you have a bonfire. The easiest way to prevent something is to recognize a potential risk and stamp it out.

Malone was a 5* highly recruited kid that has already had a "potential heisman winner" article written about him:

College Football Underclassmen with Best Shot to Win Heisman Before Graduation | Bleacher Report

Yeah, it's B/R but that's also the wrong kind of thing to get into a kids head. That specifically cites his Spring Game stats. Kid hasn't taken a real snap in football yet and he's getting ordained.

Pearson also was getting highlight reels put up on Sportscenter. He talked about it and so did Azzani.

I'm just saying those are logical targets for the coaching staff to make sure understand they can't just have a big Spring Game as a 5* and get assured the starting spot. This staff doesn't tolerate complacency and if they keep crawling up both guys' backsides to keep them moving in the right direction that's how you don't even let it start setting in.

Everyone handles the spotlight differently. Hurd has gotten his share of media attention and the coaches don't look to be drilling down on him as hard. Hurd may be handling it differently than Pearson or Malone.

They could have arrogant or egotistical attitudes in the locker room or the coaches could simply be seeing intermittent effort from one or both of them through Fall Camp and that's why they're being hard on them.

I don't know.

You don't know.

The guy who watched an interview also certainly doesn't know.

That's just what it looks like from the outside looking in.

 

[DC Vol]

Irregardless, that doesn't change the fact that Swafford was a 2 star that no other SEC schools had offered.

Funny how Butch's 2 stars (Johnson, Swafford & Moseley) have ended up on the field in front of Dooley 3 & 4 stars.

Moseley was a 2 star when he got the offer.

Moseley was a freakin' gem.

He also would have gotten a lot more offers and actually scouted if he was his size now as a SR.

It wouldn't be insane to think he'd have been a 4* or even a 5*. Rare mix of height/strength/speed at CB which is a premium.

 

[ITSGR82BATNVOL]

I also think the coaches are being hard on both Pearson and Malone to keep egos in check.

You may be right, but based purely on play, Pearson deserves to have his stripe removed way before Malone. Malone has had maybe 3-4 great or very good practices at most, Pearson has been consistent from day one.

 

[DC Vol]

You may be right, but based purely on play, Pearson deserves to have his stripe removed way before Malone. Malone has had maybe 3-4 great or very good practices at most, Pearson has been consistent from day one.

Vic Wharton should be first of that group without any doubt.

The practice video from 2 days ago had Pearson doing an out-route and Azzani made him go back and do it again and he didn't run fast enough out of his break.

Again, the coaches will know if these guys are putting in 100% effort 100% of the time. It's awesome you can look great every once in awhile but this staff doesn't look to tolerate Haynesworths. They want Wilsons.

 

[TechnoVol]

I have no idea if they do.

Neither would anyone else on this forum.

Unless one of our posters is one of UT's coaching staff or a fellow teammate... none of us would have any idea if these guys are humble or egotistical.

I'm just saying what it looks like to me is watering the lawn before you have a bonfire. The easiest way to prevent something is to recognize a potential risk and stamp it out.

Malone was a 5* highly recruited kid that has already had a "potential heisman winner" article written about him:

College Football Underclassmen with Best Shot to Win Heisman Before Graduation | Bleacher Report

Yeah, it's B/R but that's also the wrong kind of thing to get into a kids head. That specifically cites his Spring Game stats. Kid hasn't taken a real snap in football yet and he's getting ordained.

Pearson also was getting highlight reels put up on Sportscenter. He talked about it and so did Azzani.

I'm just saying those are logical targets for the coaching staff to make sure understand they can't just have a big Spring Game as a 5* and get assured the starting spot. This staff doesn't tolerate complacency and if they keep crawling up both guys' backsides to keep them moving in the right direction that's how you don't even let it start setting in.

Everyone handles the spotlight differently. Hurd has gotten his share of media attention and the coaches don't look to be drilling down on him as hard. Hurd may be handling it differently than Pearson or Malone.

They could have arrogant or egotistical attitudes in the locker room or the coaches could simply be seeing intermittent effort from one or both of them through Fall Camp and that's why they're being hard on them.

I don't know.

You don't know.

The guy who watched an interview also certainly doesn't know.

That's just what it looks like from the outside looking in.

Okay, thanks for the explanation... I see where you are coming from now. I just saw where your opinion was that they may need their egos held in check and then later said you didn't think they were egotistical.

 

[Volballfan]

Vic Wharton should be first of that group without any doubt.

The practice video from 2 days ago had Pearson doing an out-route and Azzani made him go back and do it again and he didn't run fast enough out of his break.

Again, the coaches will know if these guys are putting in 100% effort 100% of the time. It's awesome you can look great every once in awhile but this staff doesn't look to tolerate Haynesworths. They want Wilsons.

I know the exact play you're talking about. That doesn't change the fact Von has produced far more than Josh up to this point overall.

 

[DC Vol]

Okay, thanks for the explanation... I see where you are coming from now. I just saw where your opinion was that they may need their egos held in check and then latter said you didn't think they were egotistical.

I can definitely understand in retrospect how it might seem contradictory.