Back in the day Fulmer did something unique

[Mose Phillip's Watch]

He converted several D lineman into O lineman. Said his reasoning was D Lineman were usually meaner & tougher.
Seems you don't see that happen anymore

 

[Hairy Vols]

He converted several D lineman into O lineman. Said his reasoning was D Lineman were usually meaner & tougher.
Seems you don't see that happen anymore

Players still transition from OL to DL and DL to OL.

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

He converted several D lineman into O lineman. Said his reasoning was D Lineman were usually meaner & tougher.
Seems you don't see that happen anymore

Never forget McRae's pancake against Auburn in the rain

 

[Zues1]

That's pretty common

 

[feathersax]

Jason Witten was recruited as a DL but soon became a great TE. Jason could block, catch....all with the "attitude".

 

[Volhoops]

Can you do that in today's NIL ? Who gets the better money DL or OL ?

 

[OffTackleVol]

He converted several D lineman into O lineman. Said his reasoning was D Lineman were usually meaner & tougher.
Seems you don't see that happen anymore

Yep, and a lot of QB's became safeties and running backs became linebackers.

 

[NighthawkVol]

Yep, and a lot of QB's became safeties and running backs became linebackers.

And Safeties also became LBs. Burnett comes to mind. It all boiled down to moving guys to positions in which they were more athletic and faster than the average man at that position.

 

[beamerman]

Yep, and a lot of QB's became safeties and running backs became linebackers.

Sure do and Jajuan Jennings says some qbs become NFL wide receivers. We could use some more of guys like him.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Wasn't it Greg Adkins on the OL under Fulmer? He might've been better at developing guys for the transition than Elarbee.

That's not a knock on Elarbee but I think coaching technique, vision, etc for that transition would be challenging at the D1 level these days.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

He converted several D lineman into O lineman. Said his reasoning was D Lineman were usually meaner & tougher.
Seems you don't see that happen anymore

This was a philosophy that both he and Chavis shared to get more speed and athleticism at every position...

Convert DB's to safeties
Safties (and RB's) to linebackers.
Line backers to defensive ends.
Defensive Ends to Defensive tackles
Defensive tackles (and tight ends) to offensive tackles
Offensive tackles to offensive guards.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

This was a philosophy that both he and Chavis shared to get more speed and athleticism at every position...

Convert DB's to safeties
Safties (and RB's) to linebackers.
Line backers to defensive ends.
Defensive Ends to Defensive tackles
Defensive tackles (and tight ends) to offensive tackles
Offensive tackles to offensive guards.

I wonder how many of those guys ended up in the league?

I don't think Clifton or Haynesworth were transitioned guys.

 

[Sarms58]

That's pretty common

Yea. HS kids usually play both ways and get recruited for one or the other but ultimately their skill set determines where they end up. I’m think Fulmer recruited athletes more than positions. He sure turned out some great linemen.

 

[turbovol]

Never forget McRae's pancake against Auburn in the rain

McRae was not a defensive lineman but became a very good offensive tackle.

 

[Snapper58]

In the 80's colleges would recruit QB's for skill positions, D linemen for o line, de for dl, and so on. In those days if you weren't very athletic you didn't play dl in high school. The QB's back then were usually the best athletes on the teams. The passing game was not as developed back then. Jimmy Johnson at Miami started putting more importance on speed on defense than size. In 86 and 87 we didn't have a single player over 300lbs on the team. One player showed up in 87 over 300 and they made him diet until he got down to 290.

 

[lukeneyland]

Jason Witten was recruited as a DL but soon became a great TE. Jason could block, catch....all with the "attitude".

Witten is the most complete TE in the history of the game. Our dinosaur offense in the early 2000’s didn’t get him enough targets. The man was one of the best skill position blockers I’ve ever seen

 

[swampfoxfan]

Jason Witten was recruited as a DL but soon became a great TE. Jason could block, catch....all with the "attitude".

One more thing I didn't know before today, he made a good choice

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

McRae was not a defensive lineman but became a very good offensive tackle.

He went to UT as a defensive lineman and then switched to the offensive line

 

[Volz4lif3]

I remember back in the day running backs were what Chavis wanted at LB sideline to sideline.. I sure do miss the days of Raynock Thompson Al Wilson and Westmoreland I believe all three played RB in high school.. I know for sure Wilson did..

 

[ZZ13]

Several WRs were converted to world class corners. Terry McDaniel (pre- Fulmer) and Jonathan Wade for example.

 

[SockeyeVol]

Peyton Manning was originally recruited as a cornerback. Moved to QB after a disastrous orange & white game. Genius move by Fulmer .

 

[ThreatLevelOrange]

He wasn’t the first. D Line can lose a step and still be good OL. Always a good strategy.

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

Several WRs were converted to world class corners. Terry McDaniel (pre- Fulmer) and Jonathan Wade for example.

Wade was far from world class

 

[dalton_vol]

He converted several D lineman into O lineman. Said his reasoning was D Lineman were usually meaner & tougher.
Seems you don't see that happen anymore

yeah, this is true. i remember radio shows talking about. they were offensive players with a defensive mindset and they were very aggressive. wasn't John Henderson initially a defensive guy?

 

[dalton_vol]

I’m not a fan of making fun of the second best coach in our programs history, but somebody put a lot of work in to this one so I’ll give them credit. Charlie Weis and Ralph Friedgen as spectators is a nice touch.

i've wondered how a sumo wrestler would do they got quick hands and quick feet. they'd need to get that endurance up