Best Player UT missed out on getting?

#1
C

csheaton

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2008
Messages
1,204
Likes
736
#1
Not any player. But one that we probably could have gotten if we had offered that you would have wanted on the team the most. Or one you would have most liked to have seen in Orange that we offered and just barely missed out on getting.

1. Patrick Willis (our LB's would have been the best in America with Mayo and Willis playing together without a doubt) huge miss
2. Tajh Boyd (self explanatory, even though we had him committed, we could def use him right now. Wonder if Dooley would have been smart enough play to him over Bray though? Lol)
3. Randall Cobb (great player, most versatile. maybe not the best on this list, but might be the biggest miss considering he was 15 mins down the road. And could have def used him in '08, Fulmer might still have a job if we had gotten him, despite the Clawfense. Actually, maybe not. But an elite SEC playmaker nonetheless)

As far as ones we offered and came close to getting but didn't, I would say Cadillac Williams. I know there are some big names I can't think of but I remember this one the most for some reason. These are a little harder to think of for me for some reason. Thoughts?
 
Last edited:
#2
#2
Boyd.

I doubt Bray would have ever been recruited had Kiffin committed to Boyd as the QB. Bray would have gone to SDSU, and Crompton would have still been our QB in 2009 because of Boyd's injury. That said, perhaps Kiffin would have still managed to pull Bray, given that Boyd was out with an injury at the time.
 
#4
#4
ukvols said:
Boyd.

I doubt Bray would have ever been recruited had Kiffin committed to Boyd as the QB. Bray would have gone to SDSU, and Crompton would have still been our QB in 2009 because of Boyd's injury. That said, perhaps Kiffin would have still managed to pull Bray, given that Boyd was out with an injury at the time.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I almost think Bray would have done himself a favor NFL draft wise had he gone to SDSU. His antics wouldn't have received near the publicity and I bet some team would have definitely drafted him. NFL loves big guys like that, with big arms, at smaller type schools. Though he wouldn't have had all the talent at WR to work with there.
 
#5
#5
Charlie Murphy. He's a straight player.

Michael Jordan

Lance Armstrong

Venus Williams

Takeru Kobayashi

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings

Wayne Gretzky

Pele'

Sure I'm missing a few...
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
#6
#6
vols 30 said:
Not even close: Steve Spurrier
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, forgot about that one. I wasn't around yet when he played but know he was a great player and heisman winner. He probably would have made a big difference. I'm not positive but I think we had some pretty good teams in the mid to late 60's under Dickey. He could have been the one to put us over the top and possibly another Narional Championship, but apparently we didn't run the type of offense that fit his skill set?
 
#7
#7
Grand Vol said:
Charlie Murphy. He's a straight player.

Michael Jordan

Lance Armstrong

Venus Williams

Takeru Kobayashi

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings

Wayne Gretzky

Pele'

Sure I'm missing a few...
Click to expand...

I don't think old Armstrong had enough balls to come to UT. And Venus Williams....perhaps too big of balls?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#8
#8
csheaton said:
Oh yeah, forgot about that one. I wasn't around yet when he played but know he was a great player and heisman winner. He probably would have made a big difference. I'm not positive but I think we had some pretty good teams in the mid to late 60's under Dickey. He could have been the one to put us over the top and possibly another Narional Championship, but apparently we didn't run the type of offense that fit his skill set?
Click to expand...

You nailed it
 
#9
#9
csheaton said:
Oh yeah, forgot about that one. I wasn't around yet when he played but know he was a great player and heisman winner. He probably would have made a big difference. I'm not positive but I think we had some pretty good teams in the mid to late 60's under Dickey. He could have been the one to put us over the top and possibly another Narional Championship, but apparently we didn't run the type of offense that fit his skill set?
Click to expand...


Timing was off by exactly one year. We were the last team in the country to abandon the single-wing offense. UT still ran it in 1963, Spurrier's freshman year at Florida. Dickey took over in 1964 and implemented a new offense, one that, two years later, produced the nation's most efficient passer, Dewey Warren. Spurrier has since said that, if Dickey had been hired one year earlier, he probably would have come to Tennessee. Who knows what the subsequent history of Tennessee football would have been if Tennessee, not Florida, had been his alma mater to which he later returned as head coach?
 
#10
#10
Volosaurus rex said:
Timing was off by exactly one year. We were the last team in the country to abandon the single-wing offense. UT still ran it in 1963, Spurrier's freshman year at Florida. Dickey took over in 1964 and implemented a new offense, one that, two years later, produced the nation's most efficient passer, Dewey Warren. Spurrier has since said that, if Dickey had been hired one year earlier, he probably would have come to Tennessee. Who knows what the subsequent history of Tennessee football would have been if Tennessee, not Florida, had been his alma mater to which he later returned as head coach?
Click to expand...

Yeah that is hard to think about when you throw in him possibly coaching here. We could probably be a top 5 program of all time had that been the case and right up there with Alabama had he played, AND coached here.Thanks for the history, I knew a little about the situation but not nearly that much. That's terrible we missed by just one year. And I didn't know that about Dewey Warren. I had heard his name a few times but had no idea he had that much success. Wonder why he is not mentioned more often as one of the best QB's to play at UT?
 
Last edited:
#13
#13
Another thing with Spurrier. Seems we would have missed on another year had he played here. 1967 the year after he left Florida, UT finished ranked number 2 in the nation and went undefeated in the SEC. If only Spurrier was a year younger and would have come to UT. A couple big what ifs, but still would have been great to see and I most def think we could have won a national championship that year had he been here, and a year younger. Even could have happened in '65 or '66 as we were a top 10 and top 15 team those years. Spurrier would have nearly been a teammate of Fulmer also, give or take a couple of years. Haha
 
#14
#14
Notorious B.E.N said:
Fred Beasley, take my word for it.
Click to expand...

Really? I was too young at the time to have really remembered his playing days at Auburn. The first players I can really remember from Auburn were Dameyune Craig, and Takeo Spikes. I think that was around Beasley's time though or right after? But was Beasley really that good? He was a 6th round draft pick but looked like he had a pretty good NFL career and was named to the pro bowl once. Known for his blocking ability more than anything? I guess guys like that are more of the unsung superstar types. But you very well could be right.
 
Last edited:
#16
#16
csheaton said:
Really? I was too young at the time to have really remembered his playing days at Auburn. The first players I can really remember from Auburn were Dameyune Craig, and Takeo Spikes. I think that was around Beasley's time though or right after? But was Beasley really that good? He was a 6th round draft pick but looked like he had a pretty good NFL career and was named to the pro bowl once. Known for his blocking ability more than anything? I guess guys like that are more of the unsung superstar types. But you very well could be right.
Click to expand...

Coming out of high school, the two recruiting services had him and Peyton as 1 and 2 in the country, he had offers from Tennessee and my mom actually took him on his official visit to a Louisville vs Tennessee game (she was his hearing impaired teacher). I know for a fact that Auburn paid him and he went to Auburn. Auburn had Stephen Davis and the time and never used the fullback to run it so he didn't get to show off his talents.

And you were right about the time period, Spikes was his roommate at Auburn.
 
#17
#17
Notorious B.E.N said:
Coming out of high school, the two recruiting services had him and Peyton as 1 and 2 in the country, he had offers from Tennessee and my mom actually took him on his official visit to a Louisville vs Tennessee game (she was his hearing impaired teacher). I know for a fact that Auburn paid him and he went to Auburn. Auburn had Stephen Davis and the time and never used the fullback to run it so he didn't get to show off his talents.

And you were right about the time period, Spikes was his roommate at Auburn.
Click to expand...

Wow, that's pretty cool. Would have loved to have seen him as a Vol. With our RB talent in the mid 90's and our style of offense he would have been a perfect fit it sounds like, and could have really showcased his talent here, more so than at Auburn. However, I can't complain about our fullbacks from the mid 90's, we had some pretty good ones as well from what I remember.

And I guess Cam Newton wasn't Auburns first bigtime rodeo in that regard if you know what I mean...I'm sure there were many others in that same boat all over the SEC during that time though. We will probably never know of many, and thankfully so because I'm sure we had a couple of guys who were big Taco fans during that time as well. Haha
 
Last edited:
#20
#20
In recent history for me it's no comparison... Patrick Willis wanted to play at Tennessee and NO ONE went to go recruit him....he is literaly the poster boy for what went wrong at the end of Fulmer/Chavis.... no reason he should not have been a Vol...it's what he wanted to be, but he got no interest. I don't think anyone at Tn even went to go see him, one of the best in state defensive players ever.

"I wanted to go to Tennessee, but Tennessee didn't want me." - Patrick Willis
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak46byC3Gp4[/youtube]


All time....hard not to think what might have been with a Johnson City boy...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttdz3RJWuC0[/youtube]
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 3 people
#22
#22
csheaton said:
Yeah that is hard to think about when you throw in him possibly coaching here. We could probably be a top 5 program of all time had that been the case and right up there with Alabama had he played, AND coached here.Thanks for the history, I knew a little about the situation but not nearly that much. That's terrible we missed by just one year. And I didn't know that about Dewey Warren. I had heard his name a few times but had no idea he had that much success. Wonder why he is not mentioned more often as one of the best QB's to play at UT?
Click to expand...


Quite simply, Dewey was our first passing quarterback. To really illustrate just how thoroughly Dickey revamped Tennessee's offense, consider the following facts: From 1950 to 1965, no Tennessee player threw more than 79 passes, completed more than 44 attempts, passed for more than 588 yds. or hurled more than 8 touchdown passes (see p. 13 [333] of ISSUU - 2012 Tennessee Football Record Book: Records by The University of Tennessee Athletics Department). Then, in '66, Dewey Warren attempted 229 passes, threw for 1716 yds., and completed 18 touchdown passes.

During the same period, no Tennessee receiver had caught more than 23 passes or amassed more than 357 yds. receiving in a single season. Then, in 1966, Johnny Mills had 48 receptions for 725 yds. and 4 tds., including a monumental 225-yd. performance against Kentucky, which remains the 3rd most yards in a single game by a Tennessee receiver.

By analogy, you might call that transition comparable to going from a Model T Ford to a Corvette . . . in two years.

Another point of trivia concerning Dewey, one with which most Tennessee fans probably are not familiar: "Warren was instrumental in revolutionizing college football under LaVell Edwards at Brigham Young. Edwards, who had spent his career as a defensive coach, became head coach in 1972; he knew that BYU lacked the blue-chip athletes necessary to win consistently with a conventional run-oriented game and so handed the offense to Warren, who had been hired to install a passing attack. Warren's offense turned every running play into a passing play, and overwhelmed defenses with four and five receivers, coming from every possible position in the offense. Although Warren left BYU after only two seasons, his offense, led by quarterback Gary Sheide, was already setting records" (Dewey Warren - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).
 
#25
#25
Volosaurus rex said:
Quite simply, Dewey was our first passing quarterback. To really illustrate just how thoroughly Dickey revamped Tennessee's offense, consider the following facts: From 1950 to 1965, no Tennessee player threw more than 79 passes, completed more than 44 attempts, passed for more than 588 yds. or hurled more than 8 touchdown passes (see p. 13 [333] of ISSUU - 2012 Tennessee Football Record Book: Records by The University of Tennessee Athletics Department). Then, in '66, Dewey Warren attempted 229 passes, threw for 1716 yds., and completed 18 touchdown passes.

During the same period, no Tennessee receiver had caught more than 23 passes or amassed more than 357 yds. receiving in a single season. Then, in 1966, Johnny Mills had 48 receptions for 725 yds. and 4 tds., including a monumental 225-yd. performance against Kentucky, which remains the 3rd most yards in a single game by a Tennessee receiver.

By analogy, you might call that transition comparable to going from a Model T Ford to a Corvette . . . in two years.

Another point of trivia concerning Dewey, one with which most Tennessee fans probably are not familiar: "Warren was instrumental in revolutionizing college football under LaVell Edwards at Brigham Young. Edwards, who had spent his career as a defensive coach, became head coach in 1972; he knew that BYU lacked the blue-chip athletes necessary to win consistently with a conventional run-oriented game and so handed the offense to Warren, who had been hired to install a passing attack. Warren's offense turned every running play into a passing play, and overwhelmed defenses with four and five receivers, coming from every possible position in the offense. Although Warren left BYU after only two seasons, his offense, led by quarterback Gary Sheide, was already setting records" (Dewey Warren - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).
Click to expand...

Wow, that is some great info. Thanks for the read. Spurrier would have definitely thrived in that offense here after looking at some of the stats he had at Florida. And I'm willing to bet we had a lot more talent than UF at WR during that time too.
 
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top