CJH’s Blind loyalty/pure stubbornness is starting to concern me.

[Deebowbear]

One thing tho.
Tennessee will be 8-4 probably with inconsistencies at qb
USC will be 7-5 with a heisman qb

I think with Milton we have been very limited to what the offense can do.

 

[AthensVol2007]

I think its insane to see yall turn on our extremely successful headcoach for going 8-4 in a bridge year where literally EVERY credible football/sports writer, expert, magazine etc predicted that we would either go 8-4 or 9-3 before the season started.

So did about 75% of us VN posters in the poll before the season started. Maybe more actually adding those who chose 8 wins and those who chose 9...maybe 80%? 85%???

So we are EXACTLY where anyone with a good understanding of football said we would be at this time....yet every time we lose a game a small but extremely committed portion of our VN posters lose their mind like a 13yo girl pitching a hissy fit and call our Head Coach everything under the Sun. Lmao.

Who would have more wins than CJH right now, or better recruiting classes landed like our top10 class in 23 and our LOADED class committed for 24 thats madeup of 75% bluechip 4* and 5* kids....which ONLY 2 schools in the country have a higher % than our 75%... its our best class since peak Fulmers classes in prob 2001.....

Who? Who would have us in better shape? "The Legions of the Miserable" will never be happy like Majors said.

I don’t think (for me at least it’s not) it’s about the record but how we look obtaining that record. Being shut out in the 2nd half in 3 of the last 4 SEC games is atrocious. Being run off the field 2 games in a row is atrocious. Not being able to comfortably put away a bad FCS APSU is atrocious.

 

[D3Athlete]

I think with Milton we have been very limited to what the offense can do.

We have been. Being limited, new OC, and the lack of execution. Recipe for failure and that’s what it’s been mostly

 

[Smokey7]

I'm wondering if some of these high paid coaches really care. Wonder if Heup ends up like Fisher. Fired and enjoy the retirement money

 

[mpfvol]

I have no clue why he loves Milton so much like in his eyes he can do no wrong . He acts like he could care less if the Defense even showed up at practice . He has a system offense and sticks with it weather his players can do it or not . And his teams make zero in game adjustments they come in with one plan thats it . Hopefully Nico is the real deal and he can recruit some more 4 5 star guys or find diamond 3 star . I like CJH and want him to make UT great again he needs to evaluate his staff and maybe himself a little . Saban , Kirby all the great coaches change game plans in game and also to fit their players better .

 

[Hank Bukowski]

No one wants to win or has more at stake than Coach Heupel. If Nico was better, he'd get a chance. It appears as if he has not proven himself in practice. You don't hear any of the players or coaches raving about the things he has done in practice. Maybe he just isn't that good.

It would be my guess, you will see him next week and hopefully, he will prove some of you right and is the 2nd coming of Peyton Manning and Heath Shuler all rolled into one. To date, I haven't seen or heard anything that would make me think he is the answer this year....

Heupel has built successful QBs everywhere he has been. I trust his opinion over guys that have never played an organized sport above little league.

Brother, the first question for me is: “Could he be any worse than Joe?” The answer is “absolutely.” Second and third questions: “But what are the chances he’s better than Joe when the lights come on? And what do we have to lose and what do we have to gain by playing him now?”

 

[WillieT]

We need cover corners, receivers whom can catch, O Line that doesn't get hurt, and possibly a more creative Offensive Coordinator. And who is S&C coach?

 

[utvolz98]

I’ve praised this coach since year 1 and think he has overachieved given the situation he walked into. And By no means am I calling for his head or anything but I’m starting to get a bad feeling in the gut. There’s no reason to keep trotting out Joe and there’s no reason Banks should still be employed. There’s no reason Wille should be employed. I’m afraid Josh is just a blindly loyal person and can’t make the hard decisions that’s needed to win in this business. This year coulda been another great year with a simple QB change maybe, maybe not. But you never tested those waters to find out. I’m afraid next year we will light it up with Nico just for a Tim Banks defense to blow a couple games for us.

I’ve said it for a while. It’s shades of Fulmer. Joe should have never been handed the reigns this year. Should have been apparent after what happened when Hooker got in only due to Joe’s injury. There is no way Nico could make the offense anymore hamstrung than what Joe has. And if Nico doesn’t pan out, Heup is probably out as well by the time Nico leaves.

 

[rickyyrs]

I’ve praised this coach since year 1 and think he has overachieved given the situation he walked into. And By no means am I calling for his head or anything but I’m starting to get a bad feeling in the gut. There’s no reason to keep trotting out Joe and there’s no reason Banks should still be employed. There’s no reason Wille should be employed. I’m afraid Josh is just a blindly loyal person and can’t make the hard decisions that’s needed to win in this business. This year coulda been another great year with a simple QB change maybe, maybe not. But you never tested those waters to find out. I’m afraid next year we will light it up with Nico just for a Tim Banks defense to blow a couple games for us.

It's the roster. Not enough prime time players yet. I have seen some of these small college teams with better WRs than we got. I do not understand why this is. Coach need to hit the transfer portal and find WRs, DBs, and D-linemen. LB help also.

 

[Pickle1]

and we'd never seen Hookers talent unless Milton got injured.

That alone should tell you all that you need to know about Heupel. I have never been impressed with him. Not at all.

 

[hog88]

It's the roster. Not enough prime time players yet. I have seen some of these small college teams with better WRs than we got. I do not understand why this is. Coach need to hit the transfer portal and find WRs, DBs, and D-linemen. LB help also.

The roster is almost 100% the Hypes players so he owns it. He did better with a majority of players recruited by Pruitt than he has with his own and that is concerning.

 

[Hank Bukowski]

We should be tearing up the portal for a QB and an upgrade at every position right now. Spyre needs to put up or shut up. We are not going to upgrade this program fast enough with new high school players every year. We simply can’t compete with the GA’s and AL’s of the world.

Next year’s season began earlier this year, maybe last week. A few weeks ago, I was saying “I trust Heup. If Heup thinks Nico isn’t ready, that’s good enough for me.” We are near the end of the season. Nico has earned his time on the field and he should be getting significant snaps now. I’m not going to not play a guy for fear of him getting hurt, unless it’s in garbage time and the game’s been decided.

Suppose Nico knows that he’s more capable than Joe and Nico decides to enter the portal himself? Joe is today and yesterday; Nico is tomorrow and the future. And the future seems to be right now.

Joe’s last game in Neyland is next week. Let’s play him a few series, honor him, hail him as a warrior, and then give the ball to Nico and tell him to go win the game.

OP has a legit point about Heupel’s apparent unwillingness to experiment, change, take risks, make changes, etc. The next few weeks are pivotal in his development and maturation not just as a HC but as a HC in the toughest football conference in America. This is the big leagues and we are in some challenging times; this is when championship coaches make the hard decisions and tough choices and meet the moment and the challenge. Heup has to fix things. It’s his job to fix things. It’s his job to upgrade our program all around. Starting yesterday.

I do hope that Heup is currently in private conversations with several coaches who would be upgrades over a few we have now.

These next few weeks will tell us a lot about Coach Heup. Let’s hope he steps up.

Oops. I just read that today Heupel hinted that one reason Nico might not be playing is that Heupel doesn’t want to burn his redshirt. Nico has played in three games.

FWIW.

 

[GVol1966]

That alone should tell you all that you need to know about Heupel. I have never been impressed with him. Not at all.

All that tells you is all you need to know about the poster.
None of y’all know when Hooker would of gotten in if Joe hadn’t of gotten hurt.

Nico wasn’t playing. Period. That was the plan and they were sticking to it.

 

[utvolz98]

If Hendon Hooker got dinged/disrespected for being a "system QB".... where is the system?

It left when Hooker’s brain left. One trick pony slow Joe doesn’t have half the IQ of Hendon.

 

[utvolz98]

Oops. I just read that today Heupel hinted that one reason Nico might not be playing is that Heupel doesn’t want to burn his redshirt. Nico has played in three games.

FWIW.

Nico doesn’t need a redshirt. The guy probably won’t be here 3 years.

 

[Hank Bukowski]

Nico doesn’t need a redshirt. The guy probably won’t be here 3 years.

I was kinda thinking the same thing if he’s as good as advertised.

 

[JPL]

I’ve praised this coach since year 1 and think he has overachieved given the situation he walked into. And By no means am I calling for his head or anything but I’m starting to get a bad feeling in the gut. There’s no reason to keep trotting out Joe and there’s no reason Banks should still be employed. There’s no reason Wille should be employed. I’m afraid Josh is just a blindly loyal person and can’t make the hard decisions that’s needed to win in this business. This year coulda been another great year with a simple QB change maybe, maybe not. But you never tested those waters to find out. I’m afraid next year we will light it up with Nico just for a Tim Banks defense to blow a couple games for us.

Joe’s best game, by far, was the orange bowl. He just doesn’t have the intangibles. Should have been replaced after the FL game, offense took a BIG step backwards this year.

 

[Butch s]

What do we have to gain by putting Nico in now? We are going to lose. If he's as good as advertised he won't need a lot of reps. Why risk a serious injury and then we're looking for a QB in the portal next year. Not to mention this is the best defense in the country.

Again with the “ injury risk”. If no one played football, then no one could get hurt playing football. The old he may get hurt seems to be the go to as to why not let him play. May get hurt first play, may never get hurt. Have we as a people became so soft that we base our decisions on the risk of getting “hurt”. God help us

 

[Butch s]

I’ve said it for a while. It’s shades of Fulmer. Joe should have never been handed the reigns this year. Should have been apparent after what happened when Hooker got in only due to Joe’s injury. There is no way Nico could make the offense anymore hamstrung than what Joe has. And if Nico doesn’t pan out, Heup is probably out as well by the time Nico leaves.

Another reason is, wouldn’t it be better to know if Nico is the man NOW, instead of putting all your hopes on him and finding out first game next year he’s not an elite qb like everybody thinks

 

[Chitlin&theDude]

Loss of Pili and loss of Hadden are now huge and key contributors to the defense struggling

Of course. But we're not the only team who has significant injuries. It's year three and there's a transfer portal. This year was a disappointment

 

[Majors]

Of course. But we're not the only team who has significant injuries. It's year three and there's a transfer portal. This year was a disappointment

Yes, but some teams can fill in with quality depth in positions and not miss a beat. Not us. Disappointment how? 8-4, potentially 9-4 with a bowl win.

 

[Cobra been there]

Honestly. When I see people like you write this, I want to come thru your computer screen or phone—and shake you.

How do you not prepare for the future? How is that lost on you? How is sticking with the same thing that is losing us games—over and over and over again—what you want to broadcast to the world?

I think we really need to look at everything. Last year our offense was praised because we spread out the field to use all of it. This year we spread the field and let the sideline be another defender. Our hurry up is a hurry and a pause as if we are lost and can’t call 3 plays at a time, and our play calling is pure vanilla. We had nothing to lose today and played with zero imagination. Damn I miss Alex G!!

 

[Volnbeers]

the year is 2054, AI has completely taken over Volnation. Every post is “need to stack top 5 recruiting classes to compete”. The vols finished 8th in the SEC again. It’s stuck in a perpetual loop. The gawdy ads still go ignored.

 

[marcusluvsvols]

There is no reason for Heupel’s seat to get even remotely warm until after Season 5 has concluded. Simply for the roster and recruiting’s sake.

P

Exactly.

The vast, overwhelming majority of Vol fans are VERY thankful to have him as a coach because we are rational and sane. What he and his handpicked staff have done since CJH arrived on campus is nothing short of amazing. The question to those with their crazy panic from me is always "Who would do better than he has these couple years at UT?" Have never once gotten an answer thats plausible. Its just crying at the moon from the naysayers.

The future at UT and Neyland is so bright folks need their eyes checked if they can't see it. The 23 and 24 classes are loaded and we are off to a good start with recruits in the 25 cycle as well. We are in great shape to make runs at the 12 team playoff on a yearly basis in this new NIL atmosphere. Can't beat that. It's great to be a Tennessee VOL.

 

[marcusluvsvols]

I don’t think (for me at least it’s not) it’s about the record but how we look obtaining that record. Being shut out in the 2nd half in 3 of the last 4 SEC games is atrocious. Being run off the field 2 games in a row is atrocious. Not being able to comfortably put away a bad FCS APSU is atrocious.

I feel you here bud. I hate every single overthrown wide open WR, dropped pass, scrambling QB on 3rd down and 14 running for a 1st down.....all that stuff still actually makes my stomach feel sick bud and I am a 46yo lifelong VOL with grown kids. Thats ball though....and we simply aren't THERE yet guys. We aren't realistically supposed to or expected to be yet, though either. We simply do not have even 4 consecutive whole recruiting classes....much less having 4 of them on campus that are gonna always be able to compete for 60 minutes against UGA and Bama teams which have a 4 year recruiting class average ranking of between 1 and 3 for Petes sake. Seriously. Check out this screenshot from Larry's post below for what these 2 programs have on campus now. It is insane. We dont even have a 4 year class talent level to compete with the stinking Gators. Their average class ranking is higher, AND they didn't have 35 kids including most of their highest rated skill players and linemen jump ship and leave during a coaching change in the last 4 years. They didnt have a full on "Cornbread Exodus" like we had nor the NCAA scandal and penalties.

Quite a few folks remarked last season that with Hooker putting up the best season by a UT passer in history and having Hyatt/Tillman as the best 2 WR combo in all college football SO very early in CJH tenure that we got a little spoiled by the meteoric rise of our beloved Vols team, and there would be some unrealistic expectations to probably result from us being so very dominant at times last season so fast .. I really do get where a lot of the negative comments come from right now man. I just see them as a temporary growing pain on the road to dominance again. Not as evidence that a so far great head coach is gonna fail or that we suck. Like many folks I believe we are about to win like the 90s again and make the playoffs as many seasons as we don't....with a chance then to bring Championships back to The Hill. Go VOLS.