closing the talent gap

#77
#77
It all comes down to what you mean by talented.

Is it just production? Like more stats = more better?
or is it rankings? like more stars = more better?
is it just money? More spending = more better?
or is it on the field wins? more winning = more better?

OSU is being held up as the most talented this year. but its largely the same team as last year with only a couple transfers sprinkled in. are the players this year considered "better players" just because they are making a run into the playoffs? After their Michigan loss those players were written off as overrated, and OSU was being laughed at.

and for every OSU you have multiple teams that run counter to that of more spending = more better. its still just a crap shoot, even if you spend more money. you don't know if what you get is actually going to make your team better.

EVERYBODY had Heard, Staes, Brazzel as our top transfers going into this year. While McCoy and Kitsleman were largely after thoughts. the more money argument would say we need more Heard, Staes, and Brazzel rather than more McCoy's and Kitslemans.
 
#78
#78
hUTch2002 said:
To be fair, Joe Burrow wasn’t remotely the same player prior to that one year at LSU and there weren’t signs of him having a year like that either, it just all came together that year.
Click to expand...

That is my thought, we are banking on that year where everything goes our way.
 
  • Like
Reactions: hUTch2002
#79
#79
Volheaven50 said:
Gonna be extremely hard to "close the gap" as ESPN noted that the shifting of CF power seems to be swinging North and that's due to the "rich" schools with money to burn being north of the Mason-Dixon line. We're starting to see it now with Michigan winning the NC last year and this year's NC winner coming from OSU-ND with 3 of the final 4 this year being Northern teams (PSU also in there)
Click to expand...
Possibly but the more I am digesting, the more this seems to be an overreaction. Alabama and Milroe were not a good fit and Saban band-aided them in 2023 to the playoff. Georgia was the best SEC team that year and they choked. Georgia this year had the Carson Beck girlfriend drama that messed them up. SEC had bad QB play across the board and some bad offensive line play. That is fixable.

Also not sure Northern teams can consistently spend as tOSU did year after year and some classes will bust. FSU spent and we saw their results.
 
#81
#81
Voltopia said:
Tennessee will close the talent gap whenever it keeps up with the spending of Ohio State, Texas, Michigan, Oregon etc.

That's it. That's what it will take. Money. Lots more money.

Not just for one year, either. You'll need time to bring in pieces, acclimate them, build team chemistry, etc. So we're talking multiple years.

But that's not the worst part. The worst part is, those schools that have already pushed the limit, will just keep pushing it higher, too.
Click to expand...
Do you think it will hurt us that we are trying to be good in Basketball & baseball as well ?
 
#83
#83
bornbleddinorange said:
Do you think it will hurt us that we are trying to be good in Basketball & baseball as well ?
Click to expand...

It will hurt Tennessee anywhere they recruit against a school with deeper pockets, in any sport.

There are some exceptions in that, of course. In basketball, Rick Barnes and his reputation give UT some leeway. A player might be willing to take a bit less if they highly respect a coaching staff or a specific coach they want to work with. I'm sure Dalton Knecht's success had some influence on Chaz Lanier's decision, for example.

But that won't always be the case. In some cases it'll just be money, and as I've said for years, people who think they can outspend places like Ohio State and Texas probably don't have a strong grasp of what they'd be up against. Those big northern schools have larger networks, with more wealthy alumni, and more trees to shake. One cannot help but ask, eventually, what the point even is. You'll likely never outspend them. Only keep up. The only way you could possibly beat them is to be willing to grub further and harder for money.. Sell out faster. Squeeze the fans harder. Wring the last dollars from every pocket. Bleed the thing dry.

You just wonder what the point even is, then. In a toxic cesspool of gambling, transient "loyalty," corporate advertising, growing professionalis mixed freewheeling anarchy, what is winning even worth? You just have to wonder.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Big Al Orange
#84
#84
With this new talent fee they are putting on season tickets they better close the gap sooner rather than later. The fans have more than done our part and like it or not, even though we made the 12 team playoff we are still not in the top 8 in overall talent roster wise. The Georgia game is a perfect example, we did not have the talent top to bottom to win that game and it was painfully apparent. Talent wins titles not coaching, whoever has the bigger, faster players almost always wins.
 
#85
#85
We are making huge pushes. Bama and UGA used to be 94 averages and we were ~87-89.

2024 class it was 93 (both UGA and Bama) vs 91 for UT.

This class it was 92 (UGA) 93 (Bama) vs 91 for UT. We're coming...
 
  • Like
Reactions: MemphisVol77
#86
#86
bornbleddinorange said:
Do you think it will hurt us that we are trying to be good in Basketball & baseball as well ?
Click to expand...
The money isn't really comparable.

And let's not act like the SEC doesn't care a lot about basketball rn too. And baseball. The league appears to be going crazy in every sport rn.

Everyone is trying to be an "everything school"...wannabes 😏
 
#87
#87
LouderVol said:
It all comes down to what you mean by talented.

Is it just production? Like more stats = more better?
or is it rankings? like more stars = more better?
is it just money? More spending = more better?
or is it on the field wins? more winning = more better?

OSU is being held up as the most talented this year. but its largely the same team as last year with only a couple transfers sprinkled in. are the players this year considered "better players" just because they are making a run into the playoffs? After their Michigan loss those players were written off as overrated, and OSU was being laughed at.

and for every OSU you have multiple teams that run counter to that of more spending = more better. its still just a crap shoot, even if you spend more money. you don't know if what you get is actually going to make your team better.

EVERYBODY had Heard, Staes, Brazzel as our top transfers going into this year. While McCoy and Kitsleman were largely after thoughts. the more money argument would say we need more Heard, Staes, and Brazzel rather than more McCoy's and Kitslemans.
Click to expand...
Talent equals ability. It takes good coaching to develop good talent. Hopefully, we have and will get a lot of both.
 
#89
#89
dirtyearlee5 said:
Take a deeper look at Bitches classes and compare. Butch had highly ranked classes because he had extra large classes. The actual talent was subpar compared to today. Truth.
Click to expand...

Maybe you can say that about 2014. But 2015 was a legitimately great class on paper. Kahlil McKenzie (6th overall player), Kyle Phillips (composite 5-star), Preston Williams (composite top 50 player), Shy Tuttle (composite top 60 player), Drew Richmond (composite top 60 player). That's 5 players who were rated in the top 60 players overall according to 247Sports composite rankings. Then we also landed Alvin Kamara who was a 5-star composite JUCO transfer. That class also had quality depth with 4-stars and 3-stars that balled out for us and superceded their class rankings.

On paper that class is better than any class we've had since. You don't get ranked 4th overall in the composite rankings by 247Sports by just having a large class. You also need a lot of high level talent. Butch Jones recruited his butt off that year. If more of our top end talent had stayed healthy and lived up to the hype we might have had more success.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RockyTopTexas and Tnphil
#90
#90
Dobbs 4 Heisman said:
Maybe you can say that about 2014. But 2015 was a legitimately great class on paper. Kahlil McKenzie (6th overall player), Kyle Phillips (composite 5-star), Preston Williams (composite top 50 player), Shy Tuttle (composite top 60 player), Drew Richmond (composite top 60 player). That's 5 players who were rated in the top 60 players overall according to 247Sports composite rankings. Then we also landed Alvin Kamara who was a 5-star composite JUCO transfer. That class also had quality depth with 4-stars and 3-stars that balled out for us and superceded their class rankings.

On paper that class is better than any class we've had since. You don't get ranked 4th overall in the composite rankings by 247Sports by just having a large class. You also need a lot of high level talent. Butch Jones recruited his butt off that year. If more of our top end talent had stayed healthy and lived up to the hype we might have had more success.
Click to expand...
Agree with that. Butch had no clue how to handle kids with egos and it got him. He was made for Central Michigan.... Cincinnati....Ark St.
 
#92
#92
Dobbs 4 Heisman said:
Maybe you can say that about 2014. But 2015 was a legitimately great class on paper. Kahlil McKenzie (6th overall player), Kyle Phillips (composite 5-star), Preston Williams (composite top 50 player), Shy Tuttle (composite top 60 player), Drew Richmond (composite top 60 player). That's 5 players who were rated in the top 60 players overall according to 247Sports composite rankings. Then we also landed Alvin Kamara who was a 5-star composite JUCO transfer. That class also had quality depth with 4-stars and 3-stars that balled out for us and superceded their class rankings.

On paper that class is better than any class we've had since. You don't get ranked 4th overall in the composite rankings by 247Sports by just having a large class. You also need a lot of high level talent. Butch Jones recruited his butt off that year. If more of our top end talent had stayed healthy and lived up to the hype we might have had more success.
Click to expand...
Let’s look at 2015s class on paper. Also let’s take a look at the most important thing when it comes to evaluating a recruiting class, the per average recruit. This is according to 247.

2015- 89.48

Now let’s look at Heupels classes. And mind you Heupel walked into the worst situation in TN football history.

2024- 91.16

Heupels 2023 and 2024 classes were better. Butch could sign 30 commits. Also you don’t understand recruiting. Look at the 2015 per recruit average and compare it to the top 10. Butch barely made the cut. So yes Butch absolutely made in that high because of signing a big class.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dirtyearlee5 and bornbleddinorange
#94
#94
BigOrangeTrain said:
Let’s look at 2015s class on paper. Also let’s take a look at the most important thing when it comes to evaluating a recruiting class, the per average recruit. This is according to 247.

2015- 89.48

Now let’s look at Heupels classes. And mind you Heupel walked into the worst situation in TN football history.

2024- 91.16

Heupels 2023 and 2024 classes were better. Butch could sign 30 commits. Also you don’t understand recruiting. Look at the 2015 per recruit average and compare it to the top 10. Butch barely made the cut. So yes Butch absolutely made in that high because of signing a big class.
Click to expand...

Disagree about average being that important. It's like bragging about shooting a higher FG% in the basketball game when the other team won because they got more shot attempts because they had less turnovers and more offensive rebounds. The point of the game is to score more points than your opponent no matter how you get it done.

Similarly in recruiting it's about getting as many talented players as you can. If we only sign 1 player in a class and he's the #1 overall prospect does that give us the best class ever? Of course not despite our rating per recruit being the highest ever. Quantity also matters. And while the 2015 had more player overall that were lower ranked than the last 2 classes for Huepel, they also had more top 60 players.

No matter how you slice it Butch still signed 5 composite top 60 players in 2015. As well as composite 5-star transfer Alvin Kamara. That's 6 super highly rated players. We haven't had that many elite recruits in a class since then.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RockyTopTexas
#95
#95
tncolt55 said:
With this new talent fee they are putting on season tickets they better close the gap sooner rather than later. The fans have more than done our part and like it or not, even though we made the 12 team playoff we are still not in the top 8 in overall talent roster wise. The Georgia game is a perfect example, we did not have the talent top to bottom to win that game and it was painfully apparent. Talent wins titles not coaching, whoever has the bigger, faster players almost always wins.
Click to expand...
we beat 3 teams that had more talent than us.
we lost to 2 teams that had more talent than us.
we lost to 1 team that had less talent than us.

of the 11 teams that made it to the playoffs excluding us, only 7 were more talented than us.
 
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top