'25 Duke RB Transfer Star Thomas (TENNESSEE)

#102
#102
Carp said:
Duke run blocking grades were also among the lowest in the ACC. I'm not saying this kid is explosive or anything, but OL performance is pretty important. He led all Duke RBs in ypc by the way, despite having by far the most carries.
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Interesting note on the OL
 
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#104
#104
walkenvol said:
Why not play one of the freshmen RB’s instead of paying a portal guy of this caliber?
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The Freshman that haven't gone through a spring practice, much less played a game. I'm curious, how do you know they are on the same level? One played on a Duke team with a horrid Oline and the other 2 were in HS a few weeks ago. Not sure how you make that comparison. Hint..There isn't one!
 
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#105
#105
Solid RB that's probably similar to Lewis's level currently (just hear me out for a second). That being Thomas is close to his ceiling while Lewis still has a ton of room to grow. So bring him in and he's going to get solid snaps. Probably get a whole series or two a game and push Bishop and Lewis is practice every day. Also bring the eldership and experience to the room.

We don't NEED a stud rb to come in. We do need another body we can lean on. I think this is a good fit on paper. I see a lot of potential in this offense based on his video. I think we will have more holes than Duke has and I think Sims can coach him up, improve the vision and work on giving him an extra move in the second level to gain a few more yards to those runs.
 
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#107
#107
T2P_Priceless said:
This is the perfect player if they really love the 2 deep. A veteran that can give some minutes and also push/lead the Freshmen and potentially get leaped by them and provide depth
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This^

Basically Jabari Small in 2023. Turned into Wright/Sampson with Small as the veteran guy that pushed them and spelled them. Gave us burst and hard runs late in games.

Lewis/Bishop next year with this guy as that third back (if he doesn't earn the 1 or 2 in practice) to push everyone and give us an option late in a game and/or if someone gets injured.
 
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#109
#109
The pros and cons of Vols adding this player aside, why does a starting tailback from a major conference program with only 1 year of eligibility want a backup/depth position? Yes it is Duke and the ACC but what could he gain other than a few NIL$? Getting 10-15% of the snaps will not improve his draft status or save his body for his pro career if he doesn’t get noticed. Why would he not be looking for role as a likely starter or #2 back? A diploma from Duke is worth as much as UT. Girlfriend, course study, family in the area,? I just wonder why.
 
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#110
#110
Buzzbait said:
The pros and cons of Vols adding this player aside, why does a starting tailback from a major conference program with only 1 year of eligibility want a backup/depth position? Yes it is Duke and the ACC but what could he gain other than a few NIL$? Getting 10-15% of the snaps will not improve his draft status or save his body for his pro career if he doesn’t get noticed. Why would he not be looking for role as a likely starter or #2 back? A diploma from Duke is worth as much as UT. Girlfriend, course study, family in the area,? I just wonder why.
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Maybe contributor at UT gives more NIL and exposure than starter at Duke? And maybe he has confidence that he's good enough to push for starting snaps, so will bet on himself? Don't know.
 
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#111
#111
Buzzbait said:
The pros and cons of Vols adding this player aside, why does a starting tailback from a major conference program with only 1 year of eligibility want a backup/depth position? Yes it is Duke and the ACC but what could he gain other than a few NIL$? Getting 10-15% of the snaps will not improve his draft status or save his body for his pro career if he doesn’t get noticed. Why would he not be looking for role as a likely starter or #2 back? A diploma from Duke is worth as much as UT. Girlfriend, course study, family in the area,? I just wonder why.
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I'll answer assuming you're actually asking.

If he's a grad transfer he already has his degree. One year NIL from Vols football will pay out more than whatever BS Duke is offering. At Duke he wasn't getting drafted, a good year with the Vols and he could at least get noticed to be picked up as an undrafted rookie free agent (like Jabari Small, Ramel Keyton, Dee Williams, Jaylen McCollough, Aaron Beasley, etc.) something that rarely happens for ex-Duke players.
 
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#112
#112
Buzzbait said:
The pros and cons of Vols adding this player aside, why does a starting tailback from a major conference program with only 1 year of eligibility want a backup/depth position?
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@Stoerner Fumbles already answered this. We aren’t recruiting him for a back up position. We’re recruiting him for a chance to compete and play.

And from the players perspective - he sees a depth chart full of unprovens. Our most seasoned guy is a r-so who misses a fair amount of time.
 
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#113
#113
Buzzbait said:
The pros and cons of Vols adding this player aside, why does a starting tailback from a major conference program with only 1 year of eligibility want a backup/depth position? Yes it is Duke and the ACC but what could he gain other than a few NIL$? Getting 10-15% of the snaps will not improve his draft status or save his body for his pro career if he doesn’t get noticed. Why would he not be looking for role as a likely starter or #2 back? A diploma from Duke is worth as much as UT. Girlfriend, course study, family in the area,? I just wonder why.
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Yes. I've heard that a diploma from Duke is worth as much as one from UT as well. 🙄
 
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#114
#114
What I think will be interesting...

Missouri's 17 incoming transfers in the portal... wonder how many are getting IOUs right now? None of them have actually enrolled yet either.
 
#118
#118
Buzzbait said:
The pros and cons of Vols adding this player aside, why does a starting tailback from a major conference program with only 1 year of eligibility want a backup/depth position? Yes it is Duke and the ACC but what could he gain other than a few NIL$? Getting 10-15% of the snaps will not improve his draft status or save his body for his pro career if he doesn’t get noticed. Why would he not be looking for role as a likely starter or #2 back? A diploma from Duke is worth as much as UT. Girlfriend, course study, family in the area,? I just wonder why.
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Truthfully, NOBODY( especially people on here) know if he will get backup snaps or comes in and wins #1 RB. He easily could get 1a and 1b snaps here, kinda like how Henderson and Judkins do. Hell, a RB's shelf life is so small, who wouldn't wanna extend the life of their knees by getting somewhat equal snaps. Truth is, nobody on here knows and nobody can even pretend to.

If CJH does add him, he's definitely got a reason. Not to mention, who knows if Lewis or Bishop can stay healthy for an entire year. We could be 4 games in and be down a RB or 2. There's no guarantee that Lewis is the #1 RB, it's just a bunch of armchair VN Coach's that actually think they have a clue what the Real Coach's are thinking. Just a thought.
 
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#121
#121
Buzzbait said:
The pros and cons of Vols adding this player aside, why does a starting tailback from a major conference program with only 1 year of eligibility want a backup/depth position? Yes it is Duke and the ACC but what could he gain other than a few NIL$? Getting 10-15% of the snaps will not improve his draft status or save his body for his pro career if he doesn’t get noticed. Why would he not be looking for role as a likely starter or #2 back? A diploma from Duke is worth as much as UT. Girlfriend, course study, family in the area,? I just wonder why.
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Even as a rotational back here, he will probably get more attention from pro scouts than he would as a clear #1 RB at Duke. It's just the UT brand!! Look at Kamara!! I know they are worlds of difference but Kamara wasn't our #1RB even though he was a 5 star transfer from Bama before he went to Hutchinson CC. He hasn't done too bad. And again, I'm not comparing him to Kamara. I'm just saying the situation could be similar.
 
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#123
#123
MoCo_Vol said:
I'll answer assuming you're actually asking.

If he's a grad transfer he already has his degree. One year NIL from Vols football will pay out more than whatever BS Duke is offering. At Duke he wasn't getting drafted, a good year with the Vols and he could at least get noticed to be picked up as an undrafted rookie free agent (like Jabari Small, Ramel Keyton, Dee Williams, Jaylen McCollough, Aaron Beasley, etc.) something that rarely happens for ex-Duke players.
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Also, maybe he actually wants to compete for a Natty
 
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#125
#125
"There is no position group on Duke Football's 2024 roster with more question marks surrounding it than Jeff Norrid's Offensive Line group. With just three players returning with playing time in a Duke uniform, the Blue Devils' coaching staff went heavy in the transfer portal to bolster the depth along the front line, bringing in eight guys from other programs to provide depth and starting experience. While the additions to the depth chart were integral to the team's feelings of stability heading in to the 2024 season, very few of those guys enrolled earlier than this summer, giving them little time to develop cohesion and settle in to a rhythm in front of their quarterback and running backs."
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FWIW I did some digging on Duke's OL this year and here's a quote from before the season. The article didn't mention it but they lost every single starter from the previous year including two guys to the draft in Graham Barton (1st round OT) and Jacob Monk (5th round IOL).

I'm not saying Thomas is magically going to become All-SEC in our offense but if there is one position our staff has evaluated and developed well it's running back. He is a bigger, veteran back which should really help a young, inexperienced room next season.

Would this be a flashy portal pick-up? Not at all.

Could he become a valuable contributor to another playoff run just like Kitselman, Moi, etc.? Absolutely.
 
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