Elijah Herring to the portal

[RDU VOL#14]

Lost his starting job to Pili. Guess he didn't want to be a backup this season after starting last season. With the portal you can find somewhere else to be a starter. Just part of the CFB world now. Does not appear Hyp made an attempt to keep him.

This is the part of the story that the “ these kids aren’t willing to work hard and are just quitters” don’t understand. There are 2 sides to this coin, and in the current state of college football, this past weekend was basically cut day, and today is the first day of free agency for the Spring.

 

[Dansky]

S

Stop calling collect as Superman has no change..

You gotta realize many of these and similar posts are from kids that should be studying their high school algebra. Or they’re living in mom’s basement.

 

[overseasorange2]

Maybe the term "Commitment" should be eliminated in reference to college recruitment. Maybe use something like " leaning toward", "has a hankering to play for ?", "has an inkling", etc., etc.

 

[sonofUT62]

Really wonder if he was playing with an injury or something bc dang that game looked awful as far as him being exposed. That said we were down several players at LBer. Possible he was playing less than 100%

Could be. And boy would I feel like a Richard for poking fun at him.

 

[OrangeTsar]

Just another quitter. Things don’t go exactly the way you want so take your ball and go home. Those that quit every time something gets tough will wish him well and make excuses for him. It’s the new way.

It is easy for me to say I would always stay at UT for my four years considering I have no football ability so it is totally a hypothetical question. I can’t put myself in the shoes of these young men. It is easy to say you would pass up the $$$ or playing time elsewhere if it is a choice you will never actually face.
As Long as a player leaves and doesn’t pull a Henry T and go to one of our hated rivals, they will go with my blessings and best wishes. Live your dream young man!

 

[WillisWG]

Easier to transfer than work and practice harder

hard to practice when you're injured and it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that hard work alone doesn't help you overcome some limitations i.e speed which this LB room has plenty of. players want to play, him hitting the portal gives him that opportunity.

 

[Other_Guy]

Just another quitter. Things don’t go exactly the way you want so take your ball and go home. Those that quit every time something gets tough will wish him well and make excuses for him. It’s the new way.

So you didn't want Lance Heard?

 

[VFLEST94]

No more clapping penalties

 

[DaddyChad]

Could be. And boy would I feel like a Richard for poking fun at him.

Most players have pretty thick skin. I doubt he gives a crap what the fans think one way or the other. This is about what the coaches think and I suspect he was getting jumped over by some guys on the roster.

 

[BleedOrange81]

Coach wants you to come out to the practice field and assist with the tackling dummy. Job requires no intelligence...just a willingness to take one for the team. Song in my head..." Don't call us we'll call you" Sugarloaf

man what is it with people getting butt hurt about someone making a comment that they might not like. Go back and watch the games. Yeah he might have made 80 + plus tackles. He got his ass smoked every game over the middle. It’s just facts bud sorry you don’t agree..oh and that’s why he is in the portal..

 

[MissionRidgeVol]

Will be interesting to see how Inge vets the group out from here. Thought: I don’t know if Pili will be starting/getting majority of snaps.

 

[Sarms58]

Yeah hopefully wherever he ends up he bulks up a bit and puts hit hand in the dirt. It suits his skillset much better and is probably his best shot at playing professionally.

that was my take when watching last year…he’d be fast on the D line

 

[Sarms58]

Lost his starting job to Pili. Guess he didn't want to be a backup this season after starting last season. With the portal you can find somewhere else to be a starter. Just part of the CFB world now. Does not appear Hyp made an attempt to keep him.

Pili was the clear starter before his injury last year. But with several more young guys on roster now it’s not clear who would have been #2…

plus, now that Herring has been the starter for pretty much a full season he might not want to move back to being a backup…pretty much every player on our roster not only wants to play - they want to start. None of these guys would have made it onto a Div 1 roster without the drive to play.

 

[Memphisvol87]

Kid was great, hope he finds a good spot. Athletes in the SEC exposed his weakness. He’s just not quick enough to play that spot at a starter level. He gave us a great effort and I hope he proves me wrong. He will Get paid to play at another school and we will upgrade speed on defense. Hopefully a win win

 

[WoodsmanVol]

Maybe the term "Commitment" should be eliminated in reference to college recruitment. Maybe use something like " leaning toward", "has a hankering to play for ?", "has an inkling", etc., etc.

I hear you. And reply thereunto. If you want to be exotic, call recruits and transfers Ronin Recruits.
Ronin:

• A samurai who is not in the service of a feudal lord.
• In Japan, under the feudal system, a samurai who had renounced his clan or who had been discharged or ostracized and had become a wanderer without a lord; an outcast; an outlaw.

Perhaps Migratory Mercenaries.
Or Wondering Wanderers.

 

[livefaith]

Maybe the term "Commitment" should be eliminated in reference to college recruitment. Maybe use something like " leaning toward", "has a hankering to play for ?", "has an inkling", etc., etc.

How about " Conditional Permanence".

 

[Vol737]

This is the part of the story that the “ these kids aren’t willing to work hard and are just quitters” don’t understand. There are 2 sides to this coin, and in the current state of college football, this past weekend was basically cut day, and today is the first day of free agency for the Spring.

Very true. This portal door swings both ways. Kids have a chance to go where they see more playing time and coaches have an opportunity to upgrade at positions. Just the nature of it now. Don't believe at all it had anything to do with Herring's work ethic, IMO. Hate to see him go. I think he would still have been good for depth at the position.

 

[#1HomeGrownUTVOL]

Just another quitter. Things don’t go exactly the way you want so take your ball and go home. Those that quit every time something gets tough will wish him well and make excuses for him. It’s the new way.

You have no idea! In all honesty, he probably seen he was going to be like fourth on the depth chart. This is the reason the portal is supposed to exist, not to search for more money.

 

[Vol737]

Just another quitter. Things don’t go exactly the way you want so take your ball and go home. Those that quit every time something gets tough will wish him well and make excuses for him. It’s the new way.

You do realize when a coach is recruiting over another kid, said coach often has a talk with the kid getting recruited over and tells him it would probably be in his best interest to look around, right? Could be just that simple and Heup has to make numbers work. I think very few of these guys are "quitters". Today's landscape is as much business as it is sport and best opportunity oriented. Kids and coaches have to play the hand that's dealt them wrt the portal.

 

[K87vol]

Ya it's gonna happen, correct me if I'm wrong but this is the guy that struggles to cover the back in the flat, tough on run but does
not have speed we need to get him outside in coverage.

 

[Vol737]

Ya it's gonna happen, correct me if I'm wrong but this is the guy that struggles to cover the back in the flat, tough on run but does
not have speed we need to get him outside in coverage.

You're correct. Had a tough time covering that last year.

 

[UTK]

This dude was terrible last year so I’m not exactly sad. With that said, hope he figures it out and best of luck to him.

 

[RDU VOL#14]

Ya it's gonna happen, correct me if I'm wrong but this is the guy that struggles to cover the back in the flat, tough on run but does
not have speed we need to get him outside in coverage.

He’s given more than i ever have for Tennessee, but he did have his challenges covering the flat. Mizzou stands out the most to me.

 

[LouderVol]

I always wonder about people complaining about young men being quitters when they hit the portal. or look down on them for wanting better NIL deals.

How many of them have been divorced or even married their first high school sweetheart? heck how many have cheated on a spouse or significant other? The odds are 50% on divorce alone. There are plenty of people who give on "commitments" everyday, even if said commitment is legally binding.

How many have ever taken a new job? Higher pay, promotion, better boss, better environment. Even if nothing was actually "wrong", just maybe wasn't clicking and needed a fresh start. The football players are just doing what anyone in a capitalistic society would do if a better, any type of better, opportunity came up.

Its a game. maybe he figured out he didn't have a long term/professional career in, and is going to step down to a smaller school to stay on scholarship but not the hardships of the SEC so he can focus more on his degree.

Maybe he was cut/fired. It may not have been 100% his choice. We are supposed to be down at least 2 scholarships.

could be he didn't jive with his new position coach.

any number of "legit" reasons for him to hit the portal.

 

[vegasvolfan]

This makes zero sense from any angle

I’m thinking $$$ and PT. Apparently Pili was laid back in front of him.