Is there an issue with WR Development/Evaluation

#53
#53
VOLINVONORE said:
I know there is a reason why production of the passing game has been disappointing, and I am not sure any of us fans know the reason. Speculation is always what we express in our posts and all most all of do it about every post which is posted. Some ideas seem to be off the wall, but we still do it.
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There are multiple ways to speculate, or simply factually characterize any performance issues, but without benefit of Coach player interaction at a minimum, or without class establishing words or deeds by the player, you must post carefully.

The lack of factual basis in posts fact puts class of posters squarely in play.
 
#54
#54
vol94 said:
Nico is not going anywhere unless he has an unbeatable yr next season. So we have Squirrel, Brazzell, and Matthews as top three with Davis @ tight end. We probably bring in two more from the portal .
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Interesting take on Nico. You think Merk is going to sit for 3 years to play 2? Assuming Nico stays another 2, that would mean Merk used his redshirt this year, sits behind Nico next year (given) and then sits behind Nico AGAIN?

That would mean McIntyre, behind Merk, would also sit for 3 years to play 2.

While there are exceptions, most notably Arch who likely could start in most top tier programs now, not many elite QBs sit for long anymore.
 
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#57
#57
Hank Bukowski said:
Good post. We’re all thinking about this. we see all of these highly talented kids come in with all the fanfare and excitement and then we see them leave through the portal. Why are they leaving? Is it their choice or have they been asked to leave? I find it hard to believe that these kids are leaving for money through a better NIL deal. But maybe that’s what’s happening.

I personally have seen several of these kids display an inability to separate and get open when they’ve had their opportunities in games against decent competition.

Not sure what’s going on or what the problem is, but the current situation certainly does not inspire confidence in our passing game moving forward.
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That's funny because I've seen guys open all year
 
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#58
#58
VawlIn said:
I know Webb and Nimrod were likely going to be rotational players at best next year. I also realize Hyatt went from being a backup to a Biletnikoff winner in a year, but his potential and ability was there from his freshman season he just had an issue with drops. With our lack of consistent WR production this year it’s hard to not question whether or not there’s an issue a with either the development or evaluation in the WR room. So far Squirrel has been the only receiver we’ve brought in from HS that has even been a decent contributor and there hasn’t really been significant improvement over the 3 years he’s been here and he still seems to struggle to stay on his feet when he catches the ball. One would think that just by sheer numbers that we could’ve landed more than 1 SEC caliber receiver by now. When we missed on Carnell Tate and then landed Nathan Leacock our fanbase talked about how great we were at evaluating talent since some services ended up having Leacock higher than Tate by the end of the cycle. However with all the injuries we’ve had and the lack of production we had at the position even he wasn’t able to get himself on the field for meaningful reps. They’ve done a decent job in the transfer portal, Bru was an excellent pickup and even though Hyatt was a Biletnikoff winner I think Bru was our go to guy in 22 when we needed to move the sticks. However Donte and Brazzell haven’t really done much against our top SEC opponents. I’ll hang up and listen
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No
 
#59
#59
SayUWantAreVOLution said:
Interesting take on Nico. You think Merk is going to sit for 3 years to play 2? Assuming Nico stays another 2, that would mean Merk used his redshirt this year, sits behind Nico next year (given) and then sits behind Nico AGAIN?

That would mean McIntyre, behind Merk, would also sit for 3 years to play 2.

While there are exceptions, most notably Arch who likely could start in most top tier programs now, not many elite QBs sit for long anymore.
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One, maybe two, will hit the portal. Plus the kid in 2026 class is supposedly a stud. His name escapes me but he is committed to TN
 
#60
#60
Vol865 said:
He was a Sophomore. I consider that young. Especially when he's leaving right when he'd be in the rotation more. But I get that Mike Matthews jumped him on the depth chart and he didn't want to risk it. Leacock leaving made no sense to me though.
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Leacock saw the writing on the wall. Matthews was taking more snaps of late and all the portal WR's knew he was eating off their plates. Hard to keep him off the field, combined with Smith coming in next season, those snaps are only going to become harder to get. We've got a good WR room that is only getting better.
 
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#61
#61
vol94 said:
One, maybe two, will hit the portal. Plus the kid in 2026 class is supposedly a stud. His name escapes me but he is committed to TN
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That's McIntyre, I'd bet. If you think he's going to sit for very long, he's probably not a stud. The same goes with Merk. If Merk leaves because Nico stays, we're stuck playing a freshman AGAIN or trying to pull an SEC quality upper classman QB from the portal when Nico does leave.

It's rare a guy that's truly a baller, like Jalen Hurts, sits even where they won a Natty and likely might win another as a backup.
 
#62
#62
People are reading into things way too much. Functionally 1 rotational WR hit the portal. for the other 3 if a true freshman is coming in getting snaps ahead of you the writing is on the wall when you're a RSfresh/soph. There are no issues with WR development here.. Every year Heup has been at UT we have had WR's drafted that he developed.

We play a short rotation at WR it just is what it is. Outside of injuries our WR rotation is like 4.5 guys the past 2 years injuries have forced more guys on the field. Outside of injuries and blowouts there is not a lot of chance we see past those first 4 or 5 guys. These guys want to play. Also in the past 2 seasons there have been a lot less balls to catch overall.
 
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#64
#64
Another point people need to remember is before the portal, transfers were mostly quite and under the radar so it didn’t seem as impactful or noticeable, now it’s exaggerated.
 
#65
#65
SayUWantAreVOLution said:
That's McIntyre, I'd bet. If you think he's going to sit for very long, he's probably not a stud. The same goes with Merk. If Merk leaves because Nico stays, we're stuck playing a freshman AGAIN or trying to pull an SEC quality upper classman QB from the portal when Nico does leave.

It's rare a guy that's truly a baller, like Jalen Hurts, sits even where they won a Natty and likely might win another as a backup.
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I don’t think Nico leaves after 2025 season. Second, one our QBs will hit the portal. The 2026 qb commit I am referring to is Faizon Brandon. He may sit in 2026 but should start in 2027. A lot can happen as Belichick is supposedly going after this kid. Time will tell.
 
#66
#66
SayUWantAreVOLution said:
That's McIntyre, I'd bet. If you think he's going to sit for very long, he's probably not a stud. The same goes with Merk. If Merk leaves because Nico stays, we're stuck playing a freshman AGAIN or trying to pull an SEC quality upper classman QB from the portal when Nico does leave.

It's rare a guy that's truly a baller, like Jalen Hurts, sits even where they won a Natty and likely might win another as a backup.
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Never said he was sitting
 
#67
#67
The issue is we don’t rotate. If you’re not one of the top 3 or 4 you aren’t playing meaningful snaps without injuries. For a WR room where you typically have 9+ scholarship players that becomes an issue.
 
#68
#68
joevols89 said:
The issue is we don’t rotate. If you’re not one of the top 3 or 4 you aren’t playing meaningful snaps without injuries. For a WR room where you typically have 9+ scholarship players that becomes an issue.
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Can't rotate or other team walked in a replacement lineman and burns 20 seconds off play clock.
 
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#69
#69
MiramarVol said:
Leacock saw the writing on the wall. Matthews was taking more snaps of late and all the portal WR's knew he was eating off their plates. Hard to keep him off the field, combined with Smith coming in next season, those snaps are only going to become harder to get. We've got a good WR room that is only getting better.
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Yeah but we play with 3-5 WRs. He would've definitely got more PT in 1-2 years. Is what it is though.
 
#71
#71
VawlIn said:
I know Webb and Nimrod were likely going to be rotational players at best next year. I also realize Hyatt went from being a backup to a Biletnikoff winner in a year, but his potential and ability was there from his freshman season he just had an issue with drops. With our lack of consistent WR production this year it’s hard to not question whether or not there’s an issue a with either the development or evaluation in the WR room. So far Squirrel has been the only receiver we’ve brought in from HS that has even been a decent contributor and there hasn’t really been significant improvement over the 3 years he’s been here and he still seems to struggle to stay on his feet when he catches the ball. One would think that just by sheer numbers that we could’ve landed more than 1 SEC caliber receiver by now. When we missed on Carnell Tate and then landed Nathan Leacock our fanbase talked about how great we were at evaluating talent since some services ended up having Leacock higher than Tate by the end of the cycle. However with all the injuries we’ve had and the lack of production we had at the position even he wasn’t able to get himself on the field for meaningful reps. They’ve done a decent job in the transfer portal, Bru was an excellent pickup and even though Hyatt was a Biletnikoff winner I think Bru was our go to guy in 22 when we needed to move the sticks. However Donte and Brazzell haven’t really done much against our top SEC opponents. I’ll hang up and listen
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I remember when everybody was questioning this coaching staff after all our dbs went into the portal after struggling. It was the biggest turn around group this season and I expect the WR group to do the same next season. GBO
 
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#72
#72
VOLINVONORE said:
Because of injuries and searching for someone to get open and catch the ball. MM seems to be the guy.
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Receivers have been open. Learning process for Nico. We should improve even more next week. We may get beat. It will be close if so. It's critical for them to respond at home in the playoffs. We must execute when we have momentum. Should be a great game regardless
 
#73
#73
joevols89 said:
The issue is we don’t rotate. If you’re not one of the top 3 or 4 you aren’t playing meaningful snaps without injuries. For a WR room where you typically have 9+ scholarship players that becomes an issue.
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Our lack of rotation came from running fast in 2022. Heupel plays more receivers now than he did in 2022. For several reasons
 
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#74
#74
VOLINVONORE said:
When you have to play injured players with healthy players sitting on the bench, there are reasons why they are sitting on the bench. One, are to be, two, they have not been coached well enough to be able to play. Three, they have an attitude problem. Four, they have also been injured. Only the players and the coaches know which of these apply. I do know Matthews has been injured since Fall practice and has seen more action as the season progressed. I expect him to play a major role next Saturday and in the future. Hopefully Staley will be able to contribute also. It appears we have recruited some really good talent for next year and I think all of them will enroll this January. That , added to Nico being more mature and experienced should result in a much better offense next year. We will also have better depth at the QB position to solidify that position. It will keep on getting better in the future, especially when we beat OSU, Oregon and who ever else we need to this year.
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You immediately blamed it on bad coaching, before anything else. It's easy to criticize after the fact. What you think should have been done differently is 100% irrelevant. I hope you can understand why
 
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