Josh Heupel emerges (old thread)

[McDad]

The defense has regressed.

This opinion isnt supported by seeing the product on the field or the stats.

If you wanna say elements of the defense or units in the defense have regressed that is a more accurate take.

 

[WilcoVolsFan]

The offense has improved this season. The defense has regressed. Im sorry that bothers me. Im glad we are undefeated but if our offense has a off game we will lose period

 

[Pepe_Silvia]

 

[UTK]

I was underwhelmed with the hire but it’s working out better than I could of expected so far 17 games in. But even back then the whole “regressing record” argument was weak as hell. Any research at all and common sense would of shown you it wasn’t a big concern.

 

[zjcvols]

I can admit he’s better than I expected but the defense is still horrendous and we won’t win any major hardware until that changes.

Who was Tennessee gonna hire with a brand new AD, one week before signing day and potentially looming NCAA violations coming off a 20-27 record the last four years?

The fact Heupel is currently 11-6 with a top 10 team right now looking at 10 wins after two dozen players left the program is almost a miracle. Who cares if the defense isn’t great? This is the most fun the Vols have been in more than a decade.

 

[zjcvols]

I disagree here . He IS a successful hire already because he was EXACTLY what we needed as a team and a fan base , he breathed life back into a failing program that was shuttering and he did it while under the threat of the NCAA. I don’t think the winning record has as much of an impact as what the man has brought back to our VOLS ,

You know what’s nice? Having a coach I actually like. Dooley was a jackass. Butch was corny. Pruitt was a moron. I like having having a guy who seems like he’s normal and is actually likeable for once.

 

[zjcvols]

I was underwhelmed with the hire but it’s working out better than I could of expected so far 17 games in. But even back then the whole “regressing record” argument was weak as hell. Any research at all and common sense would of shown you it wasn’t a big concern.

I think everyone game he lost at UCF was by single digits.

 

[Vol423]

Who was Tennessee gonna hire with a brand new AD, one week before signing day and potentially looming NCAA violations coming off a 20-27 record the last four years?

The fact Heupel is currently 11-6 with a top 10 team right now looking at 10 wins after two dozen players left the program is almost a miracle. Who cares if the defense isn’t great? This is the most fun the Vols have been in more than a decade.

Sure, but that's a low bar. We need to acquire a real defense at some point.

 

[zjcvols]

Honestly, if we are a suped up, SEC version of Mike Leach Texas Tech with Heupel and we are 9-3/10-2 ceilings? I don’t care! That’s awesome! After the last decade of absolute embarrassment I’ll take being fun! And hey, if you go 10-2, guess what? You’ll be a playoff team! How much fun will that be? Give me that every 3/5 years compared to the last 15 years.

 

[zjcvols]

Sure, but that's a low bar.

If you had told me that Tennessee would be a top 25 team in January 28th, 2021 I would have scoffed at you and muttered something under my breath.

If you had told me Tennessee would beat Florida, be favored by a touchdown against LSU on the road and be ranked #8 in the country in 18 months? I would think you are a radical.

 

[hardyemt_p]

Tennessee Football is dead. Fire DW.

I wasn't impressed with the hire either at first. I'm sure we're all on board now!!!

 

[MemphisVol77]

This thread is from the Bad Old Days, when trolls ruled vn.com. They were rampant. Couldn't start a thread, any thread, without them coming in and making it a misery. They were so loud, and so persistent, that even good Vols fans found themselves going along for the pessimistic ride.

I lurked for years, but finally had to join around half time of the 2016 Florida game.
- The epic 'Butch Jones Is A Coward' thread got me. Actually aged pretty well for the OP and props to OP for sticking around.

I call late 2016 the great SunshinePumper VS NegaVol war. I fought for the Sunshine but admitted defeat and ate my crow after the Vandy loss.

Which era do you think was more volatile for vn.com?

 

[MemphisVol77]

I didn't know enough to post in this thread at the time of the hire.

I usually wait until year 2 or 3 of a coaches tenure before going all in. I went all in on Pruitt going into year 2, I posted a few threads praising him for his defensive recruiting & breaking down metrics of how he's improved defenses during his previous 3 tenures as DC. I was all in and it didn't age well.

As for Heupel, I'm as excited as everyone but I'm still not going all in. He's pretty much matched Butch's peak in just his 2nd year. It took Butch until year 4 to have this kind of start.
Now Heupel just needs to keep it together. I think he can do it. It doesn't even have to be this year. But it's gonna take at least 9-3 and a NY6 bowl for me.

 

[BelieveTheHeup93]

This opinion isnt supported by seeing the product on the field or the stats.

If you wanna say elements of the defense or units in the defense have regressed that is a more accurate take.

I actually don’t think our defense is that bad. The front 7 looked great against Florida. The secondary didn’t look great, but Richardson made some phenomenal throws under pressure while our DL was being held and their WRs made some good catches. If we’re still having issues next season it may be time to make a change at DC, but I think our defense has shown a lot of improvement in year 2

 

[Volfan8282]

He said Heupel would be a huge disappointment.

He's wrong. Very wrong. As wrong as wrong can be.

I was speaking specifically to his comment about the offense and defense.

Verdict is still out on Heupel for me. Can he beat top SEC teams? Can he recruit at a high level consistently, especially in the trenches? Can he produce a defense that will stand toe to toe with UGA or Bama? All open questions at this point and not his fault. Just needs time to get to that point. Very pleased with how far things have come in such a short period. While LSU isn’t a juggernaut, it’s an important game to me for assessing Heupel. A win there and staying on the field and competing with Bama and UGA for 4 quarters will really propel them into next year I think. Would be awesome if they could get to double digit wins whether that’s in the regular season or with a bowl win. Hard to think that’s even on the table considering where Pruitt had us.

 

[Budalicious]

Sure, but that's a low bar. We need to acquire a real defense at some point.

He’s had one recruiting class!!!

 

[Vfl2407]

The offense has improved this season. The defense has regressed. Im sorry that bothers me. Im glad we are undefeated but if our offense has a off game we will lose period

As an older, very much older Vol fan, I’m from the era when the SEC’s best teams were those with stout defenses and strong grind it out rushing offenses. Games were won and lost in the trenches And controlling the clock.

Along comes Heupel and all of that has changed.
We are now more like modern day Big12 and Pac12 teams that just want to outscore everyone.
That has been a little hard to adjust to especially when teams march all over our soft defenses and they win the time of possession every game (often by large margins).

However, beating Florida has made me adjust. I’m now ok with it.
Would love to see better defense.
But if we have to win games 45-42, I’ll live with it. Go Vols!

 

[VFL-82-JP]

I lurked for years, but finally had to join around half time of the 2016 Florida game.
- The epic 'Butch Jones Is A Coward' thread got me. Actually aged pretty well for the OP and props to OP for sticking around.

I call late 2016 the great SunshinePumper VS NegaVol war. I fought for the Sunshine but admitted defeat and ate my crow after the Vandy loss.

Which era do you think was more volatile for vn.com?

My impression has been, the troll population grew steadily throughout the Butch and Pruitt years, and peaked about the time this thread came out. Only Dan White and Josh Heupel's steady leadership, care for the athletes, and success have driven many (not all) of the trolls back underground.

Glad you stuck around, too.

Go Vols!

 

[Stephen Gray]

If you had told me that Tennessee would be a top 25 team in January 28th, 2021 I would have scoffed at you and muttered something under my breath.

If you had told me Tennessee would beat Florida, be favored by a touchdown against LSU on the road and be ranked #8 in the country in 18 months? I would think you are a radical.

I agree. I don’t think it was even reasonable to expect that we would be where we are now at this point of time. I prefer to be happy with being ahead of schedule. Most importantly all indications suggest things are on upward trajectory. I’d rather save my worrying and complaining for when we legitimately failing to improve, which hopefully doesn’t happen.

 

[StarRaider]

You know what’s nice? Having a coach I actually like. Dooley was a jackass. Butch was corny. Pruitt was a moron. I like having having a guy who seems like he’s normal and is actually likeable for once.

Kind of the way I think about Coach Barnes

 

[ftsandersvol]

And some were quite a bit wronger than others, eh, ftsandersvol?

This thread is from the Bad Old Days, when trolls ruled vn.com. They were rampant. Couldn't start a thread, any thread, without them coming in and making it a misery. They were so loud, and so persistent, that even good Vols fans found themselves going along for the pessimistic ride.

I've no desire to revisit that.

BUT...it is useful to give a few atta-boys out, for folks who kept a level head and positive outlook. Ladies and gentlemen, I proudly present to you the Five Sages of January 2021:











Go Vols!

I admit I wasn't thrilled about the hire, but then again, my superpower is always being wrong.

 

[camp_steveo]

Why would anyone expect that the UT Vols would have a defense as good as Georgia's or Alabama's at this point? Do you also expect UT to win the Natty this year?

The Vol's defensive rebuild is right where it should be, and with the offense being ahead of schedule like it is, UT has a chance in every game they play.

 

[Jauan't Some?]

The offense has improved this season. The defense has regressed. Im sorry that bothers me. Im glad we are undefeated but if our offense has a off game we will lose period

“I’m sorry, but” means you’re not sorry.

You never are.

Your callous disregard for our feelings is tearing the VN family apart and you don’t even care!

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

I think everyone game he lost at UCF was by single digits.

Also it was Covid year and they had a lot of players opt out, including the starting QB iirc, which I probably don't lol

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

As an older, very much older Vol fan, I’m from the era when the SEC’s best teams were those with stout defenses and strong grind it out rushing offenses. Games were won and lost in the trenches And controlling the clock.

Along comes Heupel and all of that has changed.
We are now more like modern day Big12 and Pac12 teams that just want to outscore everyone.
That has been a little hard to adjust to especially when teams march all over our soft defenses and they win the time of possession every game (often by large margins).

However, beating Florida has made me adjust. I’m now ok with it.
Would love to see better defense.
But if we have to win games 45-42, I’ll live with it. Go Vols!

Thats the beauty of it, the offense is always going to be there. Just have to have a slightly above average defense as we'll outscore everyone. 2 more stops against UF and that game is a blowout. We may not have it this year, but honestly I don't see our offense falling off much next year.