Keep in mind that in 1978, majors signed the best class ever

[TNBV]

Well,in Dooley's last season, we had the "Jimmie & Joe's" but not the "X" & "O".

That is why we beat UN State but lost the other games that we should have been competitive in.

Hunter, C.P., Zack, Good NFL line, Q.B. with an arm, Good kicker....etc.


Dooley did not have the "X" & "O", so we lost.....


Look at the Ky game in 2011!!!!! A good defense strategy would have stopped them.....

That is just kinda ridiculous. Not to defend Dooley at all, but you just pointed out the offensive strength of his last team and then stated his game management was the problem. Well hell, scoring points was not an issue. The offense scored enough points to win 9 or 10 games. The best x and o guy in the history of CFB couldn't fix that fact that our defensive speed was slightly better than that average women field hockey team. Fair is fair, with a decent defense Dooley would have gone to a bowl. The switch too 3/4 hurt, but nothing could make up for the talent gap. Our cornerbacks were outrun by RBs, our LBs couldn't keep up with Tight ends and we couldn't sniff the tail end of any good WR. Not to mention we had to send 7 to get any pressure on a QB.

 

[Jax_Vol]

Lee Otis Burton was a stud!

 

[Jax_Vol]

Oh I will never forget Glen Ford.

View attachment 79475

French, Ford and Fuqua......





Among other words, fumble also started with a F

 

[VegasBaby!]

One historical perspective is to Google the Parade All-American teams through the years. I think Majors signed 7 PAA's in 78 compared to the 3 we signed last year. Majors also signed the top running back from 4 different states. He could stockpile high school talent when he was fired up about recruiting.

Athlon goes back that far and Smith & Street. You could follow recruiting but you had to work harder at it.

Street and Smith was the "bible" in those days.

Here's the Parade All American links for '77 and '78:

Tennessee Prep Football Database - Parade All-Americans

Tennessee Prep Football Database - Parade All-Americans

Favorite Parade All American Name Ever: Booger Brooks - 1977. He quit Fred Aker's Texas program after one season to bull ride. When asked "what was the best thing about college football?", Boogie replied "cheerleaders".

 

[BeattieFeathers]

LOL@U.

The recruiting svcs are far from perfect. There is no perfect way to predict how a 17 year old kid will develop or what can go wrong. But to say they invest more and are more accurate than Parade was in the 70's is a massive understatement. It is VERY likely that Parade uses the recruiting svcs to narrow their list today.

Keep on believing you can rate recruits based on statistics in spite of the competition they play against... just because its tackle.

You are interesting. You'll try absolutely anything to lower the bar and expectations, huh? Here you've dug up a recruiting class from an entirely different era of college football AND more importantly a different era of media in an effort to diss the '14 class.

You do understand that it is a complete logical fallacy to try to use the '78 recruiting class to make ANY statement whatsoever about the '14 class, right?

Recruiting services pander to their subscription base. As for lowering expectations, I happen to think mark Richt has a stellar record and has been a bit unlucky. I hope butch can be as successful and have saban's luck.....you know, playing for a national title when you didn't even play for a conference title? You're the one that is really something, setting the current coach up for failure. You just need to keep your mouth shut and cheer on the team. But I suspect all the big mouths with high expectations will be trot out the incessant negativity when things go drouth this fall. You have no sense of historical perspective at all.

 

[theutvolunteers]

recruiting services pander to their subscription base. As for lowering expectations, i happen to think mark richt has a stellar record and has been a bit unlucky. I hope butch can be as successful and have saban's luck.....you know, playing for a national title when you didn't even play for a conference title? You're the one that is really something, setting the current coach up for failure. you just need to keep your mouth shut and cheer on the team. But i suspect all the big mouths with high expectations will be trot out the incessant negativity when things go drouth this fall. You have no sense of historical perspective at all.

 

[majorvol]

We're there cell phones in 78 ?

 

[onevol74]

We're there cell phones in 78 ?

No. We first started seeing "car phones" in 1987. That progressed to bag phones and eventually to bricks.

Surprised no one has mentioned a very successful player in that 1978 recruiting class, center Lee North. He was a PAA also and I think All-SEC player.

 

[onevol74]

I believe that Clark Duncan was in that 1978 class also. Former Powell Panther coach and now head coach at South-Doyle.

 

[BeattieFeathers]

I believe that Clark Duncan was in that 1978 class also. Former Powell Panther coach and now head coach at South-Doyle.

I think he was '77

 

[orangebloodgmc]

No. We first started seeing "car phones" in 1987. That progressed to bag phones and eventually to bricks.

Surprised no one has mentioned a very successful player in that 1978 recruiting class, center Lee North. He was a PAA also and I think All-SEC player.

As I recall he played as a true freshman, very rare in a lineman back in those days. But first we threw him in on the DL, then later he was converted back to center and very successful there.

 

[Fijivol72]

Included lee Otis burton who would have been Reggie white esque. Saw him run down a notre dame running back from behind. Class included captain James Berry, Glenn ford, Dennis Mahon, a bunch of kids from Georgia like lee north, Rory Cunningham, mike go cofer etc.
A lot of those studs were washouts. Not to be a downer but you have to put together consecutive three or four top classes to become competitive with the top of the league. Ole miss has recruited a couple of good classes but they can't compete week in and week out with the giants.
Kudos to butch, keep it rolling......:hi:

Back handed compliment from a master of them.

 

[alaVOL]

Street and Smith was the "bible" in those days.

Here's the Parade All American links for '77 and '78:

Tennessee Prep Football Database - Parade All-Americans

Tennessee Prep Football Database - Parade All-Americans

Favorite Parade All American Name Ever: Booger Brooks - 1977. He quit Fred Aker's Texas program after one season to bull ride. When asked "what was the best thing about college football?", Boogie replied "cheerleaders".

Very interesting fact that I also stumbled upon in that link. Ryan Sandberg, QB from Washington state. A tidbit for you Cub fans that I certainly was unaware of.

 

[Crazy Ivan]

Included lee Otis burton who would have been Reggie white esque. Saw him run down a notre dame running back from behind. Class included captain James Berry, Glenn ford, Dennis Mahon, a bunch of kids from Georgia like lee north, Rory Cunningham, mike go cofer etc.
A lot of those studs were washouts. Not to be a downer but you have to put together consecutive three or four top classes to become competitive with the top of the league. Ole miss has recruited a couple of good classes but they can't compete week in and week out with the giants.
Kudos to butch, keep it rolling......:hi:

I would have never considered that possibility had you not pointed it out for me. Thanks, Captain Obvious.

 

[Crazy Ivan]

Well,in Dooley's last season, we had the "Jimmie & Joe's" but not the "X" & "O".

That is why we beat UN State but lost the other games that we should have been competitive in.

Hunter, C.P., Zack, Good NFL line, Q.B. with an arm, Good kicker....etc.


Dooley did not have the "X" & "O", so we lost.....


Look at the Ky game in 2011!!!!! A good defense strategy would have stopped them.....

We had the jimmies on O, but not on D. And the Vols were competitive in most every game with the exception of Bama and Vandy, and I think the players had pretty much quit on Dooley by the Vandy game.

But that O scored a lot of points and definitely was competitive -

lost to UF 37-20 when the team fell apart in the 4th quarter due to giving up big plays after leading much of the game
lost to MSU 41-31
lost to UGA 51-44
lost to SCar 38-35
lost to Mizzou 51-48

See a trend in there?

That talented O scored a bunch of points but could not make up for the worst D in UT history, which was a combination of attempting to switch from a 4-3 to a 3-4 overnight without the right personnel with a DC who did not know how to teach it, and with the exception of a 2-3 players, a D that was loaded with starters who could not have started for any other SEC team not named UK. That D had no pass rushers, no one who could set the edges, and maybe the slowest secondary in CFB.

That D had very few talented jimmies and no coach talented enough to teach them x's and o's.

I will say that had Wilcox stayed and Dooley stayed with the 4-3 that UT would likely have won 1 or 2 of those close losses and UT would have finished 6-6 or 7-5 and gone bowling, but nevertheless there was not a lot of talent on that D. But the last thing those players needed was to have to learn a new scheme under an incompetent DC.

In the 2011 UK game the O was a bigger issue than the D.

 

[Kurtastrophe]

Can you say Butch is a good game day coach? Soon?

Play calling against Georgia was the best we've had in about a decade.

 

[Quaint88]

Play calling against Georgia was the best we've had in about a decade.

I wouldn't go as far as a decade. The play calling in the 2009 Georgia game was really good, too. Of course, it helped that Martinez's defense had apparently never seen a bootleg before.

 

[orangebloodgmc]

I wouldn't go as far as a decade. The play calling in the 2009 Georgia game was really good, too. Of course, it helped that Martinez's defense had apparently never seen a bootleg before.

Love a bootleg. I hope Peyton is not teaching his version to the other college qbs in his camp.

Manning Bootleg - YouTube

 

[cbbowlingmd]

Included lee Otis burton who would have been Reggie white esque. Saw him run down a notre dame running back from behind. Class included captain James Berry, Glenn ford, Dennis Mahon, a bunch of kids from Georgia like lee north, Rory Cunningham, mike go cofer etc.
A lot of those studs were washouts. Not to be a downer but you have to put together consecutive three or four top classes to become competitive with the top of the league. Ole miss has recruited a couple of good classes but they can't compete week in and week out with the giants.
Kudos to butch, keep it trollin......:hi:

fixed it

 

[Eastsidevol]

Anthony Hancock was another impressive '78 signee. He was a dangerous threat who put up some good numbers. I was surprised to see KC draft him #11 overall in '82. KC never got their money's worth out of that pick but Hancock was one of those WR who helped us build the WR U reputation.