Looking forward to next year

#26
#26
VOLfrombama said:
IF Coop, Sprag, and Campbell stay, with Mincey at RT, the OL should be significantly improved from the cluster we saw this season. ATP, I'm not sure why any of them would actually leave. None of them are being projected high in the draft. Coop and Sprag both skipped Senior day activities, so I choose to interpret that as if they're staying. Dayne Davis and Jackson Lampley also skipped, so there is depth too. I hope Nichols will finally take over the LG spot this time as this will be his 3rd year in the program, but am interested in what some of the other young guys do like Sham. LJ3, and Bussel.

Webb and Nimrod and maybe some of the younger talent should also be much improved over Keyton. If Bru decides to come back, and Thornton gets healthy, the WR room could drastically improve from this past season's inconsistency. I sincerely hope they all hit the Juggs machine hard and challenge each other to get over the YIPS for the next year.

I have no doubt that Nico will be much more consistent than Joe. He can make all the throws too and is much more elusive in the pocket and open field than Joe. I also think Sampson and Seldon are a dangerous combo and compliment each other perfectly in running style.
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Great post!💯🍊🍊
 
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#28
#28
VOLfrombama said:
IF Coop, Sprag, and Campbell stay, with Mincey at RT, the OL should be significantly improved from the cluster we saw this season. ATP, I'm not sure why any of them would actually leave. None of them are being projected high in the draft. Coop and Sprag both skipped Senior day activities, so I choose to interpret that as if they're staying. Dayne Davis and Jackson Lampley also skipped, so there is depth too. I hope Nichols will finally take over the LG spot this time as this will be his 3rd year in the program, but am interested in what some of the other young guys do like Sham. LJ3, and Bussel.

Webb and Nimrod and maybe some of the younger talent should also be much improved over Keyton. If Bru decides to come back, and Thornton gets healthy, the WR room could drastically improve from this past season's inconsistency. I sincerely hope they all hit the Juggs machine hard and challenge each other to get over the YIPS for the next year.

I have no doubt that Nico will be much more consistent than Joe. He can make all the throws too and is much more elusive in the pocket and open field than Joe. I also think Sampson and Seldon are a dangerous combo and compliment each other perfectly in running style.
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That's a lot of IFs especially along the O-line. We basically need every senior starter to come back I believe? I hope it happens. We're certainly long overdue for some good luck.
 
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#29
#29
Nah. Just nah. Dabo Sweeny lost three of his first four bowl games, had two 6 win seasons, and didn't get 11 wins until his fifth year. He spent four more years at that 10-11 win mark before finally breaking through to win 12 or more games the next five years.

The "it has to happen by year 3" mantra is invented, mainly by perception and by coaches who have early success. What's real is looking for a level of competency and coaching that raises the floor for the program. The higher the floor, the higher the program can reach once its gets its act in gear.

Hell, Nick Saban won 8, 10, and then 8 games in his first three years at LSU - then he had that 13-1 year we don't want to talk about - and then fell back to 8 wins the following year before leaving for the NFL. Again, the three year thing is just a by product of impatience and sports media. If the coaching staff is right, the window is wide open. Just have to continue being competitive in recruiting -- and defense.
 
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#30
#30
cherokeeeVOL said:
That's a lot of IFs especially along the O-line. We basically need every senior starter to come back I believe? I hope it happens. We're certainly long overdue for some good luck
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I just don't see why any of those on the if list would go to the draft. We will soon find out if Ellerbee is as good as advertised regardless of the ifs.
 
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#31
#31
Voltopia said:
Nah. Just nah. Dabo Sweeny lost three of his first four bowl games, had two 6 win seasons, and didn't get 11 wins until his fifth year. He spent four more years at that 10-11 win mark before finally breaking through to win 12 or more games the next five years.

The "it has to happen by year 3" mantra is invented, mainly by perception and by coaches who have early success. What's real is looking for a level of competency and coaching that raises the floor for the program. The higher the floor, the higher the program can reach once its gets its act in gear.

Hell, Nick Saban won 8, 10, and then 8 games in his first three years at LSU - then he had that 13-1 year we don't want to talk about - and then fell back to 8 wins the following year before leaving for the NFL. Again, the three year thing is just a by product of impatience and sports media. If the coaching staff is right, the window is wide open. Just have to continue being competitive in recruiting -- and defense.
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Agreed. Wins should be based on roster and development, not some arbitrary number.

I do think that Heup should be making progress with his roster development. I also agree that we should see his scheme and players start to resemble what his vision and plan is sooner than later. This season was viewed by many as a disappointment, so I view that as progress. Now its time to take the next step with his Qb, his system, his team.
 
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#32
#32
Yep...........................................Can't "wait til next year"
 
#33
#33
volbound1700 said:
Next year bodes well because of our schedule.

Our road games are Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Vandy. 2 of those road games are manageable. The other two are likely losses. I think we get Florida next year playing them at home. We also have Miss State which, on paper, looks like a win. We will also get Kentucky.

NC State could be tricky but if Tennessee wins that one, 9-3 seems to be likely with 10-2 possible if they can upset Alabama in Neyland.

I just think the schedule is a lot more favorable next year with a lot of the swing games at home instead of on the road. Heupel has shown that his teams play a lot better in Neyland.
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I firmly believe UT can win every home game next year. Our biggest challenge, which has been our biggest challenge in the last 2 years is beating good (not great) teams on the road and we play two GREAT teams in the road in 2024.
 
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#34
#34
Voltopia said:
Nah. Just nah. Dabo Sweeny lost three of his first four bowl games, had two 6 win seasons, and didn't get 11 wins until his fifth year. He spent four more years at that 10-11 win mark before finally breaking through to win 12 or more games the next five years.

The "it has to happen by year 3" mantra is invented, mainly by perception and by coaches who have early success. What's real is looking for a level of competency and coaching that raises the floor for the program. The higher the floor, the higher the program can reach once its gets its act in gear.

Hell, Nick Saban won 8, 10, and then 8 games in his first three years at LSU - then he had that 13-1 year we don't want to talk about - and then fell back to 8 wins the following year before leaving for the NFL. Again, the three year thing is just a by product of impatience and sports media. If the coaching staff is right, the window is wide open. Just have to continue being competitive in recruiting -- and defense.
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I don't think you quite grasp the situation I'm describing.

Dabo inherited a team in the sh!tty ACC where nobody really cares about football or puts pressure on football coaches. Hell, look how long it took FSU to pry Bobby Bowden out of his job. They stopped caring about football in the 90s. Dabo got that runway because people saw that Clemson could easily be the best team in the ACC if they just let Dabo work.

You absolutely cannot compare that to the cauldron of the SEC, and that cauldron is about to go from boiling to exploding with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma. Nobody at a blue blood football school is going to have the chance to go 4 5 or 6 years to create a good program. They will be beaten into the dust long before that. If Bama and Georgia begin to slip then Texas and OK will be right there to pick up the flag as the new leaders of the SEC. Heupel simply doesn't have time anymore.

Understand that I'm not talking about him getting fired. What I'm saying is that if what he's trying to do doesn't pick back up next year, UT will be left in the dust even if we keep Heupel for 15 years. UT will not recover.

Like I said the train is leaving and Tennessee needs to be on it. This isn't about my expectations or "far the coach". This is about do or die time. He has to succeed or he never will. Football ain't what it used to be in the SEC with NIL and the transfer portal and it ain't what it was when Dabo took over Clemson. You got teams out here paying 75 million plus to tell a coach to go f#ck himself because they know they need to win now or risk being irrelevant for the next 10 to 20 years.
 
#35
#35
Proud Army Wife said:
You’re not wrong, I’m just a little more lenient on him beginning with what he walked into. I think last year just happened to be a perfect storm of a combination of things. This is going to be a younger team next year unless Heupel goes at the portal hard. He’ll need to exceed some expectations next year to continue to improve recruiting, but we have to give him some time to also coach those recruits up. Imo, I wouldn’t at all be shocked at an 7-5/8-4 season next year. There’s too many questions for me to expect more.
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Yeah but again you said "you're being lenient on him". What I'm talking about is not fans being lenient or calling for him to be fired. What Im saying is that UT HAS to win to survive. No coach in the SEC can afford 5 years to get their program built. It's simply too competitive now and even worse with NIL and the transfer portal.

If we don't turn it around next year it won't matter if we keep Heupel for 15 years. He won't get the momentum back. It's too competitive now to lose ground in recruiting. UT has to win or risk irrelevance.
 
#36
#36
VolFreakJosh said:
Next year will be rough.

Yeah, Nico is talented but if you expect him to magically win 10+ games behind a very inexperienced O-Line, then I have some land to sell you.
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Just remember that Spraggins and Coop did not go through Sr. day. Campbell and Davis may return.
 
#37
#37
Voltopia said:
Nah. Just nah. Dabo Sweeny lost three of his first four bowl games, had two 6 win seasons, and didn't get 11 wins until his fifth year. He spent four more years at that 10-11 win mark before finally breaking through to win 12 or more games the next five years.

The "it has to happen by year 3" mantra is invented, mainly by perception and by coaches who have early success. What's real is looking for a level of competency and coaching that raises the floor for the program. The higher the floor, the higher the program can reach once its gets its act in gear.

Hell, Nick Saban won 8, 10, and then 8 games in his first three years at LSU - then he had that 13-1 year we don't want to talk about - and then fell back to 8 wins the following year before leaving for the NFL. Again, the three year thing is just a by product of impatience and sports media. If the coaching staff is right, the window is wide open. Just have to continue being competitive in recruiting -- and defense.
Click to expand...

All true, and add the fact that Heupel started here waaaaay behind the 8-ball with regard to recruiting and key players leaving via transfer. I targeted 2025 as the year where we would really be able to see if Heupel is the guy, and I still believe that given the roster turnover we're about to see and the newly recruited depth that should put us at close to full strength by 2025.

What I'll never get are these arbitrary predictions of how many games we'll win next season without even knowing what the roster will look like or how our opponents will look. Just because it's 'year four' we should win 10 games? If only it actually worked like that.
 
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#39
#39
sami said:
Next year's team looks like it will be very young, and depending on who comes in via the portal, very inexperienced as well. I've felt since Heupel was hired that 2025 would be the season where we would know if he's the guy, and I feel that way more than ever now.

But if Nico turns out to be the real deal and the last couple of recruiting classes continue to develop, there's no reason why we can't win 8-9 games and set ourselves up to be contenders in 2025, when the team depth will begin to reach SEC level
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It could be a situation next year with all of the youth where we start off kind of rocky and out of sync and see improvement as the year develops. A recent example would be Bama/Milroe this year. They aren't the same team and he isn't the same guy that started the season 13 weeks ago.
So, even if we lose early as long as we show improvement I will consider the season a success. And hopefully, it sets us up nicely for 2025.
 
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#44
#44
At the end of every season I question if it really will happen next year, then I talk myself right back into it the following August.
 
#45
#45
Nationdom said:
Elite QBs can carry teams. I have a feeling Nico is elite. We have plenty of talent everywhere else to compliment.
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BS....................Elite QBs with an avg OL and bad play calls spends most of the time on their back!
DL, OL, Cornerbacks and WRs win championships.......
 
#47
#47
If we make it to 9 - 3 next year, take that and be very happy. We are too young and don't have the blue chip talent yet to win double digit games year in and year out. Last years recruiting class was pretty dang good. This years class is significantly better averaging 3.85 stars per recruit. That's a lot of elite players in this years class regardless of where it finishes up, but will likely land in the top 10. We need to add at least 1 more class of that caliber and combine it with some good luck in the portal and with good development. Many don't realize how behind the 8 ball we were when Heup first got here. 2025 should be a very good year for us. There won't be anyone we can't beat then.
 
#49
#49
Realistically speaking, I really see no reason why next year will be better than this year. Maybe 9-3 at best, but probably 8-4.
 
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