Mizzou roster vs UT roster

[LWSVOL]

Don't you remember all the passes into the ground? I do.

that can happen frequently with WRs running too deep of routes. one would have to know the routes to know if pass was off or the receiver was off

 

[Burger]

that can happen frequently with WRs running too deep of routes. one would have to know the routes to know if pass was off or the receiver was off

The QB has to adjust to the route.

 

[sjt18]

The QB has to adjust to the route.

You can't adjust the ball in flight. The QB MUST anticipate where the WR will be. They often throw before the WR even makes a break. Most of the time a WR will be covered or else the play will be an INT if the QB waits long enough to adjust to the route.

 

[LWSVOL]

The QB has to adjust to the route.

Jones and Jake would disagree with you..

 

[sjt18]

I don't see enough data about Missouri to make a valid comparison to Tennessee. I'm pasting in a post I made on another board when talking about the 2014 season. Since you have studied Missouri, can you extract comparable data?

Question, what was the QB's record in those 4 games where you got the passing percentage??

Here is my post from another site on Tennessee

I think catastrophic is losing any one of 7 players. I think to get that 6th win and go bowling, they have to keep these 7 players healthy and playing productively. Lose any one and getting to 6 will take some luck IMO.

Worley, Lane, Hurd, North, Johnson, Maggit or Randolph. I agree with you that losing 3 or more OL would be a tremendous hit as well.

When talking about "number of wins" you have to consider how very inexperienced this bunch is. They have to be molded and put together to play as a unit (offensive and defensive units) to have success. The number of inexperienced players is staggering.

46% of this roster has NOT ever set foot on a division one football field.


of the returning players that have played, here are the number who have had more than 10 starts at D-1.

4 seniors (Downs (13), Coleman (25), Worley (10) and Johnson (34))
4 juniors (Howard (10), Maggit (17), McNeil (19) and Randolph (23)
2 sophomores. (North (11) and Sutton (12)

so 10 players on this roster have had 10 or more starts in their career. Everyone else has not. This is assuming Howard returns. If not, only 9 have started 10 or more times.

it is POSSIBLE for this team to win 4, 6 or 8 games. Possible because they have to play the schedule and things happen.

6 wins is more probable than 4 or 8. 5 is a more likely as a guess at this juncture because it will take time for the inexperienced players to learn to compete. Talking of those with SEC level talent. Health is a major factor. lose the experienced players early in season could lead to a catastrophic season.

Mizzou lost their top 3 WR's. Their best returning WR is Bud Sasser who is a role player on any other SEC team.

They return Mauk at QB who was 50% completions or under in 3 of his 4 starts... WITH the big 3 WR's. That big 3 included the highest rated player MU has ever signed. They do return 2 of their top 3 RB's but lost their best one to an early entry into the draft. They also lost their best OL.

On D, they lost Ealy and Sam who were by far and away their best DL's. They lost 2 starting LB's and 3 starting DB's. They will backfill with career role players and young players with less talent than UT's guys.


I don't think MU will be great at QB but they do have 3 QB's that are about the same talent level. RB will be a strength but will be hurt by the lack of explosiveness in the passing game. The loss of either RB would be difficult. An OL loss would be very difficult for them to overcome. Sasser or Hunt at WR would hurt them.

On D, Brothers at MLB will be key. Braylon Webb can't be lost at S. But it is really difficult to say because they replace so much production and appear to lose so much depth... that they will have big issues regardless.



I'll put it this way. You list players that UT cannot lose without having a major drop off... Mizzou lost them already.

 

[sjt18]

Also Larry, I think you are still looking at this as if UT is the only team that can or will lose players. Mizzou won the East last year in part because they didn't have critical injuries while just about everyone else did... right before playing Mizzou.

Worley, Lane, Hurd, North, Johnson, Maggit or Randolph. I agree with you that losing 3 or more OL would be a tremendous hit as well.

I think UT is far better positioned to replace Worley this year than last. UT cannot lose Lane and Hurd but one or the other probably would not be catastrophic.

As weird as it might sound, UT probably could lose North and have the others pick up most of the slack.

They do need AJ, CM, and Randolph to stay healthy. I would actually include Coleman considering the Nickel situation last fall and how much it hurt at times.

IMHO though, the difference between 6 wins or more comes down to getting Saulsberry back healthy and finding a LT that can hold up.

 

[TrueOrange]

Mizzou lost their top 3 WR's. Their best returning WR is Bud Sasser who is a role player on any other SEC team.

They return Mauk at QB who was 50% completions or under in 3 of his 4 starts... WITH the big 3 WR's. That big 3 included the highest rated player MU has ever signed. They do return 2 of their top 3 RB's but lost their best one to an early entry into the draft. They also lost their best OL.

On D, they lost Ealy and Sam who were by far and away their best DL's. They lost 2 starting LB's and 3 starting DB's. They will backfill with career role players and young players with less talent than UT's guys.

To be fair on this point though, after looking a bit at their roster, they're replacing one with a senior DE named Golden who last year was tied for 6th or 7th in the conference with around 7 sacks, and the other a junior name Ray who, as a backup/rotational player , had 4.5 or 5 sacks on the year.

So I'm not sure that part's quite as much of a mess as you seem to be making it out to be; they're not subbing that position out with inexperienced young bodies or anything.


I honestly am not that familiar with their LB situation. Their biggest issues though are likely the fact replacing all 4 DBs, and their WRs can be cause for concern.

 

[TrueOrange]

Mizzou lost their top 3 WR's. Their best returning WR is Bud Sasser who is a role player on any other SEC team.

They return Mauk at QB who was 50% completions or under in 3 of his 4 starts... WITH the big 3 WR's. That big 3 included the highest rated player MU has ever signed. They do return 2 of their top 3 RB's but lost their best one to an early entry into the draft. They also lost their best OL.

On D, they lost Ealy and Sam who were by far and away their best DL's. They lost 2 starting LB's and 3 starting DB's. They will backfill with career role players and young players with less talent than UT's guys.


I don't think MU will be great at QB but they do have 3 QB's that are about the same talent level. RB will be a strength but will be hurt by the lack of explosiveness in the passing game. The loss of either RB would be difficult. An OL loss would be very difficult for them to overcome. Sasser or Hunt at WR would hurt them.

On D, Brothers at MLB will be key. Braylon Webb can't be lost at S. But it is really difficult to say because they replace so much production and appear to lose so much depth... that they will have big issues regardless.



I'll put it this way. You list players that UT cannot lose without having a major drop off... Mizzou lost them already.

Disagree. If they're forced to play Berkstresser for any reason, they're absolutely screwed.

 

[LWSVOL]

Also Larry, I think you are still looking at this as if UT is the only team that can or will lose players. Mizzou won the East last year in part because they didn't have critical injuries while just about everyone else did... right before playing Mizzou.

no, not really. As I have explained before what Tennessee can put on the field is how I come to conclusion on expectations. I understand things could swing a game one way or the other.

I think UT is far better positioned to replace Worley this year than last. UT cannot lose Lane and Hurd but one or the other probably would not be catastrophic.

I said Lane or Hurd because losing one of them leads to the other being over worked. Ferguson has leg up so losing Worley is back where we were last year, placing another first timer on the field.

As weird as it might sound, UT probably could lose North and have the others pick up most of the slack.

North is going to be the go to guy at WR. Someone the QB has a lot of faith in. Losing him helps others gain experience but not sure it leads to production remaining the same. Of course, losing him in early September would be harder than early November. Experience gained by then should be better.

They do need AJ, CM, and Randolph to stay healthy. I would actually include Coleman considering the Nickel situation last fall and how much it hurt at times.

Good point on Coleman.

IMHO though, the difference between 6 wins or more comes down to getting Saulsberry back healthy and finding a LT that can hold up.

Sauls still has to show he can be consistent at this level. Agree he is likely best we have but he as had little time, appeared in 9 games in 3 years with zero starts.

 

[Rooster1]

So nobody understands my previous post reference talent?

 

[Darth_Shiveman]

Sauls still has to show he can be consistent at this level. Agree he is likely best we have but he as had little time, appeared in 9 games in 3 years with zero starts.

Part of me is worried we're all overrating Saulsberry. Yeah, the coaches praised his play early in the season, but the coaches praised a lot of guys last season who didn't play all that well. Plus I don't really remember seeing him making any splash plays or standing out that much.

Really the only reason people are expecting a lot from him is because Butch said (in one press conference) that he thought Saulsberry was playing better than any of our other DTs before he was hurt. The thing is, that's not really saying much.

Hopefully he comes out and plays like a beast all season, but I wouldnt expect him to be All SEC or anything.

 

[KBVol]

Part of me is worried we're all overrating Saulsberry. Yeah, the coaches praised his play early in the season, but the coaches praised a lot of guys last season who didn't play all that well. Plus I don't really remember seeing him making any splash plays or standing out that much.

Really the only reason people are expecting a lot from him is because Butch said (in one press conference) that he thought Saulsberry was playing better than any of our other DTs before he was hurt. The thing is, that's not really saying much.

Hopefully he comes out and plays like a beast all season, but I wouldnt expect him to be All SEC or anything.

Add that he's coming off a severe knee injury that caused him to miss 2/3 of the season and all Spring practice. He was playing pretty well last season thru the first 3 games.... but those who are pinning their hopes on him to anchor UTs DL success..... on a kid with 10 career tackles and .5 sacks in 9 games played....coming off that knee.... just shows me the dire shape we're in at that position group.

I hope he's able to at least get back to last year's form quickly and Jordan Williams takes to his new position better than he did his old. Either way, we're going to have to have newcomer Owen Williams and the freshman grow up and be beastly sooner than later.

 

[Nationdom]

Disagree. If they're forced to play Berkstresser for any reason, they're absolutely screwed.

They're screwed no matter who they start against us.

 

[Rooster1]

Add that he's coming off a severe knee injury that caused him to miss 2/3 of the season and all Spring practice. He was playing pretty well last season thru the first 3 games.... but those who are pinning their hopes on him to anchor UTs DL success..... on a kid with 10 career tackles and .5 sacks in 9 games played....coming off that knee.... just shows me the dire shape we're in at that position group.

I hope he's able to at least get back to last year's form quickly and Jordan Williams takes to his new position better than he did his old. Either way, we're going to have to have newcomer Owen Williams and the freshman grow up and be beastly sooner than later.

Good points.

 

[Rooster1]

Everyone that thinks they understand how much talent any given team has based upon the national recruiting rankings is badly mistaken. For the top 1-5 or so teams in recruiting rankings each year, those rankings often do have a correlation to performance if repeated often enough. The kids being signed by the very top schools have been analyzed and scrutinized much more than most. They are invited to and attend the elite camps sponsored by and or supported by the rating agencies themselves. They get max coverage and the most interest from the recruiters whoo line up to sign these players that have been seperated from the herd. It is a Catch 22 if you will.

How does Boise State knock off OU in a BCS bowl? How do they beat UGA in Atlanta? How does KSU annually own UT (texas)? Anyone want their team to play Mich State on any field? How about Baylor? Wisconsin? OKSU? Stanford? You get the point. Most of those schools never finish top 20 in recruiting, and they sometimes finish way lower than that. There are many others as well. But they have good coaching, good development and they actually IDENTIFY good talent that in hindsight, is almost always underrated coming out of HS. There are too many players for the rating agencies to focus on, they have their methods to limit the pool of players that get extensive analysis. This is by necessity. But hundreds of great players slip through the cracks, kids that get two or three stars but play well above that.

So you look at a Michigan State roster and see that their average player is barely a three star. You than take the mental leap and say that since UT has "way more talent" i.e., way more 4-5 star players, UT should be favored, right? MSU can't possibly be very talented, look at their recruiting rankings!

How talented or not Mizzou's roster is will be decided on the playing field this Fall, not from some internet site or magazine article you just read that rated the "talent" of over 20,000 HS accurately and thoroughly.

I don't expect any serious rebuttals to this post. Michigan State, the poster child for this argument, has won ten or more for four straight years, and never were they even a top 20 ranked team in recruiting polls in that timeframe. Think they have no talent? Hell, Bama would be challenged to beat them on a neutral field and Bama is top 1-2 every year in "recruiting rankings". Sometimes you just recruit kids that are ballers, with big hearts and a ton of desire and ability to boot, stars be damned, coach them up and they can play with anyone. Ask Spurrier, he makes a living doing this. Same at Stanford, Baylor, OKSU..........Star rankings are for dweebs, great staffs find great players regardless of the Propoganda rankings, just look at the Last Kiffen class, ranked well but devoid of merit.

 

[StlOx]

Greetings VolNation from a Mizzou fan.

First off, let me address Mizzou recruiting. Very much what Rooster said. Gary Pinkel was Don James OC at UDub when they were winning NCs. He employs the same recruiting formula, and it's pretty accurate. You really need to lump Pinkel with Bill Snyder of KSU and Frank Beamer of VT. These three HCs get the most out of any recruiting class. Examples: 1st round picks, Ziggy Hood, Sean Witherspoon, and Michael Egnew were all 2star recruits. This year, OL Justin Britt a 2nd rounder for Seattle was also a 2star. So was SEC DPOY Michael Sam.

Our bad start in the SEC was about injuries but a few more reasons. We figured out the spread offense that worked in the B12 wasn't as good in the SEC. The DEs were quicker and the DBs tighter. We no longer use the TE as an inside WR. The position is now primarily as a blocker. Also, senior leadership was lacking. Sheldon Richardson was an incredible talent, but his mouth was a problem.

We did lose a lot, but a lot is coming back.

We lost our QB, but Mauk started 5 games and was 4-1. He's a gunslinger that's done well putting the ball down field. That opens the running game.

We lost Josey, but he was part of a 3 RB rotation that was interchangeble. Marcus Murphy will be our main RB/KR/PR.

We lost two OLs, but in the spread, there is no perminent positions, just the 10 best OLs. The first 5 start, when one comes out #6 comes in.

Lost a lot at WR, but Sasser and Hunt are not a drop off.

Defense, very deep at DT. I'd take Hoch, Brantley, Vincent and Augusta over any SEC team. DEs Ray and Golden were just as good as Sam and Ealy last year, it's their backups that is a concern. Two RSFRs and a Juco to back them up.

We lost two LBs, that is also a concern. I like the guys coming up, but TBD.

I'm not as concerned about DB as you might think. Lost both corners, but Gibson, Penton and Johnson all have experience. A couple true FRs, Arky's Ronnie Wingo's lil'l bro Ray and Actor Don Cheadle's nephew, Logan Cheadle are expected (at least by me) to get some PT.

Also the coaching. After coming off a 5-7 season we didn't know what to expect, and the first few cupcake games looked a little shakey. But, what we found was the coaches purposely ran very vanilla defense and offense to make every position responsible for itself. Why run schemes to exploit weaknesses on teams that are far weaker? Instead find your own weaknesses and fix them. By the 3rd or 4th games the more complicated schemes started to be seen.

I like our schedule. The @USCe is our biggest concern. I'm glad we're play you at Knoxville this year, because I fully expect you to be even better next year. You're still a young team, and that's going to need to play out.

 

[sjt18]

Lost a lot at WR, but Sasser and Hunt are not a drop off.

Yes. They are. A very, very significant drop off. Plus... there are no players of their caliber in Mizzou's depth. Last year these guys played behind the big 3.

Defense, very deep at DT. I'd take Hoch, Brantley, Vincent and Augusta over any SEC team. DEs Ray and Golden were just as good as Sam and Ealy last year, it's their backups that is a concern. Two RSFRs and a Juco to back them up.

None of these players are as good as Sam and Ealy... but you are right that there's little depth.

FWIW, UT's DL situation is about the same. They have little returning production and unknown talent. The difference between the two rosters are the '14 signees. They favor UT but that isn't likely to have a very big impact in a positive way this fall.

We lost two LBs, that is also a concern. I like the guys coming up, but TBD.

I'm not as concerned about DB as you might think. Lost both corners, but Gibson, Penton and Johnson all have experience. A couple true FRs, Arky's Ronnie Wingo's lil'l bro Ray and Actor Don Cheadle's nephew, Logan Cheadle are expected (at least by me) to get some PT.

You lost a ton of talent and experience in the back 7. You are talking about replacing some of it with undersized Fr.

Just like us... you'd rather not look at your roster's realistically. On our side, we have both those who refuse to look at the strengths and weaknesses. If Pinkel wins a bunch of games with what he has coming back... get ready for a bidding war.

Also the coaching. After coming off a 5-7 season we didn't know what to expect, and the first few cupcake games looked a little shakey. But, what we found was the coaches purposely ran very vanilla defense and offense to make every position responsible for itself. Why run schemes to exploit weaknesses on teams that are far weaker? Instead find your own weaknesses and fix them. By the 3rd or 4th games the more complicated schemes started to be seen.

I like our schedule. The @USCe is our biggest concern. I'm glad we're play you at Knoxville this year, because I fully expect you to be even better next year. You're still a young team, and that's going to need to play out.

Pinkel is a very good coach. This year's game is a test of Jones. It is almost without question that Jones will have a roster with more raw talent. If you don't believe that... just take an honest look at the position groups. By the last 4 games of the year, Fr should no longer be "fresh men". If you are coaching them up, they're now players. Unless Pinkel badly outcoaches Jones (which is possible), UT should win this year.

 

[StlOx]

I've been following Mizzou since Dan Devine in the 60s. I've seen a lot of bad teams and bad coaching from the 80s thru 90s.

Pinkel's a darn good coach. I've not needed to drink kool-aid to assure myself to go or watch the games, as in prior coaching staffs.

As with all teams, there will be gaps to fill. The trap you're falling for is believing that recruiting hasn't been that good and will be exposed when those gaps have to be filled. I'm very happy with last years class. Typical GP recruiting. One difference. In the B12, Texas was too arrogant to notice our commits. UF, UGA and Bama have all taken noticed and tried late to flip 4 or 5 of our 3star commits. Not 4stars, all were 3stars.

The thing we do have working against us is being the sitting SEC East champs. Teams will be very focused on us. 2007=2013 (12-2). 2014 could be like 2008, and 8-4.

Also, Pinkel's a long term guy. Only had 4 jobs in 35yrs. Same with his staff. Some guys have been with him for over 20yrs. I could easily see him retire in about 5yrs and promote from within.

 

[ntxVOL]

I've been following Mizzou since Dan Devine in the 60s. I've seen a lot of bad teams and bad coaching from the 80s thru 90s.

Pinkel's a darn good coach. I've not needed to drink kool-aid to assure myself to go or watch the games, as in prior coaching staffs.

As with all teams, there will be gaps to fill. The trap you're falling for is believing that recruiting hasn't been that good and will be exposed when those gaps have to be filled. I'm very happy with last years class. Typical GP recruiting. One difference. In the B12, Texas was too arrogant to notice our commits. UF, UGA and Bama have all taken noticed and tried late to flip 4 or 5 of our 3star commits. Not 4stars, all were 3stars.

The thing we do have working against us is being the sitting SEC East champs. Teams will be very focused on us. 2007=2013 (12-2). 2014 could be like 2008, and 8-4.

Also, Pinkel's a long term guy. Only had 4 jobs in 35yrs. Same with his staff. Some guys have been with him for over 20yrs. I could easily see him retire in about 5yrs and promote from within.

It will be interesting to see how well Pinkel does in the next few years. He had only marginal success in the Big 12, never won a conference championship. Did win the northern division a couple of times but that doesn't really compare to the SEC East IMO.

Many believe Mizzou benefited from other's misfortune last season. The East is also weak at the moment but don't expect that to be the case forever. The SEC as a whole recruits at a higher level than the Big 12 so I think the jury is still out on whether Pinkel will truly be successful in the SEC.

You have to remember in this conference success is judged by championships. I don't think Pinkel would be a coach for long at UT with his record.

 

[sjt18]

I've been following Mizzou since Dan Devine in the 60s. I've seen a lot of bad teams and bad coaching from the 80s thru 90s.

Pinkel's a darn good coach. I've not needed to drink kool-aid to assure myself to go or watch the games, as in prior coaching staffs.

As with all teams, there will be gaps to fill. The trap you're falling for is believing that recruiting hasn't been that good and will be exposed when those gaps have to be filled. I'm very happy with last years class. Typical GP recruiting. One difference. In the B12, Texas was too arrogant to notice our commits. UF, UGA and Bama have all taken noticed and tried late to flip 4 or 5 of our 3star commits. Not 4stars, all were 3stars.

The thing we do have working against us is being the sitting SEC East champs. Teams will be very focused on us. 2007=2013 (12-2). 2014 could be like 2008, and 8-4.

Also, Pinkel's a long term guy. Only had 4 jobs in 35yrs. Same with his staff. Some guys have been with him for over 20yrs. I could easily see him retire in about 5yrs and promote from within.

I live in MO and have a kid at Mizzou. I don't disrespect the program and particularly not Pinkel.

That said, the Tigers had a charmed life in '13. They had a very good team led by some talented Srs. They benefited from some key injuries to opponents just in time for their match ups. Right now, the SEC East can easily swing on injuries.

Due to the weakness of Mizzou's OOC schedule, I think the Tigers will win 6-8 games this fall.

 

[sjt18]

It will be interesting to see how well Pinkel does in the next few years. He had only marginal success in the Big 12, never won a conference championship. Did win the northern division a couple of times but that doesn't really compare to the SEC East IMO.

Many believe Mizzou benefited from other's misfortune last season. The East is also weak at the moment but don't expect that to be the case forever. The SEC as a whole recruits at a higher level than the Big 12 so I think the jury is still out on whether Pinkel will truly be successful in the SEC.

You have to remember in this conference success is judged by championships. I don't think Pinkel would be a coach for long at UT with his record.

Agree with you here. The caveat to that is that HSFB in MO is improving and Mizzou is "the" state team. He could also capitalize on the Chicagoland area by selling the SEC.

I think that the big 3 in the East will soon be the big 3 again: UGA, UF, UT. I don't think however that Mizzou will be at the bottom with Vandy or UK... and I also don't think USCe will sustain when SOS hangs up his whistle.

 

[KBVol]

Greetings VolNation from a Mizzou fan.

First off, let me address Mizzou recruiting. Very much what Rooster said. Gary Pinkel was Don James OC at UDub when they were winning NCs. He employs the same recruiting formula, and it's pretty accurate. You really need to lump Pinkel with Bill Snyder of KSU and Frank Beamer of VT. These three HCs get the most out of any recruiting class. Examples: 1st round picks, Ziggy Hood, Sean Witherspoon, and Michael Egnew were all 2star recruits. This year, OL Justin Britt a 2nd rounder for Seattle was also a 2star. So was SEC DPOY Michael Sam.

Our bad start in the SEC was about injuries but a few more reasons. We figured out the spread offense that worked in the B12 wasn't as good in the SEC. The DEs were quicker and the DBs tighter. We no longer use the TE as an inside WR. The position is now primarily as a blocker. Also, senior leadership was lacking. Sheldon Richardson was an incredible talent, but his mouth was a problem.

We did lose a lot, but a lot is coming back.

We lost our QB, but Mauk started 5 games and was 4-1. He's a gunslinger that's done well putting the ball down field. That opens the running game.

We lost Josey, but he was part of a 3 RB rotation that was interchangeble. Marcus Murphy will be our main RB/KR/PR.

We lost two OLs, but in the spread, there is no perminent positions, just the 10 best OLs. The first 5 start, when one comes out #6 comes in.

Lost a lot at WR, but Sasser and Hunt are not a drop off.

Defense, very deep at DT. I'd take Hoch, Brantley, Vincent and Augusta over any SEC team. DEs Ray and Golden were just as good as Sam and Ealy last year, it's their backups that is a concern. Two RSFRs and a Juco to back them up.

We lost two LBs, that is also a concern. I like the guys coming up, but TBD.

I'm not as concerned about DB as you might think. Lost both corners, but Gibson, Penton and Johnson all have experience. A couple true FRs, Arky's Ronnie Wingo's lil'l bro Ray and Actor Don Cheadle's nephew, Logan Cheadle are expected (at least by me) to get some PT.

Also the coaching. After coming off a 5-7 season we didn't know what to expect, and the first few cupcake games looked a little shakey. But, what we found was the coaches purposely ran very vanilla defense and offense to make every position responsible for itself. Why run schemes to exploit weaknesses on teams that are far weaker? Instead find your own weaknesses and fix them. By the 3rd or 4th games the more complicated schemes started to be seen.

I like our schedule. The @USCe is our biggest concern. I'm glad we're play you at Knoxville this year, because I fully expect you to be even better next year. You're still a young team, and that's going to need to play out.

Appreciate the good, informative summation from a Mizzou fan's point of view. A lot of guys on here think you're gonna be way down and expect UT to win. I'm not nearly so sure to say the least.... Pinkel's proven himself to be a helluva coach.

Btw, I know Finis Stribling, have seen him grow up from when he was in middle school. Great family, great kid and, for your purposes, great athlete. I'd say he fits the mold of a typical Pinkel recruit.... immensely talented kid flying under the radar.

 

[gunner]

Greetings VolNation from a Mizzou fan.

First off, let me address Mizzou recruiting. Very much what Rooster said. Gary Pinkel was Don James OC at UDub when they were winning NCs. He employs the same recruiting formula, and it's pretty accurate. You really need to lump Pinkel with Bill Snyder of KSU and Frank Beamer of VT. These three HCs get the most out of any recruiting class. Examples: 1st round picks, Ziggy Hood, Sean Witherspoon, and Michael Egnew were all 2star recruits. This year, OL Justin Britt a 2nd rounder for Seattle was also a 2star. So was SEC DPOY Michael Sam.

Our bad start in the SEC was about injuries but a few more reasons. We figured out the spread offense that worked in the B12 wasn't as good in the SEC. The DEs were quicker and the DBs tighter. We no longer use the TE as an inside WR. The position is now primarily as a blocker. Also, senior leadership was lacking. Sheldon Richardson was an incredible talent, but his mouth was a problem.

We did lose a lot, but a lot is coming back.

We lost our QB, but Mauk started 5 games and was 4-1. He's a gunslinger that's done well putting the ball down field. That opens the running game.

We lost Josey, but he was part of a 3 RB rotation that was interchangeble. Marcus Murphy will be our main RB/KR/PR.

We lost two OLs, but in the spread, there is no perminent positions, just the 10 best OLs. The first 5 start, when one comes out #6 comes in.

Lost a lot at WR, but Sasser and Hunt are not a drop off.

Defense, very deep at DT. I'd take Hoch, Brantley, Vincent and Augusta over any SEC team. DEs Ray and Golden were just as good as Sam and Ealy last year, it's their backups that is a concern. Two RSFRs and a Juco to back them up.

We lost two LBs, that is also a concern. I like the guys coming up, but TBD.

I'm not as concerned about DB as you might think. Lost both corners, but Gibson, Penton and Johnson all have experience. A couple true FRs, Arky's Ronnie Wingo's lil'l bro Ray and Actor Don Cheadle's nephew, Logan Cheadle are expected (at least by me) to get some PT.

Also the coaching. After coming off a 5-7 season we didn't know what to expect, and the first few cupcake games looked a little shakey. But, what we found was the coaches purposely ran very vanilla defense and offense to make every position responsible for itself. Why run schemes to exploit weaknesses on teams that are far weaker? Instead find your own weaknesses and fix them. By the 3rd or 4th games the more complicated schemes started to be seen.

I like our schedule. The @USCe is our biggest concern. I'm glad we're play you at Knoxville this year, because I fully expect you to be even better next year. You're still a young team, and that's going to need to play out.

Nice perspective, but you forgot to mention all the luck Mizzou had last season, and without it your coach would have been fired. Mizzou doesn't have the talent to win the SEC, Auburn proved that, and they were even the best team in the SEC last season, they just had a lot of luck too.
Good luck trying to get back to a decent bowl game next year or ever with the type of players that your coaches recruit.

 

[RiseToTheTop]

I don't see enough data about Missouri to make a valid comparison to Tennessee. I'm pasting in a post I made on another board when talking about the 2014 season. Since you have studied Missouri, can you extract comparable data?

Question, what was the QB's record in those 4 games where you got the passing percentage??

Here is my post from another site on Tennessee

I think catastrophic is losing any one of 7 players. I think to get that 6th win and go bowling, they have to keep these 7 players healthy and playing productively. Lose any one and getting to 6 will take some luck IMO.

Worley, Lane, Hurd, North, Johnson, Maggit or Randolph. I agree with you that losing 3 or more OL would be a tremendous hit as well.

When talking about "number of wins" you have to consider how very inexperienced this bunch is. They have to be molded and put together to play as a unit (offensive and defensive units) to have success. The number of inexperienced players is staggering.

46% of this roster has NOT ever set foot on a division one football field.


of the returning players that have played, here are the number who have had more than 10 starts at D-1.

4 seniors (Downs (13), Coleman (25), Worley (10) and Johnson (34))
4 juniors (Howard (10), Maggit (17), McNeil (19) and Randolph (23)
2 sophomores. (North (11) and Sutton (12)

so 10 players on this roster have had 10 or more starts in their career. Everyone else has not. This is assuming Howard returns. If not, only 9 have started 10 or more times.

it is POSSIBLE for this team to win 4, 6 or 8 games. Possible because they have to play the schedule and things happen.

6 wins is more probable than 4 or 8. 5 is a more likely as a guess at this juncture because it will take time for the inexperienced players to learn to compete. Talking of those with SEC level talent. Health is a major factor. lose the experienced players early in season could lead to a catastrophic season.

Obviously returning starts/starters hold a little weight but some ppl put more stock into it than they should. So we have 10 guys who have started atleast 10 games. There's still other players who have played enough snaps, started close to 10 games, and played in alot of games. Lane doesn't have 10 starts but has a ton of game reps. Like 300+ carries and 3 yrs worth of experience. Williams has 8 starts and played in like 30 games. Danny Obrien got alot of snaps in every game last yr. crowder, Jackson, kerby are in their 4th yr in the program. Physically, they are prepared. Jackson would have started at several other SEC schools last yr. we just didnt need him to. He was an All SEC freshman three years ago. He has about a half dozen starts and played in about 24 games. Kerby has played in about 19 games. Sure, it's not the best situation but these kids are talented too. They aren't as green as some make them out to be. A start is just one play. There is several kids who have played more snaps than you are giving credit. Compare that to our first opponent who has about 6 guys with 10 starts and way more new players and our situation doesn't look as bad.

 

[StlOx]

Appreciate the good, informative summation from a Mizzou fan's point of view. A lot of guys on here think you're gonna be way down and expect UT to win. I'm not nearly so sure to say the least.... Pinkel's proven himself to be a helluva coach.

Btw, I know Finis Stribling, have seen him grow up from when he was in middle school. Great family, great kid and, for your purposes, great athlete. I'd say he fits the mold of a typical Pinkel recruit.... immensely talented kid flying under the radar.

Glad to share with a fellow fan.

Pinkel has stuck with his formula with recruiting with pretty good success. When you're not a name program with NCs dangling from it, you really have to work hard at polishing those rough diamonds.

He also pushes the family concept as a program and graduating. Even the 5 kids that were asked not to come back next year all got their degrees.

This works very well with the parents, and the kids feel like they're part of something special.