My Thoughts on the UT-Martin Game, After Sleeping on it

[BanditVol]

-I thought we came out flat on defense. We also finished flat on defense. Part of that could be the Alabama hangover or the opponent, or the fact that sitting so many guys to rest up sends a message to the team that we're not taking this game very seriously. Regardless, I'm glad we got a cupcake game before playing Kentucky. They got a bye, which helps them, but I'm not sure this game wasn't better than a bye, since it gave the injured guys a chance to sit out and heal up, but still a game environment to keep others sharp. I'm sure we've been game-planning Kentucky for 2 weeks, as if we had a bye.

-UT Martin is a really good FCS team. Those weren't bad players they have on offense, especially at QB and WR.

-I like seeing William Wright get a pick. Despite being a walk-on, he's a 4.3 guy from Ensworth who, by all accounts, works hard and shows up well in practice. Just a sophomore, he could develop into a solid depth guy.

-There was a poster last week who acted as if the notion that Vol fans have been hyper-critical of Joe Milton was contrived. Well he can check out some of the Milton posts following the game. Milton came in during a blowout, operated an ultra-vanilla offense that was simply designed to run the game clock down and get us out of the game as soon as possible, did just fine doing so (hitting a long TD pass), and you'd think by reading some post-game responses, he'd played like Nathan Peterman in the Swamp in 2013. Some of y'all need to chill out on the Milton hate. There was nothing at all to take from his play in this game. He may or may not be the starter next year. I suspect he will be and he'll be good. If not, Jackson or Iamaleava will have to be good to beat him out...and they very well may be. Regardless, Josh Heupel is our coach, so we'll have a good QB.

-Speaking of QBs, and this doesn't have much to do with the game, other than Jason Simpson being UTM's coach...but I wonder if Ty Simpson transfers to UT this offseason. He's behind Milroe at Bama and he's just a sophomore. They're bringing in 2 more highly rated QBs and I wouldn't be surprised if Holstein is higher on the depth chart than Simpson pretty quickly. Simpson grew up a UT fan, has now seen what Heupel can do with a QB, sees a starter opening at UT next year...so maybe. After he committed to Bama, some posters said he'll end up transferring to UT anyway. Maybe they were right. Anyway, just a thought I had.

-Jalen Wright is our best RB. Glad to see him holding on to the football. He has more burst, speed, vision, and more wiggle than Small. He'd be the starter if he hadn't had the fumble issues. Hope the ball security continues so we can use him more.

-Liked seeing Squirrel get in there. He should've had 2 long TDs, but Hooker really under-threw him on one ball. Milton's TD was a little underthrown too, just not as badly as Hooker's, so White could still make a play and score. Someone said he reminds of some of those little Spurrier WRs who used to kill Tennessee. I can see that...a Jacquez Green or Reidel Anthony type.

-Hope Jackson is okay. We likely won't need him this year, but I want him to continue developing in practice. The QB competition next year will be intense.

-Congrats to Princeton Fant on a great game. That's a guy with a unique skill set who languishes under most coaches. Heupel is so good at finding roles for players and utilizing their strengths. I think maybe Whitehead plays that FB role next year. Fant may find a Swiss army knife role with an NFL team.

I'm pumped for the Kentucky game. Night game at Neyland. They hate us. They think they can beat us. They're ranked. They could ruin our season. This crowd needs to be amped up. I'll be there, losing my voice as usual.

Go Big Orange.

Defense was definitely flat on their first drive, but stepped it up after that.

Agree that UTM is a very good FCS team, and was impressed with their QB and top WR. The WR could probably be in a rotation at a lower tier SEC school IMO, and maybe better than that.

Having said that, they are still FCS so I was glad to see the D step it up after that first drive.

Also agree with your comments on Milton. He was fine. He is probably going to be a very good player for us if he gets the start. The concern I have is that he is not going to just step in and take up where Hooker left off. No one is. Those are big shoes to fill. As much as I credit Heupel for our offensive prowess, Hooker has a great deal to do with it also.

My concern is that Milton (or Jackson or Iamoleva) can step in and do well, but still not satisfy our legions of the miserable who expect an instant Hooker 2.0. I can see it coming already....

 

[Kinger]

-Speaking of QBs, and this doesn't have much to do with the game, other than Jason Simpson being UTM's coach...but I wonder if Ty Simpson transfers to UT this offseason. He's behind Milroe at Bama and he's just a sophomore. They're bringing in 2 more highly rated QBs and I wouldn't be surprised if Holstein is higher on the depth chart than Simpson pretty quickly. Simpson grew up a UT fan, has now seen what Heupel can do with a QB, sees a starter opening at UT next year...so maybe. After he committed to Bama, some posters said he'll end up transferring to UT anyway. Maybe they were right. Anyway, just a thought I had.

Not so sure about that. Tennessee ran a Tight End pass when the Vols were up by 38. Also, the 4th string QB threw a pass into the end zone on the final play of the game instead of kneeling on the ball. Just my opinion, but sure seems like some bad blood between Heupel and Dad Simpson. Maybe I am reading too much into it though.

 

[VOLINVONORE]

Not so sure about that. Tennessee ran a Tight End pass when the Vols were up by 38. Also, the 4th string QB threw a pass into the end zone on the final play of the game instead of kneeling on the ball. Just my opinion, but sure seems like some bad blood between Heupel and Dad Simpson. Maybe I am reading too much into it though.

Heupel is trying to build depth and one can not do that by handing the ball off to the running back every play. Simpson played his starters until the bitter end. He got more than he coul handle in the first half. His playing his starters in the second half actually helped us build depth. I am happy he did it.

 

[CAVPUT]

I hate to say it, but I'm not as optimistic about 2023. I was optimistic at the beginning of this year and probably will be again in 2024, but '23 feels like a transition year.

Milton may have the strongest arm in college football, but he's so reminiscent of JG on the mental side of the game. I would not be surprised if he loses the starting job to either Tayven Jackson or Nico. Hope I'm proven 100% wrong, Milton figures things out, balls out, and we have a great season. But as good as Heupel is, it's rare for a slow-processing, inaccurate QB who has been that way for nearly a decade to suddenly fix his issues. If Heupel turns Milton into a top SEC QB, he deserves every penny of his paycheck.

I expect the same. It's extremely difficult for young QBs in this league. I won't be surprised if they don't bring another QB in from the portal. Unlike many on this board, I just don't have confidence in Milton despite his physical talents and if someone breaks free and Nico takes some of the licks Hooker's taken this year, I think they'll break him in two. Better to have one more vet in the room if you can find the right one IMO. No sense in trying to rush TJ and Nico.

 

[EconVol92]

Not so sure about that. Tennessee ran a Tight End pass when the Vols were up by 38. Also, the 4th string QB threw a pass into the end zone on the final play of the game instead of kneeling on the ball. Just my opinion, but sure seems like some bad blood between Heupel and Dad Simpson. Maybe I am reading too much into it though.

I don't know, my take on Fant's pass was that it was just to give something else for the DC's for both KY and GA to think about and have to scheme for . Who knows, maybe they run that play again and Fant just straight out runs and the defensive backs don't come up to support for the run. Sometimes it's just about planting seeds.

 

[Other_Guy]

OL play was the only thing I was disappointed in

 

[Other_Guy]

I don't understand why yall keep saying Jalen is the better RB.

 

[cgrish]

Heupel is trying to build depth and one can not do that by handing the ball off to the running back every play. Simpson played his starters until the bitter end. He got more than he coul handle in the first half. His playing his starters in the second half actually helped us build depth. I am happy he did it.

I agree, you really get no real game expierence by just handing the ball off. Running your regular offensive plays throughout the game is where the back ups show improvement. And it shows up when an injury happens and they are brought into the game.

 

[RavinDave]

-I thought we came out flat on defense. We also finished flat on defense. Part of that could be the Alabama hangover or the opponent, or the fact that sitting so many guys to rest up sends a message to the team that we're not taking this game very seriously. Regardless, I'm glad we got a cupcake game before playing Kentucky. They got a bye, which helps them, but I'm not sure this game wasn't better than a bye, since it gave the injured guys a chance to sit out and heal up, but still a game environment to keep others sharp. I'm sure we've been game-planning Kentucky for 2 weeks, as if we had a bye.

-UT Martin is a really good FCS team. Those weren't bad players they have on offense, especially at QB and WR.

-I like seeing William Wright get a pick. Despite being a walk-on, he's a 4.3 guy from Ensworth who, by all accounts, works hard and shows up well in practice. Just a sophomore, he could develop into a solid depth guy.

-There was a poster last week who acted as if the notion that Vol fans have been hyper-critical of Joe Milton was contrived. Well he can check out some of the Milton posts following the game. Milton came in during a blowout, operated an ultra-vanilla offense that was simply designed to run the game clock down and get us out of the game as soon as possible, did just fine doing so (hitting a long TD pass), and you'd think by reading some post-game responses, he'd played like Nathan Peterman in the Swamp in 2013. Some of y'all need to chill out on the Milton hate. There was nothing at all to take from his play in this game. He may or may not be the starter next year. I suspect he will be and he'll be good. If not, Jackson or Iamaleava will have to be good to beat him out...and they very well may be. Regardless, Josh Heupel is our coach, so we'll have a good QB.

-Speaking of QBs, and this doesn't have much to do with the game, other than Jason Simpson being UTM's coach...but I wonder if Ty Simpson transfers to UT this offseason. He's behind Milroe at Bama and he's just a sophomore. They're bringing in 2 more highly rated QBs and I wouldn't be surprised if Holstein is higher on the depth chart than Simpson pretty quickly. Simpson grew up a UT fan, has now seen what Heupel can do with a QB, sees a starter opening at UT next year...so maybe. After he committed to Bama, some posters said he'll end up transferring to UT anyway. Maybe they were right. Anyway, just a thought I had.

-Jalen Wright is our best RB. Glad to see him holding on to the football. He has more burst, speed, vision, and more wiggle than Small. He'd be the starter if he hadn't had the fumble issues. Hope the ball security continues so we can use him more.

-Liked seeing Squirrel get in there. He should've had 2 long TDs, but Hooker really under-threw him on one ball. Milton's TD was a little underthrown too, just not as badly as Hooker's, so White could still make a play and score. Someone said he reminds of some of those little Spurrier WRs who used to kill Tennessee. I can see that...a Jacquez Green or Reidel Anthony type.

-Hope Jackson is okay. We likely won't need him this year, but I want him to continue developing in practice. The QB competition next year will be intense.

-Congrats to Princeton Fant on a great game. That's a guy with a unique skill set who languishes under most coaches. Heupel is so good at finding roles for players and utilizing their strengths. I think maybe Whitehead plays that FB role next year. Fant may find a Swiss army knife role with an NFL team.

I'm pumped for the Kentucky game. Night game at Neyland. They hate us. They think they can beat us. They're ranked. They could ruin our season. This crowd needs to be amped up. I'll be there, losing my voice as usual.

Go Big Orange.

Great post.