Number of games we get blown out.

[sjt18]

BTW, if UGA ever gets a truly elite coach, they'll be better than Bama is now. They have MUCH more instate talent than Alabama.

 

[KBVol]

My point is that we can't recruit nationally as well as we used to because everybody else has gotten in on the game. Sure, we still get guys from out of state, but so is everyone else. With our lack of consistent in-state talent, we will always struggle to get 9-10 wins, unlike Bama, LSU, and Florida, where it's almost automatic. UT is trending downward while the big 3 are still trending upward or remaining at the top. Florida will kick our asses again next year, and everyone is going to wonder why. I will tell you: in-state talent. Our glory days are over. We will be fighting it out with Missouri and Georgia for sloppy seconds for the most part. If you think I'm wrong, you must be ignoring the past 10 years of college football. If you think UT will get back to beating Bama 8 years in a row (with or without Saban), you are in fantasy land. Those days are over.

If you believe the future is lost, that UT will never beat their rivals again, never have success again then why the f are you still here? I personally don't think you're a Vol fan to begin with, but good God alive....just give up. Go find another team to root for.... or better yet, just drop the pretense and openly pull for whatever team you're a fan of. Jeez.

Fact is, no matter where we got them, Butch just signed the #5 class in the country, the best class in the SEC East, the 4th best in the conference. Fact is, the talent level of D1 prospects in the state of Tennessee is at an all time high and is projected to get better as we look at the 2015 and 2016 classes.

Btw, how the hell is Florida trending up?
Last 4 years....8-5, 7-6, 11-2, 4-8. Their head coach is arguably sitting on the hottest seat in the SEC this year.

There are ridiculous sounding negavols on here who seem to borderline hate the vols, the program, the head coach and enjoy criticizing and ranting at the slightest negatives rather than pull for the team and find anything positive...... and then there's you.

 

[smokey0625]

If you believe the future is lost, that UT will never beat their rivals again, never have success again then why the f are you still here? I personally don't think you're a Vol fan to begin with, but good God alive....just give up. Go find another team to root for.... or better yet, just drop the pretense and openly pull for whatever team you're a fan of. Jeez.

Fact is, no matter where we got them, Butch just signed the #5 class in the country, the best class in the SEC East, the 4th best in the conference. Fact is, the talent level of D1 prospects in the state of Tennessee is at an all time high and is projected to get better as we look at the 2015 and 2016 classes.

Btw, how the hell is Florida trending up?
Last 4 years....8-5, 7-6, 11-2, 4-8. Their head coach is arguably sitting on the hottest seat in the SEC this year.

There are ridiculous sounding negavols on here who seem to borderline hate the vols, the program, the head coach and enjoy criticizing and ranting at the slightest negatives rather than pull for the team and find anything positive...... and then there's you.

Let it go man. Either a troll or stupid.

You don't have to have the top class, but if your classes are comparable to other top classes, then you have a shot. Example, not much difference in the fourth and second ranked class, therefore not much difference in talent. Probably the only difference is recruiting service rankings. We are building our talent back and with one more good class we should start to sure up depth problems.

 

[LotteryPick]

This is all subject to change. UT has resources and is an attractive destination. The key is beginning to get some wins and wins that matter... like UF, Bama, UGA, et al. That will keep recruits listening. People don't want to hear it here but if Jones goes 5-7 again this fall he will have a hard time keeping those national recruits interested in UT. They will go with the hot coach and hot program.

Bama does not have a whole lot more instate talent than UT if any... then they split it with Auburn. Granted there is only one Saban but they hired the right coach. Jones could be that guy for UT or it may be someone else. But there IS a staff out there that can make UT an elite program.

Ironclad predictions about future sporting events are dumb.

That's pathetic.

There was a time when a Bama fan might have said something similar about UT. Things change... always. And the past 10 years? We've seen teams with absolutely no instate talent like Oregon rise to national prominence. We've seen schools that were thought to have academic standards too high to achieve football success become national powerhouses like Stanford. We've seen 2nd or 3rd option schools within a state get in the NC talk- Baylor. We've seen Vandy become credible. We've seen an undermanned Mizzou team win the East.

At the same time, we have seen once powerhouses fade... like UT, ND, Miami, Texas, etc.

Things will change. Whether it cycles back to UT or not depends primarily on keeping the standard for the HC high and good timing. Right now... is GREAT timing if Jones can take advantage of it. The East is a jumbled mess waiting for someone to take over.

Great post.

 

[sjt18]

Great post.

:hi:

I knew you really liked me... I knew it... :dance2:

 

[LotteryPick]

:hi:

I knew you really liked me... I knew it... :dance2:

Don't flatter yourself.

 

[Eddie Vol Halen]

Things will change. Whether it cycles back to UT or not depends primarily on keeping the standard for the HC high and good timing. Right now... is GREAT timing if Jones can take advantage of it. The East is a jumbled mess waiting for someone to take over.

So true and this has been the case since Tebow graduated.

And it just kills me that it has coincided with the worst run of Tennessee football in a century and we had guys coaching UT because of the reputation of their fathers.

SMDH. What could have been.

 

[johnboyhunter]

We gone whip all they asses.

Whip De asses

 

[KBVol]

Let it go man. Either a troll or stupid.

You don't have to have the top class, but if your classes are comparable to other top classes, then you have a shot. Example, not much difference in the fourth and second ranked class, therefore not much difference in talent. Probably the only difference is recruiting service rankings. We are building our talent back and with one more good class we should start to sure up depth problems.

Don't suffer trolls or stupidity very well.

 

[thebjd]

BTW, if UGA ever gets a truly elite coach, they'll be better than Bama is now. They have MUCH more instate talent than Alabama.

Atlanta is too big. There is too much talent in the area for UGA to keep it and keep the other schools out. Georgia, Florida, Texas, California produce the most but the scholarship limit makes it impossible for teams to hoard talent.

 

[sjt18]

So true and this has been the case since Tebow graduated.

And it just kills me that it has coincided with the worst run of Tennessee football in a century and we had guys coaching UT because of the reputation of their fathers.

SMDH. What could have been.

I know you hate Dooley and my intent is not to talk you out of that here... But IMHO, it would not have mattered short of someone like Saban WHO UT hired following Kiffin. Fulmer was a great Vol and coach in his day. But the game passed him by and he didn't change with it. He stopped getting the right kind of players and talent. He started having discipline issues. He failed to hold coaches accountable. In short, he ran the program into the ditch. He didn't intend to... I'm not sure he even now realizes the damage he did.

Dooley was just a mediocre coach that accepted a job way too big for him... but in truth it might have been too big for anyone that UT could have realistically have hired in January 2010.

The program Jones inherited was more stable and disciplined than '10. The roster was better though you would probably argue the degree. The NCAA isn't snooping. AND the previous coach was fired which in a way raises the image of the program rather than having a coach leave in the middle of the night for his "dream job."

 

[sjt18]

Atlanta is too big. There is too much talent in the area for UGA to keep it and keep the other schools out. Georgia, Florida, Texas, California produce the most but the scholarship limit makes it impossible for teams to hoard talent.

Agree that ATL is more wide open but a lot of talent in GA comes from areas outside of ATL where the Dawgs are big.

If they had a Saban like coach, more of the best ATL players would go to UGA.

I like Richt as a person but as a coach... I'm glad he's theirs.

 

[Eddie Vol Halen]

I know you hate Dooley and my intent is not to talk you out of that here... But IMHO, it would not have mattered short of someone like Saban WHO UT hired following Kiffin. Fulmer was a great Vol and coach in his day. But the game passed him by and he didn't change with it. He stopped getting the right kind of players and talent. He started having discipline issues. He failed to hold coaches accountable. In short, he ran the program into the ditch. He didn't intend to... I'm not sure he even now realizes the damage he did.

Dooley was just a mediocre coach that accepted a job way too big for him... but in truth it might have been too big for anyone that UT could have realistically have hired in January 2010.

The program Jones inherited was more stable and disciplined than '10. The roster was better though you would probably argue the degree. The NCAA isn't snooping. AND the previous coach was fired which in a way raises the image of the program rather than having a coach leave in the middle of the night for his "dream job."

I think you know I just won't agree with much of this. IMHO, with Tajh Boyd and / or Bryce Petty, no matter what anyone thinks of Fulmer, we actually dominate the East even more than we did in the Decade of Dominance. The East has NEVER been weaker since dividing the conference.

Having said that, we may not have beaten the West in the SECCG (I think we do at least once, but many just won't agree with that assessment). So, there is an argument to fire Fulmer. However, I will never stomach the argument that we just "hired wrong." You don't fire Fulmer to hire Kiffin's Daddy or Derek MF Dooley.

You hire Gruden after Fulmer, period. You don't hire Lane and Derek. If you don't have Gruden in the bag, you don't make that call.

Hambone and Hart may prove the worst duo in the history of the NCAA before it is all said and done. Let's see if Hart brings back Bruce. I think he pulls a Hambone there as well, and that well solidify the legacy of the "dynamic duo."

 

[Boca Vol]

I think you know I just won't agree with much of this. IMHO, with Tajh Boyd and / or Bryce Petty, no matter what anyone thinks of Fulmer, we actually dominate the East even more than we did in the Decade of Dominance. The East has NEVER been weaker since dividing the conference.

Just because the UT AD Dept. put out a video titled "Decade of Dominance" doesn't make it true. UF owned UT in the 90's going 7-3 against the Vols.

Fulmer had a chance to take control of the East after Spurrier left but didn't. UGA stepped in and UT fell to the side.

 

[CANNONVOLRUN]

Zero getting blown out for team #118

 

[NEVolFan]

Recognizing it has been several years since we have whipped dey azz, it is my hope that this year we can act like we have been there before. Show some class...k.

 

[govols105]

show some class ok, but violence and rage and fun and excitement are ok too. it's been way to long. i do this stuff every season all in one. but the rest of the fanbase needs to be wild and raise a ruckus too. Class is not beating up an opponents' fan physically or damaging their car that is class. Come wit it!

 

[sjt18]

I think you know I just won't agree with much of this. IMHO, with Tajh Boyd and / or Bryce Petty, no matter what anyone thinks of Fulmer, we actually dominate the East even more than we did in the Decade of Dominance. The East has NEVER been weaker since dividing the conference.

Fulmer was unable to get OL's and DT's to sign with him over his past few years. That's the biggest reason the hole was so deep for Kiffin and Dooley. Without those two positions, you don't dominate anything.

Having said that, we may not have beaten the West in the SECCG (I think we do at least once, but many just won't agree with that assessment). So, there is an argument to fire Fulmer. However, I will never stomach the argument that we just "hired wrong." You don't fire Fulmer to hire Kiffin's Daddy or Derek MF Dooley.

Then you aren't putting this in the context of the history of other programs very well. When a program loses a long term and/or successful coach even under the best of circumstances they usually have to go through several coaches before finding another good one. How many coaches between Dooley and Richt? UF had Zook between SOS and Meyer. How many coaches tried and failed to resurrect Bama's glory years between Bear and Saban? ND is still looking for someont to bring back the success of Holtz.

It happened or is happening at OU, Nebraska, ND, Bama, FSU, Clemson, UGA, Miami, UF, UT, Ohio State, Washington, UCLA,... in fact I guess you could say it has happened at EVERY historically significant football program at some time or another.

Making bad hires after a long time coach is the NORM... not the exception.

Lots of these guys had great resumes and were considered no-brainer hires. Could Michigan have made a better hire than Rich Rodriguez based on resume?

You hire Gruden after Fulmer, period. You don't hire Lane and Derek. If you don't have Gruden in the bag, you don't make that call.

1) Gruden could have failed too. Success in the NFL is based on different things than success in CFB. Saban failed badly in the NFL as did Spurrier. Petrino who is very good in CFB was horrible in ATL. Mike Sherman had about the same level of success in the NFL less the Super Bowl as Gruden and failed badly at TAM.

Peter Carroll is one of the few guys to successfully move from the NFL to CFB. He wasn't very good in his first NFL run though. Plus, consider where he coached. USC never required him to spend the night in a hotel to recruit enough 4/5* players to fill a roster. All he had to do is win recruiting battles in SoCal to be a national power. Pretty much no other school in the country can do that.

2) There is nothing that suggests that Gruden ever really wanted the job. Every time he upped the ante and UT met it... he upped it again. It is easy in your shoes to spend someone else's money but it is very unlikely UT could have ever found his price mostly because he didn't seem to want to trade the easy gig he has now for the work it takes to run a college program.

Hambone and Hart may prove the worst duo in the history of the NCAA before it is all said and done. Let's see if Hart brings back Bruce. I think he pulls a Hambone there as well, and that well solidify the legacy of the "dynamic duo."

I think you have vastly overestimated the real chances of Gruden coaching at UT.

I am only a passive fan of basketball these days and haven't kept up with every development with CM or BP. IOW's, I like UT as a football school and do not care what they do with basketball except as it relates to football.