Pitiful . Failed to realize how bad this was. Seems like every game I watch a transfer from UT making a big play.

[volfan2024]

College football teams who were crushed by transfer portal losses this offseason (247sports.com)
(Photo: 247Sports)
Nobody got hit harder by a transfer portal exodus than Tennessee. Depending on how one chooses to calculate things, the Vols lost six or seven starters to the portal, and that stat doesn’t really describe the totality of the losses. The Vols lost their top 2020 recruit (Key Lawrence) and their starting QB for much of the last four years (Jarrett Guarantano). They lost two of the SEC’s better running backs (Eric Gray, Ty Chandler), a starting receiver (Brandon Johnson), two starting-caliber offensive tackles (Wanya Morris, Jahmir Johnson), their best pass rusher (Deandre Johnson) and two leading tacklers (Henry To’o To’o, Quavaris Crouch).
If one were to go solely by recruiting rankings, Tennessee lost seven of their 10 most talented players to the transfer portal in one offseason. That listing doesn’t even count the number of their 2021 signees who asked out of their NLIs after the Vols fired Jeremy Pruitt.
And while the Vols did make some gains back via the portal, they don’t come close to replacing what the previous group provided. Tennessee didn’t just get crushed by the portal; the string of exits might legitimately set Josh Heupel’s rebuild back a year or two.

 

[lostsheep]

And yet, I feel more positive about the future direction of our program than I have since Kiffin's year.

 

[Sudden Impact]

Time will tell. Is the cup half empty or Half full. It depends on how you look at it. Another Post disagrees with your analysis. Regardless of the Portal this was going to be a 2 or 3 year rebuild and the Portal has actually help in some ways.

 

[CAVPUT]

Outside of Key and Gray, I'm not sweating the loss of any of those guys.

 

[ThreatLevelOrange]

Swings both ways. Our only QBs are transfers. Even the scout team guy was from UCF.

 

[vols 30]

I'll take those players leaving if that was the result of Pruitt leaving. Well worth it

 

[VFL-82-JP]

OP, someone needs to rip the rear view mirror off your ride. You look in it way too much.

We're going forward, lad, not back.

Go Vols!

 

[pricevol5]

So who'd you see make a big play?

 

[jessiej86]

I really like this team. It would great to win every game, but it is also nice to have a scrappy team to pull for. The key to happiness is to want what you have, not having what you want. JH, to my knowledge, has never used the depth or the lack of 5*'s as an excuse. He wants the team he has and I think that is a big reason this team has bought in and plays so hard.

 

[sjt18]

I liked Brandon Johnson and he would have provided depth to this team but... using him, Guarantano, D Johnson, Crouch, Lawrence, or even Morris in that argument invalidates it. One of the two RB's would have provided valuable depth.

 

[sjt18]

This team aligns with the culture Heupel is trying to build. It is likely those guys didn't or wouldn't. Since building the right culture is prerequisite to building anything else... these losses did not set him back. They likely set him forward.

Now, he has to go into the portal and JUCO and find guys who can compete immediately

 

[volinthenorth]

Outside of Key and Gray, I'm not sweating the loss of any of those guys.

Our line has been pretty bad at times, if only just from a depth perspective. We could have used Wanya and Jahmir when Ole Miss and some others were blowing past our linemen and the Mays boys were on the bench with injuries.

 

[Smokeyone]

Looking at that list-
I would like to have Lawrence on the roster
Gitmo is not missed
Gray would be nice as it allows Smalls to recover
Chandler is not missed
Johnson is solid but a luxury at this point
Morris or Johnson would be nice on the roster
D Johnson was dismissed with a legal issue if memory serves
ToToToo went to Bama so he is dead to me
Crouch would be very welcomed on this roster

But I can’t point to a single one as the difference in the record.
Lawrence 35 tackles 19 solo
Gitmo 33 of 49 248 1td 3int
Gray 64 303 4.7 1td
Chandler 121 671 5.5 9td
B Johnson 27 327 8td
Morris no stats found
J Johnson no stats found
ToToToo don’t care
Crouch 65 tackles 32 solo
D Johnson 8 tackles 1.5 sacks

 

[JRich]

Dude, they were all getting paid. Wake up and get over it.

Well, maybe not JG, but he is an addition by subtraction.

 

[USAFgolferVol]

OP, someone needs to rip the rear view mirror off your ride. You look in it way too much.

We're going forward, lad, not back.

Go Vols!

He's just stating a fact. It's the main reason we're mediocre at best, if that.

I think Heupel will get us back to a consistent top 10-15 team but we need more talented players. A fact that seems to elude you.

 

[sjt18]

He's just stating a fact. It's the main reason we're mediocre at best, if that.

I think Heupel will get us back to a consistent top 10-15 team but we need more talented players. A fact that seems to elude you.

UT does need more talented players. That's an undeniable fact. Those guys being gone aren't the reason UT is where it is... and most opponents show the Vols more respect than you do. It has been a "process" to land the roster where it is. Along with the possibility that some of those guys could not come back due to the scandal... I'm not sure you want a guy like Henry T in the locker room right now. These kids are trying to learn how to be a team... he's trying to improve his draft stock.

I would LOVE to have Jahmir Johnson on this roster. Other than that... I'm neutral to no on the rest.

 

[USAFgolferVol]

UT does need more talented players. That's an undeniable fact. Those guys being gone aren't the reason UT is where it is... and most opponents show the Vols more respect than you do.

You're right. Those players being gone are the result of having an incompetent AD hire an incompetent head coach. Your last statement is pure BS that you can't back up with any examples.

 

[JonGrudensAgent]

Getting rid of Guarantano and Pruitt was worth whatever roster losses ensued.

The lack of depth on the O line and LB has been the biggest setback this season.

This team isn't missing much if anything at QB, RB, and WR on offense.

 

[sjt18]

You're right. Those players being gone are the result of having an incompetent AD hire an incompetent head coach. Your last statement is pure BS that you can't back up with any examples.

You said they were "mediocre" at best... and yeah opposing coaches and media have given UT more respect than that. If you chose to ignore it when they said it then I'm not inclined to waste time finding quotes.

 

[USAFgolferVol]

You said they were "mediocre" at best... and yeah opposing coaches and media have given UT more respect than that. If you chose to ignore it when they said it then I'm not inclined to waste time finding quotes.

I think if we beat UK and go 7-5 would be an amazing accomplishment given the crap show Huepel inherited. If we go 6-6, it's still a nice accomplishment. I've consistently maintained that opinion. How is that disrespectful? Stating we're mediocre at best right now isn't a lack of respect. It's a fact, comparatively speaking. We have some really good players, but not enough of them right now. It appears as though some in our fan base have pretty thin skin

 

[sjt18]

I think if we beat UK and go 7-5 would be an amazing accomplishment given the crap show Huepel inherited. If we go 6-6, it's still a nice accomplishment. I've consistently maintained that opinion. How is that disrespectful? Stating we're mediocre at best right now isn't a lack of respect. It's a fact, comparatively speaking. We have some really good players, but not enough of them right now. It appears as though some in our fan base have pretty thin skin

"Mediocre at best" is NEVER a compliment. It is a put down 100% of the time. Maybe that's not how you intended it... but that's the message given by that phrase.

This team is a tough out.

 

[USAFgolferVol]

"Mediocre at best" is NEVER a compliment. It is a put down 100% of the time. Maybe that's not how you intended it... but that's the message given by that phrase.

This team is a tough out.

I certainly didn't mean it as a put down.

 

[TitanicVolz]

Biggest loses u ask me are on the oline and in the middle of the defense.Crouch and Banks would have make a nasty combo let's be honest.Morriz would have been steady on the line,and Chandler prob was a great fit for this offense and would have lit it up.Got Evans so that canceled Chandler.Morrjs and Crouch were prob the biggest 2 Jmo

 

[wmcovol]

Looking at that list-
I would like to have Lawrence on the roster
Gitmo is not missed
Gray would be nice as it allows Smalls to recover
Chandler is not missed
Johnson is solid but a luxury at this point
Morris or Johnson would be nice on the roster
D Johnson was dismissed with a legal issue if memory serves
ToToToo went to Bama so he is dead to me
Crouch would be very welcomed on this roster

But I can’t point to a single one as the difference in the record.
Lawrence 35 tackles 19 solo
Gitmo 33 of 49 248 1td 3int
Gray 64 303 4.7 1td
Chandler 121 671 5.5 9td
B Johnson 27 327 8td
Morris no stats found
J Johnson no stats found
ToToToo don’t care
Crouch 65 tackles 32 solo
D Johnson 8 tackles 1.5 sacks

Evans is everything Gray & Chandler are and more. Hooker >JG, Payton > Johnson. Young > DJohnson. Missing the LBers & OL.

 

[ptcarter]

As Hunter S Thompson said, “The cream rises to the top, but the scum also rises”.
VFL-82-JP right. Quit looking back. This purge has brought some fresh new faces in both coaching and players. Rip that bandaid off and heal. Forget about the scum that left.