'25 Portal Thread

#13,877
#13,877
Orange_Crush said:
You pay one incoming WR a million dollars, you likely upset the rest of the room and cause bigger problems than you solve. Let's stop acting like VN posters are the last word in multi-multi-million $$$ roster management.
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I Never said a volnation poster, including me, has the last word. Just like you, posters have opinions, and some may be different than yours.

The fact is we need more talent @ wide receiver (and other positions) to go deep into playoffs. Matthews and/or Jefferson may be the answer, nobody knows. IMO, Heup needs to land one elite wide receiver.

TN should compete for championships, as my Alma mater has the resources.
 
#13,878
#13,878
I think my lust for being a national contender has gotten in the way of common sense and rationalism tbh, and I think that’s the way it is for most vol fans like myself who are in our late teens-mid 20’s, who grew up in the Dooley-Butch-Pruitt era and only hearing about how good the 90’s were and the few times we’ve come close to it, it’s been ripped away by some bs reason (‘22 uscjr, running into the national champion first round of playoff this year)
 
#13,880
#13,880
Wonder if Nico’s buddy Rico Flores will transfer from UCLA in the spring. I’d tamper.

Dropped 120 yards and TD against Hawaii then played through injury before needing season ending surgery.

Was ND’s 2nd best WR as a freshman. Has amazing route running.
 
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#13,881
#13,881
CamVol8 said:
Yup i’m the idiot lol…because heading into a season with 4 receivers who have never played a college snap is a recipe for success. If you see no concern with this and wanna pump sunshine then that’s on you.
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Ohio State came into this season with the these scholarship WRs:

Emeka Egbuka(SR)-124 career catches
Carnell Tate(SO)-18 career catches
Jayden Ballard(SR)-9 career catches
Brandon Inniss(SO)-1 career catch
Kojo Antwi(JR)-1 career catch
Damarion Witten-0 career snaps
Jeremiah Smith(FR)-0 career snaps
Bryson Rodgers(FR)-0 career snaps
Mylan Graham(FR)-0 career snaps

It seemed to work out relatively well for them. Of this group, only Egbuka, Tate, Smith, and to a much lesser extent Inniss had any meaningful playing time this season. They also had 4 WRs who had never played a college snap.
For comparison, this is what we have going into next season and considering we may still add another WR to the group:

Chris Brazzell(JR)-74 career catches
Mike Matthews(SO)-7 career catches
Braylen Staley(FR)-3 career catches
Amari Jefferson(FR)-0 career snaps
Travis Smith(FR)-0 career snaps
Radarious Jackson-0 career snaps
Joakim Dodson(FR)-0 career snaps
Boo Carter(SO)-0 career snaps at WR
 
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#13,883
#13,883
JCVol00 said:
I think my lust for being a national contender has gotten in the way of common sense and rationalism tbh, and I think that’s the way it is for most vol fans like myself who are in our late teens-mid 20’s, who grew up in the Dooley-Butch-Pruitt era and only hearing about how good the 90’s were and the few times we’ve come close to it, it’s been ripped away by some bs reason (‘22 uscjr, running into the national champion first round of playoff this year)
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If you are frustrated by how close we have been the last few years only to have it ripped away, the 90s might not have been a pleasurable experience for you.
 
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#13,885
#13,885
MarcoVol said:
Right it’s not like Vols won multiple NCs in the 90s.

NC or the season was a failure mentality has always been dumb.
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Also, the "competing for championships" phrase that many tout seems to be misspoken. Apparently, they mean "winning national championships", since we were in the playoffs this year. Acting like UT is mud puddle water compared to everyone else is disingenuous. Acting like win-it-all-or-it's-a-failure is a recipe for misery.

We are four years out from everyone--fans and national perspective alike--figuring the program was on its last breath, teetering over its own grave. So soon after, with a remarkably successful rebuild, we have a Band of Entitled Misery acting like we're still swirling the drain.
 
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#13,886
#13,886
vol94 said:
I Never said a volnation poster, including me, has the last word. Just like you, posters have opinions, and some may be different than yours.

The fact is we need more talent @ wide receiver (and other positions) to go deep into playoffs. Matthews and/or Jefferson may be the answer, nobody knows. IMO, Heup needs to land one elite wide receiver.

TN should compete for championships, as my Alma mater has the resources.
Click to expand...
Of course we will all have our opinions, and be entitled to them. But it should also be apparent that they are almost universally going to be uninformed, and held by people with no real skills in the area they're criticizing. Thus, it seems more fair to point that out.

And for the record, you probably shouldn't defend your right to opinions while expressing them as facts (see the bolded).
 
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#13,888
#13,888
MarcoVol said:
Right it’s not like Vols won multiple NCs in the 90s.

NC or the season was a failure mentality has always been dumb.
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@JCVol00
For reference, this is how that decade went for us:
1990: 9-2-2 with a win over #15 Ole Miss, a 3 point loss to unranked Alabama, a 5 point loss to #1 Notre Dame and ties against #5 Colorado and #3 Auburn. Won the Sugar Bowl and finished #8.
1991: 9-3 with consecutive wins over #21 UCLA, #23 Mississippi St and #13 Aubrun followed by consecutive losses to #10 Florida and #14 Alabama. Followed that up with an epic comeback win @#5 Notre Dame, then got blown out 42-17 by #6 Penn St in the Fiesta Bowl and finished #14.
1992: 9-3 with wins @#14 Georgia and #4 Florida followed by consecutive looses to unranked Arkansas, #4 Alabama(eventual NC) and unranked South Carolina. Won the Hall of Fame bowl over #16 Boston College and finished 12th.
1993: 9-2-1 with wins over #22 Georgia, #13 Louisville(45-0), a tie with #2 Alabama and a loss @ #9 Florida. Blown out in the Citrus Bowl by Penn St(again) 35-13 and finished #12.
1994: 8-4. Started the season losing 3 out of 4(losses @#14 UCLA, #1 Florida 31-0, @unranked Miss. St and win @#23 Georgia), beat #17 Washington St, lost to #10 Alabama, then won the Gator Bowl over #17 Virginia Tech and finished #22.
1995: 11-1 with blow out wins @ #18 Arkansas and @ #11 Alabama but a blow out loss @ #4 Florida. Won the Citrus Bowl over #4 Ohio State and finished #3.
1996: 10-2 with a win over #7 Alabama and losses to #4 Florida and unranked Memphis. Blew out #11 Northwestern in the Citrus Bowl and finished #9.
1997: 11-2 with blowout wins over #13 Georgia, #24 Southern Miss and @ unranked Alabama. Lost @ #3 Florida. Beat #11 Auburn in the SEC Championship game and had an outside shot at a NC before being blow out in the Orange Bowl by #2 Nebraska(Split NC) and finished #7.
1998: 13-0 National Champions in a year where most fans assumed our NC window had passed with Peyton leaving. Won @ #17 Syracuse, #2 Florida, @ #7 Georgia, Alabama, #10 Arkansas, beat #23 Mississippi State for the SEC Championship and #2 Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl for the natty.
1999: Returned nearly our entire NC team but went 9-3 with wins over #10 Georgia, @ #10 Alabama and #24 Notre Dame. Lost @#4 Florida and @ unranked Arkansas and lost in the Fiesta Bowl to #3 Nebraska(again) and finished #9.
 
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#13,889
#13,889
vol94 said:
I Never said a volnation poster, including me, has the last word. Just like you, posters have opinions, and some may be different than yours.

The fact is we need more talent @ wide receiver (and other positions) to go deep into playoffs. Matthews and/or Jefferson may be the answer, nobody knows. IMO, Heup needs to land one elite wide receiver.

TN should compete for championships, as my Alma mater has the resources.
Click to expand...
Just hit the easy button, right? It isn’t complicated, just get our rich donors to pay more than the other teams even more rich donors…..
 
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#13,890
#13,890
deatojl said:
Ohio State came into this season with the these scholarship WRs:

Emeka Egbuka(SR)-124 career catches
Carnell Tate(SO)-18 career catches
Jayden Ballard(SR)-9 career catches
Brandon Inniss(SO)-1 career catch
Kojo Antwi(JR)-1 career catch
Damarion Witten-0 career snaps
Jeremiah Smith(FR)-0 career snaps
Bryson Rodgers(FR)-0 career snaps
Mylan Graham(FR)-0 career snaps

It seemed to work out relatively well for them. Of this group, only Egbuka, Tate, Smith, and to a much lesser extent Inniss had any meaningful playing time this season. They also had 4 WRs who had never played a college snap.
For comparison, this is what we have going into next season and considering we may still add another WR to the group:

Chris Brazzell(JR)-74 career catches
Mike Matthews(SO)-7 career catches
Braylen Staley(FR)-3 career catches
Amari Jefferson(FR)-0 career snaps
Travis Smith(FR)-0 career snaps
Radarious Jackson-0 career snaps
Joakim Dodson(FR)-0 career snaps
Boo Carter(SO)-0 career snaps at WR
Click to expand...
They also have a much better WR coach than we do
 
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#13,891
#13,891
deatojl said:
Ohio State came into this season with the these scholarship WRs:

Emeka Egbuka(SR)-124 career catches
Carnell Tate(SO)-18 career catches
Jayden Ballard(SR)-9 career catches
Brandon Inniss(SO)-1 career catch
Kojo Antwi(JR)-1 career catch
Damarion Witten-0 career snaps
Jeremiah Smith(FR)-0 career snaps
Bryson Rodgers(FR)-0 career snaps
Mylan Graham(FR)-0 career snaps

It seemed to work out relatively well for them. Of this group, only Egbuka, Tate, Smith, and to a much lesser extent Inniss had any meaningful playing time this season. They also had 4 WRs who had never played a college snap.
For comparison, this is what we have going into next season and considering we may still add another WR to the group:

Chris Brazzell(JR)-74 career catches
Mike Matthews(SO)-7 career catches
Braylen Staley(FR)-3 career catches
Amari Jefferson(FR)-0 career snaps
Travis Smith(FR)-0 career snaps
Radarious Jackson-0 career snaps
Joakim Dodson(FR)-0 career snaps
Boo Carter(SO)-0 career snaps at WR
Click to expand...
It’s almost like that’s the way college football works. Starters leave and have to be replaced by inexperienced younger players.
 
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#13,892
#13,892
WesTnVol said:
After the 21 season I didn’t have Hyatt’s amazing 22 season on my bingo card. Players get better, teams get better and while you can see year to year improvement, each season stands on its own.
I can’t wait for the 2025 version of the Big 🍊👊🏻
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Wait, you’re still excited for this coming year? After we didn’t sign a single generational talent in the portal? And all of our WRs (whom everyone complained about all year) are gone?
 
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#13,897
#13,897
Orange_Crush said:
Of course we will all have our opinions, and be entitled to them. But it should also be apparent that they are almost universally going to be uninformed, and held by people with no real skills in the area they're criticizing. Thus, it seems more fair to point that out.

And for the record, you probably shouldn't defend your right to opinions while expressing them as facts (see the bolded).
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Agree with your post and gave you a like. I enjoy discussing TN sports- love my Vols and contribute financially and attend home games and some away, including Ohio state.

Maybe it’s not a fact but most agree we need more talent.



Also, your opinion, not mine, is better or worse than others.
 
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#13,898
#13,898
Jimmy Football said:
If it’s true that OSU gave him 2 mil, you have to ask yourself if it was worth paying Tate more than Nico.
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These guys better get paid before the new NIL structure starts on July 1. Universities will be allowed to give $20.5 Million across all their student athletes and it's supposed to be based off a formula devised by a committee who will have to approve excessive NIL amounts.

It's gonna go back to boosters paying players under the table again unless a miracle happens.
 
#13,899
#13,899
Orange_Crush said:
Of course we will all have our opinions, and be entitled to them. But it should also be apparent that they are almost universally going to be uninformed, and held by people with no real skills in the area they're criticizing. Thus, it seems more fair to point that out.

And for the record, you probably shouldn't defend your right to opinions while expressing them as facts (see the bolded).
Click to expand...
Oh, the olde OC purging of fragile egoes. Better you than I Sir.
vol94 said:
You are clueless!
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IMG_7290.gif
 
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