Preseason Expectations & Concerns

[NighthawkVol]

It’s interesting to think back to fall camp and compare what we “expected” then to what we know now. Consider:

1) What was our biggest concern in fall camp? Had to be the secondary, right? Now it’s a team strength. We were worried that this walk-on starting at Safety meant we just didn’t have SEC talent back there. But Brooks has been superb. The CBs have exceeded expectations too. Boo Carter is a borderline star already. Even Christian Harrison has been surprisingly good.

2) The OLine (with all those returning seniors) and the WRs were considered our two biggest strengths, besides, of course, the DLine. To this point, they’re probably the two weakest position groups.

3) Who saw Kitselman being this good and the TE room being this deep?

4) We thought Oklahoma and NC State would be really tough tests. Many considered OU a loss. Both will be lucky to make a bowl game. Probably the most common preseason record prediction was 9-3 or 10-2, with losses to Georgia and either OU or Bama, or both. We beat both OU and Bama and lost to Arkansas.

5) Alabama and Georgia are both really good. But not the top 5 teams we thought they’d be.

6) Nico isn’t the star we thought he’d be. He likely will be…and he’s showing signs of coming around to that, but he’s not there yet.

7) We thought Sampson would be good. But we worried a little about depth behind him. Sampson hasn’t been good. He’s been great. Bishop stepping up has assuaged that depth concern, but until he’s healthy again, we need Lewis and Seldon to perform. Regardless, most of us thought Bishop was a placeholder until Seldon got healthy or Lewis came along. That hasn’t been the case…Bishop is flat-out GOOD.

8) The DLine is what we thought it would be. Elite.

What other preseason expectations haven’t matched reality, for good or bad?

 

[deatojl]

It’s interesting to think back to fall camp and compare what we “expected” then to what we know now. Consider:

1) What was our biggest concern in fall camp? Had to be the secondary, right? Now it’s a team strength. We were worried that this walk-on starting at Safety meant we just didn’t have SEC talent back there. But Brooks has been superb. The CBs have exceeded expectations too. Boo Carter is a borderline star already. Even Christian Harrison has been surprisingly good.

2) The OLine (with all those returning seniors) and the WRs were considered our two biggest strengths, besides, of course, the DLine. To this point, they’re probably the two weakest position groups.

3) Who saw Kitselman being this good and the TE room being this deep?

4) We thought Oklahoma and NC State would be really tough tests. Many considered OU a loss. Both will be lucky to make a bowl game. Probably the most common preseason record prediction was 9-3 or 10-2, with losses to Georgia and either OU or Bama, or both. We beat both OU and Bama and lost to Arkansas.

5) Alabama and Georgia are both really good. But not the top 5 teams we thought they’d be.

6) Nico isn’t the star we thought he’d be. He likely will be…and he’s showing signs of coming around to that, but he’s not there yet.

7) We thought Sampson would be good. But we worried a little about depth behind him. Sampson hasn’t been good. He’s been great. Bishop stepping up has assuaged that depth concern, but until he’s healthy again, we need Lewis and Seldon to perform. Regardless, most of us thought Bishop was a placeholder until Seldon got healthy or Lewis came along. That hasn’t been the case…Bishop is flat-out GOOD.

8) The DLine is what we thought it would be. Elite.

What other preseason expectations haven’t matched reality, for good or bad?

Edit: meant to put this in the football forum. Mods, please move.

I recall a lot of people on here claiming the Florida game "is a loss until it isn't". Seems as though a lot of those same folks then gnashed their teeth about the manner in which we won that game.

 

[njvols]

I’ll admit…I thought 9-3 would be our ceiling.

 

[Enki_Amenra]

I expected 9-3 in year 4 when Heupel was hired. It hasn't changed. 9-3 is par for year 4 and anything beyond that is overachieving. . . I'd even say 9-3 in year 4 is overachieving considering the wreck he was hired into. . .

. . .I did change it a little when Nico committed, I said we'd be in the playoffs in '24 and in the title game in '25. The way recruiting is going, I expected we'll be looking at a playoff spot every year for the foreseeable future.

 

[CAVPUT]

It’s interesting to think back to fall camp and compare what we “expected” then to what we know now. Consider:

1) What was our biggest concern in fall camp? Had to be the secondary, right? Now it’s a team strength. We were worried that this walk-on starting at Safety meant we just didn’t have SEC talent back there. But Brooks has been superb. The CBs have exceeded expectations too. Boo Carter is a borderline star already. Even Christian Harrison has been surprisingly good.

2) The OLine (with all those returning seniors) and the WRs were considered our two biggest strengths, besides, of course, the DLine. To this point, they’re probably the two weakest position groups.

3) Who saw Kitselman being this good and the TE room being this deep?

4) We thought Oklahoma and NC State would be really tough tests. Many considered OU a loss. Both will be lucky to make a bowl game. Probably the most common preseason record prediction was 9-3 or 10-2, with losses to Georgia and either OU or Bama, or both. We beat both OU and Bama and lost to Arkansas.

5) Alabama and Georgia are both really good. But not the top 5 teams we thought they’d be.

6) Nico isn’t the star we thought he’d be. He likely will be…and he’s showing signs of coming around to that, but he’s not there yet.

7) We thought Sampson would be good. But we worried a little about depth behind him. Sampson hasn’t been good. He’s been great. Bishop stepping up has assuaged that depth concern, but until he’s healthy again, we need Lewis and Seldon to perform. Regardless, most of us thought Bishop was a placeholder until Seldon got healthy or Lewis came along. That hasn’t been the case…Bishop is flat-out GOOD.

8) The DLine is what we thought it would be. Elite.

What other preseason expectations haven’t matched reality, for good or bad?

Edit: meant to put this in the football forum. Mods, please move.

I had us at 8 wins. We're there with 3 games left. We're assured of 9 wins.They've already met my expectations.

 

[joevol33]

I recall a lot of people on here claiming the Florida game "is a loss until it isn't". Seems as though a lot of those same folks then gnashed their teeth about the manner in which we won that game.

You can't please some people. Not counting this year we won what, 3 of the last 20 or something? I'll take beating Florida anyway, even by 1.

 

[Berry4Heisman14]

I had us at 8-4 so I’m pleasantly surprised

 

[DC_Vol]

I had us at 8 wins. We're there with 3 games left. We're assured of 9 wins.They've already met my expectations.

I thought you said 2 wins.

 

[CAVPUT]

I thought you said 2 wins.

Huh?

 

[NighthawkVol]

I had us at 8 wins. We're there with 3 games left. We're assured of 9 wins.They've already met my expectations.

Waking up alive in the morning exceeds your expectations, my rain cloud friend.

 

[NighthawkVol]

You can't please some people. Not counting this year we won what, 3 of the last 20 or something? I'll take beating Florida anyway, even by 1.

I don’t worry about Florida in Neyland anymore (although they nearly got us). It’s the Swamp that is a house of horrors. We really need to break that streak down there next year.

 

[SonOfGodVolforlife]

I expected 9-3 in year 4 when Heupel was hired. It hasn't changed. 9-3 is par for year 4 and anything beyond that is overachieving. . . I'd even say 9-3 in year 4 is overachieving considering the wreck he was hired into. . .

. . .I did change it a little when Nico committed, I said we'd be in the playoffs in '24 and in the title game in '25. The way recruiting is going, I expected we'll be looking at a playoff spot every year for the foreseeable future.

That’s the most important thing, huep has in position to not only make a run at the playoffs , but I bet next year we’ll be favored to make the field. To say the guy has overachieved is an understatement.

 

[DC_Vol]

Huh?

Maybe I have you confused with the reverse psychology guy. Sorry.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

I had us at 8 wins. We're there with 3 games left. We're assured of 9 wins.They've already met my expectations.

We are assured 10 wins. Vandy isn’t beating us and don’t even say they will.

 

[livefaith]

Great post. I was thinking about this exact thing today. Here's my thoughts ...

Biggest fear pre-season ...
OL Depth - Correct; Got us beat in Fayetteville
2nd fear ...
DBs - Wrong. These boys are playing goooot

Notable strength ...
DL & DL Depth - Dadgum right. Boys are sick.
2nd strength ...
Nico - Nope. I thought he was going to be better after so many questioned him being so young. Honestly, I think the general consensus was about right. He hasn't been quiet ready. Had he just hit his deep passes better, I'd feel right so far.

Overall I quietly believed in 10-2/11-1. But mainly because I thought Nico and the offense would be pretty elite and the D would be equal or better than last year. Offense/Nico have been a disappointment to my lofty standards. But the Defense and especially the backend have exceeded and been amazing. My prediction has pretty spot on, but not for the exact reasons I expected.

 

[VolnGermany]

I had us pegged at 10-2.

Hope I was wrong.

 

[Volfan1000]

It’s interesting to think back to fall camp and compare what we “expected” then to what we know now. Consider:

1) What was our biggest concern in fall camp? Had to be the secondary, right? Now it’s a team strength. We were worried that this walk-on starting at Safety meant we just didn’t have SEC talent back there. But Brooks has been superb. The CBs have exceeded expectations too. Boo Carter is a borderline star already. Even Christian Harrison has been surprisingly good.

2) The OLine (with all those returning seniors) and the WRs were considered our two biggest strengths, besides, of course, the DLine. To this point, they’re probably the two weakest position groups.

3) Who saw Kitselman being this good and the TE room being this deep?

4) We thought Oklahoma and NC State would be really tough tests. Many considered OU a loss. Both will be lucky to make a bowl game. Probably the most common preseason record prediction was 9-3 or 10-2, with losses to Georgia and either OU or Bama, or both. We beat both OU and Bama and lost to Arkansas.

5) Alabama and Georgia are both really good. But not the top 5 teams we thought they’d be.

6) Nico isn’t the star we thought he’d be. He likely will be…and he’s showing signs of coming around to that, but he’s not there yet.

7) We thought Sampson would be good. But we worried a little about depth behind him. Sampson hasn’t been good. He’s been great. Bishop stepping up has assuaged that depth concern, but until he’s healthy again, we need Lewis and Seldon to perform. Regardless, most of us thought Bishop was a placeholder until Seldon got healthy or Lewis came along. That hasn’t been the case…Bishop is flat-out GOOD.

8) The DLine is what we thought it would be. Elite.

What other preseason expectations haven’t matched reality, for good or bad?

The O Line will be tested this weekend and I would have to give them a C plus grade so far in 2024.

The RB Room gets an A plus so far.

D gets a A.

QB gets a C.

ST gets a B minus.

 

[UTblood4life]

I picked 10-2

 

[Sarms58]

I thought our offense would be more efficient - smoother - with Nico stepping in for Joe. And while we are averaging more total yards per game than last year, it’s because our running game is better. Passing yards per game is a little below last year’s mark. Last year was frustrating at times when we missed third down conversions but that’s about the same this year. I felt that Heupel modified his offense last year to be a little slower and more run oriented because of the QB but we are essentially running that style again this year (vs the 2022 offense).
it’s great being 8-1 and still in the mix for the conference championship and the playoffs. But probably like many, I keep waiting for our offense to turn the corner and start playing like 2022. But I doubt anyone wants to win more that Heupel so I’ll try to refrain from coaching and let him lead us as far as he can take us.

 

[Sarms58]

The O Line will be tested this weekend and I would have to give them a C plus grade so far in 2024.

The RB Room gets an A plus so far.

D gets a A.

QB gets a C.

ST gets a B minus.

How would you grade the receivers? They’ve had some drops that get everyone’s attention but I think that (with exception of Bru) their blocking has been subpar. They also don’t appear to get good separation and I don’t know if that’s route running, route design, not being physical enough, or what. Of course the coaches seem to have limits on where they want Nico to throw the ball so that’s a factor as well.

 

[sami]

I expected 9-3 in year 4 when Heupel was hired. It hasn't changed. 9-3 is par for year 4 and anything beyond that is overachieving. . . I'd even say 9-3 in year 4 is overachieving considering the wreck he was hired into. . .

. . .I did change it a little when Nico committed, I said we'd be in the playoffs in '24 and in the title game in '25. The way recruiting is going, I expected we'll be looking at a playoff spot every year for the foreseeable future.

Completely agree on year 4 expectations given the dumpster fire Heupel inherited, something many seem to overlook.

Regarding the playoff, my worst fears about it are coming true with the SEC meat grinder likely causing better teams with 2 losses to miss and fake schools with cupcake schedules in lesser but "equal" P4 conferences (including, and maybe especially the Big 10) getting in with a loss in their single tough game. It's entirely possible to be 10-2 every season in this conference and miss out on the stupid playoff.

 

[Volteacher]

I was thinking 10-2 with a loss to Ugga, OU, or Bama (2/3 teams) Did NOT think that 11-1 was even a possibility to even conceive. Was thinking like most fans 10-2 (6-2) would get us into the playoffs almost a guarantee birth. But who knew OU was crap ass team barely gonna make a bowl, most people thought 8-4 at WORST, right??? Then NC state was suppose to be at least decent, right?? 8-4 maybe sneak in there at #21 rabnked at end of season. Also Ugga was suppose to be what Bama was 3-4 years ago unbeatable had lost 2 games in THREE years and lost two this year. Sooooooo. 10-2 WAS suppose to be a free pass to the playoffs now its ehhhhhhhhhh.hmmmmmmmm......wellllllll......hmmmmmm

 

[Volfan1000]

How would you grade the receivers? They’ve had some drops that get everyone’s attention but I think that (with exception of Bru) their blocking has been subpar. They also don’t appear to get good separation and I don’t know if that’s route running, route design, not being physical enough, or what. Of course the coaches seem to have limits on where they want Nico to throw the ball so that’s a factor as well.

Receivers are a C Plus and Brazzell has not made very many splash plays this season.

 

[bpalmer28]

My 1 and only concern was OL depth

 

[CAVPUT]

We are assured 10 wins. Vandy isn’t beating us and don’t even say they will.

Last game of the year? At Vandy? We might pull it off, but Heupel's teams don't handle road games and games after open dates so well. I tend to believe when I see.