Recruiting Football Talk VII

[Big Orange#1]

I absolutely love this!

Jay Graham on out offensive line: "Our guys love to pull. That's when you know you got a real guy. They don't pull tentative, man. They're like, 'slow feet don't eat.'... 'I'm going through you full speed. I'm on the train. You get off the tracks.'"

This is what I was talking about last week that we are not running just the normal zone blocking one might expect with this offense. We are emphasizing power football in the ground game.

Graham and Aaron Hayden: 2 great VFL RBs in that conversation, praising the big guys up front.

But FAHR ELLARBEE HE DONT GET ENUFF FIVE STARSS

 

[volbeast33]

The bold I don't agree with, but you're not wrong with the rest.

2023: Shamurad Umarov #4 OT in class #114 overall prospect
2022: Addison Nichols #8 OT in class #180 overall prospect, Jeremiah Crawford #39 rated JuCo in class


And recruiting the portal has to count for something. Gerald Mincey, John Campbell Jr, Andrej Karic are all 3 guys Elarbee brought in himself and didn't inherit from previous staff.

3 of his top 5 recruits are in the 2024 class. He's starting to land the stars and with how he develops guys the depth won't be an issue. Ollie Lane and Dayne Davis wouldn't be seeing the field without Elarbee's coaching.

i was talking about viable backups as meaning that they are in the two deep…. Doesn’t sound like Nichols will ever be an option…. i have high hopes that Umarov will eventually be a stud… Crawford would qualify as a backup though.

 

[LA Vol]

There is no way in today's media environment that every single reporter has access to the complaints each school sends to the league office, yet none of those reporters are sharing it. 0% chance that's true. Is that what you're saying, or am I misunderstanding you.

Heck, that would be one of those most successful blog concepts of the year if someone just reposted all the complaints about officials. Every fan would love to see that and they'd make a ton of money. Saturday Down South would never just sit on that info, and neither would 99% of media people.

Surely I'm misunderstanding your post?

You are misunderstanding me. The media doesn't need a school's compilation tapes. They have access to game footage and they have sources who will talk on or off the record. They have a platform, they have a voice and they have everything they need to explore any issue they want in as much detail as they want.

KNS explored every nuance of the NCAA investigation against UT. The beat reporter left no stone unturned and kept digging up microscopic bits of dirt for daily reports week after week after week after week-- even after the investigation ended. He was relentless. The media reports what they want to report.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

My biggest complaint with Elarbee as of now, and it may not be all his fault...gotta hold players accountable too.

The vast majority of our penalties are coming from the OL, I know eventually he'll have enough quality depth he can sit guys on the bench like RG does when the DL is making those sort of unforced errors.

 

[RudyVol]

Never said i didn’t like him…. I agree he is a great OL coach…. you don’t have to want everyone fired or praise everything that every coach does… It’s ok to be concerned that we have two transfers….3 Pruitt recruits starting… we have no viable back up lineman that we’re recruited by this staff…. It will probably work it’s way out or it could negatively affect games like it did this years Florida’s game.

The OL recruiting is a bit concerning but I give them credit for the transfers. The HS recruits are also Fr.-Soph. right now need time to develop. The most concerning thing is that they're not cracking the 2 deep and putting Lane and Davis on the sideline. Next year they should be expected to contribute so I'll withhold judgement until then. Hopefully we can land some good transfers there and the HS recruits will finally produce as either starters or quality depth.

 

[Orange.]

I'd love to see a FOIA request of university emails for emails to sent to the SEC office. Surely those wouldn't be exempt, right?

I agree. Surely Birmingham would resist, so it would likely need a lawsuit. But what a story that would be if multiple SEC schools signed on.

 

[butchna]

i didn’t go that deep into it…. yes… Heup has added some innovations and is one of if not the best at running this system….. the convo was about offensive skilled players jumping on board…. it is my take that once we start seeing guys successful at the next level then we will have guys jumping in the boat like crazy…. it is not just my opinion…. it has been used against us by other teams…. we also saw it repeated by nfl scouts during the draft process this past year.

We’ve come a long way from highly rated players like Guarantano and Marquez Callaway going undrafted and Jauan Jennings getting selected in the seventh playing in TRADITIONAL OFFENSES and lower starred talents like Hyatt and Tillman as well as 4 star cast off Hendan Hooker going in the THIRD…in two short seasons. I like our odds. Well developed and coached talent screams louder.

 

[drvenner]

So happy for him! There were so many people on here who questioned his passing ability and his ability to make it in the NFL. He has come a very loooonnnng way with his throwing. He has always had that "gamer" ability. When the lights come on, he lights it up and he believes his team will win every game. Man, I love this dude.

 

[butchna]

My biggest complaint with Elarbee as of now, and it may not be all his fault...gotta hold players accountable too.

The fast majority of our penalties are coming from the OL, I know eventually he'll have enough quality depth he can sit guys on the bench like RG does when the DL is making those sort of unforced errors.

I guess I judge more on past regimes. Relatively penalty free.

 

[Orange.]

I went the last 5 days of October. Just ridiculously hot. I’d avoid it at all cost that time of year!

The seafood sucks, too.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

i was talking about viable backups as meaning that they are in the two deep…. Doesn’t sound like Nichols will ever be an option…. i have high hopes that Umarov will eventually be a stud… Crawford would qualify as a backup though.

As of today the only guys on roster that Elarbee didn't recruit who came in on scholarship are:

Cooper Mays
Jackson Lampley
Javontez Spraggins
Ollie Lane

Two of them are legacy players too. Seems like he's built what depth DOES exist for the OL and even with all the injuries we've had they are arguably one of the best in the league.

 

[volbeast33]

He doesn’t WAIT to get what he has in top form…immediately! Took what was a sieve under Friend/Pruitt and got increasing production every successive season. We heard too long from predecessors that it took time and their own recruits to achieve success with that position group. Same as when he took 3 stars at Mizzou and roadgraded us. He keeps teaching and the quickest studies get on the field. Frustrating as it is for us recruiting fantasy football experts, the fact that an Ollie Lane who hung around for six seasons, starts over a four star redshirt freshman is testament to the pragmatic, result’s oriented system that encourages patience. If you’re the best on the roster, you’ll play! Whether Sid and Mortimer at VirginCampsdotcom coronated you with a suitable number of stars or not. Heup and Ellarbee are a package deal dating back to their time at Mizzou. Heup knows his OL coach will get the best and most ready big uglies on the field AND PRODUCING stat, while teaching and developing their successors at the same time…culture stuff. He’s followed him to every HC stop and to “concern” yourself that he’s replaceable is an exercise in time mismanagement. But don’t stop on my account.

WTH are you even talking about? i have voiced zero concerns about his coaching or Heup choosing his coaches… I said it is a concern that it appears to this point that he has struggled with recruiting…. it appears that none of them seem ready to offer us anything… Doesn’t mean that we should fire him or those concerns will be relevant by next season…. We should be able to have discussions without all of this constant overreaction.

 

[Ulysees E. McGill]

You are misunderstanding me. The media doesn't need a school's compilation tapes. They have access to game footage and they have sources who will talk on or off the record. They have a platform, they have a voice and they have everything they need to explore any issue they want in as much detail as they want.

KNS explored every nuance of the NCAA investigation against UT. The beat reporter left no stone unturned and kept digging up microscopic bits of dirt for daily reports week after week after week after week-- even after the investigation ended. He was relentless. The media reports what they want to report.

No mainstream media outlet wants to get branded with the "y'all a buncha conspiracy nuts" label....hell look on this thread and EVEN our fans do it to the few of us that are shouting it from the rooftops, and presenting LOADS of visual evidence of continous malfeasance on the part of SEC officials..

No wonder they are afraid to...the ONLY evidence is the FACT that it is happening....the naysayers keeps whining about motive...I say **** motive,I don't care about motive.

 

[drvenner]

Edit: Enki’d

It is worth posting 100 times. Love it.

 

[Orangeburst]

Being an OL in this fast paced system has got to be tough.

 

[drvenner]

Were there any against UConn? The illegal procedure (two guys in motion) is a pre-snap penalty.

I think they had an intentional grounding.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

I guess I judge more on past regimes. Relatively penalty free.

That comment and concern has zero to do with past regime. I know you're making that correlation though because less penalties didn't lead to wins for them, but in the swamp this year those penalties played a big part in us losing as well as last year in Athens.

No coach or position group is perfect (although Jerry Mack is about as close as anyone).

But I can assure you Elarbee isn't resting on "well hell the last few staffs didn't have penalties and we see where it got them!" he's working his tail off to try and fix the issue so the OL play a clean game each Saturday. I'm not too critical of it, but it's the only real area I think a few stones can be tossed.

 

[Orange.]

I think they had an intentional grounding.

And something else when it didn't matter. But several of us had predicted a few would be called, because it would hardly matter, and for the purpose of trying to disrupt the obvious and true view that officiating in our games is being seriously and consistently rigged.

This notwithstanding, they were still allowed to hold our DL all day. Some usual reality-deniers went ballistic the other night when McGill starting posting photos of the holds!

Holding our DL with impunity is the book on us. Holding will have to be called early and more than once for someone to even think about desisting in the now standardized and Birmingham-authorized practice.

 

[Jackcrevol]

I prefer the 19 & 57 model the best.

 

[drvenner]

Looks like a Batman Villain.

 

[SugarCC]

“Fahr Ellarbee…Cain’t recruit!”

Concerned.

 

[butchna]

As of today the only guys on roster that Elarbee didn't recruit who came in on scholarship are:

Cooper Mays
Jackson Lampley
Javontez Spraggins
Ollie Lane

Two of them are legacy players too. Seems like he's built what depth DOES exist for the OL and even with all the injuries we've had they are arguably one of the best in the league.

I know it was Connecticut and whatever they had out there in the second half, but Nichols was out there looking like he belonged…especially on that Nico TD drive. On that QB run, he buried his man and tried to hatch eggs. I have no CONCERNS that players our posters have written off will be parts of this machine.

 

[volbeast33]

We’ve come a long way from highly rated players like Guarantano and Marquez Callaway going undrafted and Jauan Jennings getting selected in the seventh playing in TRADITIONAL OFFENSES and lower starred talents like Hyatt and Tillman as well as 4 star cast off Hendan Hooker going in the THIRD…in two short seasons. I like our odds. Well developed and coached talent screams louder.

simple question….. Do you think other teams use our non-traditional offense against us or not?

 

[UTProf]

1915* stands out because it's so far ahead of its time in terms of design. Although the coke-cola imagery was always there, I had no idea that the designers of "Nuka Cola" in the Fallout series were pulling from 1915. It always looked more post-War America when we were rocket and space crazy (for those that don't know - Fallout takes place in a post-nuclear war America - the setting is very 1950s and early 60s - cars, diners, houses, gas stations, etc. are pretty much all based on that era - even completely fictional things in that game look like they were designed in that time frame).

*1916 too because it's used as well for Nuka.

 

[Glitch]

Those cheerleaders for Dallas are very lovely....