Recruiting Football Talk VII

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#5,777
#5,777
Least worried I may have ever been about playing UF. Nothing about them scares me. I would give us the advantage in almost every position group (offense and defense) that starts except for secondary. And Billy doesn’t scare me at all as a coach. I would be terrified to play a Heupel team because you know any game his offense could explode on your team.
 
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#5,778
#5,778
ChattaTNVol said:
The offense is working as well as it ever has –

I’ve rewatched the film from last week and rewatched portions multiple times. I think it’s obvious that the offense is working just fine and at least as well as it did last year. The offense is designed to produce opportunities for our playmakers. In the passing game which seems to be of concern to many the plays have been there, really in both of our games so far this year. The problem is that our guys have not been making a lot of those plays. Are they capable of making those plays? Eminently capable. jmo.

LAVol posted that the coaches weren’t trying to be vanilla last week and I agree it didn’t start out that way but Pat Ryan, Jeff Francis, and Erik Ainge all noted that with the early struggles in the passing game the staff significantly dialed back on the aggressiveness. I think it was the writers at 247 that pointed out that almost half of Joe’s passes to this point in the season have been behind the LOS.

LAVol also said that the game Joe wasn’t the same as the practice Joe. Well, especially with the QB, practice is nothing like a game. In a game the QB is live; in practice, not so much. When Hendon Hooker came to Tennessee, before he ever took the field for us, he already had started more games than Joe has under his belt going into this week. Hendon started 15 games for VT, presumably that was all live-action. To date Joe in his college career has started 11 games. Hendon had 11 additional games in 2021 before embarking on a breakout season in 2022. It may also be worth remembering that Hendon lost his starting job at VT in 2020 which is why we were able to get him as a transfer. I think we have to let this play out before jumping to conclusions. jmo.

Saturday night I thought Joe had an outstanding postgame interview with Jayson Swain in the locker room but it seemed like a different Joe when he appeared before the local media. I don’t think he likes those guys. I don’t either so I can understand. I think they’re smug and I don’t know why because I don’t think they know much of anything about football. jmo.

With Swain Joe was pretty critical of the performance on Saturday. For a moment I thought I recognized him from his comments as any number of posters in this thread, maybe a bit less emotional. In the “routine” team meeting that was reported on, it was said that Joe took all the blame for the underperformance of our passing game. I wouldn’t put it all on him and both Pat and Jeff said the same on Monday’s Big Orange Hotline, but I would put most of it on him. I mean he’s the leader. The buck stops there. As the QB at Tennessee he’s not just responsible for himself; he’s responsible for leading the entire offense and consequently he will get outsized credit or blame as the situation at the time warrants. That’s pretty much life for every QB in college football, maybe moreso in the SEC. jmo.

I think we know what we have with Bru McCoy, Ramel Keyton, and Squirrel White. They can play better and have done so in the past. Keyton has had catastrophic moments in both games so far this year. He can’t do that. Neither one of those plays were on Joe and yet both were significant to the perception of our offensive performance in the game. I think that Squirrel White could be better than Jalin Hyatt in this offense. The QBs on the Big Orange hotline said the same after the Virginia game. Coming out of high school Squirrel had a 10.68 100 meter time but the big edge I think Squirrel has is vision and wiggle. He’s really fun to watch with the ball in his hands. jmo.

The big thing Hendon Hooker said he was working on in 2022 was staying quiet in the pocket. Remember that going into 2022 Hendon had already started 26 games in his career. I interpret staying quiet in the pocket as maintaining poise. I think maybe part of Joe’s accuracy issue is he may be rushing his throws by a couple hundred milliseconds. I think he just needs to settle down. I mean he’s demonstrated in the past that he can be accurate, especially downfield. I’m wondering if he’s pressing too hard. That’s the sense that I get. jmo.

Ultimately, I think the obvious key to us getting the production we want from the passing game is Joe and his receivers need to work better together. Right now they’re playing like they hardly know each other and maybe they don’t even like each other all that much. I don’t know but I do think they’re all going to sink or swim together. If they don’t come together and figure out how to succeed together then McCoy, Keyton, and Milton, in particular, are going to continue to see their draft stock plummet faster and steeper than our FPI rating. jmo.

In big games last year we played 13-15 guys on offense and no more so I think barring injury we’ll see less rotation on the OL in the swamp. I don’t know if we trust Thornton yet. Other fans have said he hasn’t lived up to the offseason hype and of course that seems apparent. He’s played 52 snaps so far this year, been targeted 6 times on those snaps, made 2 catches for 12 yards. Keyton is 8 of 11 for 118 yards and 1 TD on 139 snaps. Squirrel is 10 of 14 for 75 yards, no TDs, on 94 snaps, and Bru is 7 of 13 for 72 yards, no TDs, on 124 snaps. Donte may still be trying to learn his blocking assignments. I’m just not sure where he’s at with earning the staff’s trust. It doesn’t look like he’s there yet. jmo.

By all reports Campbell is a stellar teammate. Karic graded out well in the game this past Saturday and Cooper said he’s playing well. Cooper also thought Ollie was doing good. I think if Cooper doesn’t go against Florida, I think Ollie probably gets all the center snaps. According to PFF Mincey has been our highest graded offensive lineman in each of the first two games. He’s had 75 snaps. Crawford has had 91, Karic 116, Ollie 95, Campbell 121, and Spraggins 140. I think those are our 6 and Cooper would be #7. Lampley (32 snaps) and Davis (46 snaps) are emergency use only. jmo.

The offense is working just fine. It’s producing all the usual opportunities for our playmakers to make plays. They will have seen that in their review of the film. I find it very difficult to imagine that they’re not going to be hell-bent on making those plays this week. jmo.

Prediction: Tennessee 77 Florida 3 (Napier kicks a FG on 2nd down from the 34-yard line with 7 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter). Okay, yeah, that’s was trash talk. lol.

View attachment 578868

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As always, this is great content. I remember Halzle (I think) talking to Hendon about playing loose as a QB the same way he played loose on the basketball court. I wonder how the coaches are talking to Milton to encourage him to understand that same process of slowing things down and not pressing. Also, all that green on the defensive side looks real nice.
 
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#5,779
#5,779
SoilVol said:
Take heed. Weezer bites.
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R.c239f3ffd0e6ad35535789366a158d5e
 
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#5,781
#5,781
Ulysees E. McGill said:
My fingers literally stayed cut up when I was a flooring installer..I would go out to the van after razor cutting them to the bone, poor some industrial grade solvent into it, then douse it with this carpet pad glue we had in spray cans and then keep stuffing tissue or paper towel pieces down into the wound until the liquid glue was absorbed and dried...then wrap it with duct tape...problem solved and no dang doctor made a bunch of money off my wittle boo-boo.

I have done that hundreds of not thousands of times....I even did it once when I drove a hawkbill carpet knife into and out of my knee while stretching a room of carpet in with a knee kicker...got this little lifelong memento from that one..View attachment 578923
If you guys didn't know it...flooring installers are tough crazy sobs..😁
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White skin, huh? And all this time I thought you were an Asian dude living it up in Harlan. One never knows on an anonymous message board.
 
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#5,783
#5,783
TN-POSSUM said:
And an aloe vera plant on the window sill.

Calamine lotion for poison ivy.

Clear fingernail polish for chiggers (Kmart brand only)

Kerosene lamps, just in case the power goes out

Bibles on the coffee table, kitchen counter, and every nightstand in the house. KJV

Burn barrel and clothes line in the yard

I'm proud I was raised by East Tennessee Hillbillies

#blessed
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Would have found all of those in my childhood home in middle Tennessee as well.
 
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#5,785
#5,785
TN-POSSUM said:
And an aloe vera plant on the window sill.

Calamine lotion for poison ivy.

Clear fingernail polish for chiggers (Kmart brand only)

Kerosene lamps, just in case the power goes out

Bibles on the coffee table, kitchen counter, and every nightstand in the house. KJV

Burn barrel and clothes line in the yard

I'm proud I was raised by East Tennessee Hillbillies

#blessed
Click to expand...
Don't forget the candles in case no money for kerosene....and mostly what was ate we caught or killed....fish, chickens from yard and deer ,squirrel from hunting and hogs from raising yes I grew up in the mountains as well.... neighbors were 1/2 mile apart lol....good times
 
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