Recruiting Football Talk VII

[Orange.]

Changed to the leg lamp to recognize my world championship in the unofficial VolNation Fantasy Football league. Maybe 15 folks on VolNation know the league exists, so the new avi is really just for me to see and revel in the glory of my fantasy football success.

Congrats

 

[jakez4ut]

Will you stop using this excuse after next year, please? I’m tired of people using it when the portal exists and you can flip rosters so easily now. It’s been three years. That’s enough time. Let’s let it die now. Year four coming up.

With that said. Defense was better this year. DL was really good. And ppg was really good. Secondary was still bad though which is not a good look when your DC handles safeties. I do feel much better knowing we have Boo and Turrentine at safety though. Big upgrades in athleticism.

huge upgrades. Loved what JM brought in terms of effort and all....true VFL. but he was never the most athletic guy we've had back there.

 

[volinexile17]

We need DL in 25, 110%. we needed a good year in 24, but didnt get that.

This year has to be different. Or we will be in trouble.

‘24 wasn’t bad on DL. Got 5* in Ross who looks like new Pearce. Heard is a good looking DT prospect. Between Wallace, Lindstrom and Gentle we should have at least one solid strong side DE or swing DE/DT.

Would have liked another DT prospect, but we had a lot of needs, especially on OL and in secondary so that’s what the staff obviously prioritized. Plus, we signed 4 potential DTs last year in Hobbs, Weathersby, Duncan and Robinson.

Sure we will see an emphasis on DT in ‘25, but I think ‘24 was fine given what we needed.

 

[Smyrna ATL Vol]

I think our DC has been hamstrung by what we had on the roster at DB, they tried to put a bandaid on it for 3 years now but I think now talent wise they have some recruits in those positions that they were hoping for from the beginning and hopefully that leads to more aggressive defensive secondary calls moving forward.

Yet they let them all walk and finally played others. I think the mass exodus was more Heupel than others. Martinez and banks leaned on experience for three years and I think the head man said move on.

Gibson flashed big time and should have been playing way sooner. Only people to blame for not playing different DBs is Martinez and Banks. That was their call with the 18 or so we had to play with last year.

 

[DD4ME]

Stability is what won Iowa ten games last year. Nothing more. Literally nothing more. It sure wasn't talent or scheme.

Huepel leans into schematic advantages. Stability and continuity are part of that formula. Does he lean into it too hard like Ferentz? I don't think so, but some might. It is Heupel's strategy though. He does not lie to players he does not over commit, he holds his promises (Milton), and some ask why. The answer: stability for players. They know what to expect because he sticks to his word. Did that strategy land us Seaton? No. Did it produce some of the lowest turnover in the conference? Yes.

If you want to have debates I think this is the debate. Is ultimate CFB success possible with loyalty and stability as a priority? Washington is a case study this year. It will be interesting to see how they finish.

 

[RiseToTheTop]

their schedule won them 10 games bc they are not a good team at all

 

[Smyrna ATL Vol]

huge upgrades. Loved what JM brought in terms of effort and all....true VFL. but he was never the most athletic guy we've had back there.

Yup! Agreed. True VFL.

Now we get to see a secondary with:

Oregon state transfer
Gibson
Turrentine
Boo
MTSU tranfer

It’s like a wet dream going from what we have had to endure the last three years and then continuing to play the same ones over and over.

 

[BruisedOrange]

I think he has as big of an impact on offense here as James Pearce is having on defense.

Have we yet seen Cam running in the second level?

Small and Wright were very good at efficiently making LBs and DBs miss. They could make guys miss in the open field without breaking their forward momentum.

And Wright's biggest improvement came after he learned to read defenses pre-snap, and understand from which direction those second level tacklers would be coming.

Today's game has evolved past "great vision" to mental preparation, so that now you're dodging before the tackler appears, because you know from where he'll be coming. My concern with Small and Wright leaving is that Sampson and the young guys won't have that experienced player they can go to for explanations. Experienced players are coaching multipliers.

 

[Enki_Amenra]

Kinda surprised no one is talking about how Heupel had us come out in power-i right for short yardage. . .

 

[MoCo_Vol]

I also wonder if the defensive side of the ball, specifically the secondary just kind of went with "we'll work around the guys we got" cause we've had self imposed scholarship restrictions and really last class was the first where some legit DBs were landed.

 

[KptVFL]

Both. 3 years in, when you're in charge of the Jimmies and Joe's, that excuse starts wearing thin. We'll see in '24.

Totally agree!

 

[butchna]

Stability is what won Iowa ten games last year. Nothing more. Literally nothing more. It sure wasn't talent or scheme.

Huepel leans into schematic advantages. Stability and continuity are part of that formula. Does he lean into it too hard like Ferentz? I don't think so, but some might. It is Heupel's strategy though. He does not lie to players he does not over commit, he holds his promises (Milton), and some ask why. The answer: stability for players. They know what to expect because he sticks to his word. Did that strategy land us Seaton? No. Did it produce some of the lowest turnover in the conference? Yes.

If you want to have debates I think this is the debate. Is ultimate CFB success possible with loyalty and stability as a priority? Washington is a case study this year. It will be interesting to see how they finish.

Amongst several factors of Fulmer’s downfall (talking HC), was his hair trigger flightiness with the quarterback position in both of his losing (only) seasons. In 05, I’d be watching the game at a sports bar with UT alumni, and we’d scream at the screen to “Get Ainge out of there!” and Fulmer obeyed us! Mebbe same game we’d demand the same for Clausen…done. Fans are consistent dating back to gladiator fights…HCs are supposed to be the adults. We have one of those.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

I still think Tank at the STAR for 4/5 seasons would have been way more productive/disruptive as a player here. He obviously was smart and knew the calls etc. because he was staying on the field ahead of guys with better natural talent.

I'm not as critical of his play as others... I'd say Burrell was the only DB that I felt like just never seemed to figure it out.

 

[Jackcrevol]

‘24 wasn’t bad on DL. Got 5* in Ross who looks like new Pearce. Heard is a good looking DT prospect. Between Wallace, Lindstrom and Gentle we should have at least one solid strong side DE or swing DE/DT.

Would have liked another DT prospect, but we had a lot of needs, especially on OL and in secondary so that’s what the staff obviously prioritized. Plus, we signed 4 potential DTs last year in Hobbs, Weathersby, Duncan and Robinson.

Sure we will see an emphasis on DT in ‘25, but I think ‘24 was fine given what we needed.

Y'all be thankful i'm not a FC. I would have signed 75 DL.

THAT's why I dont get paid the big bucks.

 

[FollowTheLeader]

Only the 2nd defense since Fulmer to not allow any offense to reach 40 points...and that's with a tempo offense on the other side

Aka very winnable territory for most Heupel offenses.

And the teams that did come reach the mid 30s were in games where the offense stunk and repeatedly handed over good field position.

Just thought this needed to be repeated. Also, keep in mind, this is the first bowl game shut out since 1957, so would that mean Iowa is the worst team Tennessee has played since 1957....

 

[butchna]

Have we yet seen Cam running in the second level?

Small and Wright were very good at efficiently making LBs and DBs miss. They could make guys miss in the open field without breaking their forward momentum.

And Wright's biggest improvement came after he learned to read defenses pre-snap, and understand from which direction those second level tacklers would be coming.

Today's game has evolved past "great vision" to mental preparation, so that now you're dodging before the tackler appears, because you know from where he'll be coming. My concern with Small and Wright leaving is that Sampson and the young guys won't have that experienced player they can go to for explanations. Experienced players are coaching multipliers.

Mebbe they can get it from the same source those two did?

 

[FollowTheLeader]

My issue is with the defense. People have went on and on about improvement on the defensive side. The improvement was due to a much weaker schedule at least from an opposing team's offense perspective. Overall I'm pleased with the team. I think Tim Banks and his scheme are the Achilles heel of this staff.

 

[DD4ME]

their schedule won them 10 games bc they are not a good team at all

Lol then it proves my point. They only beat other bad teams by being the most stable and consistent.

 

[GoodTimeVol]

Yet they let them all walk and finally played others. I think the mass exodus was more Heupel than others. Martinez and banks leaned on experience for three years and I think the head man said move on.

Gibson flashed big time and should have been playing way sooner. Only people to blame for not playing different DBs is Martinez and Banks. That was their call with the 18 or so we had to play with last year.

I mean that’s one way to look at it, or maybe the staff just values letting freshman develop for a year rather than throwing them into the fire

 

[MarcoVol]

Yet they let them all walk and finally played others. I think the mass exodus was more Heupel than others. Martinez and banks leaned on experience for three years and I think the head man said move on.

Gibson flashed big time and should have been playing way sooner. Only people to blame for not playing different DBs is Martinez and Banks. That was their call with the 18 or so we had to play with last year.

What if it’s Heupel who wanted to lean on experience and Martinez and Banks were the ones who were like “nah coach, we can do better with the young guys”

 

[Jackcrevol]

What if it’s Heupel who wanted to lean on experience and Martinez and Banks were the ones who were like “nah coach, we can do better with the young guys”

Fortunately we have a decent sample from Martinez' two stints here.

Unsure about Banks.

 

[Enki_Amenra]

Have we yet seen Cam running in the second level?

Small and Wright were very good at efficiently making LBs and DBs miss. They could make guys miss in the open field without breaking their forward momentum.

And Wright's biggest improvement came after he learned to read defenses pre-snap, and understand from which direction those second level tacklers would be coming.

Today's game has evolved past "great vision" to mental preparation, so that now you're dodging before the tackler appears, because you know from where he'll be coming. My concern with Small and Wright leaving is that Sampson and the young guys won't have that experienced player they can go to for explanations. Experienced players are coaching multipliers.

I don't think we have. We would know it, no one would catch him. I think the biggest part of that is the small number of snaps he's played. Virtually 0 with the 1st team before Iowa.

I think, once he gets to about game 3 or 4 next season, we're gonna see a light come on with him being more evasive. Whether he would admit it or not, I think he was being very conservative with his abilities, only doing what the coaches asked. . . run the plays exactly as they are designed. Once he gets a little more comfortable and confident we'll see his real talent come out and his production should go way up with more big plays from him.

 

[Glitch]

Good idea. I was warned about you.

 

[Jackcrevol]

Yet they let them all walk and finally played others. I think the mass exodus was more Heupel than others. Martinez and banks leaned on experience for three years and I think the head man said move on.

Gibson flashed big time and should have been playing way sooner. Only people to blame for not playing different DBs is Martinez and Banks. That was their call with the 18 or so we had to play with last year.

Those 'bad' DB's won 20 games in two seasons. It wasnt always waterlillies in a Dutch impressionist art gallery, but....

 

[KptVFL]

View attachment 607251

Even I think it’s insane we aren’t on here