Recruiting Football Talk VII

[jakez4ut]

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.

in 2022 it was Jalen Wright that was the wide eyed fast guy that sometimes fumbled the ball. limited his role.

in 23....well, we know what happened.

Sampson in 23 is a better version of Wright in 22, imo. i think Sampson needs to work on pass protection obviously....but just skill set alone has already proven the kid can play. and i think he gets more involved in the pass game next season too.

as for Seldon....dude. that's all i can say. he just needs reps. learn how to burst to the hole. i get he's a patient runner and that's a good thing...but sometimes you just gotta go, especially in short yardage situations. but size/speed wise, it's been a minute since we have had a kid that "looked" the part, and also "played" the part at RB. i'm excited to see that kid develop. he's gonna be a problem.

and i think there's a lot of optimism that Lewis is going to come in and physically, already be pretty close. who knows he may push KK for that 3rd spot?

RB room is nice.

 

[Smyrna ATL Vol]

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”

Heupel let’s the position coaches mostly play who they want especially on defense.

 

[Glitch]

dude wth happened?

 

[Smyrna ATL Vol]

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

I would say offense and DL. DL has been wrecking shop the last two years. And when they are off, you have a Florida and SC game.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

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.

I agree completely with this! I remember specifically this about his QB management post Iceman.

2008 he yo-yo'd between Nick Stephens and Jonathan Crompton
2007 the only year Ainge was mostly healthy and got the nod (I think Cutcliffe at OC had a lot to do with that)
2006 he was back and forth between Ainge and Crompton some of that because Ainge's health but some of it was just that hair trigger to make a change
2004 & 2005 was the Rick Clausen show...but wait he messed up here's Ainge!

Even in 2000 it took him a bit before he finally gave the keys to Casey, he was back and forth on Suggs and Joey Matthews that year too. Which was kind of weird because Suggs played his ass off at LSU but we couldn't stop Davey and their offense.

2000 was a year I really expected more, you bring in 2 top rated QBs in Clausen & Suggs and return Matthews who was getting that "backup QB" hype. Not to mention both Henry/Stephens still on the roster it was Cedrick Wilson's senior season...Donte' Stallworth as a returning sophomore and Eric Parker entering his 3rd year.

8-3 with 2 losses to just okay LSU and Georgia teams was tough to swallow and some of the wins were way too close Southern Miss by 3, USCjr by 3, Memphis by 2, & Vandy by 2.

 

[Jackcrevol]

I would say offense and DL. DL has been wrecking shop the last two years. And when they are off, you have a Florida and SC game.

agree, wholeheartedly.

 

[DD4ME]

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

The problem with that is how does a guy develop that never sees the field? We did have defensive starters closing games that were well in hand. Those were wasted opportunities in many minds.

 

[Jackcrevol]

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.

One thing that I noticed was his timing. Waiting for blocks to open, is an experience thing. Its an art, not even Jaylen had it down at first.

 

[Vols410]

in 2022 it was Jalen Wright that was the wide eyed fast guy that sometimes fumbled the ball. limited his role.

in 23....well, we know what happened.

Sampson in 23 is a better version of Wright in 22, imo. i think Sampson needs to work on pass protection obviously....but just skill set alone has already proven the kid can play. and i think he gets more involved in the pass game next season too.

as for Seldon....dude. that's all i can say. he just needs reps. learn how to burst to the hole. i get he's a patient runner and that's a good thing...but sometimes you just gotta go, especially in short yardage situations. but size/speed wise, it's been a minute since we have had a kid that "looked" the part, and also "played" the part at RB. i'm excited to see that kid develop. he's gonna be a problem.

and i think there's a lot of optimism that Lewis is going to come in and physically, already be pretty close. who knows he may push KK for that 3rd spot?

RB room is nice.

Yup, Seldon looks great. A little hesitant back there in times but he really reminds me of Wright as a freshman. He's gonna be really good next year.

 

[SoullessGinger32_]

Nico gonna get us a ship before he leaves Tennessee. He is him!

 

[volinexile17]

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.

JMO, Sampson is the experienced guy. He’s played in 22 games over two seasons. 164 carries for 1001 yards with another 20 receptions for 199 yards. 14 total TDs.

Not nothing.

 

[Ulysees E. McGill]

Well, body size of the following four backs during their respective careers is very similar:

Cameron Seldon, 6' 2," 222 lbs

Herschel Walker, 6-1, 225lb
Bo Jackson, 6-1, 227lb
Eric Dickerson, 6-3, 220lb

Right now, I would think Dickerson, in his heyday, might have been the closest comparison in terms of body build but, of course, the big question is how does Cameron compare to these Hall of Famers in terms of speed?

I don't know...but I can't wait to see Cam get loose and find out.

 

[jakez4ut]

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.

i think the short answer is yes. you're not going to sustain anything if your program can't be trusted to do what they say they'll do.

i have zero complaints about how we've gone about things in terms of our apparent philosophy on NIL being part of the package, and not allowing it to be THE primary factor in recruiting, HS prospects or portal players.

but, there is a point where you have to start getting more of the top end guys if you're going to compete at the highest level, consistently. we're obviously going after the same guys all the big boys are going after and we're getting traction with a lot of them, and have landed some great players the last two cycles.

we've also missed on some great players too. i think i'm ok with the misses, for the reasons stated above. and sometimes you're just not going to beat UGA or Bama for a kid, when all things are equal in the 'whole package'. it is what it is when it comes to that. we don't seem to be the program that's going to go for and get the big splash. and i'm ok with that.

i'll end by simply saying if we continue to recruit at a 91ish overall rating, regardless of where the class ranks, we're gonna be just fine. at that point it just becomes about position recruiting/development/retention....roster management. and i think, so far so good in that arena.

 

[jakez4ut]

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

i figured i missed it. but not gonna lie....i liked it.

 

[Smyrna ATL Vol]

Speaking of RBs.

How about the coaching job Mack has done with these RBs? Dudes are studs.

 

[BigSteve09]

Tom Fornelli from Cover 3:

Nico Iamaleava did not have great numbers but man that kid looks good. If you look at his numbers vs Iowa, nothing really stands out, he threw for 150, he rushed for 27 although he did have the three rushing TDs. But to me what stood out about him is that he didn't make the mistakes that you see all these QBs make against Iowa. For a kid in his first start to go against that defense and play a very clean game, Tennessee is going to be very good next year, I'm very much buying in on that.

 

[Ulysees E. McGill]

View attachment 607273

These dudes are full of ...if you don't call them and stay in touch they say "They didn't seem to really make me a priority like Coach ______ did".

 

[BigSteve09]

All of what he said.

context is important

 

[MarcoVol]

These dudes are full of ...if you don't call them and stay in touch they say "They didn't seem to really make me a priority like Coach ______ did".

What that kid really means is the schools he doesn’t actually have much interest in keep calling

 

[Jackcrevol]

Nico gonna get us a ship before he leaves Tennessee. He is him!

Best defense in the Country, backup QB, Jabba the Hut PK. Tennessee should've played Nebraska.

 

[Ulysees E. McGill]

Is it just me or does it seem like our transfer portal OL got hurt and couldn’t play more often than the recruited OL?

Not trying to bash anyone, just curious if it is apparent to anyone else?

Karic is a waste of resources imo...but hopefully he gets it together and shows us what was seen in him.

 

[jakez4ut]

Yup, Seldon looks great. A little hesitant back there in times but he really reminds me of Wright as a freshman. He's gonna be really good next year.

i'm not sure who Seldon reminds me of yet. he's bigger than Wright and Sampson. honestly, he looks more like those traditionally big backs Bama roll out there almost ever year....6'2 or 3, 220-230 lbs and can run like a freight train.

the first time that kid runs over a LB......................................can't wait.

 

[Orange.]

VFL Jalen Reeves-Maybin selected for the NFL Pro Bowl. He's a team captain for the Lions.

Detroit Lions' fake punt goes for 31-yard gain

www.nfl.com

JRM also runs for a first down on another fake punt.

 

[jakez4ut]

Karic is a waste of resources imo...but hopefully he gets it together and shows us what was seen in him.

i think we're not a position of determining that in Jan.....we need that kid to develop, so i'd expect he's going to get every opportunity to do so....really we need all of these sophomores or RS Freshemen that have some time in the program to step up this off season. barring some later additions to the OL...it seems like whatever we're going to get depth wise is coming from within. so, giddy up big boys....

 

[BigSteve09]

I just love the way the schedule is cut up next year.

That OU game is everything, in my opinion. The same way that the Florida game is traditionally the early-season indicator of whether or not the season has the potential to be special.

Win that game, and the Florida and Bama ticket prices are going to shoot through the roof. Neyland will be as electric as ever.

Love the revenge opportunity for Heupel at OU early. Love the revenge opportunity for the team at home vs Florida.

Did we sell out of season tix yet? What's the phone number again?